By Ines Min
Contributing Writer

Time magazine listed the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) as one of the top experiences one can have in Asia in its latest issue, but South Korean officials and marketing consultants question whether it spoils the country’s image.

From South Korea's perspective, the DMZ magnifies its negative association with communist North Korea, which policymakers are seeking to avoid.

The country’s image has been damaged and clouded by the actions of the Stalinist state. Whenever Korea is mentioned in any corner of the world, many ordinary people often conjure up negative images of nuclear weapons or dictator Kim Jong-il.

This badly damages the positive image of South Korea, which is an OECD member, the ninth-largest exporting country in the world and a tech-savvy nation.

Michael Breen, a Korea Times columnist and a PR consultant in Seoul said, ``Many Korean officials consider the DMZ to have a negative impact on tourism and would prefer that it is not promoted.''

He added, however, that North Korea and the 38th Parallel are a reality.

The DMZ is the biggest association Western visitors have with South Korea, and tourism planners should do everything they can to facilitate tourism there.

Though the border is now also synonymous with the words ``Wildlife Haven’’ and ``Nature Preserve,’’ the DMZ was once said to be the ``scariest place on Earth’’ by former President Bill Clinton.

According to Time, that should not serve as an excuse not to visit.

Inside the bright-blue-hued conference rooms that sit atop the tense border in Panmunjeom, visitors are able to cross a few timid feet into North Korea.

Outside the buildings, a look across the border will be met with icy glares from a North Korean soldier with binoculars.

Other tour sites include a walk down into an underground tunnel built by the North in an attempt to reach Seoul.

Time notes that the real reason to visit the DMZ, however, is not for the quick thrill of passively invading into the northern territory or strolling through the communist-era zone.

In fact, the area serves best to ``witness one of the last conflicts left over from the Cold War, and gain a better understanding of how it has torn the Korean people asunder.’’

Seoul tourism promoters want foreigners to visit locations other than the DMZ, including Dongdaemun market, the capital's royal palaces and the Folk Village in Yongin, south of Seoul.

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