When reading, “Foreign Country,” I had no idea what the DMZ was. I remember thinking it was the Korean version of the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles), and I visualized Junie’s mother driving to the DMV late at night to… meet someone in line?

In all reality, I learned that the DMZ was the Demilitarized Zone. After the Korean War, North Korea, South Korea, China, and the UN all agreed that there would be a strip of land between North and South Korea that is patrolled by soldiers. I wondered if there were anything that was sent through the DMZ. Bananas or anything. Nothing ever goes through. Tourists can request to visit the DMZ weeks in advance so they can step into the DMZ, take a picture of themselves technically standing in North Korea.  There’s an observatory to see into North Korea, and there is a giant building viewed from the South Korean side of the DMZ. It turns out that building has no glass windows and is really a giant concrete shell which is meant to show off.