Korea

Before North Korea had nuclear weapons, it had wild and often deadly plots

In South Korea today, people more easily shrug off the threat of North Korea than they used to. An entire generation has grown up without viewing the North as an ideological adversary or a lethal enemy. (One notable exception: In 2010, North Korea torpedoed a South Korean ship, killing 46 seamen.)

The mountains behind the Blue House help tell how things have changed. In 1968, some of the raiding commandos tried to escape across the Bugaksan range. The area, because of its strategic sensitivity, was off-limits for decades. But several years ago the mountain range reopened as a hiking trail.

Hikers can make the trek so long as they show a passport or other ID at the entrance. The trail has some of the best views of Seoul, but undercover officers, dressed in hiking gear, stop anybody who tries to take a photo of the presidential office. Perhaps the hike’s most famous site is a pine tree.