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The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) was established at the time of the signing of the Korean War Armistice Agreement on July 27, 1953. The DMZ is formed within the Military Demarcation Line running approximately 248km (154 miles) from east to west with a span of about 2km to the north and the south, symbolizing the very pain of the division of the peninsula and the existence of the world in a state of cold war. Even after the passing of more than half a century, tensions between the two Koreas continue on as they each have state-of-the-art weaponry in place, ready for when there may come the time for war once again. As the DMZ has come to symbolize that of war and division, it has become a peak area of interest throughout the world due the land itself remaining untouched by civilization, enabling the preservation of its natural lands. For the last 60-plus years, people have been strictly forbidden from trespassing these lands, which have seen them evolve into a safe haven for various kinds of animal and plant life on the verge of extinction after having lost their natural habitat amid the development of society, resulting in a characteristic ecosystem difficult to find in this day and age. According the results of an ecology survey of the DMZ in 2017 by the National Institute of Ecology, the DMZ is currently home to as many as 5,929 species of animal life, including 101 species of endangered wild life. Approximately 1,000 different species of plant life, including Korean fir trees, Modemipul wildflowers and Hanabusaya asiatica that are exclusively endemic to Korea s ecosystem have taken root in this area, while flying squirrels and other rare animal wild life, including mountain goats, musk deer and others that are classified as class I endangered species, have also found refuge in this sanctity of nature. Endangered bird species from a black-faced spoonbill to a Chinese egret and red-crowned crane, account for as many as nearly 200 additional species living together in this quarantined habitat. The Korea Post is issuing its third commemorative stamp in the Nature in DMZ series to alert others of the ecological value regarding the sanctity of the DMZ s ecosystem while also expressing the yearning to one day witness the unification of the peninsula. This stamp depicts a water deer, a subspecies of deer characteristic to Korea, strolling around near the barbed-wire of the DMZ with a dog s tooth violet in bloom, sprouting its purple flower through a crack in a helmet on the ground. As the deer and the violet are at peace amid a land symbolizing nothing but war and division, the yearning to one day witness the same land be reborn through unification to symbolize that of peace and life is now stronger than ever.