South Korean soldiers practice ballet to relax after guarding the world's deadliest border

The US military might have fewer problems with stress and substance abuse if it borrowed some wisdom from South Korea.

For the last year, the country has been running a program that gives a group of roughly 15 soldiers a chance to find inner peace through a weekly ballet class.

The young men, many of them in their early 20s, work in the heavily-fortified Demilitarized Zone near the border of North and South Korea.

By putting on thin, padded shoes and learning the graceful art, they forge deeper relationships with one another and ease their minds after dealing with turmoil.

Here's what a typical class looks like.

In the town of Paju, South Korea, soldiers live full-time at Camp Bonifas. It's located directly on the border of North Korea.

In their free time, soldiers goof around and watch trashy television.

But they also take ballet, a delicate, calming art form that prizes the exact opposite of rugged, gritty warfare.