North Korea

Pyongyang, North Korea

After getting into an argument with some chick last night about travelling in North Korea (with me saying that I'd like to go there someday, and her saying that no foreigners are allowed to go there), I figured that I'd make a post about going to the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK)(South Korea is the Republic of Korea(ROK)). I don't have too much to say, since I've never been there, but I do have an awesome site with a lot of links to sites by people who have made the venture into the land of the Kims.

Here's the link: http://www.stat.ualberta.ca/people/schmu/nk.html.

As a Canadian passport holder, it is possible for me to enter into North Korea as part of a group or individual tour. In all cases, a foreign traveller will be "provided" with "guides" to show off the wonders of cities such as the current capital of Pyongyang, and the historical cities of Kaesong and Pammunjom. It is impossible to get into North Korea if you are an average American citizen (an exception might be made for someone with dual citizenship with another country) or a South Korean citizen. I've also been told that Israelis are not allowed in the DPRK, but I couldn't find a site to back this up. In addition to these restrictions, freeworld jounalists are absolutely not allowed into the country. There are also the usual restrictions of alcohol, drugs and pornography. I've read that leaving your "tour group" is also a very stupid idea, for obvious reasons.

To get on a tour, I've found a couple of tour companies which will set people up with a tour in the DPRK. One is Koryo tours, and the other is VNC Asia Travel (a Nederlands company). Here are the links:

http://www.koryogroup.com/
http://www.vnc.nl/ (Dutch)

From what I've gathered, you must begin your tour from Bejing/Peking. You cannot enter North Korea from South Korea. Therefore, unless you're a Chinese citizen, you also need at least a double entry Chinese visa in addition to a North Korean travel visa. Even though the Pyongyang airport does have some flights from places such as Moscow, Berlin, Chaborovsk and Bangkok (in addition to a Beijing connection), it does not seem that the average person can reach Pyongyang from those places. I could be wrong though (probably not, as I'm not often wrong!!!).

Hopefully one day I'll have the opportunity to enter into North Korea. Currently, only about 2,000 foreigners a year are granted access.