Travel stories #2: North Korea (DPRK) - How to get to North Korea? (#2 NK)
Hey there, and welcome to my second post in my blog series about North Korea, the most isolated country in the world.
Please upvote this post and subscribe to my blog if you want to be updated about this series! Any questions on North Korea, ask below and I will try to answer :)
As you may know by now, I have been in and around North Korea for a while and love to share my stories and insight to the wider world. There are many news events around North Korea throughout the year, and one has popped up most recently:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/world/north-korea-otto-warmbier-rodman.html?_r=0
I might cover a few of these events in my coming blog posts, so stay tuned.
As for today, I will cover one of the most frequently asked questions regarding North Korea: how on earth do you get there? What is the way to see as much as possible, for the lowest price?
Contrary to popular belief, the process of obtaining tourist visas for North Korea is actually very simple. The only requirement is that you are booked on a pre-planned tour with two North Korean guides for company. The guides have to be specially appointed by the country’s Ministry of Tourism. For Westerners, currently it is not possible to travel independently in North Korea. However, every year new cities and villages open up for tourists, and what you could see ten years ago in a tour is not what you can see today.
Tour operators/travel agencies that organise their own tours to North Korea include:
- Koryo Tours - one of the largest groups around
- Young Pioneer Tours - one of the cheaper around
- Adventure Korea
- Uri Tours
- Pyongyang Travel
- Tongil Tours
Special tip (not many know about): A very good alternative for the price-sensitive traveler is to fly/travel into Dandong, at the Chinese-North Korean border. Here you can book a Chinese tour (with English guide) for much less than what you pay at the other (Western-oriented) tour agencies. It is surprisingly affordable!!!
Who knows you will soon be waiting in line at the airport for your flight to Pyongyang, just as I did a few times in the past few years?!
This post is also meant for an open discussion / Q&A for those who want to know more about the possibilities to visit North Korea, in any sort of way!
In any case:
- Please follow my blog for more updates
- Please upvote if you like the post
- Please ask away below!
See you later! :)
Interesting and I want to read more about Korea.
I'm going to write about DPRK also and try to show more abou that people.
Wow . . very interesting information in your article. I'd be interested in learning more about what you know. Keep it coming!
Why the fuck would anyone visit North Korea
A different place, a different regime, a lot of things to explore from inside.. I went there last November and it was one of the best experiences of my life (even not being an enthusiast of the communism).
I have been binge watching documentaries about NK lately. I don't know why but the country is so interesting. Perhaps I will take a guided tour some time in the future. Thanks for the post @finance2nomad :)
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Nice one...caught my fancy...can someone be allowed to take pictures and go with them? How r the hotels and food...upvoted and following
Yes I have made over 1000 pictures in my days in the country. It can get tricky though, as you are checked at the airport for any compromising material (e.g. military photos). I will do a blog post on food / hotels so stay tuned and follow :)
Can I hear "SteemFest Pyongyang 2018"? lol
Hahaha let's do it :)
I keep reading about North Korea... it's always fascinating!
Question:
Can you get drunk while in N. Korea? Firstly, can you drink at all. Secondly, can you get WASTED? Can you mingle with locals and maybe play some light sports with them?
Yes, you can drink as much booze as you want in North Korea, but you can only buy it at the more touristy places. Beer and the local soju (strong Korean liquor also drunk in South Korea) are pretty good actually. Getting wasted is not advisable though - you may say things they don't like ;) I have definitely mingled with locals - at the local playground/theme park, on the street, in a restaurant - but having an actual conversation remains hard due to language barriers and them being afraid of you (brainwashing)...
Good call on not getting too messed up. I do tend to be too honest for my own good. It would be a shame to lose consciousness at the bar and wake up handcuffed in an interrogation room :P
Thanks for the view into N. Korean society. Whatever can be said about it, it does sound spectacular in parts.
Good insight!