A HOLIDAY IN NORTH KOREA

People often tell me I inspire them. Every time I hear that I feel honored and slightly perplexed.

Sometimes people ask me who MY inspiration is. That is easy. It’s my big brother Ammon. He is a 38-year-old avid traveller and air traffic controller who I spent four of my teenage years travelling the world with to 80 countries.  If you want to learn more about MY inspiration, you must read this.

After all the people telling me I am their inspiration, I think it’s time I gave credit to mine.

This is what he had to say about his most recent adventure to his 135th country, North Korea! These were his thoughts about his journey and responses to the most commonly asked questions when he told people where he was travelling to next.

“There have been a lot of questions asked about my most recent trip so I’ll hopefully address most of the most common ones here.

“WHY?”

Easily the most common (though fortunately not only) reaction from people when they found out where I was headed.  If you are asking this question then we don’t have the same philosophy driving us.  It’s not the first time I’ve headed to a controversial place and most likely not the last.  I’m curious.  North Korea is essentially the last isolated and truly restrictive socialist state.  The last specimen of a nearly extinct species.  Think of it as a living history museum.  The Chinese tourists told me it reminded them of China 40 years ago.  I never saw China then.  I never got into the USSR.  So I really wanted to see what I could as it is right now.  Not in spite of it being crazy but because it is crazy. I had an opportunity to act on it.  For me it is enough of a reason.

“BUT…..!”

“Safety?”  – I don’t really know how to explain this.  I have seen the news.  I have seen the drama and rhetoric.  It has been going on for 70 years.  It is all propaganda.  There is very little new going on that hasn’t been done before.  I 100% believe that there will not be a nuclear war or any other kind of war in NK anytime soon.  Apparently I was willing to bet my life on it but I think that is a completely nonsense statement.  I do research where I’m going and get as much practical information before I go somewhere.  This is important.  Very important.  I know others that have been, I knew what to expect.  The greatest danger was not nuclear war breaking out but getting imprisoned.  NK has the stated aim of trying to increase tourism to 1 million visitors by 2020.  They’ll never get there but it’s the attitude that counts.  They can’t do that if they are imprisoning every person that shows up.  In fact they’ve been gradually opening up the country and making it easier to visit in the last 10 years. I control my own actions and I can behave.  Just as I would never utter bomb threats in a US airport, I wouldn’t steal a sign or insult their leader, thus, no problem.  Never once in all the time leading up to the trip or inside the country did my heart rate rise in fear.

“What about supporting evil?” – I’ve never believed in the “boycott tourism” argument. I won’t get into it here.  If it’s safe enough, I will go.

“Isn’t it all fake anyway?” – Yes and no.  I’ll get into it more later.  It is fake in the sense that everything is controlled and restricted for you as a visitor and to some extent the whole country is so different it can’t feel real but that is the point.  I knew that it is going to be some weird restrictive, heavily propaganda’d journey.  You accept that at the beginning and try to “enjoy” looking at that aspect of the culture.  If you really want to, there are enough cracks in the façade to still feel a little of what is also going on behind the scenes without having to see the beatings and the bodies….

“HOW?”

A lot of people are surprised you can even visit.  Your home country will recommend against going but as I said above, NK is willing to let people in under very specific conditions.  You must go on a tour.  It can be your own private tour, but you must be accompanied by 2 NK tour guides at all times and all the arrangements are made in advance, generally by a middleman tour company, usually based in China.  Some of the more well known and established are Koryo Tours, YoungPioneerTours and the one I dealt with, ExploreNorthKorea.  You pick a tour on offer, send a scan of your passport and Chinese visa, send your money (it’s not cheap unfortunately) and they make all the arrangements and all you do is show up.  I was on a four day three night tour.”

Is North Korea a tourist destination for you?

What would you ask a friend on their way to North Korea?

Savannah Grace