Welcome to the TravelPod forums

[Barrett]

Have you been to North Korea? If you have, how did you do it? How much did it cost? What was it like? N. Korea seems like one of the last places backpackers can't really get to so it would be great to hear from someone who has made it there.

[Jessica_CDN]

Barrett, what a great question! I was wondering the same thing the other day! Here's hoping someone can shed some light on the subject....

[Barrett]

Its been a while and no answers. Can anyone ask a friend who has been, or someone you ran into? This seems like the last frontier to me. I found a graphic novel by an American aid worker about his time there, which was pretty funny but didn't shed much light on the logistics.

[Jessica_CDN]

I found this blog....

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entri...80520/tpod.html

[kacee]

i've been to the DMZ, and i can't imagine anyone actually going to the "other side"...

i heard, randomly, in my 7 years of living in seoul that you COULD travel to n. korea, but it was VERY regulated and you were within sight of a government official at all times. not much of a vacation... but when i asked around later in life no one had any information and most thought i was crazy.

but there was a documentary done recently by an american reporter named lisa ling. she went there undercover as an aid worker and did a very good job i think of capturing life in n. korea...i think by the looks of it you can get the gist of what 'travel' there would be like... oi vey.

[samhoso]

i heard this crazy story, and honestly if anyone else would have told me this, there is no way i would have believed it. however, my source is a good friend, who has lived in asia for 35 years (not to mention africa 12 years). he says, that there is one border check-point where you can enter north korea from china without any visa and formalities. once you cross the border, you find yourself in a town full of casinos and 24/7 entertainment. he says, this is one of the best kept secrets in asia, and hardly any outsiders know about it - but if you have your connections in china, it's a peace of cake to get there. would be worth researching i think.

[rbisset]

Well you can take a train from Beijing to Pyongyang so I imagine its somewhere along the way.

[peacefrog]

Just after graduating, all of my jobsearch was concentrarted on NGOs.
I did find a position in Pyongyang, to install and commission centrifugal blood purifiers at the hospital. I was ready to go, we had numerous discussions, sorting out visas etc... and in the end it did not happen (one of their permanent staff got available and was relocated to that position).
From what they told me at the time, it would have been quite a restricted lifestyle.
I'm still gutted I did not go

[Paul]

Hmmm, Interesting. I want to go have a look also.

Hmmm, people posing as aid workers. That is extremely irresponsible. They may get a great story. But they will cause the next lot of aid workers to not be given permission to enter. Great next famine or natural disaster how many people will suffer / die and not get help for that persons story. Please try to use your brain if you are a journalist. If you don't have one, ask someone who does.

But anyway, North Korea - I want to know more. I want to go. Barrett, I reckon it is your task to go there and tell us all about it.

[battlemonkey]

As of...maybe earlier this year, I think...North Korea started issuing visas for certain "outfitters," but this is hardly an everest base camp trek. You are allowed to visit Pyongyang, view the Arirang games, and look at a couple other "cultural gifts." It is all done in the company of two government guides. There is no deviation from the schedule allowed, and from what I hear, even talking to a North Korean could potentially get that person (and you) in a lot of trouble.

Outside magazine Article here: Outside on North Korea

Paying $6,000 plus the cost of travel to go look at a statue of Kim Il-sung and a big stuffed crocodile carrying a cocktail tray hardly seems like the deal of a lifetime.

That said, I sometimes amuse myself by using Google Earth to look at Pyongyang, while listening to Sublime Frequencies "Radio Pyongyang" CD. Take THAT, Kim Jung-il!

[ktje42]

Have you been to North Korea? If you have, how did you do it? How much did it cost? What was it like? N. Korea seems like one of the last places backpackers can't really get to so it would be great to hear from someone who has made it there.

I am a South Korean. I have been there to travel KUMKANG MOUNTAIN.
The Mt is sooooooooooo amazing !It is beautiful.
I counldn't go other city in N. Korea. cuases it was limited travel.

[oliveramber]

Just in case you're still looking at going to North Korea the below website might be of some help.

http://www.seat61.com/Korea.htm

[stevejames]

Yes, Seat 61 is an excellent site for train travel. I can also recommend Koryo Tours - www.koryotours.com - a British company working out of Beijing who offer tours to N. Korea. I met up with one of the tourguides in Beijing when I was there two years ago, friendly chap. Apparently there are (were?) one of only two foreign companies permitted to offer tours to the North (the other being Norwegian I think).

[rbisset]

Still considering going to North Korea on the next trip Steve?

[stevejames]

Absolutely! I can afford it this time round - although looking at my plans I'm likely to be in the area around February, and I don't know if they run tours then

[rbisset]

I will definitely go there on the next trip but it would need to coincide with the Ariang which I don't think is on every year. I think every trip deserves at least one crazy splurge and 4 days in North Korea will definitely be the one on the next trip

Edit: I just had a look at the tour link you provided and €1390 is far more than I expected!!!

[Jessica_CDN]

but to be able to say you'd been to North Korea.....

that's gotta be a small club!

[stereobread]

I know this thread's been dead for quite a while but I thought I'd chime in since I've been reading about the subject for a while now. Citizens of most western countries can visit North Korea relatively easily through a pre-arranged tour from Beijing. You can do this either with a group or solo and at any time of the year but once you enter the country you will be accompanied by a government minder at all times, except at night when you will be in your (probably bugged) hotel room. The exception to this is US citizens who are only allowed in during the Arirang Mass Games in April.

Up until December of last year it was possible for citizens of most countries (including both the US and South Korea) to take three day bus tours from Seoul to Kumgangsan, a mountainous resort region on the northern side of the border, or day trips to Kaesong, an historic city on the northern side of the border. These trips could be done visa free and were organized by Hyundai Asan, a South Korean company that operates most Southern investment in the North, but they were shut down at the beginning of December due to worsening relations between the two sides, largely as a result of North Korean anger at South Korean president Lee Myung-Bak's reversals of his predecessors more conciliatory policies toward the North. Recently the president of Hyundai Asan said that he hopes to have the tours back up and running by April but he gave no explanation for his statement and didn't cite any changes in the situation so whether or not that happens is very much up in the air.

I'm really hoping the situation does improve and the cross border tours star up again since I'm an American teaching in South Korea and would love the opportunity to go but I won't be able to get time off work for the Arirang Mass Games which are currently the only time Americans are let in. I'd only do the daytrip to Kaesong to limit the amount of money being spent on government operated hotels since I don't really feel all that good about the idea of financially supporting the most repressive government on Earth.

[stereobread]

There's been some pretty interesting developments on this topic lately. Shortly after Bill Clinton visited North Korea and secured the release of the two American journalists the president of Hyundai Asan, the South Korean company that controls inter-Korean business ties, visited Pyongyang, met with Kim Jong-il, secured the release of a South Korean hostage and reached an agreement with the North Koreans to restart the visa-free cross border tours to Kaesong and Kumgangsan!

The South Korean government said that the tours would only restart after a meeting between the two governments but I was reading today that a North Korean delegation sent to Seoul for the funeral of former South Korean president Kim Dae-jung has unexpectedly met with the South Korean Unification Minister. The results of that meeting haven't been announced yet but it seems entirely possible that I'll get to visit North Korea before I finish my teaching job here afterall !