North Korea
North Korea is a place you may leave with more questions than you arrived with. That’s OK because you will leave knowing more than most people about the isolated country. You will learn an alternate history, “facts” that contradict what you might hold as true. You will see a mausoleum that transcends its purpose as a memorial. You will hear about a country’s struggle against American Imperialists. You will feel like you’re being watched at times, and you are. You will realize that the North Koreans alternate version of the truth is held just as strongly as you hold your version of the story. Anyone who has “seen it all” needs to see North Korea, as does anyone that wants to experience a completely different way of life before it disappears.
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DON’T MISS: The Arirang Games, the world’s largest performance, a musical with 100,000 performers that have been performing since age 6.
MUST SEE:Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum (Pyongyang), Kumsusan Memorial Palace (Pyongyang), the Children’s Palace (Pyongyang), the DMZ (Panmujon)
MUST TASTE: North Korean beer, in a continent of light, flavorless, beers North Korean beers are amazingly tasty. The food here leaves something to be desired; in fact, you may even want to pack your own salt and pepper to make it palatable.
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TRIP PLANNING: You must be on a tour to visit, so book one during the Arirang Games and you won’t be let down.
GETTING AROUND: You can’t even cross the street without your guide, therefore getting around is easy: do what they say.
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OUR COST PER DAY (2 ppl): $664.62 (and we went with the budget tour company!)
COST OF A BEER: $3
KEY MONEY-SAVING TIP: Everywhere sells the same “official” souvenirs, buy them in Kaesong, near the DMZ to get the lowest prices.
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YOU NEED TO KNOW: There is no independent travel allowed, in North Korea you won’t even order your own food, accept it and what you are told, it’s all part of a show, so sit back, listen and learn their view of the world.
IF WE KNEW WHAT WE KNOW NOW: We would do what we did.
HELPFUL LINKS TO LEARN MORE: DPRK Travel Planning, Kroyo Tours, Young Pioneer Tours (we went with), KTG Tours. Please send us any sites you found useful and we’ll add them!
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WE WERE THERE FOR: 5 days
OUR HIGHLIGHT: Kumsusan Memorial Palace, where the embalmed remains of Kim Il Sung are, there is no place like this on earth.
WHERE WE WENT: Pyongyang, Kaesong, DMZ, Panmujon
WE REGRET MISSING: The train ride, American citizens are not allowed to take the train into the country we had to fly, but that was interesting in itself.
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Interested in reading about our experiences in North Korea?
- Click here for the North Korea article index.
- Read about DPRK government propaganda.
- Witness a 100,000 performer musical.
- See how talented youth are trained to be world-class at arts and sports.
- Experience the North Korean view of the USA and it’s role in South Korea.
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Short on time? The highlight reel of our trip to North Korea including deserted streets, the world's largest musical (100,000 performers), soldiers, children propaganda and more. Tour the DPRK in 32 photos!
32 Photos
The Arirang Mass Games, or the Grand Mass Gymnastics and Artistic Performance Arirang, is the world's largest musical dance event. Performed annually by over 100,000 performers, the scale of the spectacle is unrivaled. The performance honors North Korea's eternal president with a display of unity and teamwork that downplays individualism.
29 Photos
Unlike the rest of Asia, there is no advertising in North Korea, rather the streets are lined with propaganda to help mold Koreans into better socialists in the mold of the Juche Idea (a Korean version of Marxist-Leninism). Additionally the media and books are printed to further the leaders' messages, beliefs and personality cult.
20 Photos
Pyongyang, the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is home to more than three million communist comrades. As the capital it is also the nucleus of the "revolution" and home of countless monuments, statues and memorials to the countries military "victories", politics, and leaders.
30 Photos
