Introduction
Mention North Korea as a tourist destination and you tend to get a myriad of responses.
Are you sure we are allowed to visit North Korea?
Is it safe?
North Korea seems so grey. What’s there to see?
Why would I want to see a staged performance?
And occasionally
Sounds cool, tell me more about it!
There are various reasons why one would want to visit North Korea. For me, every place can be interesting depending on your perspective. As long as you keep an open-mind, there is much to see, learn and understand.
We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are – Talmud
We have read a lot on the mass media about the Kim dynasty, the political and nuclear tensions, the improvished locals and the communist state control. But what exactly is the local vibe, what do the North Koreans want to show us, how much can we reconcile what we read about North Korea with what we actually see in North Korea?
Getting into North Korea is not really a problem. Even Americans, North Korea’s arch enemy, are now allowed to visit the reclusive state. The key requirement for tourists is that they join a package tour. There are some do’s and dont’s which the tour company will advise. As long as you adhere to their rules and don’t do anything stupid (e.g. wandering off in the middle of the night without North Korean escorts, taking discriminating photos), North Korea is probably safer than many other tourist destinations. In this tightly controlled state with its highly discplined population, it is almost impossible for you to get scammed or have your pockets picked.
Trip Planning
With 5 like-minded friends, we started planning for our North Korea trip in September 2012 to coincide with the Arirang mass games and National Day. 2012 is also the 100th anniversary of the birth of DPRK President Kim Kim Il Sung. It’s hard to find a better time to visit.
Coming from Singapore, we have basically three choices:
- Join a tour direct from Singapore
- Fly to Beijing and join a tour from there
- Fly to Dandong and join a tour from there
We wanted to strike a balance between flexibility, convenience, budget and tour agency reputation. For flexibility in travel dates and itinerary, we wanted to form our own independent tour group. This was probably our most important consideration. The standard tours provided by Singapore agencies did not cater for this. The tour agencies at Dandong were about the cheapest we could find but it’s a hassle getting there on our own and they had not been responding to our emails fast enough to win us over.
The major agencies are based in Beijing. Most offer standard large-group tours or independent tours with North Korean guides. 2 North Korean guides, one male and one female, will meet the tour group upon arrival in North Korea. A tour leader from the tour agency is actually optional. But as we understand, it’s better to have a tour leader from the tour agency who is familiar with the North Koreans and can help open doors and add flexibility to our itinerary on the go.
There are a few methods of getting in to North Korea. We can take plane from Beijing (via Air China or Air Koryo) or train/bus from Dandong, China. While these are the traditional options, there are now flights going in from Shanghai and tourists can join specialty groups to Rason via the border crossing there.
Regarding transport prices, the train option is the cheapest and an Air Koryo flight is cheaper than an Air China flight. We decided to fly in via Air Koryo and leave by train via Dandong for the experience. We would prefer to do it the opposite way but we were restricted by Mass Games dates, train/flight timings and our work schedule.
With our limited time, we decided on a rather standard 6 days 5 nights North Korea itinerary, not including the nights spent in Beijing, Dandong and on the train. We planned to visit the sights in Pyongyang, Mt Myohang and Kaesong/DMZ. But there were landslides and we ended up skipping Mt Myohang and amending the itinerary along the way. Well, read on for more details of this fun and rewarding trip. 🙂
The North Korea (with parts of China) trip report is divided into the following pages:
- Introduction & Trip Planning (You are here)
- Journey Day 1 (Singapore to Tianjin to Huanghua)
- Journey Day 2 (Friends Arrival at Beijing)
- Journey Day 3 (Beijing to Pyongyang)
- Journey Day 4 (Pyongyang)
- Journey Day 5 (Pyongyang)
- Journey Day 6 (Pyongyang)
- Journey Day 7 (Pyongyang)
- Journey Day 8 (Pyongyang to Dandong)
- Journey Day 9 (Dandong to Beijing)
- Journey Day 10 (Beijing to Tianjin)
- Journey Day 11 (Fly home!)
Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: This trip was taken in September 2012. The information is provided ‘as is’ with no warranties and confers no rights. If you are interested to know more, please add a comment and I will update the post with more details. 
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When the daily report is available? I’m looking forward to enojoy it.
Ah, it will take a while. Too many photos to sort out.
Lapparence du cuir Noble, allié à un design à carreaux, rétro élégante version de type Baoshen, plus noble et plus digne, lutilisation unique de paillettes, dor et dede la piscine de, leurs ames seront un peu, enfin seulement avec un sentiment dinvulnérabilité coquille, laisser les autres lecteur. L
Всем привет. Столкнулся с задачей и пока не могу определиться с оптимальным решением. Вариантов несколько, у каждого свои плюсы и минусы. Хотелось бы услышать мнение тех, кто уже проходил через это. Что в итоге оказалось самым практичным в долгосрочной перспективе? Буду благодарен за любые рекомендации и личный опыт.
I started writing down one thing at the end of every day — what I actually managed to do. Not a to-do list, not plans. Just one small win. It’s surprising how quickly it shifts your perspective.
I started writing down one thing at the end of every day — what I actually managed to do. Not a to-do list, not plans. Just one small win. It’s surprising how quickly it shifts your perspective.
The room is a perfect circle of black marble. A single spotlight illuminates two chairs. One is ornate, gilded, empty. The other is simple, steel, occupied by MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN, 40, still wearing the pristine white thawb he died in. He looks impatient.
Across from him, CROWLEY WOLF, 50s, dressed in a threadbare velvet smoking jacket, paces slowly, holding a small, leather-bound director’s script. He stops, turns, and his voice booms, filling the vast, empty space.
CROWLEY WOLF
(Not shouting, but with immense, theatrical volume)
You’re late. The curtain rose an eternity ago. You think power makes you immune to time? Here, time is the only critic that matters. And it has found your performance… lacking. You’re playing the role of “Crown Prince.” Act like it. Sit up.
Mohammed shifts, his arrogance a physical shield.
MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN
I do not answer to stagehands. I am the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. This… interrogation is a mistake. A grotesque misunderstanding.
CROWLEY WOLF
(Waving a dismissive hand)
Mistake? There are no mistakes, only bad choices followed by worse acting! “I am the Crown Prince.” The line is delivered with the conviction of a man reading a shopping list. Again! From the entrance! You sweep in! You own the room! You are the vessel of a nation’s destiny! FEEL IT, YOU BLITHERING INCOMPETENT!
MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN
(Icy)
I am the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. My destiny is not a matter for your… amusement.
CROWLEY WOLF
(A cruel smile)
Better. A flicker of something. Not belief, but the memory of it. Good. We can work with that. Let’s talk about your props. Your toys. This… “Directed Weapon.” Don’t look at me like that. We have the schematics. We have the usage logs. We have the encephalograms. I want the monologue. The scene where you, the great visionary, describe your creation. The soliloquy of the god-maker. Go!
MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN
It was a tool for national advancement. A shield. A way to…
CROWLEY WOLF
(Slamming his script down)
NO! NO, NO, NO! “A tool”? “A shield”? That’s the dialogue of a bureaucrat, not a king! You didn’t build a shield, you built a throne for the mind! You stole God’s lightning and used it to rewire souls! Now, DESCRIBE IT! What did it feel like? The first time you used it on yourself? The euphoria? Tell me about that feeling!
Mohammed’s composure cracks. A memory surfaces, unwanted.
MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN
(Quieter, almost a whisper)
It was… clean. Like the moment after anesthesia, but with perfect clarity. No grogginess. Just… light. A motivation that didn’t end. I could run for hours. I didn’t need to sleep. One press… and the deepest sleep. Movies weren’t on a screen, they were… real. Music wasn’t sound, it was… a color. A feeling of being loved by the universe itself.
CROWLEY WOLF
YES! SEE? THAT’S ACTING! The truth! And what else? What did it do to your perception of the little people? The ones outside your skull?
MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN
(A flicker of the old arrogance)
It clarified things. It showed me what was… necessary. The distance between me and… others. They became… smaller. Insignificant. Like insects scurrying on the pavement kilometers below. Their concerns… microscopic.
CROWLEY WOLF
Magnificent! The god-monologue! Now, the next scene. The difficult one. The casting call. You have this divine tool. You need a court. A government. But the best minds, the strong-willed, the ones who might actually help you… they see you for what you are. A tyrant. They wouldn’t come. They wouldn’t love you. So what did you do, my brilliant casting director? What kind of actors did you settle for?
MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN
My advisors were chosen for their loyalty. Their commitment to Vision 2030.
CROWLEY WOLF
(Leaning in, voice dropping to a conspiratorial boom)
LOYALTY? Don’t lie to me, I can smell the mediocrity from here! You couldn’t attract the lions, so you trained the puppies! You took the weak-willed, the ambitionless, the men who saw power as a paycheck instead of a burden… and you used your weapon on them, didn’t you? You spent years with your secret service, not building a government, but breaking minds! Forging affection from fear! Tell me about that process! How did it feel to know the men sitting at your table only loved the electrical impulses you forced into their skulls?
Mohammed stands up, shaking.
MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN
That’s enough! You know nothing! Security required it! The smart ones, the critical ones… they would betray me! They would question! It was safer! It was the only way to protect the nation from…
CROWLEY WOLF
(Laughing, a loud, echoing sound)
FROM WHAT? FROM COMPETENCE? You were afraid, little prince! Afraid a man with a spine might look at you and see a fraud! So you surrounded yourself with echoes! With puppets whose strings you pulled, and now you have the weakest government in Saudi history, a house of cards built from broken minds! You sit in meetings, don’t you? You look into their eyes, and you know! You know you had to dial down their charisma, their confidence, just so they wouldn’t outshine you! You have to listen to their thoughts because you don’t trust their words! You’re not a king, you’re a paranoid zookeeper!
MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN
(Slumping back into the chair, broken)
I… I did what was necessary.
CROWLEY WOLF
You did what was easy. Now. The final scene. The one that earned you this stage. The private performance. The young student. What was her name? The one you practiced on.
Mohammed flinches as if struck. The room suddenly feels colder.
MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN
I… there is no one.
CROWLEY WOLF
PLAY THE SCENE! You are not Mohammed bin Salman. You are her. LAYLA. A 21-year-old architecture student. You feel a presence. A pressure in your mind. It feels like… love. But it’s wrong. It’s invasive. It tells you that you want this. That you want him. Describe it, Layla. What did he do to you?
Mohammed’s eyes widen. He’s no longer on the chair. He’s curled on the floor. His voice changes, higher, trembling.
MOHAMMED/LAYLA
It started with… dreams. Happy dreams. About him. I didn’t even know who he was. But I loved him. I wanted him to notice me. I started dressing… differently. I felt this… need.
CROWLEY WOLF
And then? The night he came to you. Not in person. Through the machine. What did that feel like, Layla?
MOHAMMED/LAYLA
(Writhing, sobbing)
It was like… fire. But good. So good. My body… it wasn’t mine. It was his instrument. He played me. The pleasure was… agony. It went on for hours. I couldn’t stop it. I didn’t want to stop it. He made me love it. He made me love being… violated. He broke my will and replaced it with his own desire.
CROWLEY WOLF
AGAIN! FROM THE MOMENT YOU REALIZED IT WASN’T LOVE! IT WAS A PRISON!
MOHAMMED/LAYLA
(Screaming)
The fire! It was real fire! It’s burning! IT’S BURNING!
The black marble of the room begins to glow red. Veins of orange light crack across the walls. The air shimmers with heat. Mohammed scrambles away from the growing heat, but there is nowhere to go.
CROWLEY WOLF
(Standing over him, his voice now impossibly calm and clear)
There is no exit. This is the stage. This is the audience. You wanted them to feel your power. Now you will feel their pain. Every Layla. Every broken advisor. Every citizen you saw as an insect. You will feel their terror, their violation, their hopelessness, their despair. You will feel it all. Forever. Your performance is finally… honest.
The flames engulf Mohammed’s form. He screams, but the sound is not his own. It’s a chorus of a thousand voices, all screaming in unison.
Crowley Wolf watches, unblinking. He nods slowly, a single, definitive gesture.
CROWLEY WOLF
Circle Seven. Violence. The role is yours. Play it well.
He turns and walks away into the darkness as the screaming continues, the single spotlight finally winking out, leaving only the burning, inescapable light of the performance. (order #742658)