North Korea

imme

Anyone been to the Workers' Paradise North Korea. Of course I jest about the Workers Paradise.

Recent Amnesty Int'l report said that they're 200,000 Political Prisoners in the country. This alone apart from the high cost of travel there would dissuade me from going there.

Anyway I'm still interested. Anyone been there?

wallpaper12

I would love to go to North Korea but morally I dont think I could ever do it. You would be giving your money to the most oppressive regime in the world.
Saying that anyone I ever heard who went said it was amazing. You have to go in a special government apporved tour and I think you have to give your phone and any other things like that up at the border!

Badgermonkey

NK incontrovertibly commit human rights abuses on a grand scale.

Iran, Egypt, Cuba, Syria, China, Russia, Morocco etc. are also commonly proven to have inflicted acts of barbarity upon their citizens.

If you are to apply ethical principles to travel, surely you'd boycott all of the above?

Otherwise it's a numbers game, with a tolerance for states with low to moderate usage of torture as a method of punishment.

Fr Tod Umptious

Is this a discussion about human rights or about travel to North Korea ?

I have never been but I am sure it would be an experience to see the place.

Dom Joly has a book called 'The Dark Tourist' where he visits off beat locations.

One of his trips is to North Korea, it's worth a read.

I am sure there are many tour operators around the world that arrange travel to North Korea.

biko

Haven't been, not sure I'd want to either.
SK seems lovely though.

mikedragon32

Stick to travel please folks and not the rights/wrongs of the governance of the country

Badgermonkey

Problem is virtually nobody's been.

Say it'd be fascinating.

undo

I was interested in going after I finished my PhD earlier this year. But with the recent increase in tensions between North and South, they appear to have stopped issuing tourist visa for now. Also, wallpaper12 is right. You have to leave any phones, GPS devices and video cameras in a locker at the Chinese airport from which your tour starts. Fortunately, photo cameras are allowed. The entire trip is very expensive though as it serves as a way for the government to acquire hard currency.

killbillvol2

I looked into it when I was in Beijing in 2009. It was easy enough to organise there but was very expensive. After shopping around I was looking at €1400+ for 5 nights . A larger group would cost less per head, but not much.

In the end I decided against it, partly because of the cost, but moreso because of the restrictions. Even travelling alone I would have had two guides and a driver with me and absolutely no freedom. (I was told I would be allowed to walk in the hotel grounds as long as I didn't have my camera!).

useeme

Ive been twice, I travelled with koryo tours.

Its somewhere completely different.

Expensive, but it's weirdness on stilts.

Fattes

A girl I worked with once was out there for 2 weeks.

She loved it and said it was a complete eye opener. She said it would be well worth the tup if you ever got the chance before it became a capitalist paradise!

stiofandebrun

I've been to the DPRK once and booked (only last week!) to return next April.

I was actually on the trip that Dom Joly was when he was getting material for his book, nice guy!

Its a very strange place but so unique.

Any specific questions please PM me.

Sligo Quay

I don't think theres direct flights, you have to go from Beijing, btw how does it affect future travel to the USA if you have an DPRK stamp on your passport.