IamA American who visited Pyongyang, North Korea AMA!

How the fuck did you get in?

Not OP but:

There are tour agencies offering tours in North Korea. In fact if memory serves me right they even have certain times they let the locals and foreigners mingle for a bit.

Yes, but most likely, these locals weren't just "normal" locals

you fly through china. VICE, on youtube, has a whole video about it :)

It's actually very easy to get in. Sign up with a tour group, pay, and go.

Are there really as many pictures of the Kim family hanging around as people say?

Yes, and Kim Jong-un was on TV basically whenever we saw one

Did you see any interesting propaganda?

I went at the height of the tensions in Spring 2013. There was a lot of fresh propaganda, so yes. Quite a bit of Anti-American stuff as well.

Did the propaganda affect your visit at all (i.e the behavior of the people towards you)?

No. Surprisingly, I think the people do a pretty good job at separating individuals from government (or at least those we talked with). Also, there was a lot more anti-Japanese talk than anti-American, even with the fact that US and NK relations were very tense in those two months.

Compared to South Koreans, how healthy did people there look? Did people on the street ever smile or did they look dour?

The North Koreans we saw were all of the highest class, so people looked fine overall. The soldiers were noticeably smaller, though. People on the street would usually give us a sort of confused look, as if they were thinking "I don't know what I'm supposed to do". It wasn't a mean exchange, but they just usually seemed confused/frightened.

Did you A) see any goats and B) did you at any point look at a place and just be flabbergasted?

Didn't see any goats. And walking into a 40 lane bowling alley really caught everyone off guard.

Are you Dennis Rodman?

I went to school in Chicago. So yeah, basically.

Did you get any flack from the US State Department beforehand or afterwards? Were you debriefed, or is US tourism to North Korea now so commonplace that it doesn't merit a "visit" from the NSA?

Where did you go to get your visa?

Sounds like a fascinating journey. Thanks for sharing this tour outfit. I'm intrigued....

Didn't hear anything before. Haven't returned to US yet since visiting, so don't know for 2nd part of question. However, because they don't stamp anything in the passport, I doubt I will have any trouble. Visa is handled through tour agency, only need to submit scan of your passport and 50 Euro fee

What was your country of departure?

The security apparatchik of the USA tends to look unkindly on its citizens traveling unfettered to countries its Grand Poopahs deem unfriendly. But hey, they hate our freedoms, right?

Koryo Tours is based in Beijing, so he would've flown from China to NK.

This is correct. Flight departs from Beijing.

Was electricity scarce? Did you notice vast areas that were blacked out?

Compared to any other capital city, the city was completely dark at night. Also, during dinner our last night, power went out 3-4 times.

How strict were the guidelines on on pictures and other things?

What kind of food do they even have there?

Guidelines on pictures not strict at all. Was never asked to stop taking pictures and photos weren't checked at end of trip.

Food was mainly traditional Korean, such as Kimchi. Friday afternoon was a hotpot meal, and Friday night was a Korean BBQ.

Have any North Korean sex?

Nope. A lot of guys on the trip discussed if that would even be possible. The general consensus was "no".

DId you eat noodles? If so, how was it? I'm a South Korean and I heard that noodles taste great in Pyongyang. I'm not sure what it's called in English but if I were to write the Korean name in English pronunciation it would be naengmyeon.

We had cold noodles, which were very good. Haven't had them in South Korea, so unable to compare.

Do you have any weird stories or things that you saw that you can share with us?

A North Korean in the bowling alley came up to a girl in our group and said, "I love George Bush, but I hate Barack Obama." Seriously wtf???

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Sorry, should have gone further into this one. His reasoning was because "George Bush said he would take out Suddan Hussein and he succeeded. He won. Barack Obama didn't"

It was all very strange

How scared were you throughout the entire trip?

Was edgy in the days leading up to the trip, because media sensation was going crazy and suggesting nuclear war could break out any hour. However, after being there a couple hours, wasn't really on mind. However, on the morning before we flew out, things got a bit tense because they were evacuating foreign embassies. Overall, I don't think there was any real risk.

I'd honestly be scared as shit. You'd constantly be reminded that at any time you could disappear, and there's absolutely nothing that could be done.

But when you arrive there, it quickly becomes obvious that won't happen.

How similar or dissimilar is North Korea to George Orwell's 1984?

Hard to say, we only saw the best parts of the country. Many dismiss this as not seeing North Korea at all, but I think the fact that they have Pyongyang and tourist trips set up this way says a lot by itself.

Did you travel out of the city, into the smaller villages?

We traveled to the Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery on the outskirts of Pyongyang, so got to see some rural settings. Was interesting seeing how many drifters were just sitting in fields on the side of the road while driving.

What was the most sketchy thing you saw while partaking on your visit?

Not so much sketchy, but it was a strange feeling watching grown men get emotional while watching Kim Jong-un on television in bowling alley lobby.

Did you have minders with you on your trip?

Yes, 2 minders for our group of about 15 people. Ms. Pang & Mr. Lim...both very nice and personable.

What made you decide to go there?

Was looking for a strange trip that put me out of my comfort zone. North Korea filled that role

That link you posted doesn't prove anything.

Posted the link to this AMA on there, but any advice on how to further prove?

I think a plane ticket or something of that nature would be perfect.

Posted a picture of my plane ticket on the page I linked to. Unfortunately, the airlines wouldn't accept "TheThriftyTrekker" as my name, so ticket doesn't read that way.

No problem, will post on the North Korea section

what was the most surprising thing you saw?

That's a difficult question, I don't think I can pinpoint a single thing. There were so many weird things. One of them high on the list, though, would be watching a high ranking North Korean extremely wasted in the bar. His assistant, as well as girlfriend, were both taking care of him and making sure he didn't get too sloppy in front of our group, which was sitting a table over.

How different does the North Korean accent sound compared to the South Korean accent?

To a westerner, it probably sounds the same.

Yes, although they did tell us North Koreans use more formal Korean

Did you meet any citizens or get a feel for their experience as opposed to the military/government outlook? I would like to know the perspective of your average North Korean.

It's too difficult to distinguish a real citizen from someone in the government, as most people in Pyongyang are supportive of the regime (or at least appear to be). The perspective is that people really do believe in Juche Theory. I was surprised that they did know more about how the outside world might be "ahead of them at the moment", but they were fine with that because they are "independent".

How much did it all cost? Were meals provided and included with the tour? hotel fees? Transportation?

http://koryogroup.com/travel_groupTours.php

Tour cost was about 900 Euro for 3 days/2 nights. Everything is included and tour originated from Beijing

If you had the chance to, would you go back?

Yes, although would like to visit other parts of the country.

was there really marijuana growing on the streets? and are the drug policies as loose as some have said?

I didn't see that in Pyongyang, but could be true in other parts of the country. Can't confirm though.

As a halfie born in SK, why?! Of all the places to go....

I wanted to see the inside perspective of how things are in NK. We hear so much Western propaganda that it's important to see the other side's view to balance it out. While I wasn't there nearly enough time to get a full view of things, it definitely changed my thoughts of NK.

Overall how was the trip? Rate out of ten?

10/10. It was better than I expected, and due to the time period I went and how much tension there was, it only added more adrenaline. Part of me thinks I should never return because it would be such a hard trip to top.

were there any form of advertising in DPRK? did you see any, and what was it?

This is a great question, and I honestly can't remember. If there was advertising, I probably just mistook it for propaganda.

Is it true that all homes in Pyongyang have speakers that transmit government propaganda 24 hours a day, nonstop?

I have heard there have speakers that must be kept on, but don't think they are spitting out propaganda nonstop. But can't confirm based on my visit, we didn't tour any homes. There were, however, propaganda vans and propaganda blared while on the subway.

How many bowling alleys did you see?

Only one, but it was huge

Were there any franchise stores what so ever?

No, and the shopping they showed us had no locals. Only for foreigners.

Did you have to get debriefed or interviewed by any US Federal agencies upon your return? Wondering how they feel about these types of visits.

Haven't returned yet, but doubt it. NK didn't stamp passport so there's not really any record of the visit

I watched the youtube vid you did showing the trip down to the subway, I cannot imagine how much it would suck if the escalator died!

hahaha!

Did your group had a translator? Or the NK staffs had no problem to speak english ?

NK staff spoke very impressive English

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I've got pictures and trip reports on my blog, which also has a link to this AMA session.

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Nope, heard that is more north by the Chinese border

Were you able to talk about and share outside/Western culture, such as what's going on in the music and movie businesses, or the internet?

Yeah, we could talk about anything that was neutral in political terms. I talked a lot about sports with my guide Mr. Lim.

How did people react when they found out you're American or did you not get to communicate with normal North Koreans?

People seemed to either be very excited to talk with an American or not show any emotion, but there wasn't any negative feedback.

Were there actually any advantages to that life? Obviously you've mentioned not remembering whether there were adverts and that sort of thing, do you think that NK is actually better than the West in some respects?

One thing I did notice was that they truly did think in a collective mindset, which was cool. However, IMO, so do many other Asian nations without as many negatives. My opinion is that in theory, Juche Ideology is good, but in reality, it has set the country up for failure. It has closed them off from the world. And as the world becomes smaller and more globalized, they are further left behind.

Was it fun?

Yes, and very interesting. Definitely a trip that made you think. Left with more questions than when I arrived.

Were you at any point in the trip actually scared something bad might happen to you?

Maybe a little bit in the morning of last day, as all foreigners in country were asked to evacuate. But that was only an hour or so, then we were in the air headed back to Beijing.

Have you watched the VICE Guide to N. Korea and others put out by Vice?

If so, can you compare? I think vice was sensationalizing a lot in the videos.

I have not, because of what I heard about them doing the same thing.

How do you get into North Korea/Why did you go?

You can go through multiple tour groups. I went with Koryo tours. I went because it was a different kind of trip, and wanted to see "The Hermit Kingdom" for myself. Also became very interested in the history of the Korean Peninsula and the fact that regimes such as this still survive today.

We're you ever asked if you were an American?

Not asked specifically, just where I was from. When I responded American, there was no sort of special response.

Maybe the Koreans aren't so bad after all... Maybe it's just there commie dictator that's an ass clown. Thanks for the response!

IMO, at the end of the day, people are people. Every place has both good and bad people.

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Why do you ask?

Do you feel bad about giving one of the worst regimes on Earth hard currency and legitimacy?

No, I feel good about giving more North Koreans a view of foreigners and know that the real money that supports the regime is not coming from tourism, but instead foreign policy and business deals.