raventhon

On my tour, it was politely explained that if we wanted to see the statues, we would have to bow. If we didn't feel like bowing, we could stay in the bus.

A little less ominous than 'you will be shot'.

What tour company did you go with?

That's the thing that's annoyed me the most after returning from my trip to the DPRK. Everyone I encountered was a genuinely friendly person doing a job (with a fairly-strict set of guidelines) but a job nonetheless. After returning, all I see is OH NO I SPENT FIVE DAYS IN THE TERRIFYING DPRK LOOK AT HOW BRAVE I AM.

I went to a beer festival, a fun fair, the circus, a bunch of rural towns / coop farms that only recently opened to foreigners. It's not /that/ different from rural areas in the ROK.

The guides were very open and willing to discuss much more than I thought they would. All in all, I can't wait to go back. Fascinating country, amazing people, drastically exceeded all my expectations.

That street is new construction - it's right next to a new science and technology center and the buildings are designed as housing for scientists & (I think) students learning science etc.

Yeah, that's the impression I got. There are things you're not allowed to do, but all in all they have better things to do than pay tens of thousands of actors to perform for tourists.