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A rare tour of the world's most closed society
My husband Mike and I recently returned from a visit to North Korea, aka the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. It was what you might think of as a getaway—we stayed 4 days and 3 nights, the maximum allowed for U.S. citizens. We flew first to Beijing, not knowing if our DPRK visa would issue. (Our attempt last year to visit was aborted when massive flooding and nuke testing combined to cause the DPRK to ban most visitors.) Visas have been issued only rarely to Americans and usually to coincide with the Mass Games (more on the games below). By good fortune, we were among a small group of U.S. tourists permitted to visit the DPRK this year. The first such opportunity for Americans was in 1995, and then only during a two-week window, followed by brief periods in 2002 and 2005, each coinciding with the Mass Games.
ARRIVAL
We were told to leave computers and cell phones behind in Beijing; neither would be operative in DPRK: no signal and no ability to receive e-mail in any event. As we prepared to board our flight to Pyongyang, I bought a duty-free Hermes scarf. It was an impulse—I have never bought any Hermes product, but I felt compelled to have a frivolous capitalistic moment before entering the Communist “hermit kingdom.”
See our slideshow of Inside North Korea.
Despite promises of denuclearization, North Korea remains on the Dept. of State’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, together with Iran, Cuba, Sudan, and Syria. The North Korean bombing of a South Korean airliner 1987 is the last of the cited acts. The new list no longer cites the North's abduction or detention of 485 civilians since the 1950-53 Korean War. Being on the list subjects North Korea to a web of economic and financial sanctions.
Our Koryo Air seats were covered in starched, linen mats. The airsickness bag said “For Your Refuses.” The in-flight magazines in English included one devoted entirely to a 2002 visit to Russia by DPRK Leader Kim Jong Il. It reported that jubilant workers in the DPRK increased production by 17 percent and danced in the street the day he returned. (It was not apparent how they could increase production with all that dancing.) Lunch on the plane consisted of two small pickles, two tiny tomatoes, one miniature ear of corn, two types of thinly sliced, fatty sausage, one hard roll, a sliced hard-boiled egg filled with oily/fishy orange “caviar,” three tiny cold meatballs, and a hot entree, served TV dinner style in an aluminum container, consisting of rice, boiled potato, and a tiny piece of chicken. I selected a soft drink the color of lemons; Mike made the mistake of selecting a can of something that was emerald green. We weren’t even in first-class; the service was for business class.
GUIDED TOURS
We were accompanied by a dozen Americans, and all of us were broken into “groups”, each of which would have a personal guide. My husband and I toured as a group of two; a wealthy man from Oahu, who wore aloha shirts every day, was a group of one; the remainder comprised a third group. We were accompanied every moment by our guides, who were more like minders. They met us at the airport (no taxis there or at the hotel), stayed at our hotel, and were always waiting for us in the lobby when we came down for breakfast. They never left our side from then until we returned to our room late at night. If we lingered in the hotel lobby for a beer, they joined us.
See our slideshow of Inside North Korea.
