Aug 6th, 2011 at 3:00PM: International relations may be strained, but that's not stopping the tourists. According to Yonhap News Agency, the number of North Koreans visiting the United States in the first half of 2011 surged more than 50 percent from the same period in 2010. The report cites data from the Department of Homeland Security, which puts the number of visitors in the first six months of the year at 139. In the ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
DPRK posts
Is the United States a booming travel market for North Korea?!
Aug 6th, 2011 at 3:00PM: International relations may be strained, but that's not stopping the tourists. According to Yonhap News Agency, the number of North Koreans visiting the United States in the first half of 2011 surged more than 50 percent from the same period in 2010. The report cites data from the Department of Homeland Security, which puts the number of visitors in the first six months of the year at 139. In the ...North Korea cuts Pyongyang in half because of food shortage
Feb 16th, 2011 at 4:00PM: Pyongyang is North Korea's showplace. It's one of the few spots in the country foreigners are allowed to see, and even then under tightly controlled circumstances. The people allowed to live in the most prestigious city in the unusual nation tend to be politically reliable, favored by the regime and, quite frankly, not fat or ugly. Well, the best address in North Korea is about to get a lot more ...FourSquare is everywhere ... even North Korea
Dec 20th, 2010 at 8:00AM:
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Whether you tweet or not, log into Facebook or skip it, you know that social media is everywhere. You just can't get away from it. There are references on prime-time television, news stories all over the place and special deals at stores large and small. If you think you're ...North Korea goes Club Med: Visit the Majon Bathing Resort
Nov 24th, 2010 at 9:30AM:
Are you tired of the French Riviera? Bored with St. Barths? Well, if you're looking for a new sand-filled destination, you aren't stuck with the likes of Iraq. Make your next beach resort getaway Majon. Yes, that's right: the Majon Bathing Resort in North Korea. Fortunately, you'll be on the side of the DMZ that lobbed artillery shells yesterday, and if there's a retaliation, you probably won't ...Five North Korea trips for 2011, and a "no taxation" celebration
Nov 12th, 2010 at 3:00PM:
It isn't easy to visit North Korea. The country makes it intentionally difficult for outsiders to get in. For those of us in the United States, the distances to be traveled increase the barrier even more. Well, I just got the list of tour options from Koryo Tours, and it looks like North Korea is more open than ever!
There are several ways you can get to Pyongyang and other cities in 2011 ...Five American-style North Korean restaurants for foodies
Nov 8th, 2010 at 8:00AM: This may not have been the case a few years ago, but Pyongyang is definitely on its way to becoming a culinary destination ... well, maybe not. Nonetheless, it is pretty wild that the self-isolating regime has let slip some pretty wild information about the dining options available in the capital. If you can finagle a way into North Korea and somehow get yourself a bit of freedom to move, there ...Former chef to North Korean dictator dishes on change prospects with Kim Jong-un
Nov 4th, 2010 at 8:00AM: It looks like Kim Jong-un will follow in the footsteps of his father, Kim Jong-il. This succession plan, of sorts, will extend the Kim dynasty in North Korea to a third generation, separating the top dog even further from the supposed revolutionary exploits of the country's first leader, Kim Il-sung.
With new blood, of course, the question of change is inevitable. Under Kim Jong-il, there have ...The beach town you'll probably never see: Wonsan, North Korea
Oct 4th, 2010 at 2:30PM:
Umbrellas are firmly planted in the sand, and children splash through the water in pursuit of a ball or each other. The scene is exactly what you'd see on either U.S. coast, or at any number of beaches around the world. And, because access is free, all walks of life can be found lounging on the sand, dipping a toe or simply enjoying each other's company. Yet, this isn't just any beach – ...Pyongyang to ditch traffic girls? Progress comes to North Korea
Sep 28th, 2010 at 12:00PM: Traffic-directing hotties have always been a staple of the North Korean capital. Chosen for their looks rather than their skills in moving cars smoothly along Pyongyang's rather empty streets, the traffic girls have become an attractive attraction in themselves ... and it looks like they are set to be retired.
According to a post on the site Pyongynag Traffic Girls, there are reports that the ...Kim Jong-il likely to inspect biggest North Korea military parade in history
Sep 27th, 2010 at 2:30PM: Who doesn't love a parade, right? Well, there's a big one coming to Pyongyang. A large military parade is in the works, reports Yonhap News Agency, and it's expected to be "unprecedented" in scale. In fact, it's likely to be the largest military parade North Korea has held, possibly twice as large as its predecessors.
Troops, armored vehicles, missiles and other hardware have been amassed at ...Five facts about the North Korean Arirang festival
Aug 12th, 2010 at 8:00AM: North Korea's Arirang festival is in motion, and people from all over the world are traveling to the isolated communist country to watch what truly is an impressive undertaking. But, what do we really know about it? So much about North Korea is shrouded in mystery, making it hard to really learn much about what goes on there.
Instead of relying on the accounts of tourists, the western media or ...Everybody loves Arirang according to North Korean news agency
Aug 11th, 2010 at 1:00PM: It's Arirang time! The North Korean group gymnastics festival is under way, and the crowds are predictably adoring. According to the Korea Central News Agency, the twenty-fifth batch of campers of the Songdowon International Children's Camp "appreciated the grand gymnastic and artistic performance." But, that shouldn't come as a surprise because it was in KCNA.
Shockingly, the KCNA continued: ...Mount Kumgang hotel in North Korea reopens
Aug 11th, 2010 at 9:00AM: North Korea has reopened its Mount Kumgang hotel – the only place in the country where South Korean tourists are welcome. It's the first shot North Korea took at working with businesses from across the border and was built by Hyundai Asan with permission from the regime. The doors swung open in 1998, with South Koreans and people from other companies flocking up to check it out.
North ...Shanghai: New route from China to North Korea
Jul 23rd, 2010 at 3:00PM:
It isn't exactly a wide-open commercial route, but at least the door is slightly ajar. Korean Air charter flights will start flying from Shanghai to Pyongyang on August 6, 2010, when the first group of tourists will take advantage of this (rather slight) liberalization of North Korean travel rules.
The goal, of course, is to "help to further promote cooperation and exchanges between China and ...North Korea poster: a conversation piece, at least?
Jul 19th, 2010 at 2:30PM: For travel junkies, there's a new poster that could be equivalent to putting commemorative plates on display in your home. Show your zest for hitting the road – and how it pervades your entire life – by turning your walls into a shrine to exploring new places. Start with the latest offering from North Korea, and you'll guarantee the conversation will turn to travel the next time you ...Tea-leaf picking: Summer fun in North Korea
Jul 19th, 2010 at 9:30AM: If you can get into North Korea ... and if you can manage to set your own itinerary ... visit the Kangryong Unjong Tea Plantation of the DPRK (i.e., Democratic People's Republic of Korea). It's tea-leaf picking season, and now's the time to get in on the action, in theory, at least. In fact, notes the Korea Central News Agency, "The tea leaves picking is at its height in the plantation." Great ...Explore the Tuman Triangle
May 10th, 2010 at 12:00PM: If you're going to travel all the way across the Pacific, you want to make your trip to Asia worth it. The latest package from Koryo Tours is designed to do this, exposing you to three countries, three cultures and three time zones in one shot. From June 30 to July 10, 2010, a small group (only 20 spots are available) will be able to explore the "Tuman" Triangle."
From Beijing, you'll head out ...Aijalon Mahli Gomes phones home
May 3rd, 2010 at 2:00PM: Every now and then, an overzealous traveler crosses the border into North Korea without doing the requisite prep work and having various forms rubber stamped. When this happens, bad things follow. For Aijalon Mahli Gomez, a U.S. citizen, the crossing turned into an eight-year sentence in the company's prison system on April 6, 2010. Yet, he was able to call home.
According to the Korea Central ...North Korea Threatens "Historical Punishment" for Vacation Blocking
Mar 26th, 2010 at 1:00PM: Korea Central News Agency, the official mouthpiece of North Korea, is mad – damned mad – that South Koreans aren't heading across the border any more.
Mt. Kumgang tours were made possible at one point, but the South Korean government has suspended them, according to the North, because the Ministry of Unification and other governmental bodies have expressed doubts about the personal ...North Korean film festival has begun!
Feb 10th, 2010 at 12:00PM: If you just happen to be in Pyongyang for the next week, check out the city's film festival. It opened yesterday at the People's Palace of Culture, with the opening ceremony followed by a screening of "The Great Devotion (2009, the year of dramatic changes)." The festival's fare is predictable in subject matter, but it will give you a leg up on the film junkies who brag about
Sundance and ...
