Jan 13th, 2010 at 5:00PM: North Korean officials are thinking about opening the country to American visitors all year long. Though we'd still have to use the existing tour operators and have our options constrained once in the country, we'd at least be able to visit the most isolated country on Earth at virtually any time. Since 2005, Americans have only been able to visit during Arirang -- and for only up to five days at ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
dprk posts
North Korea to announce availability to Americans
Jan 13th, 2010 at 5:00PM: North Korean officials are thinking about opening the country to American visitors all year long. Though we'd still have to use the existing tour operators and have our options constrained once in the country, we'd at least be able to visit the most isolated country on Earth at virtually any time. Since 2005, Americans have only been able to visit during Arirang -- and for only up to five days at ...North Korea prohibits the use of large suitcases, a model to be replicated?
Jan 7th, 2010 at 12:00PM: The effect of monetary policy on the travel industry can be profound in any economy, but in North Korea, it's usually more complicated. In a developed market, for example, a monetary policy that leads to inflation can make travel more expensive (duh, right). Well, in North Korea, you have to look past the implications of monetary policy to the underlying political drivers ... because the root ...Latest U.S. traveler to North Korea has been detained
Dec 29th, 2009 at 4:00PM: The inevitable has happened. Robert Park, who had announced his plans to enter North Korea illegally, has been detained. The U.S. citizen crossed from China in order to bring attention to human rights abuses in the isolated nation and said before his departure that he doesn't want the U.S. authorities to come rescue him. Park told Reuters last week that he sees this mission as his Christian duty ...Which way is up? The travails of travel writing on North Korea
Dec 28th, 2009 at 8:00AM:
It's easy to be attracted to news about North Korea- for travel writers and every other type of journalist. So little comes out that even the appearance of information makes it noteworthy. This is why those of us interested in covering the most unusual place on Earth will run with press releases or other announcements that would make us groan if they came from anywhere else (I hope this answers ...Not your normal Asian adventure vacation
Dec 27th, 2009 at 2:00PM: We travel for many reasons. Maybe it's to relax, learn something new or see friends and family. And then there are the so-called "adventure travelers" – sorry guys, you just don't know the meaning of the expression. Keep your kayaks and your climbing gear in the garage, and trade them for a pencil so you can take some notes. Robert Park is redefining "adventure."
Park, 28 years old, ...Five major changes to North Korean tourism in 2009
Dec 14th, 2009 at 2:00PM:
Fewer than 1,500 Americans have been to North Korea on vacation, according to Koryo Tours, making it one of the truly remote destinations in a world that's becoming increasingly interconnected. So, if you're looking for an unusual stamp in your passport or bragging rights when the conversation turns to "most unusual destination," a trip above the DMZ remains one of the top alternatives.
If you ...North Korean departure leaves five detained in Thailand
Dec 12th, 2009 at 1:30PM: A cargo plane loaded with heavy weapons left Pyongyang, North Korea and had not a care in the world ... until the crew needed to land for more fuel at Don Mueang airport in Thailand. This emergency stop, according to Thailand's deputy prime minister, Suthep Thaungsuban, led to an inspection which unveiled missiles, firearms and other implements of mayhem and destruction -- 40 tons in all. ...Spend a weekend in Pyongyang
Aug 27th, 2009 at 2:00PM: If you didn't get a shot at the last short trip that Koryo Tours organized into North Korea, you have another chance coming. This rare breed of travel company – which brings westerners into the most isolated country on earth – is planning an excursion for September 24 – 26, which will include the sights of Pyongyang and the opportunity to witness the Arirang Mass Games spectacle. ...Pyongyang gets a "taste" of capitalism
Aug 6th, 2009 at 2:00PM: North Korea, the reclusive Communist state, is always reluctant to try something new. The government controls information tightly, as anyone who has read updates from the Korea Central News Agency can see. But, occasionally, a fissure forms in the barriers that separate the most remote country on Earth from the rest of the world. And now, the people who are slowly developing a taste for pizza and ...Pizza and Beer: North Korean health food
Jul 14th, 2009 at 8:00AM: If you visit Pyongyang, you can make a discovery that has been known in bowling alleys across the United States for decades: beer and pizza go together. This year, new approaches to both the food and the drink have been developed, and the only thing missing is the crash of pins in the background.
Back in March, North Korea celebrated its first pizzeria. It took nearly a decade, but the country ...North Korea vacation: can I take pictures?
Jul 13th, 2009 at 8:00AM:
With the latest deal from Koryo Tours on travel to Pyongyang for the amazing Arirang event, one commenter had a great question: "I'd love to go and take lots of pictures, but I wonder if they would allow that??"
Well, Kelso, you would definitely be allowed to take pictures.
Though there are "many restrictions on photography that have to be obeyed in the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of ...Amazing North Korea trip deal: Arirang for $1,000!
Jul 9th, 2009 at 12:00PM: Koryo Tours is offering the least expensive North Korea travel deal I've ever seen. Granted, there aren't many tours to this corner of the world, so there can't be too many discounts. But, even in this limited field, a $1,000 jaunt to the most isolated country in the world is an incredible find.
tweetmeme_url = ...Brits welcome in North Korea for Arirang
Jun 17th, 2009 at 3:00PM:
The ban on UK visitors in the DPRK has been removed for the summer, according to an e-mail announcement from Koryo Tours. This was the last of the restrictions that the world was waiting for North Korean authorities to lift. Citizens from the UK will be able to travel to the reclusive Communist country this year for Arirang. A similar bar on travel from the United States was removed back in ...American journalists get the max in North Korean court
Jun 8th, 2009 at 12:00PM: Laura Ling and Euna Lee, reporters with Current TV, were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor this morning – the maximum sentence under law. The five-day trial yielded a verdict of guilt for the "grave crime" of illegally crossing into North Korea, the Korea Central News Agency reported, according to MSNBC. The English version of the story, at least, has not yet made it to the KCNA's website, ...A peek inside the North Korean courts
May 15th, 2009 at 3:00PM:
There's something chilling about journalists being detained and tried in a foreign country ... a prospect made all the more uncomfortable when you throw the "Dear Leader" into the mix. But, do we really know what's about to happen? Well, aside from the fact that they're going to be tried "according to the indictment of the competent organ"?
Frankly, there's little information about what Laura ...June 4 trial date for American journalists in North Korea
May 14th, 2009 at 8:30AM:
Laura Ling and Euna Lee, both reporters for Current TV, will be tried in a North Korean court on June 4, 2009 for entering the country illegally and planning "hostile acts." Ling and Lee were picked up along North Korea's border with China on March 17, 2009
Anybody want to guess how this one will end?
According to reports by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), which is controlled by the ...
Arirang gets green light in DPRK!
Apr 10th, 2009 at 12:00PM: It is confirmed: the Arirang Mass Games will be held in Pyongyang, North Korea this summer. The event will run from August 10, 2009 through the end of September, highlighting the precision for which the DPRK performers have become famous. According to Koryo Tours, Americans are welcome to attend the festival this year. If you are considering a visit to the Hermit Kingdom late this summer, do be ...Foal Eagle protests divert air traffic around North Korea
Mar 8th, 2009 at 12:00PM: Korean Air and Asiana Airlines are followed by Air Canada and Singapore Airlines in routing flights around North Korean airspace. The change comes as a result of North Korean warnings that it "cannot guarantee the safety of South Korean passenger jets" if the United States and South Korea move forward with annual joint military maneuvers. This annual event yields an annual complaint.
The ...More details on American access to North Korea in 2009
Feb 11th, 2009 at 8:30AM: It may not be time to celebrate, but you can certainly be optimistic (with a dose of caution). Koryo Tours has received an update from its partners in North Korea about the upcoming Arirang (i.e., "Mass Games" event). The Mass Games are expected to be held in August and September – and could run into October (based on past experience). Koryo Tours is currently scheduling tours for westerners ...I stand corrected: Air Koryo planes are not made of bamboo
Oct 19th, 2008 at 11:00AM: So last month, fresh out of detention in North Korea and noticeably high from the experience, I went on NPR and claimed, among some other rather dumb stuff, that "Air Koryo [the official North Korean airline] was literally made out of bamboo." Yes bold claim, especially with that underscored "literally." And now an angry NPR listener has called me out on it. I just returned from a trip to North ...
