Solo trip to North Korea
In late September 2023, North Korea opened its borders to citizens of other countries. It became the last country in the world to lift quarantine measures after the coronavirus pandemic, which means that soon, tourism to North Korea will be possible once again.
Five years ago, alone, I boarded a plane, filled with North Korean workers, and flew to Pyongyang. This text contains impressions and materials from that trip, as well as practical advice for those who may decide to embark on a similar journey. Although it's hard to imagine who might need it.
North Korea is one of the most closed countries on the planet, surrounded by an incredible amount of rumors and speculations. In this account, I will refrain from those and simply tell you how things were. I will also refrain from drawing conclusions.
And you — can judge for yourself.
Why?
In early 2018, I completed planning a tour for American artists, and the final destination was Vladivostok. It seemed wrong to me to be so far from home and just fly back the next day. I felt it was essential to go to a new country. There were so many around!
I sat down and figured that I would eventually end up in China for work. And I did.
Going to Japan required having a group of friends and a budget for various leisurely expenses. I didn't have that kind of budget.
South Korea had established a visa-free regime with Russia a few years ago, and getting there was as simple as buying a plane ticket. I could go there anytime.
That's why my attention was drawn to the other Korea - the North one.
What did I know about North Korea?
That this country is in confrontation with the USA and regularly tests nuclear weapons. That there are missile tests with ballistic rockets falling into the Sea of Japan. That they publicly execute disobedient military leaders in fields with rocket launchers. That they order assassinations of family members in third-party countries. That tourists disappear here for stealing posters. The Soviet Union. A time capsule. Labor camps. And that it's nearly impossible for local residents to escape this fortress-like country.
I wanted to test myself, to understand where the line was that would make me say, "That's enough, Alex, this is going too far."
I had traveled quite extensively in "western" countries, and at some point, they all started to look the same, merging into one amorphous whole. A gothic cathedral, a pedestrian street with mediocre restaurants, a pigeon-infested central train station, a promenade - it's the formula for any major European city.
If I want to truly understand how the world works, I must step out of my comfort zone and go to places where there might not be any comfort at all. I need to experience not just positive emotions but also mixed and possibly even negative ones. Because life itself is made up of these components. That's what experience looks like.
Route
Getting the trip to North Korea organized turned out to be quite simple - all it took was contacting an accredited travel agency. You can't enter the country independently.
Depending on the specific tour, operators may offer options with a bus, train, or plane. There are transport links with two countries - China and Russia.
Since I knew I'd end up in Vladivostok, I limited my options to Russian companies. I'm sure that the complete list of these operators has changed considerably after COVID, so I would have to start from scratch. For instance, the tour company "Alpha and Omega," which I used back then, no longer exists.
All flights are operated by Air Koryo. You won't find them listed on booking websites like Skyscanner; you can only book through the travel agency itself, using their internal channels through the North Koreans.
There are several attractions within the country - a ski resort, a beachfront hotel, and even a summer children's camp. I found it most interesting to be among the people and the culture, so I chose the option with a base in Pyongyang and day trips from there.
Documents
Citizens of any country visiting North Korea require a visa. Existing visas have no effect on the consulate's decision.
A few months before your trip, you need to send a scan of your passport's ID page, fill out a small questionnaire, after which this information is sent for preliminary approval. The travel agency mentioned several times that the refusal rate for Russian passports is 0%. Can be different for your country though.
Afterward, a visa is "pre-approved." Then, the actual visa sticker is affixed by a consul at the airport right before departure.
In addition to standard documents such as the service contract, the tour company requests the signing of several informational memos, and after reading them, the first doubts about the advisability of the trip begin to creep into the soul.
The memo about anti propaganda:
I undertake not to bring brochures into the DPRK that depict statues or portraits of the leaders of the DPRK, as well as any publications (books, e-books, etc.) about the DPRK. I take full responsibility for any consequences of this violation, including any financial losses. Date. Signature.
Rules for visiting the Mausoleum of the Sun (where the bodies of the late leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il are located) and the Mansu Hill Grand Monument (their giant statues):
1. When visiting the Mausoleum, the dress code is mandatory. For men, it is a classic suit or at least classic dark trousers and a shirt in calm dark tones. For women, it is important to cover the shoulders, knees, and wear closed-toe shoes, all in calm dark tones. 2. At present, there is a mandatory requirement for actual worship. I, [Your Full Name], confirm my agreement to abide by the above-mentioned rules. Date. Signature.
They also sent a tourist memo - a rather substantial document outlining key organizational aspects, behavioral rules, and providing advice before the trip. I will be quoting it regularly below in the text, marking it with the 📝 symbol. Here, I will just present a few of my "favorite" points:
📝 Embassy representatives may call your workplace to verify the information provided in the visa application.
📝 Tourist visa holders, journalists, and South Korean citizens are not allowed to enter North Korea.
📝 It's better to bring all personal hygiene items with you because there may be problems with purchasing everyday sanitary and hygiene products in North Korea.
📝 Wash your hands before eating. Do not drink raw water, especially from open water bodies.
📝 Do not walk barefoot in streams or stagnant water bodies, do not wash your hands in them. Do not lie on the ground without bedding on the riverbanks.
All of these "interesting" requirements began to induce a slight melancholy at a certain point. But there's no way to go back - part of the trip was already prepaid.
Money
The total cost of the trip was made up of a ruble part and a foreign currency part. The ruble part was paid directly to the tour agency, while the foreign currency part (in my case, it was in euros) was given to the consul before the departure.
All the prices listed below are as of 2018. After COVID-19, things will definitely be different, so you can use them solely as reference values.
Expenses in rubles:
- 7,400₽ — document processing and visa issuance
- 1,500₽ — organizational fee
- 23,500₽ — air tickets Vladivostok → Pyongyang → Vladivostok
- 850₽ — insurance
Total: 33,250₽
You should also add flights to and from Vladivostok to this.
- 500€ — hotel (125€ * 4 nights)
Total (at the 2018 exchange rate of 74₽ per 1 euro): 39,220₽
Remarks from the tour company regarding euros: "Banknotes must look 'like new,' without fuzz, wrinkles, tears, creases, markings, stamps, very smooth edges, and without change; 500 euro banknotes are not accepted."
📝 Since meals, accommodation, transfers, and a range of excursions are already included in the cost, money may be needed for additional services (options, such as a visit to the circus for 20 euros, the opera for 20 euros, each game at the Bowling Palace is paid separately, as well as, for example, going up to the Chuchhe Tower's observation deck for 5 euros, or the Triumphal Arch for 5 euros, and so on), or for souvenirs.
Total cost of the trip (2018 prices)
72470₽ (1000€ equivalent by 2018 exchange rate)
The travel agency mentioned several times that there are significant discounts for Russian citizens traveling to North Korea, while visitors from Western countries face considerably higher prices.
The issue of communication with the outside world is pretty straightforward:
📝 Since January 2013, it's allowed to bring mobile phones into North Korea. However, there's no roaming service available. Those who wish to use their phones can buy a local SIM card (with a minimum cost of around 50 euros), and international calls can be made using this local SIM card. International phone service is available in hotels, with the cost of around 1.5 euros per minute.
📝 There is no regular access to the internet in North Korea. If you wish, you can purchase a special SIM card that provides internet access. The approximate cost of such a SIM card is $200.
I decided not to insert anything North Korean into my phone and opted to keep it in airplane mode throughout the entire journey. This decision gave me a unique experience of living for 5 days without any connection. That made the trip feel even more lonely.
The local residents use mobile phones, and from the external appearance, it seems they have modified versions of old Android operating systems installed. These phones seem to provide access to an intranet.
The primary currency in North Korea is the Korean Won. However, it's not possible to pay for anything with it, or even obtain it directly. Despite the requests, the guides refused to show local currency bills without any explanation. You had to be content with photos from the internet:
All personal expenses in North Korea are allowed only in hard currency, such as US dollars, euros, or Chinese yuan. This restriction exists for several reasons, with one of the main factors being the shortage of foreign currency within the country due to various international sanctions. This means that tourists visiting North Korea need to bring hard currency with them for their personal expenses, as they won't be able to rely on using the local currency for such transactions.
The tourist itinerary reminded:
📝 You cannot pay with a credit card in Korea. Bring cash with you. We recommend using Chinese yuan for payments. You can also pay with euros and dollars, but it's preferable to use small denomination bills. 500 euro bills are not accepted.
So, that's what I did: I exchanged more Chinese yuan. They have smaller denominations, which made it easier to spend, as I did encounter difficulties with change in local stores.
📝 Gifts and souvenirs are sold in hotels, places of revolutionary glory, and just on the streets near memorials, tombs, and monasteries visited by foreigners. The selection of souvenirs is extensive, and all stores have fixed prices. Other possible purchases may include ginseng and ginseng products, traditional porcelain from Kaesong, herbal and mushroom teas, bear bile, stamps, commemorative coins with images of leaders, printed materials, wood and stone carvings.
Here, the tour agency didn't deceive - the selection was indeed VERY extensive.
I usually consider myself the worst tourist on the planet, not particularly interested in various obscure baskets, scarves, plates, magnets, and other colorful knick-knacks. I can go on a two-week trip and come back with nothing but a piece of stinky cheese.
In North Korea, it was the opposite - I wanted to buy almost everything, my eyes were popping out, and by the second day, I could feel the money flying away. I IMPLORE potential future travelers - bring as much money as possible because you can always exchange it back. This is better than haggling at the stall and returning with an empty suitcase.
Regular tourist logic doesn't apply here: there are no ATMs in the country, you can't pay with a card, and there's no one to borrow from. You only have the cash you originally brought on the plane.
And the last point was about tips:
📝 Take souvenirs for the guides (there are two of them) and the driver. Good gifts can be consumer goods like good coffee, chocolate, a gift set of cosmetics, or cigarettes. The guides and the driver will also expect tips on the last evening in cash (dollars or euros). The amount of the tip depends on your willingness and ability. They usually expect at least 50 euros from each person.
I typically don't tip left and right, but I did set aside a sum nonetheless. It seems to be around 30 euros per person, which somewhat disappointed my guides at the end of the journey.
Departure
It was the second half of November, and in the Vladivostok region, the first snow had just fallen. It was chilly outside, and the sun hung in the morning haze like a giant round lantern.
A week earlier, the travel agency had emailed me, informing that no other tourists had joined for my dates. Late autumn is an unpopular time; leaves fall, the greenery fades, and there's often a mix of snow and rain. People usually prefer to fly about 5 hours directly south, closer to the Equator, in search of better weather. But, as you already know.
So, I'll be going alone. To say that I was on the verge of losing self-control over this matter would be an understatement. It's not that I'm an overly anxious person, but at that moment, it all seemed like a very hazy and frightening prospect. To North Korea – alone? What will happen to me there? What if something goes wrong?
I registered at the embassy – filled out the form on their website and received confirmation. I wrote a letter to trusted individuals with all the details of the upcoming trip. I specified the day and time I should go back online. So at least someone would know where to find me.
The next day at 10 in the morning, I had a meeting with a representative from the travel agency in the airport's lobby. I handed over two colored photos, 530€ in cash, and my passport – I had obtained a separate passport for North Korea, just in case. I never did get to see the consul in person. The agency lady returned my passport half an hour later, now with a visa inside. She escorted me to the check-in counter, wished me a safe journey, and left.
In front of me, a line of North Korean laborers was checking in identical boxes, wrapped in black plastic film. Among them was a woman of Slavic appearance who pretended not to understand me until I saw her on the side, speaking on the phone in Russian. It all seemed strange at the time, but after watching a Vice documentary, I now know that it was likely contraband (items purchased for the black market), and the woman was probably coordinating work brigades from North Korean logging camps located within Russia.
Every airport employee felt compelled to ask me why I would want to go there in the first place, let alone by myself. They had every right to be curious! At the check-in counter, passport control, and at the gate before boarding, it was a constant source of amazement.
Due to international sanctions, Air Koryo cannot acquire modern planes like Boeing, so their entire fleet is of Russian make. I was met with a Soviet Tupolev (possibly a TU-204 model), waiting for me.
Before the boarding ramp, a man in a black coat with a North Korean Workers' Party badge on his chest stared at me with a cold gaze. I really wanted to turn around and head back to the terminal right on the runway. But I gathered my courage and boarded.
I was the only European; all the other passengers were North Korean men with identical hairstyles and dressed in identical clothing. No one made eye contact, and no one spoke to me.
As a superstitious precaution, I made the sign of the cross, and we took off.
Airport
Pyongyang International Airport looked completely empty; all the other passengers had gone through a separate corridor designated for North Korean citizens. I remained alone, and my footsteps echoed in the corridor for international guests. In the main hall, there were passport control booths lined up, but only one was lit. This border officer had come to work today just for the sake of a single passenger. He simply looked at me, without asking the purpose of my visit, and stamped my passport.
📝 The import of portable computers and cameras is allowed, as well as amateur video cameras. Since January 2013, mobile phones are also permitted for import.
📝 We do not recommend bringing optical devices such as binoculars, telescopes, etc., as well as any other items that may raise questions from customs officers.
At customs, they scanned my luggage and asked me to take out all of the electronics and literature. I had only a mobile phone and a Charles Dickens book; they didn't bother taking the book and returned it. I heard that in the past, they used to confiscate all books indiscriminately.
I constantly had three people with me - two guides and a driver. Despite being the only tourist, they decided not to change the rules, and we rode in an empty minibus every day.
Hotel
Every night, I stayed at the Yanggakdo Hotel, which was situated on an isolated island in the middle of the river, purely by chance.
The massive 40-story building, at this time of year, appeared empty; not a single window was lit. I only encountered other tourists on the third day, a couple from Australia. This led me to believe that for the first two days, I was the sole guest in this concrete behemoth.
There is no button for the fifth floor in the elevator. What do you think this could be?
Between the walls in my room, there were often mechanical tapping and a friction sound that didn't resemble either footsteps or pipe noises. To this day, I still don't know what it was.
The room itself was located on the 39th floor, providing a panoramic view of the central part of the city. In the mornings, there was no light, and huge blocks of colorful concrete panels emerged from the morning haze in complete silence.
Leaving the hotel was strictly prohibited. I never attempted to, simply taking the guides' word for it. To be honest, I didn't really have the desire to venture out. The entire island's territory was occupied by vast abandoned buildings where nobody came or went. The only bridge across the river was constantly patrolled by a unit of North Korean soldiers, whom for some reason, I didn't feel inclined to get to know any better.
Excursions
Being a tourist in North Korea is not easy:
📝 Tourists have restricted freedom of movement. You should not walk around any city on your own. Citizens will take notice of foreigners, and after some time, you're likely to be arrested or simply brought back to your hotel in a police vehicle. This could cause difficulties for your accompanying guide and the tourist company. Please avoid such situations.
Early in the morning, the guides would meet me in the hotel lobby, we would board a minibus, and we would go on day-long excursions.
📝 It's important to note that the North Korean receiving side may change the order of excursions or cancel them for various reasons without prior warning or explanation. However, in any case, the receiving side endeavors to include as many of the best and interesting excursions in the program, taking into account the tourists' preferences.
The choice of excursions is a matter of personal taste. It includes museums, libraries, sports events, concerts, places of revolutionary significance, and natural attractions. A preliminary list of these excursions is known when selecting the program on the tour company's website, many months before the actual trip. I focused more on cultural and social experiences, prioritizing them over natural attractions.
📝 Photography of any objects related to defense, even remotely, is prohibited. You cannot photograph airports, bridges, or military personnel. Always ask for permission before photographing people. It is also forbidden to photograph statues or images of leaders, and if photographing leaders, they should be captured in their entirety without cropping their limbs.
Because I was the only tourist, the guides didn't hassle me much. It's much easier to control one person than a crowd of tourists scattering in different directions with their cameras. Besides, I had no desire to run off somewhere. So, they didn't bother me about taking photos, and only a couple of times, when approaching military checkpoints, they asked to lower my camera.
Any tourist trip to North Korea follows a prearranged corridor of points on the map. In between these points, like a spaceship, my minibus traveled in a complete vacuum. There was no opportunity to interact with the local population - with very few exceptions, all stops were far from any large gathering of people. And even if there was a chance, we still didn't speak each other's languages.
The itinerary cannot be changed or slowed down, and there is very little free time. Upon arriving at any site, a local guide is there to meet us, give a tour, we always visit a souvenir shop, then get back on the bus and continue to the next location.
The first time was accidental, but later I deliberately tried to deviate from the prearranged script, mainly by claiming a need for a bathroom break. I thought it was a relatively harmless and understandable reason to stop the bus in an unexpected location.
Every time I did this, the guides would start getting nervous, but sooner or later, they would indeed veer off the highway. The male guide accompanied me, as if he "wanted to go too." On one of these unplanned stops, we entered a building by the roadside that, by the feel of it, had seen no visitors for years. On another, I was left holding the door to the "bio-toilet," which was so light it felt like it was made of papier-mâché.
One of the most interesting excursions for me was the local metro. When we descended the escalator, a train was already waiting on the platform, and we were supposed to board it. I spent a long time wandering around the station, taking photos, examining the newspapers displayed on the stands. The guides were getting nervous and insisted we get on the train. However, I acted a bit foolish, excessively admiring the local mosaics (which were indeed beautiful), taking photos of them from a multitude of angles. I told them, "We're in the subway; let's wait for another train!" Eventually, the train departed, and the next one arrived.
As you can probably guess, I was just stalling to determine whether this was a real subway or some sort of elaborate façade.
The primary goal of all these excursions was to showcase how good life is in North Korea. Only in this cautious way could you attempt to disrupt the relentless flow of this preplanned spectacle.
The only opportunity to understand the real situation in this country was to use your own eyes and brain.
As you leave the city, the road instantly becomes empty. You can drive for tens of kilometers without seeing a single car, neither moving nor parked. Fuel in North Korea is a scarce resource, primarily reserved for the military, city services, private vehicles of Workers' Party members, and tourist minibuses like mine. In the city center, I saw vehicles with markings that resembled taxis.
Inside Pyongyang, there are trolleybuses, trams, and a metro system. In rural areas, people rely on their own feet or, in the best case, bicycles. Bicycles are used to transport everything - groceries, bundles of hay, and piles of cabbages. I even saw large pieces of furniture being carried on the back racks of bicycles a few times.
We pass by giant structures like the Swimming Center, the Running Center, the Planetarium, and so on. There are no lights inside, and nobody enters or exits these buildings.
Women are washing clothes in the river. There are no overweight people on the streets. There are no prominent brands. The military vehicles are from the era of the USSR. Outside the city, there are simple structures with thatched roofs. The streets of every city are filled with propaganda. Not a single person strolls around the massive revolutionary monuments.
Souvenirs
Souvenir shops are found at every tourist attraction. Pricing in these shops is not always intuitive – some items are very cheap, while others can be surprisingly expensive. The selection often doesn't repeat, so if you like something, it's best to buy it immediately.
What I regret the most is not buying enough printed materials: postcards, postage stamps, and hand-drawn propaganda posters. The latter could cost as much as 30 euros each, and I was a bit greedy about it.
If you put aside the ideological aspect, from a design perspective, these items are truly unique.
Small stalls with merchandise are sometimes set up right on the road shortly before your arrival and are packed up immediately afterward. At one of these stops, I noticed that the vendor handed the currency I had just spent back to the guide. It seemed like this "purchase and sale" was also a fiction.
I spent all my money, buying tea, sweets, cigarettes, and a lot of booze. Gifts for every household!
And some sick DVDs with "A Squirell and a Hedgehog" North Korean cartoons!
Food
📝 There is a large variety of national dishes, and their names can be hard to pronounce. In one soup, you might find both pork and fish, as well as dumplings. If you have any dietary restrictions, please inform in advance.
The day starts with breakfast. The huge restaurant zone on the hotel's first floor is empty - I am the only guest here. The cuisine is European, or at least, it tries to be. Well, as European as it can be... If I understand correctly, local chefs have no other option but to learn how to cook foreign dishes from recipes and pictures in books.
For example, every morning, they brought toast with butter. It was the same size as a regular slice of bread and looked exactly the same. However, the taste and consistency had nothing in common with bread. I still don't know what it was made from. Any non-Korean dish felt like a new episode of the show "Is It Cake?" in which participants must distinguish between cake and real physical objects.
📝 Your guides and cooks remember what you liked in the first days of the trip, and they will try to prepare something similar for the rest of it. If you like food variety and don't want to be limited to chicken with noodles, you need to specify this.
Lunch and dinner are integrated into the tour schedule. Just stopping somewhere to eat is not possible; every meal is held in a designated place - a restaurant for tourists. As you might have guessed, these restaurants are always completely empty, and ordinary people from the street never enter them.
Food is as much a part of the propaganda as visiting the sights. Tables are always overflowing with dishes, and the guides enthusiastically talk about the diversity of Korean cuisine and the latest superabundance of foodstuffs that the Workers' Party has managed to collect this year.
📝 Alcohol is freely available in hotels and restaurants, typically local vodka and beer. Exotic options include vodka infused with venomous snakes, believed to have particularly positive effects in treating hypertension and rheumatism. There is also a wide variety of ginseng-infused liqueurs.
📝 Local beer has a unique taste. The best varieties may resemble the quality draught "Zhigulevskoye" of the Soviet era and environmentally friendly German beer, which strictly avoids additives and any interference in the fermentation process.
The guides regularly offered various alcoholic beverages during dinner. However, on this trip, I decided not to drink to avoid saying something foolish while drunk or risking poisoning. Unfortunately, that didn't quite work out.
Poisoning
On the last evening before my departure, we arrived at another restaurant in Pyongyang for dinner. Upon returning to the hotel, I started feeling very unwell.
I developed a high fever, reaching 38 degrees Celsius, but I wasn't sweating at all. I experienced weakness in the lower back and lower back pain. I also felt extremely thirsty.
Over the course of my life, I had earned a black belt with uncountable numbers of food poisonings, so I could confidently say that something was seriously wrong. It didn't resemble any typical fun time I'd had before.
The following day, I canceled the last morning excursion, citing fatigue and the need to pack my suitcase. The guides asked me how I was feeling, and I had to lie to avoid ending up in a North Korean hospital a few hours before my return flight. The next flight from Pyongyang to Vladivostok was not for another 3-4 days.
I took all the possible medications I had, headed to the airport, bid farewell to the guides, and boarded the plane. My condition did not improve.
In Vladivostok, I laid down at a friend's place for two days. My condition remained the same: high fever, lower back pain, thirst, insomnia, and a complete loss of appetite.
I was hesitant to call for an ambulance right away because I feared that as someone arriving from North Korea with unknown symptoms, I would be subject to infectious disease quarantine. Yeah, a quarantine before it became global mainstream. Also, I had a return flight to Moscow, which I couldn't afford to miss. Being far from home had suddenly turned into a problem I needed to resolve.
A few hours before the flight, I started to feel better, so I decided to have dinner as I hadn't eaten anything for nearly three days. That turned out to be a fatal mistake.
Once the plane took off, I began to feel seriously unwell. I locked myself in the restroom and effectively did not leave it until the plane landed at Sheremetyevo Airport. All of my holes opened in various combinations, and the flight attendants kept handing me bottles of water through the partially open door. No medication helped, and nothing stayed in my stomach for longer than 5 minutes.
In fact, I had my own private restroom for the entire duration of the flight, but the passengers were surprisingly understanding. The Vladivostok-Moscow flight lasts for 8.5 hours. Eight and a half hours. That's a very long time, even when you're perfectly healthy.
On the seventh hour of non-stop nausea, due to extreme dehydration and exhaustion, my head began to spin, and I started to lose consciousness. I remember having a strange thought that maybe I was dying.
In a near blackout, I managed to get into a taxi, and, through sheer willpower, I made it home. I placed my suitcase on the floor and immediately called for an ambulance.
I told the paramedics everything as it was — about North Korea and everything else. The guy was understanding and said, "I'll give you basic medications. If they don't work, you'll have to go into quarantine for at least a week right now."
Fortunately, those injections worked. About a week later, I began to recover and went for medical tests because I wanted to understand what had happened. However, since a lot of time had passed, any traces of possible infections or foreign substances had completely left my body.
Based on the described symptoms and residual indicators, the doctor suspected kidney problems. Due to prolonged emotional stress and a sudden increase in the consumption of spicy food, my body might have failed to process it properly and caused the passage of sand through the kidney channels. Is that really what happened? I have no idea.
What it truly was, I still don't know to this day.
Glad to be here with you today.
Thank you for reading! If you have any questions or if you think there are any parts I didn't cover - please leave a comment!