Let us find our sparks in every moment
Visiting a controversial destination invites controversial reactions. Yet, that is exactly what most people chase after. My solo visit to North Korea after exploring Beijing was nothing short of an eye-opening experience, although I did leave the place with a mix bag of emotions that’s hard to describe. Surprised, humbled, upset, grateful, puzzled. They are a concoction that seem to be exclusively blended for the destination.
Dark tourism seems to attract a rising demand among intrepid tourists who want to venture into the less seen, brushing past the edge of danger, and peek into the outlier of the norm. When I first informed my friends and family that I want to visit the home country of Kim Jong Un, their faces froze, before exploding into laughter on the joke that I just cracked. Except, I was serious! I blame my extra time that when I couldn’t sleep at 2am one day, sitting in front of my computer at 2am, and thought where my next solo trip should be. Browsing through pictures of friends’ travel to South Korea on Facebook, I thought, What if I were to visit North Korea instead?
My fingers began tapping the keys for North Korea curiously on my keyboard. There it was on screen. Book a tour to North Korea. My jaw dropped. My heart began to itch. And off I went.
Here’s a glimpse into what you need to know about visiting the hermit kingdom.
Visiting to North Korea is actually not as difficult as it may seem (NOTE: North Korea travel may be difficult right now in light of the current global Covid-19 epidemic). You can sign up for an organized tour by the limited number of travel agencies offering travel experiences there, which is the only way for entry. The tour will start and end in Beijing, and you will need to apply for your visa requirements via the tour agency prior to your journey.
The tours will typically take you on a very strict itinerary around mainly Pyongyang, but also offer extension to places such as the DMZ, Sinuiju or Mount Myohyang. There are two options to transport you from Beijing into North Korea. One is via North Korea’s national flag carrier, Air Koryo, rated by Skytrax as the world’s only 1 star airline. The rating by customers were based on strange but interesting experiences of listening to propaganda marching music and reading Pyongyang Times on flight, or recounts of being served a “mystery meat burger”. The other is taking an overnight train from Beijing to Dandong (a city on the border of China and Korea) and then another train from Dandong to Pyongyang – a pretty strenuous 24 hour sleeper ride.
I dipped my finger into the air, and opted for the overnight train in, and flight out for the full experience. To be honest, I was imagining various kinds of morbid thoughts regarding the safety of the aircraft. The fear is probably unfounded, with the carrier having a safety rating of *5 out of 7 (see article here).
And off I go. Entering into Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK) for the next 10 days.
It was my first experience riding an overnight train, and it certainly wasn’t pleasant in enduring more than 20 hours of second-hand smoke in the cabin. I vividly remember I only had a tiny window of about 30 minutes of respite in inhaling some fresh air when there was no one smoking. That said, the train experience was nothing short of memorable as the train passed by tall skyscrapers of China and the view gradually transited into smaller, more outdated apartment buildings and soviet factories.
It felt like I was transported back in time into the 1950s, a real time teleportation of a future me into a past. Most of all, with ample time in the tiny cabins, the initially distant few of us, the Ukranians, Americans, a German, Russians and a tiny Singaporean in the tour group soon belt out our game cards, beer and snacks.
It’s like an invisible travelling glue that binds us through our stories and laughter. There, new friendship bonds were forged.
As the train pulled into the Sino-Korean border, it halted. Soon, we heard heavy footsteps and our tour guide informed that there was going to be a property check by the North Korean officers. I gasp a little and it was unnerving as I wondered how the search process is going to be. Contrary to popular belief, handphones and cameras are actually allowed.
Quick, hide your pictures in folders or store it somewhere else. I heard a fellow traveler said. That got me paranoid. Soon, the officers stepped into my cabin. One of them would request and conduct random browsing of our devices one by one. What they were exactly looking for, I’m not entirely sure, but they would minimally scan for any South Korean pictures, foreign journal articles, or religious texts, just to name a few. They would also check for any drones, telephoto lens, and GPS devices which were disallowed. That’s right, there’s no data roaming or wifi available.
I held my breath as I surrendered my camera and handphone. A few nerve wrecking minutes later, my worries were appeased as they did not raise any questions.
I chatted with two Ukranians who shared that they were bloggers in their country. I felt somewhat anxious for them, wondering if their pictures might be found and misinterpreted as journalism in the country.
The train finally pulled into Pyongyang and slowed to a halt. The chattering died down when our eyes were greeted with splotches of darkness. Is this the capital? It’s really dark. We made it in. Few windows were lit while most seemed unoccupied in housing buildings which reminded me of a HDB in Singapore. Will it be like The Interview? We giggled. Pictures of fake fruits and cupboard shops from the movie flashed across my mind.
We were greeted by two smiley DPRK tour guides, who collected our passports “for security reasons”. I handed over without a second thought, but realized soon after that the passport was not to be returned to us until the end of the tour
We boarded a tour bus and headed to Yanggakdo International Hotel, that has a 4-star rating. One person commented, “Hey guys, guess what. You do realise there is no level 5 in our hotel right?” His voice trailed off into silence. My eyes skimmed through twice over the elevator buttons. This was the hotel that the American tourist died after being caught stealing a slogan at the forbidden and secretive level 5. Recalling this now sent chills down my spine.
Entering the lobby, it almost felt something was amiss. I was subconsciously comparing with other 4/ 5 star hotels and felt the architecture pretty dated but with a facade to upkeep the quality, to a certain extent.
Our Korean guides gave instructions that we were not to exit the hotel without explicitly informing them. We listened intently, being seeming careful to take in instructions. I wondered what went into our minds of the fellow travellers. At the back of my mind, my paranoia paved my imagination of all kinds of consequences for us and the guides if we don’t follow them.
Our tour guide then brought us around the hotel facilities and we explored the recreation centre at the basement. The eyes adjusted to the dimmer lighting towards a longer tunnel. That was the spot where there’s bowling, swimming pool, a table tennis corner, and a beauty parlor, to name a few. It did look like a bomb shelter and felt odd with the dated signages.
What’s interesting for me was browsing their grocery items like their local food and beverages, and a book shop that sells reads surrounding their ex-leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. And it comes in French language too!
A group of us retired to a café at the hotel lobby to grab some drinks and marveled with disbelief that we actually are in DPRK.
I tingled with excitement as I was about to step into the DMZ. We are allowed to take videos and photos, but just not military personnel. In fact, this applied throughout the entire trip, including taking direct photos of the locals (although I did sneak quite a few pictures in Some risks there I suppose!).
The atmosphere was filled with curiosity and tension. Like entering a secret chamber that was locked unless someone lets you in.
A very thin line separates North and South Korea. If you look closely at the picture, any area up to the concrete pavement belongs to North Korea, while the gravel pavement towards the background would be South Korea. At that point, my face conjured a frown and smile simultaneously as I stood at the North Korean side.
I captured a picture with a DPRK General, who shared that he has been guarding the border for most of his life. I never thought I would see this after only hearing from my history books.
We entered Kaesong City, at the North Hwanghae Province thereafter. Traditional Korean buildings lay the area. There, we tried our hand at traditional Korean Pansangi lunch – a series of dishes served in bronze bowls. Our Korean guides explained that the more the number of dishes served, the more highly regarded the guests are. Service was polite as we were treated like VIPs with 11 dishes served. After our meal, we were asked if we wanted to top up EUR5 for a special meat soup. I almost raised my hands until I found out it was dog meat. My face grimaced a little as a couple of us in the tour group had their soups served.
Stepping out of the restaurant, the entourage head to Sariwon City (Capital of North Hwanghae Province) to walk in the local folkcustom park. I was lucky to witness a local marriage photoshoot, the bride in the traditional hanbok, and the groom in a military uniform. I was fascinated and couldn’t take my eyes off the local proceedings. The air lifted to be lighter and blissful.
This was probably one of the most iconic places to visit in DRPK. Riding down the 110 metres escalator build up my excitement as we close in to the entrance of the metro station. It’s probably one of the grandest metro stations I have ever seen, with DRPK traditional propaganda wall art and mosaic pictures laid both sides of the walls.
Is it functioning and real? Well, yes it is! It’s used by the locals for transport and it also doubles up as a bomb shelter. We boarded the metro to ride two stations. The train was rustic with wooden panels laying most of its interiors.
That’s right. These are part of our itinerary. At the School Children Palace we learnt about after school childcare and the education system in DPRK. We then caught a performance where children lined up in a single line, neat and choreographed.
I was actually enthralled that North Korea had a full functioning amusement park. This was a chance where we could interact with the locals and get some rides. I took on the bumper car ride and almost forgot that I was within seemingly watchful grounds. Here, the atmosphere was different. I felt like a child again. The locals were curious and equally fascinated by foreigners. I felt weird being invited by a family to take a photo, not because I was shy, but because they found a tourist interesting in their extremely shy nature.
Their warmth began to shift my perspective of what I thought about the locals living in their own country.
Our guide spoke with a serious tone that the leaders of DRPK are revered like gods and legends and must be shown utmost respect in every way. The trip is not complete without chaperoning you to the sites they want you to see.
Made up of a massive granite hammer, the monument was built on instruction of Kim Jong Il and it’s a symbol of the Workers Party of Korea, the ruling part of North Korea. The hammer and sickle represent the worker and farmers, while the calligraphy brush represents the intellectual class.
It reads “The Organisers of the victory of the Korean people and the leader of the Workers Party of Korea!” Fun fact? The circular belt is exactly 42 metres to coincide with the birth date of Kim Jong Il who was born in 16 Feb 1942.
The white granite monument depicts two women wearing traditional Korean Hanbok, upholding an emblem to depict three principles of independence, peaceful reunification and national unity.
This was a huge, impressive monument which was built in 1952 to commemorate the Korean resistance to Japan.
I isolated a few spots as more provocative than others. These places left me feeling bewildered and I don’t think I can ever fully integrate or make sense for these visits.
This is probably one of the more controversial sites for the entire trip. The grandiose building is revered as the most sacred placed in DRPK, a mausoleum where Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il’s bodies lie in state. I honestly was not expecting this, but went in the state of flow of what else could be thrown in my path. We were informed to leave all our belonings behind and go into empty handed. We also had to keep silent, not converse, not put our hands in our pockets, and are restricted to take any photographs in the space. We lined up neatly in a row and entered. DPRK soldiers in high leather boots standing perfectly straight guarded the Palace. Once inside the building, we had to clean our shoes in a shoe sole cleaning machine.
As we visited the caskets where the leaders were placed, our Korean guides would whisper to guide us along and explain when they passed away. A guard stood vigilant in guarding them. My heartbeat quickened in the silent room, wary of my every move.
We were then taken to other rooms where they were plastered with medals, crowns, awards and gifts given by other world leaders to the North Korean leaders.
As I exited the building, I had to take a moment to absorb the outdoors to settle down and integrate what I just experienced.
It was strangely morbid, peppered with a tinge of indescribable fascination.
This was a controversial site where we caught streams of videos about the Korean War, the propaganda message loud and clear in conveying the “evilness, stupidity, and ignorance of the US imperialists”. Needless to say, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il were hailed to be “great leaders who defended and protected the country”.
I remembered I was very disturbed and my hair stood when a wax figure of an American soldier had a crow perched on his left shoulder, his face furious, with an ominous smile. The captured US spy ship USS Pueblo was also displayed with pride to show the prowess of the North Korean army.
I wondered what did I sign up for.
I count my lucky stars that I was not called to attention for breaching any rule on taking selfie. Over here, visitors can buy flowers for EUR2 for a small bouquet to pay tribute to two 22 metres tall bronze statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.
I wasn’t sure how compliant we must be but didn’t think it was appropriate for me to bow to the statues of the North Korean leaders. I was on edge but loitered mindlessly in the vicinity to snap pictures of the surroundings. A fellow traveler joined me for photos. And there I was. Bold. Surreal.
It felt a simple act like this seem to be playing with fire unknowingly. It’s like living on the edge without really knowing why.
Over the next few days, I was half waiting for the sky to crack, the backdrop on the wallpaper to peel or a cameraman to yell ‘cut’. Nope, no such luck. The locals perched on the widely hand planted agricultural fields would occasionally flash a smile and wave at the foreigners sitting in the tour bus.
Other times, we were greeted with curious stares like we were aliens, aliens who were equally, if not more intrigued by them, except that we were aiming a noisy box at them that furiously goes click click click. As the bus drives by awfully clean streets, the guides introduced a dolphinarium and water park as other attractions on the roads.
The familiar had never seemed so oddly bizzare and normal at the same time.
Political agenda aside, where there are opportunities to get up close and personal in interacting with them, you realise that North Koreans are some of the shyest, earnest, and down-to-earth people I have ever met. It almost felt like my guard was let down a lot more than their guard should be up for a foreigner like me. Looking at their eyes, you wonder if there is a sparkle that whispers, Simple Joy or Suppressed Fear. You ponder if that might be your own projection.
Meanwhile, over a few banchan and a bowl of cold noodles for dinner, our group debated. “Are the people truly happy?” Afterall, they exude immense pride, raving about their supreme leaders’ efforts for attempted unification and development of the country. It may be hard to refute as a foreigner who was brought through countless medals, certificates and honours enhibited across the grand halls, most titling, “Humanitarian efforts” and “Peacekeeping efforts” that were bestowed upon their leaders.
Will the people be happier if they have more freedom? What defines true happiness and freedom anyway?
With our tummy stuffed with kimchi and a mysterious broth, perhaps the answer may come by with another beer on hand. I recounted my experience as I spent the last night at DPRK.
Perhaps, it’s the simplicity of human connection that the locals grasped in their understanding that we may not yet have caught up on.
