Tourism in North Korea
Encyclopedia
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
each year, along with thousands of Asians. Tourists must go on guided tours and must have their tour guide
Tour guide
A tour guide provides assistance, information and cultural, historical and contemporary heritage interpretation to people on organized tours, individual clients, educational establishments, at religious and historical sites, museums, and at venues of other significant interest...
s with them at all times. As of June 2011, the Northern border to China has been opened and Chinese citizens are free to drive their own vehicles to Luo, a North Korean Northeast border region small town where they are free to explore, mingle and photograph. This is seen as the first steps towards expanded tourism and development in that region. Photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
is strictly controlled, as is interaction with the local population
Korean people
The Korean people are an ethnic group originating in the Korean peninsula and Manchuria. Koreans are one of the most ethnically and linguistically homogeneous groups in the world.-Names:...
.
Koryo Tours
Koryo Tours
Koryo Tours is an independent travel company based in Beijing, specializing in group and independent tourism to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea . Koryo Tours is a British run company with over 12 staff...
(who have been running North Korea tourism and cultural exchanges since 1993), Cgtt Voyages, Chugai Travel, Korea Konsult, Korean Friendship Association
Korean Friendship Association
The Korean Friendship Association , headed by Spanish citizen Alejandro Cao de Benos de Les y Pérez, is an organization working with the Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , as well as an organ of promotion/public relations for the...
, New Korea Tours, Regent Holidays (UK) and Nordkorea-Info.de (Germany) are specialised in visits to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (also known as North Korea).
Visa
In principle, any person is allowed to travel to North Korea, and only South Koreans and journalistJournalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
s are routinely denied. The visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
application process is complex. Special travel agents can help potential visitors through the bureaucratic process. Visitors are not allowed to travel outside designated tour areas without their Korean guides.
Prior to 2010, tourists holding United States passport
United States passport
United States passports are passports issued to citizens and non-citizen nationals of the United States of America. They are issued exclusively by the U.S. Department of State. Besides issuing passports , also limited use passport cards are issued by the same organization subject to the same...
s were not granted visas
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
, except during the Arirang Festival
Arirang Festival
The Grand Mass Gymnastics and Artistic Performance Arirang are held in the Rungrado May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea...
mass games
Mass games
Mass games or mass gymnastics are a form of performing arts or gymnastics in which large numbers of performers take part in a highly regimented performance that emphasizes group dynamics rather than individual prowess.-Methods:...
(아리랑 축제). U.S. citizens, journalists and citizens from other nations have also been given special permission to enter as members of the Korean Friendship Association
Korean Friendship Association
The Korean Friendship Association , headed by Spanish citizen Alejandro Cao de Benos de Les y Pérez, is an organization working with the Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , as well as an organ of promotion/public relations for the...
and Choson Exchange. Citizens of South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
require special permission from both governments to enter North Korea, and are typically not granted such permission for regular tourism except in special tourist areas designated for South Koreans.
Tours from South Korea
In 2002, the area around Mount KŭmgangKumgangsan
Kŭmgangsan , Geumgangsan, or Mount Geumgang is a -high mountain in Kangwon-do, North Korea. Its name means "a firm heart in the face of truth". It is about 50 km away from South Korea's Sokcho in Gangwon-do. It is one of the best-known mountains in North Korea...
, a scenic mountain close to the South Korea border, was designated as a special tourist destination. Tours run by private companies brought thousands of South Koreans to Mount Kŭmgang every year prior to the suspension of tours in late 2008 due to the shooting of a South Korean tourist. When tours had still not resumed by May 2010, North Korea unilaterally announced that it would seize South Korean real estate assets in the region.
In July 2005, the South Korean company Hyundai Group
Hyundai Group
Hyundai Group is a South Korean conglomerate founded by Chung Ju-yung. The first company in the group was founded in 1947 as a construction company. With government assistance, Chung and his family members rapidly expanded into various industries, eventually becoming South Korea's second biggest...
came to an agreement with the North Korean government to open up more areas to tourism, including Baekdu Mountain
Baekdu Mountain
Baekdu Mountain, also known in China as Changbai Mountain and Baitou Mountain , is a volcanic mountain on the border between North Korea and China, located at...
(백두산) and Kaesong
Kaesong
Kaesŏng is a city in North Hwanghae Province, southern North Korea , a former Directly Governed City, and the capital of Korea during the Koryo Dynasty. The city is near Kaesŏng Industrial Region and it contains the remains of the Manwoldae palace. It was formally named Songdo while it was the...
(개성). Kaesong was finally opened to daily tours for South Korean and foreign tourists in December 2007; North Korea charged US $180 for a one-day trip. The city received several hundred tourists each week, mostly South Koreans.
The tours to Kaesong were suspended in December 2008 due to a political conflict between North and South Korean relating to propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
balloons. The balloons, filled with information critical of Kim Jong Il and the North Korean regime, were sent into North Korea from just south of the border in South Korea. When South Korea did not respond to North Korean demands to stop the propaganda balloons, North Korea suspended the Kaesong tours. The tours to Kaesong resumed in April 2010, but were again suspended in May 2010 following the ROKS Cheonan sinking
ROKS Cheonan sinking
The ROKS Cheonan sinking occurred on 26 March 2010, when the Cheonan, a South Korean Navy ship carrying 104 personnel, sank off the country's west coast near Baengnyeong Island in the Yellow Sea, killing 46 seamen...
.
Tours from China
In April 2010, the first tourist trains from ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
brought visitors to North Korea for a 4-day tour.
In June 2011, Chinese citizens were allowed on a self-drive tour in North Korea for the first time in history.
The number of Chinese tourists visiting North Korea has fallen 70 percent from 2010 to 2011. One Chinese travel agency cited the limited number of packages and restrictions on where foreign tourists can travel as the main reasons for the lack of interest. Only the capital Pyongyang and Mt. Kumgang are available on Chinese itineraries.
See also
- PyongyangPyongyangPyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...
- Baekdu MountainBaekdu MountainBaekdu Mountain, also known in China as Changbai Mountain and Baitou Mountain , is a volcanic mountain on the border between North Korea and China, located at...
- KŭmgangsanKumgangsanKŭmgangsan , Geumgangsan, or Mount Geumgang is a -high mountain in Kangwon-do, North Korea. Its name means "a firm heart in the face of truth". It is about 50 km away from South Korea's Sokcho in Gangwon-do. It is one of the best-known mountains in North Korea...
- Korea Central ZooKorea Central ZooThe Korea Central Zoo, also referred to as the Pyongyang Central Zoo, is the national zoo of North Korea. It is located near Mt. Taesong in downtown Pyongyang. The zoo has over 5,000 wild animals, comprising a total of 650 species, and covers an area of roughly one square kilometre...
- Propaganda in North KoreaPropaganda in North KoreaThe propaganda in North Korea is extensively based on the Juche ideology to promote the Workers' Party of Korea line. From its beginning to this day the propaganda is omnipresent.-Cult of personality:...
- JucheJucheJuche or Chuch'e is a Korean word usually translated as "self-reliance." In the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , "Juche" refers specifically to a political thesis of Kim Il-sung, the Juche Idea, that identifies the Korean masses as the masters of the country's development...
External links
- Visit North Korea and learn about the country http://www.koryogroup.com
- Documentary films on North Korea, The Game of their Lives, A State of Mind and Crossing the Line http://www.koryogroup.com/about_films.php
- The Guardian Travel story to North Korea http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/feb/14/northkorea
- Travel show on North Korea with Koryo Tours and Destinations tv http://departuresentertainment.com/episode_s3_ep11-ep15.html
- Images of tourism in North Korea http://www.slideshare.net/KoryoTours