How to travel to North Korea

Since posting the slide show video of North Korea, quite a few people have asked how one can travel there.

The first thing to note is that it is true that you cannot simply show up at the border or a North Korean embassy and ask for a visa. The only way to visit North Korea is to pre-book a tour through the state agency located in Beijing. Unless you are fluent in Korean or Mandarin, it is difficult to communicate with them directly so there are at least six (Refer to Lonely Planet Korea guidebook) agencies that do everything for you and offer 3-, 5- or 7-day packages. The largest company is Beijing-based Koryo Tours, however we went with Netherlands-based VNC Asia Travel.

Once we contacted VNC, they asked each of us to fill out the following form:

Surname:
Given names:
Sex:
Nationality: *
Passport number:
Date of issue:
Place of issue:
Date of expiry:
Date of birth:
Place of birth:
Occupation: **
Name of company:
Type of company:
Address of work:
Work Telephone no.:
Home address:
Home Telephone no.:

* there are (at least) two Nationalities which are automatically rejected: South Korean and American (However, I believe that as of this year, Americans can travel to North Korea during the Arirang Mass Games)

** you will likely be rejected if you list an occupation that has anything to do with journalism

After you submit this information your fate is up to the whims of the North Korean authorities, who are completely unpredictable. We actually applied as a group of five:

Nationality  Occupation  Result
-----------  ----------  ----------------------
Canada       unemployed  accepted
Netherlands  student     accepted
Finland      student     accepted
Austria      student     accepted, then refused
Mexico       student     accepted, then refused

Will anyone who lists 'unemployed' as an occupation be accepted? I doubt it. Why one national from the EU was refused while two others were accepted, is beyond me. It took weeks for us to stop wondering why they changed their minds about two people in our group.

Once you are accepted, you agree on the start/end dates of the tour and then the tour company tells you when to visit the North Korean embassy to pick up your visa, which costs 30 euro.

Train vs plane? That is the question. To elaborate a little more, your choices are:

24+ hour ride between Beijing and Pyongyang in a decently comfortable train cabin
-or-
2 hour flight on an old soviet plane that experiences "more turbulance than a rubber duckie in a jacuzzi" (the last part is in quotes because that person had first-hand experience, while I do not)

There is no obvious answer. We took the train in and out but if I were to go again, I would fly in and rail out (you are not so tired when you arrive and get to experience both). Whatever you do, a train ride on either leg is a MUST. It's your only chance to see what life is like for most North Koreans and be able to take photos freely (just don't be foolish about it).

Finally, should one even go there and effectively support such an oppressive state? That is a personal decision and if rebuked, I would not be able to defend myself.

It is worth asking however, how will your money be used? Well, for the visa and the tour we each paid 1040euro. That gets you transport in/out of Pyongyang and for five straight days: decent hotel room, 3 meals, 2 full-time 'well-taught' guides, 1 full-time driver, and a dedicated vehicle that whisks you from one spot to another. The tour company gets a cut and there is administration expenses. On the face of it, it doesn't seem like there is much left to go to the regime. But that sentiment is probably false. It also represents a pretty weak justification regardless. I have no idea where the profit goes but I am certain it does not go to the people who need it most.

If I have any credibility regarding this, may I insist that you do not buy any type of ginseng there. It is the most expensive thing they sell and all of it is farmed by prison camp labourers. Most of whom are guilty of being related to someone guilty of thinking too loud. Please read "The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag" by Kang Chol-Hwan.