North Korea Tour: Traveling Inside the DPRK

“North Korea, North Korea? Why on god’s green earth would you go on a North Korea tour? Why not Australia, or Hawaii, or something like that, but North Korea? What is wrong with you, man?” exclaimed one friend.

“Is North Korea safe to visit,” exclaimed another.

The question of why I was there was on my mind before the trip and during the first few days.

2020 Update – Why I didn’t finish publishing this article in 2013.

I took this trip to the DPRK (as North Korea is also known) in October 2013.

I started writing this article shortly after the trip but then decided not to finish and publish it for many reasons.

The main reason was even if you try not to “be political” about a visit to North Korea, the fact is the very act of going is “political,” and I just didn’t want to get that kind of attention.

However, I don’t plan on going on a tour anytime soon with world travel shutdown due to Coronavirus and my adventure travel days mostly behind me (I went when I was 27, I’m…