I've been exchanging forms, passport-sized photographs, and scans of my ID for months with the travel agency that's arranging my invitation and tour of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (i.e. North Korea), but only now is it starting to feel like it's really happening -- today I went to the embassy and collected my visa!
Singapore is one of the few cities that has a North Korean embassy, so Peter and I were able to get our tourist visas here, but the other Canadians we're traveling with will complete their visa applications in Beijing.
My tour to North Korea is from April 12 - 16, 2012, and coincides with the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, so spectacular celebrations and mass dances are expected in Pyongyang. This is really a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I'm looking forward to experiencing North Korea for myself. If you've never seen the photos of the North Korean mass games take a look at these photographs of the Mass Games in Fall 2011 - amazing!
The only way to visit North Korea is on a guided tour, so every moment of every day will be planned. I'm a very independent traveler, but I think for a country as unique as this I can make an exception!
If you're interested, here's the full itinerary for the 5-day tour:
Day 1, April 12 (Thu)
a) Departure from Beijing by Air Koryo flight.
b) Arrival in Pyongyang at 17.00 local time, transfer to Pyongyang, city sightseeing Arch of Triumph. Mansudae Grand Monuments on Mansu Hill.
c) Check-in at the hotel Yanggakdo International**** beautifully located in the middle of Taedong river. Room on a high floor. A magnificent view is guaranteed!
d) Dinner at the hotel.
Day 2, April 13 (Fri)
a) After breakfdast trip to Kaesong (capital of Korea up to the 15 th century, which and today is the ginseng cultivation center), located just 8 km from the Demilitarized Zone dividing the 2 Koreas). Walk in Janamsan Park from which the beautiful panorama of the old Kaesong can be admired.
b) Drive to the DMZ and Panmunjom (1953 Armistice village). Our guide force is increased by several North Korean officers who show us around Panmunjom. Together we inspect the Demilitarized Zone and the Military Museum on the 38th parallel.
c) Lunch at Tongil restaurant in Kaesong. "Tongil" means "Reunification" in Korean.
d) Drive back to Pyongyang.
e) Visit to a Middle School. You can even visit classrooms and assist at several lessons. The visit ends with a music and dance performance.
f) Dinner at Mangyongdae Restaurant
Day 3, April 14 (Sat)
a) ) Korean War Museum where you can hear and watch the North Korean version of this bloody war 1950-1953. On the museum’s top floor a big rotating war panorama can be seen – a real masterpiece from Korean painters and sculptors.
b) Juche Tower and surrounding monuments. Elevator to the top of the tower to enjoy the magnificent view of Pyongyang (optional, 5 Euro p/p).
c) Pyongyang Maternity Hospital
d) Lunch
e) Korean Film Studio. North Korea's version of Hollywood. Something not to be missed
f) Ride on Pyongyang Metro
g) Korean Art Gallery. Collection of paintings, sculptures etc from ancient to modern times
h) Visit to the American spy ship USS Pueblo, captured by North Koreans in 1968. The 1,000-ton ship, equipped with various kinds of arms and sophisticated reconnaissance facilities, was boarded by 81 U.S. seamen and had been captured just by 7 Korean seamen. Hopefully you meet one of them on this ship. Although the ship's crew were repatriated after a lengthy negotiation, North Korea kept the ship as a war trophy.
i) Dinner: Chongryu Hot Pot Restaurant.
Day 4, April 15 (Sun) "Day of Sun" (The 100th Birthday of Kim Il Sung)
a) Breakfast.
b) Visit to the Kumsusan Memorial Palace - the Mausoleum of President Kim Il-Sung (tourists must follow a strict dress code - no shorts, no blue jeans and mini-skirts, no T-shirts).
c) Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery
d) Kimilsunia and Kimjongilia Flower Show - containing about 30,000 flowers - presented by Army forces, commissions and ministries of the cabinet and national institutions, foreign friends and overseas compatriots… Something NOT to be missed!!! As you might guess Kimsungilia and Kimjongilia are types of flowers named after North Korea's 2 leaders.
e) Lunch at Boat Restaurant Pyongyang No.1 on Taedong River.
f) Walk in Moranbong Park, favorite place for many Koreans to spend a free day.
g) A visit to the International Book Store and Stamp Shop- good choice of stamps, propaganda books, tapes, CDs, DVDs, (much cheaper than at your hotel).
h) Mass Dances expected. Mass Dancing Evening at the DPRK's biggest square (Kim Il Sung's Square) involving several thousand Koreans.
i) Rakwon Department Store
j) Farewell Dinner at Duck Barbecue Restaurant
Day 5, April 16 (Mon)
Breakfast. Transfer to the railway station and departure to Beijing at 10.10 a.m. One night on the train.
Sightseeing: the railway bridge over Yalu-river is at the same time the North Korean border to China. When crossing this bridge, we see another bridge destroyed by the Korean War. China rebuilt its half of the bridge but North Korea intentionally did not. Instead they wanted to leave the bridge in ruins (just piles are seen) as a monument to the Korean War.
Day 6, April 17 (Tue)
Arrival in Beijing at 08.33 am.
 |
| It's really happening - I'm going to North Korea! |
My tour to North Korea is from April 12 - 16, 2012, and coincides with the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, so spectacular celebrations and mass dances are expected in Pyongyang. This is really a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I'm looking forward to experiencing North Korea for myself. If you've never seen the photos of the North Korean mass games take a look at these photographs of the Mass Games in Fall 2011 - amazing!
The only way to visit North Korea is on a guided tour, so every moment of every day will be planned. I'm a very independent traveler, but I think for a country as unique as this I can make an exception!
If you're interested, here's the full itinerary for the 5-day tour:
Day 1, April 12 (Thu)
a) Departure from Beijing by Air Koryo flight.
b) Arrival in Pyongyang at 17.00 local time, transfer to Pyongyang, city sightseeing Arch of Triumph. Mansudae Grand Monuments on Mansu Hill.
c) Check-in at the hotel Yanggakdo International**** beautifully located in the middle of Taedong river. Room on a high floor. A magnificent view is guaranteed!
d) Dinner at the hotel.
Day 2, April 13 (Fri)
a) After breakfdast trip to Kaesong (capital of Korea up to the 15 th century, which and today is the ginseng cultivation center), located just 8 km from the Demilitarized Zone dividing the 2 Koreas). Walk in Janamsan Park from which the beautiful panorama of the old Kaesong can be admired.
b) Drive to the DMZ and Panmunjom (1953 Armistice village). Our guide force is increased by several North Korean officers who show us around Panmunjom. Together we inspect the Demilitarized Zone and the Military Museum on the 38th parallel.
c) Lunch at Tongil restaurant in Kaesong. "Tongil" means "Reunification" in Korean.
d) Drive back to Pyongyang.
e) Visit to a Middle School. You can even visit classrooms and assist at several lessons. The visit ends with a music and dance performance.
f) Dinner at Mangyongdae Restaurant
Day 3, April 14 (Sat)
a) ) Korean War Museum where you can hear and watch the North Korean version of this bloody war 1950-1953. On the museum’s top floor a big rotating war panorama can be seen – a real masterpiece from Korean painters and sculptors.
b) Juche Tower and surrounding monuments. Elevator to the top of the tower to enjoy the magnificent view of Pyongyang (optional, 5 Euro p/p).
c) Pyongyang Maternity Hospital
d) Lunch
e) Korean Film Studio. North Korea's version of Hollywood. Something not to be missed
f) Ride on Pyongyang Metro
g) Korean Art Gallery. Collection of paintings, sculptures etc from ancient to modern times
h) Visit to the American spy ship USS Pueblo, captured by North Koreans in 1968. The 1,000-ton ship, equipped with various kinds of arms and sophisticated reconnaissance facilities, was boarded by 81 U.S. seamen and had been captured just by 7 Korean seamen. Hopefully you meet one of them on this ship. Although the ship's crew were repatriated after a lengthy negotiation, North Korea kept the ship as a war trophy.
i) Dinner: Chongryu Hot Pot Restaurant.
Day 4, April 15 (Sun) "Day of Sun" (The 100th Birthday of Kim Il Sung)
a) Breakfast.
b) Visit to the Kumsusan Memorial Palace - the Mausoleum of President Kim Il-Sung (tourists must follow a strict dress code - no shorts, no blue jeans and mini-skirts, no T-shirts).
c) Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery
d) Kimilsunia and Kimjongilia Flower Show - containing about 30,000 flowers - presented by Army forces, commissions and ministries of the cabinet and national institutions, foreign friends and overseas compatriots… Something NOT to be missed!!! As you might guess Kimsungilia and Kimjongilia are types of flowers named after North Korea's 2 leaders.
e) Lunch at Boat Restaurant Pyongyang No.1 on Taedong River.
f) Walk in Moranbong Park, favorite place for many Koreans to spend a free day.
g) A visit to the International Book Store and Stamp Shop- good choice of stamps, propaganda books, tapes, CDs, DVDs, (much cheaper than at your hotel).
h) Mass Dances expected. Mass Dancing Evening at the DPRK's biggest square (Kim Il Sung's Square) involving several thousand Koreans.
i) Rakwon Department Store
j) Farewell Dinner at Duck Barbecue Restaurant
Day 5, April 16 (Mon)
Breakfast. Transfer to the railway station and departure to Beijing at 10.10 a.m. One night on the train.
Sightseeing: the railway bridge over Yalu-river is at the same time the North Korean border to China. When crossing this bridge, we see another bridge destroyed by the Korean War. China rebuilt its half of the bridge but North Korea intentionally did not. Instead they wanted to leave the bridge in ruins (just piles are seen) as a monument to the Korean War.
Day 6, April 17 (Tue)
Arrival in Beijing at 08.33 am.
Wow. That's all I can say.
ReplyDeleteLook forward to the photos.
So happy for you to do something this incredible. I would love to do this someday. I hope you can take photos!
ReplyDeleteAmazing!
ReplyDeleteWow....amazing...I want to go too :) I never knew that you could even get a Visa to go there.
ReplyDeleteAwesome...am tweeting this.
ReplyDeleteIncredible, look forward to reading your blog entry (hope they don't confiscate your camera).
ReplyDeleteIncredible, look forward to reading your blog entry (hope they don't confiscate your camera).
ReplyDeleteWe were in the same hotel at the same period.. But your program was more interesting than ours..
ReplyDeleteHope you had a good time..!
Share some photos with us, i didn't take my camera with me !
did you travel to North Korea How Was That Place Dear Let Me Know How Is The Peoples
ReplyDeleteA couple of questions:
ReplyDeletea.) which tour company did you use? Would you recommend them again?
b.) Did you have to prove Singapore residency when you applied for the visa? Any restrictions? (I.e. Americans or British can't apply here, etc)
Thanks!
Hi John -
ReplyDeletea) I went with Korea Konsult based in Sweden. They were excellent at arranging the visas, etc. Our Korea Konsult tour leader was a bit clueless though and there was some confusion with activities/full hotels (though it was really beyond Korea Konsult's control).
b) There wasn't any issue with us being Canadians getting the visa in Singapore. That said, you can't just show up unannounced to get your visa. You fill out the paperwork and send scans of your documents to the tour company, the tour company forwards them to the NK Embassy, then the tour company tells you when you can go collect your visa.
I have a question regarding getting the DPRK visa issued in the passport book itself. I have a US passport, and since the US obviously doesn't have a DPRK embassy, all North Korea-bound Americans have to have the tour company apply for visas on their behalf and then pick them up (usually in Beijing) right before going into North Korea. The thing is, those kinds of visas end up being on a separate piece of paper that you can't even keep at the end of the trip. So, do you know if an American passport holder can get the visa issued INSIDE their passports if they go to a DPRK embassy in say, Singapore or Hong Kong (any country really)? Like you did. I ask for confirmation because I feel the situation may be different for Americans than it is for Canadians.
DeleteThank you very much!! I await your response.
Tanya,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the quick reply! Yeah, given that all of the external agencies use the same InTouristesqe internal agency a bit of slack is understandable. As for the visa issuance, I just wanted to confirm that it was open to non-nationals/residences. Some consulates for certain countries will only issue visas for locals (I.e. the Chinese embassy in Tashkent will only issue visas to Uzbek citizens) and I wasn't sure if that was the case in Singapore. Seems better to get a visa there than have it issued in Beijing, since they do not give you a passport sticker there.
And thanks again! John
Delete