For those who have never been to North Korea. The prospect of entry might seem quite daunting. First timers often assume that obtaining a visa to enter the country must be a difficult and immensely bureaucratic process with an endless chain of security hoops to jump through. Guess what? That’s a myth! Contrary to these beliefs, obtaining a North Korean visa is probably one of the easiest tourist visas you can get. In fact, it’s
The Kumsusan Palace of the Sun was described by our guides as “The Most Sacred Place in North Korea“. For them, it’s a big deal. The Palace, Kim Il-Sung’s former residence, serves now as the Mausoleum for him and his son Kim Jong Il. If you believed North Korea in general is bizarre and unusual, then this place takes it to a whole different level. Although it is only open on Sundays and Thursdays, you
When travelling to North Korea, people often come with low expectations of what the accommodation will be like. Once, a customer asked me based on pre-conceptions “Will I need to bring a flashlight? Is there electricity?”. Luckily, that wasn’t the case. Still, the idea of staying in a hotel in North Korea is something which most people are not used to. As the quote above suggests, it comes with all kinds of fears, misconceptions and myths. The
The only we can secure peace between North Korea and the rest of the world is not a strategy of confrontation or threats of war, but a mutual human engagement which breaks down barriers and hostilities. Here at Visit North Korea, our mission is that engagement. We want you to be a part of this mission, we want your help in breaking down the crude western stereotypes and simplifications which we take for granted in our
A few weeks ago our introductory post to “Learning with Visit DPRK” taught us the basics of what is known as Hangeul or Chosongeul. We learnt the basic alphabet of this script, covering standard consonants and vowels. Today, we are going to add to that by learning more advanced vowel pronunciations. Specifically, we will be learning what is known as the “Y” forms of vowels, adding onto the existing set. As a quick recap, the