Have a Coke and Choco Pie

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Coke Zero – Bought in North Korea

As my reader may be aware, North Korea is without doubt the most closed and secretive country on earth. For North Korea, arch enemy number one and the very devil incarnate is the United States which, we are told, is to blame for all the ills and woes of the country despite the heroic efforts of the Kim dynasty.

While the US and many other countries have very strict controls as to what their citizens/companies can export to North Korea, Continue reading “Have a Coke and Choco Pie”

Admire the Flowers of the Leaders

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Kimilsungia and Kimjongilia

Should you visit North Korea it will not take you long to realise that anything of any importance is named after Kim Il-sung or more recently, since his death in 2011, Kim Jong-il.

It will thus come as no surprise that the most important flowers (trumping the national flower, the magnolia) in North Korea are the Kimilsungia and Kimjongilia. Yes indeed, that is what they are called – I kid you not. Continue reading “Admire the Flowers of the Leaders”

Photography in North Korea

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A Totally Acceptable Photograph in North Korea

There are numerous rules for tourists in North Korea. The ones around photography are the most complicated, confusing and inconsistent.

Very few visitors, apart from those who have no camera, make it through a tour of North Korea without being counselled on their photography – or rather, being told off for taking a photo when they should not have. Continue reading “Photography in North Korea”

And Now for Something Completely Different

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Your Entry Pass to North Korea

Travelling in North Korea – 2014

During my time in North Korea I visited the capital, Pyongyang, and a number of other locations (see below) including Sinuiju on the northern border with China. Sinuiju has only recently opened to overseas tourists (excluding those from the USA and South Korea). Continue reading “And Now for Something Completely Different”

Getting into the North Korea – By Air

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Air Koryo at Pyongyang Airport

Two airlines fly into North Korea (officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea), the national airline, Air Koryo and Air China. Invariably you will fly in from Beijing to Pyongyang though a few tourists enter from Vladivostok and there are on again off again flights from Shanghai. Continue reading “Getting into the North Korea – By Air”