Despite strong warnings from the US State Department about the dangers of visiting North
Korea, the East Asian country is still a popular destination for adventurous travelers seeking
an unconventional experience.
But there’s a lot you should consider before booking your next trip there.
Just getting to North Korea can be quite an ordeal.
A flight from Los Angeles will take at least fifteen hours with a layover in Beijing.
Once there though, visitors find that North Korea is a beautiful country covered with
mountains and valleys.
And the capital city of Pyongyang is an experience like no other, with its own unique culture,
food, and architecture.
But North Korea has a reputation as a closed off and secretive nation for a reason.
There are numerous rules governing what tourists are allowed to see and even stricter controls
on what they can photograph.
And if you do happen to break one of these tourist rules, knowingly or otherwise, you
may find yourself in a lot more trouble than you anticipated.
Visitors have reported being aggressively searched and interrogated and some have even
been detained or taken prisoner for no reason at all.
The *really* unlucky ones who are formally charged with a crime are often forced to participate
in a sham trial, and then sentenced to hard labor at work camps where the conditions are
miserable.
Long days of manual labor, not enough food, and crowded sleeping arrangements are the
norm.
Along with prison sentences that can last fifteen years or more for even a minor violation.
Prisoners are usually released only after serving their terms in full or by special
pardon from the leader of the country, Kim Jong-Un.
He gained control of North Korea in 2011 following the death of his father, Kim Jong-Il, and
has been in power ever since.
Kim Jong Un maintains a strict dictatorship and lives a lavish lifestyle with access to
western goods and entertainment, but at the same time denies most North Korean citizens
access to these comforts and luxuries.
He has also accelerated North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and missile development, conducting
frequent tests of new missiles and warheads.
Of even greater concern, recent North Korean missile tests have demonstrated that they
likely have the range to target and hit the United States.
US citizen travel to North Korea may soon be banned and made illegal.
So, if you are considering a visit to North Korea, your time is running out.
Just be really careful once you’re there, or your trip could turn out to be much longer
than you planned with some very unexpected surprises.