(guitar strum)
(fast-paced music)
- [Drew] You've probably heard about North Korea
on the news, but what is it really like to visit
as a tourist?
(rocket firing)
Get ready as I take you deep inside the world's most
isolated country.
(bouncy electronic music)
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And with that all being said, we head back to the story.
North Korea is by a long shot,
the most interesting and isolated country
in the entire the world.
Right now behind me,
you can hear all of the singers and dancers preparing for
Kim Il-sung's birthday, which is in a few days.
Wow, this is incredible.
I'm like freaking out right now.
I had the opportunity to visit the capital city of Pyongyang
for three nights, four days back in April, 2017.
Alright, we are getting ready
to board our flight to Pyongyang.
I went on an organized group trip with about 30 others,
which was the only way that any foreigner
could get the visa.
I was the only American in the group.
Truth be told, I am very lucky to visit North Korea when
I did because just a few months after my trip,
all U.S. citizens became banned
after the Otto Warmbier incident.
We are still blacklisted to this day.
After living in South Korea for two years,
and really immersing myself in Korean culture.
(speaking in Korean)
- I thought I had somewhat of an understanding
of what life would be like north of the border,
but you really have to see it to believe it.
It is not a happy place.
The streets are dark and depressing.
The people have a scared look on their face
and yes, many things around town did feel staged.
The currency is called the North Korean won
and as tourists, we are not given many chances to use it.
We're actually told to pay for everything in dollars
or euros, but I couldn't help to get my hands on some bills.
It's actually my favorite bill in my entire collection.
In this video, I'm going to share with you what
$10 or 9,000 North Korean won can get you on the streets of
Pyongyang
Buckle up because it's going to be a wild ride.
(upbeat music)
Let's just say that I started my trip
to North Korea with a bang.
I'm about to run in the Pyongyang marathon.
Look at all these people.
Almost finished with the race.
The soccer game going on.
And tens of thousands of people behind me.
I ran a 10k and a Pyongyang marathon,
which is an annual event with thousands of participants
and hundreds of thousands of spectators,
Because this was the only time that we didn't have to be
next to our tour guide, I took full advantage and spoke
to as many locals as I could on the sidelines.
The Korean language that I'd studied in Seoul is almost the
exact same as in the North.
So I was able to have full conversations.
(speaking in Korean)
I told people that I was an American tourist
and they were in shock,
but they were actually pretty friendly.
After the race finished, all the participants,
both locals and tourists celebrated by drinking North Korean
beer in the parking lot.
(glasses clinking)
There were these pop-up shops where ladies were pouring it
by the liter and it was absolutely delicious.
(cash register ring)
By the end of the day, we headed back
to our glorious hotel called Yanggakdo.
It's located on a private island on the Pyongyang river with
a revolving restaurant on the 47th floor.
(radio crackling)
Alright so we just got into our hotel and Richard over here
is trying to mess with the controls.
- [Richard] Apparently I still don't know
how this light works. I don't know does this even turn on?
(light switch flipping)
[Drew] I'm just going to chill back here
and let Richard figure it out.
He seems to know what's going on.
We had no wifi, no satellite TV,
and no connection to the outside world.
But inside of this mega hotel was pretty freaking cool.
There was a ping-pong room.
(ping-pong ball bouncing)
- Yeah, that the way to do it. Nice shot.
(hand clap)
- [Drew] A gift shop, an open bar,
and one of my favorite games,
Bowling.
For bowling in North Korea.
(bowling pins fall)
I played a few games with the people on my tour and it was
an absolute blast.
Exactly the kind of entertainment we needed to end the day.
(cash register ring)
(upbeat music)
Good morning guys. So we're staying at a hotel,
which is on a private island and check out this view outside
of Pyongyang city. Pretty amazing.
We spend a good part of the morning riding around Pyongyang
on a bus and learned a thing or two
from our North Korean tour guide.
- [Tour Guide] Lots of foreigners don't know that DPRK
is a peaceful country and Korean people want peace.
After visiting our country four of the tourists
said to me Koreans are the same as them.
Koreans are the same as them
and also DPRK. Also, peaceful country.
Everybody loves peace.
- [Drew] We visited the grand monument on Mansu Hill,
which has two massive bronze statues of former leaders
Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il.
It is mandatory for all visitors to take a full bow
and respect their father figures.
Any goofing off there would result in a horrible situation.
So let's not go there.
We proceeded to do my favorite activity on the entire trip,
taking the underground Metro.
We are going to take the Pyongyang Metro, right?
- Yeah, man.
- Yeah, let's do it.
(train breaks screeching)
What happened, Richard? What happened?
- Somebody forgot to do the breaks.
- Hands down. This was the best chance to immerse myself
in North Korean culture and try to get an understanding
of how the people are living.
Built in the 1960s, the Pyongyang Metro
is one of the deepest underground Metro systems on earth.
It takes more than three full minutes of standing
on an escalator to reach the track,
which is 360 feet below street level.
Getting on the Metro.
Okay. Yeah that's good.
We rode the Metro eight stops and I was stunned by what I
saw. People, lots of people wearing suits,
carrying briefcases, and having the sternness look
on their faces.
I wondered where could they possibly be going?
At each station, I noticed female security guards
holding up sticks as if they were directing
the non-existing Metro traffic.
It was a totally bizarre experience.
And how did I forget to mention it that it's the world's
cheapest public transportation system.
It only cost five North Korean won
or less than one penny for tickets.
(cash register ring)
For dinner, we headed to a swanky restaurant.
One of the biggest in town.
I honestly couldn't tell if it was a local spot
or if it was staged for the few tourists that come by,
but it didn't really matter.
I was super excited to try North Korean food,
because if it's anything like in the South,
then it will be fantastic.
But I hate to break the news to you. It is not that great.
The kimchi was subpar at best.
The salad was horrendous and the meat was chewy.
The only dish that I found tasty was called Naengmyeon
which is cold, thin handmade noodles.
(cash register ring)
We ended the night with karaoke and live dancers who came
right to our dinner table.
(performers singing)
They played these really cool instruments.
And I remember thinking to myself in that very moment,
what a wild world we live in.
I'll say it once again, North Korea is the world's
strangest country, and I'm not sure
If I'll ever have the chance to visit again.
But in the essence of this video, I got a local beer,
a round of bowling, a Metro ticket and cold noodles
for 9 dollars and 61 cents.
And that my friends, is what $10 can get you in North Korea.
Thank you guys as always for tuning into this video.
I hope you enjoyed it.
I liked telling you stories from North Korea and beyond.
For more stories on my travels to stay updated on my trips,
you can hit me up on Instagram @DREWBINSKY
If you send me a DM there, I will absolutely respond.
With that all being said, I will see you guys
in the next video. Peace.
(cheerful music)
- Where do you want to go?
- Everywhere.
- And which country?
- Including United States.
- Why?
- I want to show our hearts. Korean people's hearts
to Americans. To help the understanding about DPRK
because DPRK is very peaceful country and Korea wants peace.
These days, the media, Western media's press about
the bad things about DPRK, it's not true.
Yeah, it's very important a lot of Americans
to understand DPRK. To know that we love DPRK.
It's the best way for them to come here
to see the reality by themselves.
Bring your friends and all groups.
Lots of people, Americans.
- Thank you
- I hope to see you again
(speaking Korean)
- You're welcome
- I'm Drew Binsky. And if you like my travel videos,
please click, subscribe and ring that little bell.
(bell ring)
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