If you look at satellite photographs of the far east by night, you’ll see a large splotch, nearly as large as England, curiously lacking in light. This area of darkness is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
In the middle of this black hole is the showcase capital, Pyongyang. It is meant to be a big gleaming demonstration of the country’s wealth and progress. Foreign visitors are driven along the same routes from the hotel (in an island) no matter where they are going.
Construction still abounds. The Pyongyang airport is getting a new terminal. At a fancy new equestrian center on the outskirts of the capital, with its faux-log-cabins, there is not a “customer” or any horse poop in sight.
But even with all the pretentious facade, it can’t be hidden that the city is eerily quiet, with people marching on the streets like zombies. It is baffling how a nation of nearly 23 million can appear as vacant as the oceans.
TEAM NOKOR:
There were around 40 people who registered with Koryo Tours (www.koryotours.com) for this 3-day-2-night-trip to Pyongyang. We were later divided into 2 groups. It was an interesting bunch. There were students (21 years old) in the group, a lawyer, an architect, some businessmen, teachers, and even a newly-wedded couple on honeymoon. Isah and I met and made friends with 2 Brazilian Federal Agents on the first day. They have been close guards to 2 popes when they visited Brazil. One is going to Afghanistan after North Korea.
Most of the people in the group were based in China, either working or studying. They chose to travel to NoKor because of its proximity to their current location. And there were those (like us) who flew in just for this trip…from Brazil, UK, Germany, USA.
This tour costs 890 euros per person. The package includes the return flights China – Pyongyang – China, hotel accommodation, meals, bus and tour guide. It is steep but this is the cheapest one amongst the choices from the tour company. Longer trips that include traveling to the countryside range from 1,200 to 2,300 euros.
No journalist nor photographer (professional or amateur) is allowed to join. All of us signed a waiver that says we can NOT publish our photos, stories and blogs on mainstream media. If the agency loses its license to operate in NoKor because of this, they will have the right to sue the traveler.
Whenever someone would ask me about the nature of my job, I was very careful so as not to mention that I work in Television. I always say I’m a Marketing Manager. One time our North Korean guide asked, tell me more…give an example. I just babbled words like promotion, advertisements, billboards. I think I left him more confused than ever. Lol!
NORTH KOREANS:
- Don’t have passports. Only a selected few from Pyongyang, the showcase city, are allowed to travel.
- Don’t have cars. They walk or ride the bike. Cars in Pyongyang, including Mercedes Benz and Lexus brands, are owned by top ranking officials. “Normal” cars are said to be given by the government to a few individuals/family who serve the State.
- Women don’t smoke and they (should) get married in their 20s.
- Cannot criticize the regime otherwise their whole family could be banished from society and end up in political prison camps.
6. Do not have internet. They don’t know the word. They have no freedom of information
7. Do not have any religion except to adore and obsess over the cult which exalts their leaders. It is a very serious offense to spread religion or any religious material. It could lead to persecution and death.
8. If a person is persecuted for “anti-state” crimes, 3 generations of his family suffers.
9. They earn a meager single digit monthly salary.
10. People who live in Pyongyang are the privileged ones. The rest live in the countryside where they are forced to do hard labor.
11. They cannot tell where Kim Jung Un lives. “We don’t reveal that information.” Nor how many kids does he have. “Nobody knows.”
NoKor Day 1: Visa and Koryo Air
I got my Visa on our way to the airport. Left Beijing at 1pm on board a Soviet-era plane from the world’s only 1-star airline Koryo Air, and arrived in Pyongyang at 1:30 pm, local time.
A trip to the most secretive country in the world makes seasoned travelers act like stupid tourists. Inside the airplane, I was taking photos of almost everything…the flight attendants, the video on board, the airsick back. When the flight attendant brought in our food, I took a photo of that as well. The Belgian guy seated beside me said with a bit of embarrassment: ” I was just waiting for you to do that so I could do it as well.” I responded: “We don’t do this in other countries do we?”
The flight took 90 minutes. The entire time on the plane, they were playing a video of some local concert…women singing, playing various instruments and dancing in unison (maybe their version of Kpop), as images of their great leaders and of the war appear in a projected screen on the stage.
No visa and entry / exit stamp will appear on the passport. One only gets the boarding pass as souvenir. Passport and visa are collected upon arrival in Pyongyang and will only be returned to you inside the bus on the way back to the airport.
NoKor Day 1: Arrival
I was seated in between an old North Korean guy (aisle; some privileged North Koreans apparently are allowed to travel) and a Belgian traveler (window). The latter was kind enough to let me stretch my hand towards the window so I could take photos while landing. As a first impression of the country from the plane, I thought that it’s barren and sad. No buildings, no trees, just brown. As we got closer to the ground, I noticed people…they look more like teenagers actually… everyone in a military uniform. We touched down, the atmosphere tensed. I never felt so scared landing in a new country before.
We were instructed not to take photos of soldiers and of the interior of the airport (Because the airport was small. A new one is being constructed beside it). But outside is fine, so everyone was taking a photo of the sign that says Pyongyang and the airplane when we got to the bus. I was specifically taking a photo of the door of the plane and the people coming down from it. And then I had an eye contact with an officer. He was looking at me as if I did something wrong. He walked towards the bus where I was by the door and he looked at me again in a very unfriendly way. I bowed down and avoided his gaze. I panicked and kept my phone in my bag. My thought bubble: “Fuck! Am I gonna get arrested? How can I be in trouble just 5 minutes after arrival? Shit!”
Passing through immigration and security was a slow and painful process. They got our passports, visa, mobile phones and cameras and scrutinized each piece critically. The whole ordeal was nerve-wracking.
NoKor Day 1: Dark Streets, Posh Bar & Eerie Hotel
From the airport we went straight to see some of DPRK’s major monuments, landmarks and a bookstore. It was a Sunday, a usual rest day for North Koreans. The streets were almost deserted. It looked as cold as the 8-degree weather.
We walked to the square as night was falling and darkness enveloped the whole city. The most striking observation during this stroll was the lack of electricity on the streets and residential units. Monuments and important buildings, specially those with the images of the great leaders, were fully lit with powerful lights. But not a single street lamp was on. Stores didn’t have power too. I saw a seller use a flashlight while tending to her customers.
Next they brought us to what seemed like an isolated office building. Surprisingly, a posh bar was inside. We drank locally brewed beer plus dried fish that went well with it (a local pulutan). We asked our guide if locals usually go there. She said yes, but we doubted the truthfulness of her answer. The bar was far from the center and locals usually just walk. Plus how can they afford? All of us in the group thought…hmmm maybe they just set this bar up for the tourists. And the handful locals who were there at that time were just actors. We thought it was all a show. No one could confirm. Our guides won’t flinch.
We checked in at Yanggakdo International Hotel, the largest working hotel and the second tallest building in North Korea. It is located in an island away from where locals live. This is where ALL foreign tourists stay (no exception). We had a room on the 31st floor overlooking the river. There were approximately 100 tourists in the hotel at that time. The hotel has 1000 rooms. It had been empty for 6 months due to the closure of the border. Lights were dim, elevators open to empty, dark floors, the feel was eerie.
I didn’t sleep well. Our room was cold and I felt scared. I had a nightmare. I saw myself on my bed and my friend on hers. I was screaming, calling her name but no sound came out of my mouth. In the morning, she said she heard me moan. I had what Filipinos call “bangungot.” Good thing I still woke up (Otherwise, I’ll be Rico Yan in Pyongyang).
NoKor Day 2: Grocery and Cafe
I’m sure a lot of you are interested in the story of the grocery store to know if the food inside are actually made of plastic. Sorry to disappoint…they are REAL! But! There are so many buts…
To go to a cafe and pass by a grocery store weren’t part of the itinerary. We were supposed to go to a war cemetery. But because people in the group were very persistent to have coffee after the heavy lunch (many europeans in the group and some were jet lagged), the guides decided to grant our request. The other group didn’t go here, too bad for them.
So we went to this huge building again that seemed almost empty. As we turn right upon entry, ta-da! a grocery store! And just imagine how frantic us tourists were, taking photos like crazy. Some were not even discreet. I was always one of the firsts to arrive in the “scene of the crime” so I was able to take good shots. The rest of the people in the group weren’t allowed to take photos or were asked to delete previously taken photos on the spot.
So I went around the grocery and touched the fruits to see if they were plastic. They were not. I was disappointed. I walked deeper into the grocery store. All products being sold were imported from Europe and USA and were so damn expensive. There were huge containers of Nutella, packs of Haribo and all types of Swiss chocolates. I picked up a bottle of bratwurst to see if it is expired or not. It was good, expiring in 2017.
When I went out of the store, I asked our male North Korean guide, “Who shops here? The locals or expats..foreigners working here?” There was a pause. He wasn’t prepared for the question. He then answered “the locals.” I took it with a cavan of salt. In a separate scene, I asked the female tour guide the same question. She answered, “the expats.” In my head…you liars!!!
Next we went to the coffee shop where I ordered a 5-euro (P250) cappuccino. My coffee came artfully and I was delighted. But what was striking was the poshness of the place. No one would think I was in North Korea if I showed them the interior of this cafe.
Anyone in his right frame of mind would know that locals couldn’t afford the products in this grocery store and the coffee in this cafe. I heard before the trip that they only earn a single digit salary per month. North Koreans always like pretending that they have a normal life. Same as what we have outside.
On our way out, I took a shot of the framed photo of the cooking President Kim Il Sung. A guard approached me to ask to delete my photo. I did it on the spot. She let me go. What she didn’t know was that iphone 6 has a “Deleted Album” which stores restorable deleted photos. So yeah, I’ve outsmarted them there. Haha!
NoKor Day 2: The Subway Metro
There is no other Metro in the world subjected to continuous rumors, myths and speculations than the Pyongyang Metro. It is also the deepest subway system in the world at 150 meters underground.
It is widely believed that the metro system was built for the purpose of linking military installations, transportation of high-level official in and out of Pyongyang, and a nuclear bunker to provide an escape route to China should conflict arise.
Our North Korean tour guide asked me, “Have u heard of the rumors?”
I pretended not to know so I answered, “What rumors?”
“That the Metro only runs when there are tourists. That the people you’ll see in the Metro are all actors,” she said.
“That is interesting,” I replied. “Maybe you are an actress too, acting as a tour guide.” We both laughed.
The ride in the world’s most mysterious subway system is one of my most favorite activities in Pyongyang. There are a total of 17 stops spread across 2 lines but tourists are only allowed to go into 5.
My observations:
- Pretty chandeliers hang on high ceilings, colorful mosaic art on the walls, patriotic music echoing faintly across the stone floor. The Metro was very clean.
- The people were very unfriendly. All 17 foreigners were in one car. Locals would get in, but upon seeing the foreigners, they would get off. For some who have been there before we came, they stared but they didn’t smile. For those curious or brave enough to ride with us, they would sit far away avoiding body contact.
- Each car has photos of the supreme leaders perpetually smiling down at all passengers.
- People were quiet. They didn’t talk even amongst themselves.
NoKor Day 2: Gays
I’m the type of traveler who asks so many questions. And so I like talking to locals or to a tour guide. I have one consistent question in almost all countries that I visit. It’s about homosexuality.
I waited till most people in our group have walked far ahead so I could talk to our guide in private. I put my arm around her shoulder and said in a muted voice…
“I have an important question for you. You may or may not answer. Is it okay?”
She nodded.
“Are there gay people in North Korea?”
She laughed.
“No. There is none,” she answered.
“But how do you view gay people?” I followed up. “Like when there are gay tourists…do you think they are yucky?”
Her answer: “No. It’s up to them. It’s their life.”
I smiled. “So I could tell my gay friends that they could visit your country, yes?”
“They are welcome to visit,” she finally said.
So mga beki friends, Attack na mga mereski!!! Rampa na to Pyongyang at i-sight ang mga muher at manchumakaris na huma-hunger games.
PROPAGANDA:
In the futuristic dystopia depicted in “1984,” George Orwell described a world where the only color visible would be in the propaganda posters. Such is the case in North Korea.
Images of Kim Il Sung are portrayed in vivid colors used by the Socialist Realism style of painting. The great leader smiles benevolently at children, farmers and workers. Rays of yellow and orange radiate from his face. He is the sun.
The words leap out of the gray landscape with urgency saying:
Long live Kim Il Sung.
Kim Jung Il, sun of the 21st century.
Let’s live our own way.
We will do as the party tells us.
We have nothing to envy in the world.
FOOD & NEWSPAPERS:
The Koreans take the role of host seriously and therefore always over – provide in the way of food. There’s usually plenty of left over. If everything is eaten up they feel they haven’t given enough (So yeah, they like wasting food on tourists while their own people starve to death).
It has been repeated and reiterated that we need to show respect to their leaders…even in how we handle/dispose news publications. Newspapers should be folded in a way that their faces are not creased. Don’t fold or crumple up any piece of paper with their photo on and throw it away. They will take offense.
CINEMA: Movies and entertainment in DPRK.
This a cinema in Pyongyang. Every town in North Korea, no matter how small, has a movie theater, thanks to Kim Jong Il’s conviction that film is an indispensable tool for instilling loyalty in masses. He thinks that “revolutionary art and literature are extremely effective means for inspiring people to work for the tasks of the revolution.”
The films were mostly dramas with the same themes: the path to happiness was self-sacrifice and suppression of the individual for the good of the collective. They produce 40 movies per year.
Hollywood films are banned. A consequence for secretly watching one is death!
NORTH KOREAN TOUR GUIDES:
These are our tour guides Mr. Li and Ms. Pang. In NoKor they are called “minders.”
North Korean society is divided into a highly hierarchical cast system. Only the ‘friendly class’ – i.e., the elite – are allowed to live in Pyongyang, carry official Party membership, and work in the best jobs or in jobs where they might interact with foreigners. The DPRK takes the precaution of assigning 2 “minders” to foreign visitors, one to watch the other so that he can’t be bribed.
Spying on one’s countrymen is something of a National pastime. There are vigilantes who actively make sure people aren’t violating any of the rules set by the regime, like wearing of blue jeans or shirts with roman writing (which are considered capitalist indulgence). Public Police have the right to barge on people’s houses to catch offenders who use more than their quota of electricity, a lightbulb brighter than 40 watts, a hot plate or a rice cooker. All these are prohibited.
MONUMENTS:
To a certain extent, all dictatorships are alike. From Stalin’s Soviet Union to Mao’s of China, from Ceausescu’s Romania to Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, all these regimes have the same trappings: the statues looming over every town square, portraits hung in every office.
But Kim Il Sung didn’t want to be a Joseph Stalin, he wanted to be Santa Claus. His dimpled cheeks made him appear more cuddly than other dictators. He wanted to be ingratiated into North Korean families as their own flesh and blood. He wanted love. He wanted to be god.
The grandness of the monuments, statues and mausoleums in Pyongyang depicting their great leader testifies to the superiority of the Korean version of communism.
Trivia:
- NoKor’s Arc of Triumph is 10 meters higher than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris making it the largest arc in the world.
But all of these artifice can’t feed the people.
LAST:
Lastly, I intend to share a story that is most baffling to me.
Kim Il Sung took the cult of personality to a new level. What distinguished him from the other dictators is his ability to harness the power of faith. North Korean news carried tales of supernatural phenomena pertaining to their leaders: stormy seas were said to be calmed when sailors sang songs in praise of Kim Il Sung; a mysterious fog descended to protect the Great Leader from South Korean snipers when he visited the DMZ; he caused trees to bloom and snow to melt.
The entire population of NoKor are required to wear a lapel pin on their left breast bearing the faces of their 2 dead leaders. All houses must have a framed portrait of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jung Il hung on the wall. People were not permitted to put anything else on that wall, not even pictures of family. Kim Il Sung was all the family they needed. A white cloth was given to people together with this portrait. They must clean it regularly. A police comes on surprise visits to check on the condition of the portraits.
CRAAAAAZYYY!!!
Dispatches of Ms. Frequent Flyer 
