This article is archived. Take a look at our new website for the latest news from the Travel Massive community.
Asia, Community and Events

Extreme Travel: Visiting North Korea

These are some of the questions commonly asked of Simon Cockerell, who has organized over 180 visits to North Korea.

Meet Simon Cockerell — the General Manager of Koryo Tours, a leading North Korea-focussed travel company since 2002. Simon also specialises in travel to Turkmenistan, other parts of Central Asia, as well as remote areas of Russia. Simon is a member of Beijing, Shanghai and Toronto Travel Massive.

Read Simon’s insights about North Korean tourism below.

What motivated you to run tours in North Korea?

I was living in Beijing and was very interested in North Korea and came to know our founder and boss Nick Bonner who started the business in 1993.

I started to work here in 2002 and since that time both the market and our company have grown several-fold.

IMG_6703.jpg

The main single motivating factor for the work and company would be trying to maximise contact between foreigners and North Koreans, to the benefit of both sides and to battle the usual simplifications and miscomprehension — tourism is a great way to do that.

What kind of travelers visit North Korea?

A wide range actually; some country collectors and story hunters of course, but usually those who go there have made a conscious choice to go to North Korea, with all the attendant rules and limitations.

It is simply the kind of place that attracts the worldly, the well-travelled, and the open-minded.

Those who go are genuinely interested in finding out as much as they can about what it is like, and they know clearly that they cannot experience all facets of life on a trip, but to scratch the surface often starts deeper interest.

What are the rules and regulations involved in a trip to North Korea?

There are many.

We have always had the policy of doing a thorough pre-tour briefing for all of our travellers and here we go through all the things to be aware of.

Some of the rules include:

  • You must ask the guides before taking photos
  • Explicit criticism of the Leaders of the country is very much frowned upon and wouldn’t be to anyone’s benefit
  • Going anywhere outside of hotels without guides isn’t permitted

The key thing is to be aware of the laws and rules and to obey them whether you agree with them or not.

The best advice I can give though is to know that what you see and experience is not all there is of life, but it is a real side of life and not there just for your benefit, as many people still expect in advance.

What are the ethical and safety issues of visiting?

Our position is that exposing as many North Koreans to as many foreigners works to counteract the negative propaganda about outsiders they consume every single day — this is important and something we focus on a lot.

IMG_2048.JPG

Safety is of course the first priority of a trip anywhere, and North Korea is no different.

We go to great lengths to inform everyone of the laws and rules of travelling there. North Korea is so highly regulated and all tours are operated as group trips with guides, drivers, and all-inclusive itinerary.

There is an element of a school trip to the whole trip — this does keep people safe though on the plus side as they will always be with their guides.

Will visiting North Korea cause problems going to the US?

There are no countries that will simply ban you from entry for having been to North Korea.

It is common for people to visit the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) and then go on to South Korea, Japan, etc.

There are some things that cannot be taken from North into South Korea though, such as politically sensitive items (newspapers, some books), and the same is true of Japan.

Until September 2017 about 20% of our customers were United States citizens but since that time the US government has banned US citizens from visiting.

Since August 2019 anyone going to North Korea (or who has visited since 2011) cannot use the US’ ESTA program (The Electronic System for Travel Authorization) for 5 years. 

Our suggestion: get a US visa, a trip to North Korea is no barrier to this and then you don’t need to worry about ESTA at all and can make your own choices of trip destinations.

— Thanks Simon for sharing your travel insights!

📹 Watch the video to see a little more about Simon’s tours:

💬 Do you have a tourism story to share? Get in touch with our blog team.


Follow Simon on Travel Massive to connect with him learn about Koryo Tours.


© 2011-2021 Travel Massive Global P.B.C.
👋 This article is archived. Take a look at our new website.