4 ms·

I’m disappointed there’s no backstory on the author, how / why did he get into North Korea?

• kingcharles 5y ago
  I knew a Western guy who ran tours inside NK. He gave tourists the government-sanctioned version, but he told me because they trusted him he had way more freedom than most Westerners and had traveled solo extensively through the country.
• ryanmercer 5y ago
  Non-American tourists go to North Korea all the time, the tours are just heavily controlled by the government. It's a proper industry.
  • dundarious 5y ago
    There are also tours normally geared towards Chinese tourists, but that are staffed with English-speakers (both the Chinese tour guide and the North Korean guides/handlers), so English-speaking Westerners can get a heavily controlled tour that's just a bit less controlled than the one typically offered to Westerners. The crossing into NK is made at Dandong in China, and after crossing the river, you take a regular internal NK train to Pyongyang, instead of taking a foreigners-only plane or train direct from Beijing to Pyongyang. US citizens used to take these tours, but I think it's probably even more insane to do that nowadays.
• yostrovs 5y ago
  From his website: "I’m Elliott. I’m the tour director at North Korea tour operator Uri Tours. I travel a lot myself, sometimes to the unusual, weird and wacky. Earth Nutshell is where I share my experiences. Interested in visiting North Korea for yourself? Shoot me an email". He's from Tazmania.