Departing for Pyongyang

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I read this interesting article about travelling to North Korea. I'd never thought of it as a tourist destination but I dare say it could be quite exciting...:danger:

Has anyone been there? Looking at the photos of Pyongyang it looks like something out of 1960's sci-fi film :)

Here's some traveller info . I notice that the border guards are kind enough to hold on to your mobile phone and keep it safe while you are busy sightseeing.
 
There are so few people it feels like a ghost town. I hope they haven't all starved to death. What's worrisome is the German aid of cows that were supposedly contaminated with BSE. So if you're ever in N. Korea, please stay away from steak of tartar or any beef based product.

Good news: You can bring your 110V appliances with you.
Bad news: You can't get online legally so no forum activity during your visit. Unless you can bribe your tour guide, who is also your supervisor, I hear.

Correction: The party daily newspaper romanization Rodong shinmun 로동신문 ?????V?? is in error. The first R sound in the monosyllable or bisyllable initial position must be realized as an N. It's a romanization inconsistency which S. Korea has long done away with. Or it could be their version of political correctness; never utter the N. word as it might offend the party members and lead to rebelion, or a nuclear fall out ??? :D
 
So 'newspaper' in Korean ?i?V???jis pronounced shinmun? Very similar to the Japanese (shinbun); please excuse my ignorance of Korean. I did have a good Korean friend in Japan though, but unfortunately lost touch with him :bawling:
 
lexico said:
What's worrisome is the German aid of cows that were supposedly contaminated with BSE.
Why do I always have to correct such urban legends? (big sigh)

The beef was not contaminated, AFAIK it was tested for BSE before transported to NK. In Germany the beef market pretty much collapsed after the BSE "epidemic" had become public, hence a lot of beef could not be sold in Germany. Rather than throwing it away, it was sent to NK as food aid. The whole action was controlled & coordinated by the GTZ (~ society for technical cooperation).

There was one case in 2002, I think, in which a laboratory did use an inappropriate test. Delivery of beef tested there was stopped immediately.

Even if the beef had not been tested at all, that would not mean that the beef was contaminated. The rate of BSE cases in Germany is rather low (at least in comparison to the UK)
 
Yeah, I've always wanted to go on one of those tours of the "DPRK." I've read a few travelogs and they sound so surreal, like stepping into a time maching and arriving in 1950's USSR. However, a 4-day 3-night package is about 1200 Euros (~$1500 USD), and you have to pay your own way to Beijing.
 
Index said:
I read this interesting article about travelling to North Korea. I'd never thought of it as a tourist destination but I dare say it could be quite exciting...:danger:

Has anyone been there? Looking at the photos of Pyongyang it looks like something out of 1960's sci-fi film :)

Here's some traveller info . I notice that the border guards are kind enough to hold on to your mobile phone and keep it safe while you are busy sightseeing.

While it's been dumbed down and made really small with about only 15-20 buildings, you can actually bomb the hell out of that city in the video game Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction. (I always destroy the hell out of the big parthanon type structure that they have there with a carpet bombing run.:evil:) Personally the port city of Nampo is more fun with all the fuel depots. ^_______^ Still I would love to visit North Korea (actually all of Korea) if it wasn't under such heavy government rule.:(

Doc:ramen::happy:
 
Heh, there would probably be several buildings missing if I went there. ^____^
"North Korean officials in an official investigation today, are still trying to figure out how and who would bring C4 within North Korea's borders." ^____^

Doc:ramen::happy:
 

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