A group of Western tourists was treated to a surreal performance by North Korean schoolchildren, who danced and sang against a backdrop of animated ballistic missiles during the first officially sanctioned trip to the Hermit Kingdom in five years, the NY Post reports.
The unsettling choreographed display was just the beginning of the bizarre experience for the handful of thrill-seeking travelers from the UK, France, Germany, and Australia, who made the four-day trek to the country’s remote Rason region last week.
One tourist revealed that the trip was so closely monitored by Kim Jong Un’s repressive regime that he had to ask for permission just to use the bathroom.
“They’ve had five years to fix things. North Koreans are so sensitive about what they show tourists. If this is the best they can show, I dread to think what else is out there,” another visitor remarked.
It was the first time since 2020 that tourists were allowed to enter the notoriously secretive nation, which had locked itself down at the start of the pandemic. Many had wondered if Westerners would ever again be able to cross its border.
But Young Pioneer Tours, a company that facilitates trips into the country, was finally able to resume operations after being blocked for the last five years.
“The North Koreans aren’t robots. They have opinions, goals, and a sense of humor. And in our briefing, we encourage people to listen to and understand them,” Rowan Beard, who runs the company, told BBC.
Beard said that once they received the green light, the tourism group had no trouble filling its available slots, which sold out in just five hours.
However, this was no ordinary vacation. There was no cell phone or internet service, and not a single ATM was available for use.
The tourists were given a strict set of guidelines to follow, including not insulting the country’s leaders, not mocking North Korea’s ideology, and not being judgmental of the country’s unusual and repressive way of life.
They were also closely watched at all times by the country’s ever-present minders, who ensured that visitors didn’t break the rules or stray from the scheduled itinerary.
“A couple of times I even had to let them know when I wanted to use the bathroom,” Mike O’Kennedy, 28, a British YouTuber, told the outlet. “I’ve never had to do that anywhere in the world.”
The group entered the country through China on their way to Rason in the far northeast, more than 500 miles from the capital city of Pyongyang. Pyongyang had once occasionally welcomed tourism groups, but under strict supervision and with no real freedom of movement.
As in previous North Korean trips, the travelers were closely controlled, with pre-arranged visits to locations such as a beer factory, a newly built and well-stocked pharmacy, and a school.
A group of eight-year-old children put on a show for the visiting Westerners, gleefully singing as a large projection screen showed dozens of ballistic missiles being launched before striking buildings in an unidentified animated metropolis, causing a violent explosion.
North Korea carefully curates its image to the outside world, with official photographs released by the dynastic Kim family, which has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1948.
The photos often show glittering, thriving cityscapes that some visitors noted were vastly different from the reality.
“The roads are awful, the pavements are wobbly, and the buildings are weirdly constructed,” said Joe Smith, a former writer for NK News who has been to the country three times. He noted that the dilapidated hotel’s outdated décor reminded him of “his grandma’s living room.”
O’Kennedy said that despite his best efforts to toe the line, his Western sensibilities led to at least one awkward moment.
During a visit to a North Korea-Russia Friendship house, he was presented with a visitor book to sign.
“I went blank and wrote something like ‘I wish the world peace.’ Afterwards, my guide told me that was an inappropriate thing to write. That made me paranoid,” he said. “Generally, the guides did a great job of making us feel safe. There were just a couple of moments when I thought, this is bizarre.”
Groups that arrange curiosity tourism visits to North Korea said that despite being restricted and tightly controlled, the cultural exchange benefits everyday residents of the despotic regime, who have little to no knowledge of the world beyond their borders.
“North Koreans get the chance to engage with foreigners. This allows them to come up with new ideas, which, in a country this closed, is so important,” said Greg Vaczi from Koryo Tours.
{Matzav.com}