Dispelling Myths: Tourism in North Korea
According to the Border Service of the FSB of Russia, in 2017, 4,359 trips of Russian citizens took place in the DPRK. Three-quarters (3054) of them are service personnel of Russian diplomatic missions and enterprises, 241 are business visits.
The border service noted 669 private trips and 395 visits of Russians to the DPRK for tourist purposes.
The general and tourist outbound flow of Russia-North Korea has been small in recent years: the number of organized tourists from Russia before the crisis reached 600-800 people per year.
The dynamics of the tourist flow between Russia and South Korea looks different: in 2017, 270,621 tourists from Russia came to this part of Korea, more by 15.7% than in 2016.
According to tour operators, North Korea is attractive to travelers because of its secrecy, exoticity and natural beauty, which has not been ruined by industrial civilization.
Specialists of the tour operator PAX, working with the North Korean destination, believe that “one of the most obvious reasons that the flow of tourists to North Korea is at a very low level is politics and everything that is happening around Korea.”
Outbound tourism is hampered by visa problems, limited offers and high travel costs.
Tour operator PAX reports that the main share of Russian tourist flow to North Korea was made up of residents of Moscow, but applications for tours come from Ufa, Saratov, Krasnoyarsk, Rostov.
The offer of tourist products in the DPRK is determined not by the market, but by the state, therefore, the format of travel is similar - excursion group tours, which are often associated with certain holiday dates (for the DPRK).
It is best to go to the DPRK in late spring or early autumn, tourists are interested in the routes: Pyongyang – Myohyang – Wonsan – Kumgang – Kaesong mountains, and Pyongyang – Myohyang – Kaesong – Nampo – Wonsan – Kumgang mountains.
The cost of the tour starts from 62 400 rubles. A man in a week.
In the DPRK, there is a cellular connection, but the phones of tourists with Russian SIM cards will not work in the mode of calls and data transmission, since there is no roaming agreement between the national mobile operator of the DPRK with operators of other countries. To use a cell phone for calls, a tourist needs to buy a local SIM card. Hotels do not have Wi-Fi and Internet cafe services, but you can send email from the hotel administrator’s inbox. However, since 2014, mobile Internet is available on your personal smartphone, but you will have to buy a special SIM card in the office of Pyongyang.
In the DPRK it is impossible to photograph checkpoints, railway stations, post office, airport, customs. Without a guide, the free movement of tourists is prohibited.
Accommodation, meals, excursions are usually included in the cost of the trip, therefore pocket expenses in North Korea are minimal.
According to information: atorus