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InspirationNorth Korea

North Korea travel: How to visit the world's most isolated country

Natalie Paris and Hugh Morris

SCENES FROM INSIDE NORTH KOREA. The Ryugyong hotel in Pyongyang was intended to be the world's largest hotel, but it is yet to host a single guest.
1 / 20SCENES FROM INSIDE NORTH KOREA. The Ryugyong hotel in Pyongyang was intended to be the world's largest hotel, but it is yet to host a single guest.iStock
A North Korean traffic police woman stands in front of Workers' Party flags decorating the streets in Pyongyang.
2 / 20A North Korean traffic police woman stands in front of Workers' Party flags decorating the streets in Pyongyang. AP
North Koreans ride on an electric trolley bus in Pyongyang, North Korea.
3 / 20North Koreans ride on an electric trolley bus in Pyongyang, North Korea. AP
A North Korean man rides in a subway car on in Pyongyang, North Korea.
4 / 20A North Korean man rides in a subway car on in Pyongyang, North Korea. Wong Maye-E
The ruling Workers' Party symbols are erected by the portraits of the late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il while workers decorate the vicinity with flowers at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea.
5 / 20The ruling Workers' Party symbols are erected by the portraits of the late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il while workers decorate the vicinity with flowers at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea. AP
North Korean women wearing traditional dresses gather for rehearsals in Pyongyang, North Korea in preparation for the 70th anniversary of the founding of their country's ruling party in October 2015.
6 / 20North Korean women wearing traditional dresses gather for rehearsals in Pyongyang, North Korea in preparation for the 70th anniversary of the founding of their country's ruling party in October 2015.AP
Pyongyang Marathon part of a new North Korea trip offered by Intrepid Travel.
7 / 20Pyongyang Marathon part of a new North Korea trip offered by Intrepid Travel.Intrepid Travel
Future Scientist Street in Pyongyang, North Korea.
8 / 20Future Scientist Street in Pyongyang, North Korea.Tom Beadle
Dancing with the locals in North Korea.
9 / 20Dancing with the locals in North Korea.Tom Beadle
Doing their duty: North Korean women carrying decorative flowers walk from the Kim Il Sung Square after rehearsing for a parade.
10 / 20Doing their duty: North Korean women carrying decorative flowers walk from the Kim Il Sung Square after rehearsing for a parade.AP
A propaganda poster in North Korea.
11 / 20A propaganda poster in North Korea.Tom Beadle
A waitress works behind the counter at the Kumrung cafe where the menu includes the usual favourites of customers in the West. Pyongyang may be one of the few major cities left on Earth where you can't find a Starbucks, but it's brimming over with coffee shops.
12 / 20A waitress works behind the counter at the Kumrung cafe where the menu includes the usual favourites of customers in the West. Pyongyang may be one of the few major cities left on Earth where you can't find a Starbucks, but it's brimming over with coffee shops.AP
Coffee and coffee art at the Kumrang cafe in Pyongyang.
13 / 20Coffee and coffee art at the Kumrang cafe in Pyongyang.AP
The coffee and drinks menu at a coffee shop in Pyongyang, North Korea.
14 / 20The coffee and drinks menu at a coffee shop in Pyongyang, North Korea. AP
Bronze statues of late leaders Kim Jong Il and his father, Kim Il Sung, at Mansu Hill in Pyongyang, North Korea.
15 / 20Bronze statues of late leaders Kim Jong Il and his father, Kim Il Sung, at Mansu Hill in Pyongyang, North Korea.Tom Beadle
North Korean school girls holding brooms bow to pay their respects toward a mural which shows the late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung delivering a speech, before sweeping the area surrounding this mural in Pyongyang, North Korea.
16 / 20North Korean school girls holding brooms bow to pay their respects toward a mural which shows the late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung delivering a speech, before sweeping the area surrounding this mural in Pyongyang, North Korea.Wong Maye-E/AP
Dawn breaks over Pyongyang, North Korea.
17 / 20Dawn breaks over Pyongyang, North Korea.Wong Maye-E/AP
Members of North Korea's Moranbong band sing and dance during a joint performance with the State Merited Chorus in Pyongyang, North Korea.
18 / 20Members of North Korea's Moranbong band sing and dance during a joint performance with the State Merited Chorus in Pyongyang, North Korea.Charles Dharapak/AP
Tourists pose in front of model missiles, including a North Korean Scud-B, at the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul. North Korea's long-range rocket launch is considered by the West to form part of its efforts to develop intercontinental ballistic missile technologies.
19 / 20Tourists pose in front of model missiles, including a North Korean Scud-B, at the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul. North Korea's long-range rocket launch is considered by the West to form part of its efforts to develop intercontinental ballistic missile technologies.Han Myung-Gu
Dusk settles over Pyongyang, North Korea, as the 105-story pyramid-shaped Ryugyong Hotel towers over residential apartments. The hotel has been under construction since 1987 and was intended to be a landmark and a symbol of progress and prosperity, but the economic difficulties that the country went through forced the project into repeated delays and nearly 30-years later, it has become a major Pyongyang landmark but has never been used as a hotel, as it was intended.
20 / 20Dusk settles over Pyongyang, North Korea, as the 105-story pyramid-shaped Ryugyong Hotel towers over residential apartments. The hotel has been under construction since 1987 and was intended to be a landmark and a symbol of progress and prosperity, but the economic difficulties that the country went through forced the project into repeated delays and nearly 30-years later, it has become a major Pyongyang landmark but has never been used as a hotel, as it was intended.AP

North Korea's decision to expel BBC journalist Rupert Wingfield-Hayes from the country seems at odds with a regime increasingly courting tourists from around the world.

The country said it expelled the reporter and his team for allegedly "insulting the dignity" of the authoritarian state.

While the ethical implications of tourism in such an undemocratic country are debatable, as long as you're not part of the media, getting into North Korea is not actually too difficult. Just don't hope to travel independently and be prepared to follow certain rules.

Last year, tourism officials said the country wanted to attract 2 million tourists a year by 2020. It currently welcomes just 100,000.

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See also: What it's really like to visit the world's most isolated country

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"Contrary to popular belief, the process of obtaining tourist visas for North Korea is actually very simple," said Dylan Harris from Lupine Travel, a tour operator going to North Korea.

"The only requirement is that you are booked on a pre-planned tour with two North Korean guides for company."

The guides have to be specially appointed by the country's Ministry of Tourism and associated with one of the three travel services based in the capital, Pyongyang.

Even those travelling alone on a private tour must be accompanied by two guides.

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It is, however, not possible to travel independently in North Korea.

Carl Meadows, senior travel specialist at Regent Holidays, said there is generally no problem in securing visas for clients, but it can take around 6-8 weeks.

See also: The cities Western culture hasn't reached (and why you'll love them)

Mr Meadows, who has been to the country at least 20 times, said: "North Korea is slowly opening up in terms of what is possible. If you went 10 years ago and spent 10 days in the country you would probably be able to see everything a foreigner is able to see, but these days you could probably stay another month as new cities and villages have been opened up."

Even with visas secured, and accompanied by guides, there are still certain requirements expected of visitors.

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Travellers should abide by the rules within the country, which include not walking around unaccompanied and refraining from taking photographs at certain locations if requested.

"The Koreans are slowly waking up to see tourism as a potential source of income and are taking steps to increase the number of tourists visiting and where they can visit," said Mr Meadows.

Cox and Kings is another UK-based tour company that offers trips to the country, with attractions including the statue of Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang, the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, a micro-brewery in Kaesong and light trekking to Mount Kumgang.

See also: Friendliest countries for tourists

The operator said it keeps in regular contact with its ground agents and follows travel advice when deciding if it remains safe to travel to the country, as do the other companies contacted for comment .

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Moving through the border between North and South Korea requires special permission.

North Korea attractions

In Pyongyang:

  • Mansudae Grand Monument, to lay a wreath of flowers at the statue of Kim Il Sung in Fountain Park
  • Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery
  • Kim Il Sung Square and the Arch of Triumph (built to commemorate the Korean resistance from Japan between 1925 and 1945)
  • Mangyongdae Native House (where Kim Il Sung was born)
  • Kumsusan Palace of the Sun (Kim Il Sung's Mausoleum - smart dress required)
  • Juche Tower - a symbol of national self-reliance, based on Kim Il Sung's "Juche Idea"
  • Military Exhibition Centre
  • Taedong department store and local micro-brewery
  • Golden Lane Bowling Centre (with ten pins, as you would expect)

Elsewhere:

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  • North-South Korean border and DMZ
  • Pohyon Temple and the International Friendship Exhibition, which is home to thousands of gifts presented to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong ll
  • Lake Sijung – a retreat during the Yi dynasty
  • Ulim Waterfalls
  • Mount Kumgang for light trekking
  • Samil Lagoon

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