north korea sightseeing - Blogs - Tripatini2024-03-28T11:16:03Zhttps://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/north+korea+sightseeingNorth Korea Travel: Pyongyang Finally Starting to Open Up?https://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/north-korea-travel-pyongyang-f2011-08-01T19:00:00.000Z2011-08-01T19:00:00.000ZDavid Paul Appellhttps://tripatini.com/members/DavidPaulAppell<div><p><font color="#000000"><font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2"><i>Part 1 of a four-part series by <a href="http://www.tripatini.com/profile/jthaliacunningham" target="_blank">J. Thalia Cunningham</a></i></font></font></font></p>
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<p><font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2"><font color="#000000"><span><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9008633258,original{{/staticFileLink}}"></a><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9008633870,original{{/staticFileLink}}"></a>While North Korea has not given up its hobby of saber-rattling at South Korea, it</span></font> <font color="#000000"><span>has made things a little easier for travelers who want to visit.</span></font> <font color="#000000"><span>I've found that g</span></font><font color="#1A1A1A"><span>etting in</span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span>via Beijing</span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span>is pretty straightforward, provided it’s done "properly” --</span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span>that is, by obtaining visas and making arrangements through</span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span>an authorized <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9008633870,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="750" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9008633870,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="9008633870?profile=original" /></a>tour operator.</span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span>Yes, tour operator – but don’t despair.</span></font> <font color="#000000"><span>The other people in the tour group</span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span>were anything but boring: They included screenwriters, a novelist, a lobbyist, a philosopher – in short,</span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span>travelers interested in learning how people different from themselves view</span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span>the world.</span></font></font></font></p>
<p><font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2"><font color="#1A1A1A"><span>Our visit centered around the famous</span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><b>Mass Games</b></span></font><font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span> in Pyongyang, the capital. In this dazzling depiction of North Korean history, 100,000 gymnasts, martial artists, dancers, singers, and acrobats of all ages perform one of the world’s most remarkable spectacles. The 2011 Games are scheduled for August 1 through October 10.</span></span></font></font></font></p>
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<p><font color="#1A1A1A"><font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2"><b><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9008633655,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}9008633655,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-right" width="324" alt="9008633655?profile=original" /></a>Sightseeing in Pyongyang</b></font></font></font></p>
<p><font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2"><font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>Before we get immersed in the Games, though, know that Pyongyang itself is a spectacle. Its centerpiece is </span></span></font><font color="#1A1A1A"><span><b>Kim Il Sung Square</b></span></font><font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span> (right), a vast plaza rimmed by stately government buildings and museums.</span></span></font></font></font></p>
<p><font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2"><font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>Visitors may ride the elevator to the top of the 492-foot (150-meter)</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><b>Juche Tower</b></span></font><font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span> (below, left), a soaring obelisk, for stunning views of the city. Standing up there,</span></span></font> <font color="#000000"><span><span>I</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>suddenly sense architectural similarities to Washington, D.C.</span></span></font></font></font></p>
<p><font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2"><font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>Not to be outdone by France, Pyongyang also has an </span></span></font><font color="#1A1A1A"><span><b>Arch of Triumph</b></span></font><font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>, although this one celebrates</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>Great Leader Kim's Il Sung’s liberation of North Korea from Japan. Actually, it was the Soviet Union's army that disarmed the Japanese, but our guide focused on the fact that this arch is taller than its counterpart in Paris.</span></span></font></font></font></p>
<p><font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2"><font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9008634260,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9008634260,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="180" alt="9008634260?profile=original" /></a>Broad avenues of eight lanes unblemished by cars sweep by other impressive testimonials</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>like the</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><b>Korean Workers Party Monument</b></span></font><font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>,</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>a trio of massive Things</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>à la</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><i><span>Addams Family</span></i></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>holding a hammer and sickle from</span></span></font><font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>Home Depot.</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>Then</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>there's the</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><b>Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum</b></span></font><font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>, containing American planes, tanks and other military effluvia captured during or after the Korean War. Prior to exploring the most famous of these, the</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><i><span>USS Pueblo</span></i></font><font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>, visitors are treated to a short film describing the unstintingly brave efforts of the Korean people against "U.S. imperialists"</span></span></font><font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>(yup, there’s an English version).</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>Agree or not, there's no question how fascinating it</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>can be to</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>hear about yourself from someone else’s point of view.</span></span></font></font></font></p>
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<p><font color="#1A1A1A"><font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2"><b>Grand Monument to "Great Leader" Kim Il Sung</b></font></font></font></p>
<p><font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2"><font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>Plenty of additional lecturing is</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>provided for us imperialist</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>Westerners</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>at the </span></span></font><font color="#1A1A1A"><span><b>Grand Monument</b></span></font><font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span> (below), a 65-foot (20-meter) bronze statue of</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>"Great Leader" Kim Il Sung flanked by larger-than-life</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>bronze figures depicting Korea’s "triumph" over</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>Japan</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>and the United States. This is the DPRK’s most sacred site. Every visitor,</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>local or not, is expected to bow to</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>Kim's statue. In addition to bowing, our group bought flowers to place at</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>its feet. Oh, and any photographs taken</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>must include the entire statue from head to toe.</span></span></font></font></font></p>
<p><font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2"><font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9008634453,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}9008634453,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="324" alt="9008634453?profile=original" /></a><br /></span></span></font></font></font></p>
<p><font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2"><font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>Visiting the nearby</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><b>Kim Il Sung tomb</b></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>is considered an obligatory and solemn occasion requiring formal dress, a more formal protocol, and a prescribed series of bows in the chilled</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>room where</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>the leader still lies in state 16 years after death. Akin to the tomb of that other great leader, King Tut</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>(who refuted the adage, “you can’t take it with you”),</span></span></font> this mausoleum<font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span> displays</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>gifts</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>Kim received from</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>heads of state such as</span></span></font><font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span> Muammar Qaddafi. If all this bowing and scraping sounds</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>silly, think about</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>being presented to the Queen of England, and just go with the flow.</span></span></font></font></font></p>
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<p><font color="#1A1A1A"><font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2"><b><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9008633685,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9008633685,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="360" alt="9008633685?profile=original" /></a>A Visit to the DMZ</b></font></font></font></p>
<p><font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2"><font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>The famous</span></span></font> <font color="#1A1A1A"><span><b>DMZ</b></span></font><font color="#1A1A1A"><span><span>, the 2.5-mile (4-km) Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea, may actually be the world's most militarized piece of real estate. It's home to more than 2 million soldiers, a million landmines, a Disneyesque propaganda village with the world’s tallest flagpole to show those South Koreans what they’re missing, and tunnels large enough to drive tanks through. From the DPRK side, in only one building, only one room, is it possible to cross the border between North and South Korea – and that is done by circumnavigating the table. When you take a DMZ tour from Seoul, you don’t see squat, in my opinion; from the North, you get into the DMZ’s core.</span></span></font></font></font></p>
<p><font color="#1A1A1A"><font face="Verdana, sans-serif"><font size="2">But DPRK isn’t all pomp and politics; real people live here, too. So in Part 2 of this series we'll get away from the monuments, go to a department store, visit an amusement park, and mingle (a little) with the locals.</font></font></font></p>
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<p><span class="font-size-1"><em>Photos: J. Thalia Cunningham</em></span></p>
<p><strong><span class="font-size-1"><em>For Part 2 of this series <a href="http://www.tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/north-korea-travel-visit-to-downtown-pyongyang" target="_blank">click here</a>. </em></span></strong></p>
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