Tourists' tales

Juveniu Da Silva, 58, is from the United Kingdom. The former architect now works for a law firm in Central London. He visited the DPRK in April.

I had always wanted to visit the DPRK. That part of the world has fascinated me since I was very young. But since the two Koreas were separated after World War II, I had no idea how to get there. I would watch the news on TV and be curious. In November, when I was eating lunch at a restaurant in New York, it occurred to me that I should go to the DPRK. So I looked on the Internet for information about getting a visa.

My online search led me to an agency in Sweden and to Explore the DPRK (based in Dandong, Liaoning province). I wrote e-mails to both but when I didn't receive a reply I contacted the DPRK's embassy in London. Officials there told me that visas aren't issued to individuals per se, and that I would need to seek one either through a travel agency or plan to go as part of a group of people.