A journey into the past

A visit to the DPRK can be like going back in time, but offers great opportunities for discerning tourists.

As I was packing for my trip to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, my mother was concerned that I might not get enough to eat there, and encouraged me to take plenty of food along with me. A friend suggested, "You must take a bunch of bananas. They will be very useful. You can give them to the locals and they will let you take more photos." So I brought along instant noodles, biscuits, bananas, mangos, oranges, and cherries, because it was said that food, fruit especially, was in short supply in the DPRK. At the same time, many friends sent text messages, all along the lines of: "Take care and be safe!" It seemed as though traveling to the DPRK was shaping up to be the most intrepid trip I would ever undertake.

The next day, I rendezvoused with my tour group at 8 am at Dandong railway station. Members of the group soon set about getting to know one another. One girl said she had decided to visit the DPRK on a sudden impulse after hearing a satirical "news" story that the country had successfully landed a man on the sun. "Of course, it's a joke. But I just want to see what the country is like with my own eyes. Do people in the DPRK really believe such surreal news?"