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north korea visit

 
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freesolo



Joined: 26 Feb 2004

PostPosted: Fri Oct 29, 2004 1:31 pm    Post subject: north korea visit Reply with quote

has anyone ever visited north korea and how did you go about the visa and such???
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turtlepi1



Joined: 15 Jun 2004
Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE

PostPosted: Fri Oct 29, 2004 2:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't know the answer, but I am interested also...
Not just the mountain on the other side but actually into North Korea.

Sorry if this starts complaints about supporting the North Korean government with my travel dollars, but realistically it can be argued that by not visiting these places we never shine light on the reality of what is happening there.

Besides, with the amount the US dumps into North Korea I'm sure KIM Chong-il isn't getting rich off my travel dollars...
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peemil



Joined: 09 Feb 2003
Location: Koowoompa

PostPosted: Fri Oct 29, 2004 3:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There's lots of websites that can help you...
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baldrick



Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Location: Location, Location

PostPosted: Fri Oct 29, 2004 4:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You can only enter through Beijing, via train or rail. Check out this website
www.koryogroup.com.
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funplanet



Joined: 20 Jun 2003
Location: The new Bucheon!

PostPosted: Fri Oct 29, 2004 5:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

koryogroup is quite good.......visas usually easy to get
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marista99



Joined: 05 Jun 2004
Location: Incheon

PostPosted: Fri Oct 29, 2004 6:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

baldrick wrote:
You can only enter through Beijing, via train or rail. Check out this website
www.koryogroup.com.


I'm pretty sure you can also take a plane. You can only go on a gov't tour--no indepenent travelers are allowed. Thus the amount of "reality" that you see on one of these tours as far as the living conditions of North Koreans is pretty limited.

I read that people with American passports are not permitted to go on tours to North Korea, but that may or may not be true right now.
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Derrek



Joined: 15 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Fri Oct 29, 2004 6:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ask The Great Wall of Whiner...

He got too close (from the China side) and got robbed by a NK border guard.
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trevorcollins



Joined: 02 Jul 2004

PostPosted: Fri Oct 29, 2004 6:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You can probably download that Holidays in the Axis of Evil special that was on BBC last year. I want to go to NK also. The price is somewhat steep....around 2000 bucks for a week. It'd be a unique place to see I think.
From what I hear if you book onto the tour it's easy to arrange the visa. Just takes several weeks. Usually the tours coincide with some kind of major festival. Korean Independence Day or Kim Il Sung's birthday. Make sure you have a reentry visa to get back into China or you may be a Nork for the rest of your life. Have a good time.
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I_Am_Wrong



Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Location: whatever

PostPosted: Fri Oct 29, 2004 7:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

you can only travel in groups and you have to have a North Korean guide with you at all times. I'd also be extremely interested...how many people in the world can say they've been to the world's most isolated and mysterious country. In general, the usual trip is one week and the only currency they accept is Euros....further driving up the price. You have to go to beijing first right? I have a book that lists some good travel agents to book through for North Korea, I'll look them up again.
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trevorcollins



Joined: 02 Jul 2004

PostPosted: Fri Oct 29, 2004 8:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thinking about it, at that price I'd probably rather go to Bhutan.
An even more isolated country, and you're not putting $ in the pocket of KJI.
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baldrick



Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Location: Location, Location

PostPosted: Sat Oct 30, 2004 12:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

baldrick wrote:
You can only enter through Beijing, via train or rail. Check out this website
www.koryogroup.com.


Spot the �ٺ�........as pointed out, you can enter via train, AIRPLANE or rail....... Laughing
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endo



Joined: 14 Mar 2004
Location: Seoul...my home

PostPosted: Sat Oct 30, 2004 8:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I defenitally plan on visiting North Korea in a couple of years.

However,what I was wondering is that would it be difficult to re-enter South Korea after visiting the North?

I believe that immigration in North Korea doesn't stamp you passport, but wouldn't the South Korean officials question you on why you have a re-entry permit to China?
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trevorcollins



Joined: 02 Jul 2004

PostPosted: Sat Oct 30, 2004 10:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

endo wrote:
I believe that immigration in North Korea doesn't stamp you passport, but wouldn't the South Korean officials question you on why you have a re-entry permit to China?


Not sure. What's to say you didn't have a reentry to go to Russia, Mongolia, Vietnam, Laos etc....? You're assuming that the immigration guy can read the Mandarin that says you entered and exited at Dandong or wherever the land crossing is.
Possibly if you plan on coming back to SK after a visit to North Korea it's not a bad idea to fly to Pyongyang. That way you'll just have the Beijing airport stamps and you can more or less make up any crap about where you went in the meantime.
Or change your passport. The cost of a new passport is miniscule compared to the cost of the trip to North Korea.
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mithridates



Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Location: President's office, Korean Space Agency

PostPosted: Sat Oct 30, 2004 10:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

����������������������������������
�������������ιΰ�ȭ�� �Ա����� ��û��
Application for Issue of Visa of The
Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea




Here's what the application form looks like...S. Korean officials don't mind if you visit the North. Even Koreans can take a direct plane from Seoul to Pyongyang and stay there for three days, though they can't leave the city and have to go straight back to Seoul.
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rapier



Joined: 16 Feb 2003

PostPosted: Sat Oct 30, 2004 11:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm fascinated by tales out of N.K.
My cousin went there to film for TV news channel, at the reactor in Yongbyon. He said guards showed him exactly what to film the whole time, holding his lens and directing it constantly. The workers at the plant appeared malnourished, spoke near-gibberish, and hadn't been paid for months.
Another guy went for the purpose of doing a wildlife/bird census. However he was denied the use of camera or binoculars and was unable to gather any information: denied conversational access to ordinary people, and ferried from A to B at breakneck speed by his chaperones, who were very nice but uncomfortable about letting him do anything much.
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