Dear All,

We have just been informed that we can accept more applications for the tours that we are running over April 15th, the 100th anniversary of the birth of North Korean eternal president Kim Il Sung(our partners define this period as being between April 7 -20). We have been given the deadline of February 28th to receive complete applications (online form and colour scan of passport and passport photo). Please note that based on current information no further applications will be possible after that date. The tours we have available at that time are as follows:

Kim Il Sung Birthday Week Tour – http://koryogroup.com/travel_Itinerary_2012_KISB_week.php

Kim Il Sung Birthday Short Tour – http://koryogroup.com/travel_Itinerary_2012_KISB_S4.php

Kim Il Sung Birthday Long Tour – http://koryogroup.com/travel_Itinerary_2012_KISB_L5.php

Kim Il Sung Birthday Ultimate Tour Option A – http://koryogroup.com/travel_Itinerary_2012_KISB_U_A6.php

Kim Il Sung Birthday Ultimate Tour Option Ultimate -http://koryogroup.com/travel_Itinerary_2012_KISB_U_AnB8.php

To apply for any of the tours please follow the simple procedure at http://koryogroup.com/travel_bookingATour.php it’s as easy as that!

Independent tours are also possible, the deadline for application is the same as above (Feb 28), for basic info on independent tours please see http://koryogroup.com/travel_independentTours.php a brochure is available on request

We still do not have 100% final confirmation of what hotels we will be using on these tours, due to the large number of government invitees it may be the case that we may have to use hotels in and outside Pyongyang other than those we have planned and listed in the itineraries, we do therefore continue to request maximum flexibility as regards hotel rooming and the order of the tour itinerary.

According to the latest information from Pyongyang it is unlikely that the Mass Games will be held in April, this is not a final confirmation but it is the latest information. If you are interested in seeing the Mass Games then please note that we expect them to take place as usual from August to September or October of this year and we will of course update our mailing list when this information is confirmed.

As April 15th this year is the biggest day in the DPRK calendar for many years there will be many special events going on that we will be able to be a part of but most likely this will not be known for sure until nearer the time.We realise that this is frustrating to anyone planning to visit at this time but you can be fully assured that to be in the country over such a special date will make it a remarkable and unique time, and that you will see and do everything that is possible while you are in the country. Koryo Tours are the only company to have been running tours for the last two decades and we are best placed to take you there and get you the most access to the country and the events going on at that time. For now we have a small window of opportunity for you to join the world’s only North Korea travel specialists on a trip to the world’s most unique and remarkable destination, we hope you can make it with us, drop us a line at info@koryogroup.com with any questions and we look forward to being in North Korea with you on their biggest holiday in decades!

Best regards from all of us at Koryo Tours!

New Travel Opportunity in North Korea!
Unique and exciting chance in travel to the most unique areas in the country – Let the adventure begin!

Koryo Tours is proud to once again be the first and only company to offer an all-new tourism opportunity for anyone wanting to go and see some of the more remote parts of North Korea – allow us to explain;

We have been running tours to the Rason Special Economic Area for several years now; this part of the DPRK is located in the far North on the Chinese and Russian border and offers a look at the least visited part of the world’s most unique country – and the only place in North Korea where tourists can visit a local market, local bank, and many other unique spots. Lying to the south of Rason the major industrial centre of Chongjin and the stunning mountains of the Chilbosan range have long been among the most difficult parts of the DPRK to get to due to the need to charter a plane from Pyongyang to reach this area – here you can overnight in the only homestay in the country as well as seeing the highlights of the second largest city in the DPRK and some of the most stunning scenery in Asia.

Koryo Tours have been able to obtain permission to enter North Korea in the Rason area, visit this fascinating area, and continue by road down the north east coast of the country to the city of Chongjin and beyond. – this is a road never before travelled by western tourists, a new route opened by Koryo Tours in late January of 2012 for the very first time.

Ideal for second time visitors as well as adventure seekers this new route takes you to some of the least-seen parts of the country via a route that nobody (barring Koryo Tours’ staff) has ever taken before – please see our website’s Rason page for some more information

http://www.koryogroup.com/travel_rason.php

As if that wasn’t enough we have some more exciting news for those looking to visit the area – In September we have one of our longest and most comprehensive tours visiting North Korea, including taking charter flights up to the sacred Mount Paekdu (the highest crater lake in the world), and over to the North East Coast to visit Mount Chilbo and Chongjin, if you join our special Rason and Chongjin tour at that time you can meet up with the group at the local airport near Chongjin and fly to Pyongyang after visiting Rason and Chongjin, then tour some of the more conventional (!) areas of the country and leave by train or plane to Beijing along the normal exit route. In doing so you will be the first visitors to the country ever to complete this circular route, pioneering tourism as practiced by Koryo Tours at its very best!

For information on this option please see:

National Day Long Tour (Ultimate Option): http://www.koryogroup.com/travel_Itinerary_2012_NDLT_Ultimate.php
National Day Long Tour (Option B): http://www.koryogroup.com/travel_Itinerary_2012_NDLT_B.php

Please do feel free to contact us if you are interested in this special new route, we have more sites than ever available in both Rason and Chongjin that are exclusive to Koryo Tours, we would love to share this opportunity with you and we hope you’re as excited as we are at this chance to blaze a new trail in opening up new parts of North Korea to foreign tourists

For more information email: info@koryogroup.com

You can see some photos of the first ever trip down the north eastern coastal road from Rason to Chongjin on our FLICKR Photostream at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/koryo_tours/sets/72157629338457331/

People are always curious what the food is like in the DPRK – here are 2 posts from a Japanese tourist who recently visited about his culinary experiences whilst there.

The first post is about a technique of cooking clams that is very much unique to North Korea – at least to the West Coast anyway. Instead of steaming them in a lovely white wine and cream sauce with garlic, they use petrol. Yes, you read it right. Petrol. They actually taste pretty good too (unless you happen to get one that opened slightly whilst cooking and has been gently marinated in the stuff…). Interestingly, this unusual cooking method only exists on the west coast. On the east coast (where I happened to have them at the beautiful beach resort of Majon Guesthouse) they cook them on a large dish over fire. Here, the petrol is used to ignite the flames and not the clams themselves! http://en.rocketnews24.com/2012/02/07/north-korean-gasoline-baked-clams-taste-great-could-reinvent-bbq-as-we-know-it/

The second post describes his visit to the DPRK’s first KFC – well, not the Colonel’s own brand but a one born out of a JV with a Singaporean company. In addition to the fried chicken they also do a mean bowl of cold noodles and draft beer to wash it all down with. http://en.rocketnews24.com/2012/02/09/investigation-of-north-korea-reveals-their-fried-chicken-is-pretty-good/

I don’t have a picture of us at the chicken place (there are some good ones on his link though) – so here is a picture of a picnic at Mt Paekdu instead from last September.

If you want to taste these for yourself you know who to call!

COLOGNE, Germany (AP) -Cologne says its has signed North Korea striker Jong Tae Se from second-division side Bochum.

The Bundesliga club did not disclose how much it paid for the 27-year-old forward or the length of the contract.

Jong, who is called Chong Tese in Germany, will step in for the injured Lukas Podolski who was ruled out for at least three weeks with a foot injury.

Podolski partially tore a tendon in his left foot during Saturday’s 4-1 league defeat at home to Schalke.

Sporting director Volker Finke says Jong fits Cologne’s requirements “exactly.”

Jong scored 14 goals and set up five more for Bochum since arriving from Japanese side Kawasaki Frontale in 2010. He played for North Korea at the 2010 World Cup.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/soccer/wires/01/30/2080.ap.soc.cologne.jong.0131/index.html#ixzz1l1Y7NWVG

North Korea Novels

While the TV and movie world have been going gaga of late over adaptations of crime novels ranging from the Inspector Wallander books, Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy, the various Holmes revivals and so on those of us with an eye on the North Korea novel scene can still hope for a film or television adaptation of a series of books about a North Korean police inspector, James Church’s Inspector O series, they are all available from Amazon and all other good book retailers, here’s a little bit of info about them and some other DPRK-related novels, happy reading!

A Corpse in the Koryo – the first Inspector O book, a body is found in one of Pyongyang’s iconic hotels, great attention to detail all the way down to the names of the days of the week in the lifts of the Hyangsan hotel later in the book

Hidden Moon – The unthinkable happens; a bank robbery in Pyongyang! This complicated story does reward careful attention although some anachronisms such as the police all having mobile phones years before their introduction, grate a little!

Bamboo and Blood – Inspector O’s past catches up with him on this globe-trotting case which sees him in Pyongyang, New York, Geneva, and beyond

The Man With the Baltic Stare – the final part of the series sees Inspector O in rural retirement as unforeseen and nebulous changes take place in Pyongyang with various groups of outside agents vying for influence

In addition to the Inspector O series here are some other North Korea-related novels:

North Korean Memoirs – Sounds interesting – the discovered diary of an American who defected and then escaped North Korea, however it’s an awful book. Inaccurate in detail (the man defects across a room which in reality is completely in North Korea, pedantic I know but still, detail is noticed!), ludicrously wish-fulfilling sex scene, poor pacing, all in all a sad waste

Winter Games – Not a great book by any means, but might be worth reading on a plane. If this was a film it would star Michelle Yeoh, and maybe a young Steven Seagal, make of that what you will!

Your Republic is Calling You – an excellent novel about a long-term North Korean sleeper in South Korea who is suddenly and unexpectedly recalled after years of silence from his bosses. Will he go back, what about his family and new life? Great story-telling, complex characters, a very good and worthwhile novel – although one scene in the book is stolen blatantly from our movie ‘A State of Mind’!!

In a bit of a meta-post I’d like to list some of the finest NK – related blogs that we here at Koryo Tours think are worth reading by anyone interested in anything DPRK, here they are in no particular order; bookmark them all!

NKEconWatch – run by the very knowledgeable and personable Curtis Melvin this site is a great spot for anyone wanting an in-depth look at economic and other issues in North Korea. A highlight is the downloadable overlaid map of the DPRK that has been painstakingly put together and is available for download. You’ll spend hours scanning this map, almost as good as going there yourself!

NKNews – Aggregates all the most interesting DPRK news from a vast variety of sources and sends them out in a daily digest. Saves you all the trouble of trawling through the internet for your North Korea news fix!

NKLeadershipwatch – Essential for anyone wondering who’s who at the top of the DPRK tree, profiles on well known and obscure political figures, as well as commentary cutting through the often baseless speculation about what’s really going on in the Workers’ Party

There are many more blogs related to North Korea of course, from the sympathetic to the oppositional, from the funny to the serious, but these are recommended for daily checking, enjoy!

After earning a degree in tourism, I joined Koryo Tours in April 2011. My job is to arrange North Korean visas so tourists can get in and out of the country, and this past August, I finally got to go myself. Along with Koryo Tours General Manager Simon Cockerel and a host of international travellers, we stayed at Pyongyang’s Yanggakdo Hotel, which had a fantastic view of the whole city. Our itinerary was packed with fascinating sights, but the most exciting part was watching Arirang Mass Games, by far the most amazing show I have ever seen. In the 1970s, China used to do similar events, in fact, my older sister used to perform in our own mass games. But trust me, Pyongyang’s version is much more impressive. The detail was incredible – in the background, there are 20,000 students holding cards to form massive mosaics, and in one scene, they even showed the lights of a car driving up a mountain. As a Chinese national, I also enjoyed the number that honours the China-Korea relationship, I even sang along with the song,” Wu shi liu ge xingzuo, wu shi liu zhi hua”, which means “Fifty-six nationalities, and each of them is a kind of flower…” If this is their “regular” mass games (100,000 performers), I can’t imagine how they can top themselves in 2012 for KIM IL SUNG’s 100th birthday. But if you want to see for yourself, come with Koryo Tours! We are the only North Korea experts in the business, and will give you the best DPRK experience. Check out our website http://www.koryogroup.com, or come visit us in Beijing or Shanghai. Hope to see you there! – Kenna

My name is Cornelia, I am the newest staff member with Koryo Tours. Together with Amanda and Jasmine I am in charge of our independent tours. Today I want to tell you about a group tour though, the Winter Tour 2011, our last group tour of the year and my first trip ever to DPRK.

We flew in with Air Koryo. I was surrounded by friendly Korean men who kept trying to talk to me, so it was a shame I didn’t understand a single word! North Korea (DPRK) was as cold as I expected it to be – it is the winter tour after all – but the sunshine and clear blue sky was a nice change to the grey of Beijing.

Every day was busy and exciting, but some of my highlights were eating dolsotbebimbap, which is tossed (bebim) vegetables over rice (bap) in a stone pot (dolsot), and bowling a few frames at the Golden Lane Bowling Alley with locals enjoying their day off. I had a “conversation” with a little girl and her family, which consisted of the three words I had learned since my arrival. I’ve made myself a promise to learn Korean, but that’s another story…

My favourite place was actually outside Pyongyang, about two hours north of the city. Mt. Myohyang is one of Korea’s five “holy” mountains, and the name means mysterious fragrance. Combine breathtaking scenery and fascinating sites of the Pyohon Buddhist Temple and the International Friendship Exhibition, elaborate gift halls to the leaders, this place is definitely worth a visit! Back in Pyongyang we were lucky to visit June 9^th Middle School, and watch the children perform. We then continued to the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum, which shows the North Korean view on the Korean War. Afterwards we went to see the illuminated Juche Tower by night and enjoyed a beer or two in the Taedonggang Micro-brewery and Bar before having dinner at the Chongryu hotpot restaurant, where I had the most delicious hotpot yet.

For me, the DMZ was a sad, somber place, although a group of Chinese tourists managed to find something funny about it. In nearby Kaesong, we visited the Koryo Museum, which shows traditional and royal life during the Koryo Dynasty, the first time Korea was united. Since Kaesong is an ancient capital, we had food “fit for a king”, called Pansanggi, a collection of side dishes served in little gold bowls. After that we returned to Pyongyang where we saw the USS Pueblo, took a ride on the Pyongyang Metro and finished the day in a duck BBQ restaurant where we grilled our own meat and enjoyed soju, the traditional Korean rice alcohol.

And then it was already time to go back to China. We took the overnight train from Pyongyang to Beijing, a great opportunity to see more of the countryside and reflect on our five-day journey. It was an absolutely amazing trip and unforgettable experience!

April 15th 2012 marks North Korea’s biggest celebration in decades – the 100th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung, who, despite his death in 1994 is still the country’s ‘Great Leader’ and ‘Eternal President’.

This historic day will see epic events and the completion of large-scale national programmes, all furthering what North Korean media calls the creation of a ’strong and prosperous country’ – however flexible that concept may be. We invite you to come with us to experience this once in a lifetime occasion on the ground in Pyongyang

At present, the exact nature of the celebrations and corresponding tourist access is shrouded in the usual mystery – no one knows what visitors can see and do, but as always Koryo Tours will be first in line. Birthday travellers should be ready for sudden changes in itinerary and hotels – all part of the excitement of the country’s biggest holiday period ever!

We have several tours going on over this holiday, including one brand new one we just added to our website; all of them are open for application now.

In brief they are:

Kim Il Sung Birthday Short Tour
- Ideal for anyone wanting to see North Korea’s capital Pyongyang on this massive occasion. We’ll see all the city’s highlights and be there for the nation’s biggest occasion in history.

Kim Il Sung Birthday Long Tour

- In addition to capital sightseeing and anniversary events, this trip goes to the west coast city of Nampo – and for the first time, the surrounding industrial areas which Koryo Tours opened to tourism only this year. Finally, we’ll take in ancient city of Kaesong (buy your famous ginseng here) as well as the notorious DMZ, the concrete barrier that has divided the peninsula for six decades.

Kim Il Sung Birthday Ultimate Tour
- The Big One! If you’ve ever wanted to (almost) fully explore the world’s most mysterious country in one trip, then sign up today. The tour’s complete version runs two weeks; those on tight schedules can book for first or second halves alone. Week one (Option A) takes us around Pyongyang, Kaesong and the DMZ, Mt. Myohyang and the giant gift halls to North Korea’s leaders, the west coast city of Nampo and much more. Choose week two (Option B), and you’ll see the rarely-visited east coast cities of Wonsan and Hamhung, North Korea’s second largest city, which Koryo Tours opened to tourists in 2010. From there we’ll see the stunning Mt. Kumgang area and the country’s most remote area open to travellers.

In its history, Pujon County has only seen one tour group (run by Koryo Tours); if you’re looking for a unique area of a unique country, you won’t do better than this. Option A is nearly closed so book today; Option B is still open for booking, and ideal for those who have seen the main sites and want a second trip.

Option A is filling up fast so we do need to ask for early applications for this tour, Option B is still open for booking, and ideal for those who have seen the main sites and want a second trip. There are 15 places left for the Option A or Ultimate Option!

NEW!! – Kim Il Sung Birthday Week Tour
- Due to high demand we have added another week-long tour, so you can take in the country’s most fascinating sites and still catch the Big Event.

Check out our amazing programme and sign up now to be on the ground for the biggest birthday party of 2012!

While all tours are still open, we strongly suggest that you book sooner rather than later due to high holiday demand. Tours may need to be closed early, so don’t miss out; book now! (early bookings also apply to independent tours)

Instructions and important information are online at: www.http://koryogroup.com/travel_bookingATour.php

Don’t forget we offer discounts for repeat visitors and groups of three or more signing up together. If you’re going to go to the ‘Hermit Kingdom’ for this major holiday then do it right; visit with the world’s only experts in North Korea!

Sign up now at: http://www.koryogroup.com/travel_tourApplication.php

This is part one of  “Traditional Korean Food”

Bibimbap which literally means “mixed meal” is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with vegetables, a raw or fried egg, chili pepper paste and sometimes sliced meat. The ingredients are stirred together just before eating.

Pansanggi, a traditional Korean meal that consists of several small bowls filled with different types of food such as kimchi, fish, rice, pickles and vegetables. It was traditionally eaten by the Korean royalty, but when you come on a tour with us, you will have the opportunity to try it as well.