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Newsletters
Koryo Quarterly – May/June 2007
Dear All
Welcome to our Newsletter for Spring 2007, we have much to report on what has
taken place over the last 3 months and also plans for the future, please read
on as it’s all here; Mass Games (past and future), more news on our new
film and book, giant rabbits and much more, US citizens especially may be interested
to see that there is likely to be a second chance for them this year to take
a break from Imperialism and visit the ‘Workers Paradise’ and anyone
who has yet to expose themselves to the insane miracle of Arirang can see below
for links to the dates for their next chance, not something to be missed!
All the news and some nice pictures are below but if you want to cut to the
chase and find out when you can go and what you can do then hit the links below;
otherwise read, hope it entertains!
US CITIZENS and NON-US
CITIZENS
OVERVIEW
Tours update
- Mass Games update – BRAND NEW INFORMATION!
- Blogs and reports by tourists
- US tours for 2007
- What we have to offer this year
- Turkmenistan, plus ca change?
Crossing the
Line
- New York Premiere in August
- Review from UK TV screening
Koryo Tours
events
- ‘Welcome to Pyongyang’ book launched
- Guardian audio slideshow for ‘Welcome to Pyongyang’
- 4th North Korea pub quiz in Beijing
Other news
- Wagons North! Train line activated between DPRK and ROK
- Giant Rabbits; you couldn’t make it up!
- DPRK Soju on sale in the US
FULL TEXT BELOW
Mass Games update
- As you may well be aware the Arirang Mass Games took place
between April 14th and May 5th this year (scaled back from its
original finishing date of May 15th) performed at the May Day
Stadium in Pyongyang (the largest capacity stadium in the world)
this spectacle never failed to disappoint despite its relatively
short run. This set of Mass Games was timed to coincide with
one of the biggest holidays in recent years in North Korea; the
95th birthday of the founder of the Republic and eternal President
of the DPRK, Kim Il Sung, on the birthday itself a Mass Dance
of 50,000 local people filled Kim Il Sung Square while the main
event; the Mass Games themselves began the day before, Kim Jong
Il didn’t manage to attend any of the performances this
time round, but keep an eye out for him if you’re in Pyongyang
for the second run of Mass Games which are planned for August
1st to September 10th later this year! US citizens were invited
for a rare chance to see the North and came in significant numbers
for the Mass Games despite being limited to only 3 night stays,
this was only the 4th chance for Americans to enter the country
since 1995, so a unique opportunity well-grasped by the lucky
few! We hope for more openings to Americans in the future but
obviously have no control over this, we will of course update
all who are on our list as soon as we have any news, keep checking
the website for updates as well!
- Extra Update – Breaking News! – We have just been
informed by Pyongyang that the Mass Games is now intended to
run from August 1st to October 10th later this year (rather than
September 10th, the previously ‘confirmed’ date)
this is not 100% sure as ever so we plan to wait for further
confirmation before adding any more tours at this time, we will
send out an update as soon as we hear more about the dates for
the next run of the Arirang Mass Games
- We will be limiting the size of our US tour groups this year
to 16 people for the VIP tours and 25 people for the regular
groups, therefore we encourage early booking to avoid disappointment
- Even More breaking news!!!! - We have been informed that it
is a remote possibility that stays for US citizens may be extended
beyond the prior limits of 3 nights, perhaps one extra night
will be allowed and there is a chance that train travel from
Pyongyang to Beijing at the end of the tour may be permissible,
this is far from confirmed and we expect it to remain that way
for sometime, we expect to hear more about this in around a month
and strongly recommend to all US citizens booking on our tours
that they be as flexible as possible in terms of fixing dates
to arrive in and depart from Beijing at the beginning and end
of the tour so that if extra possibilities arise they can be
taken advantage of, in DPRK it is not unheard of for possibilities
to present themselves at short notice (for example we were able
to take our Spring US tours to the Mausoleum of President Kim
Il Sung – the first time Americans have ever been allowed
in there- with only 12 hours notice), in brief our advice is
to be ready for short-notice changes and as much flexibility
as possible is appreciated, we will of course update as soon
as more information and confirmation becomes available!
Crossing the Line- view the film on BBC4, March
22nd
- Please take the time to check out the website for our newest
film ‘Crossing the Line’ www.comradejoe.com
- Crossing the Line now has a date and place for its US cinema
Premiere; it will take place on August 11th at Cinema Village
in New York City, if you’re in the area please go along
to see the film, you may even be able to sneak a bottle of DPRK-made
Soju into the theatre (see the news below) if you live outside
the Big Apple then keep an eye on the film’s website for
updates about when it will appear on a screen near you
- BBC4 in the UK recently screened Crossing the Line (anyone
in the UK miss it? Shame on you!) and here’s a link to
recent review;
http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/index.php?menuID=2&subID=1536
Koryo Tours News
- The Guardian website has an audio slideshow of some pictures
from the book as well as commentary from Nick Bonner and Charlie
Crane, please check it out at http://www.guardian.co.uk/slideshow/page/0,,2083188,00.html
- North Korea Pub Quiz! – the 4th in our irregular series
of quizzes will be held in Beijing on Thursday 28th June, please
email simon@koryogroup.com for more information,
prizes to be won and fun guaranteed! No cover charge of course!
Other news
- Finally after many years of speculation and delays the train
line laid between North and South Korea became operational with
a one off journey from the South to the city of Kaesong just
north of the DMZ and promptly back again, here’s a report http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1266189,00.html plane-dodgers
don’t get too excited just yet! there isn’t any suggestion
of cross-DMZ passenger traffic happening for some time, the primary
purpose of the proposed ‘Iron Silk Road’ is for cargo
shipments between South Korea and all lands to the West (Russia,
China, and Europe), but watch this space for updates.
- Rabbit pie, with a side of sour grapes – One of the oddest
stories to emerge from North Korea recently has been the mysterious
fate of Robert, the prize-winning giant German rabbit, sold to
DPRK and now unaccounted for, Der Spiegel got the scoop and here’s
the full skinny, you couldn’t make this up! http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,475218,00.html
- Trade Barriers Crumble – well sort of….It looks
like an enterprising Korean-American businessman may have found
a way to legally import North Korea produced Soju to the United
States, for the Americans we took recently who got a taste for
the stuff this will certainly be welcome news, tastes just as
good chilled or warm (ominously!) http://www.dprkstudies.org/2007/05/06/north-korean-pyongyang-soju-to-be-sold-in-america/
- Bombs away…again – On Friday May 25th DPRK tested
some more missiles, firing them into the sea of Japan, it isn’t
clear at this time exactly what type of missiles these were,
but the test was described by the White House as ‘routine’ http://www.abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3211583 and http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200705/s1933930.htm
- Turkmenistan News – Most of the headlines generated by
Turkmenistan since the death of the President in December have
been made in oil and gas industry periodicals, with pipelines
to Russia, expanding and continuing exploitation of Caspian Sea
energy resources the new President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov
seems to be pretty money-minded, however this isn’t what
tourists go for; the rotating statue of the Turkmenbashi still
spins (the locals joke that actually the heavens revolve around
the statue!), and no major changes have taken place, no de-Turkmenbashiization
process has been announced just yet! A handful of internet cafes
have recently opened in Ashgabat and there is a general optimistic
feeling that change is just around the corner, which makes this
time of transition a perfect and unique chance for anyone to
visit, join us in November when we head for the least-seen of
all the ‘Stans to hit various cities and places of interest,
camp under the stars at an ever-burning gas crater in the desert,
swim in a lake 80 metres beneath the ground, and witness the
most unusual personality cult left in the world, go while it’s
all still there!
THANK YOU FOR READING THIS NEWSLETTER – PLEASE PASS
ON THE LINK TO ANYONE WHO MAY BE INTERESTED AND OF COURSE WE
WELCOME YOUR COMMENTS!
Nick, Hannah, Simon and Emily at Koryo Tours.
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