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Koryo Quarterly – December
2008
Dear All,
Welcome to
the latest edition of our newsletter and thanks in advance
for reading! This time we have a lot of news to round off
the year in tourism, what we have been up to since our last
newsletter 3 long months ago, a round up of what has put
the DPRK in the world’s press since then, a humanitarian
project that we are asking for help with, our expectation
for Mass Games in 2009, info on our ongoing trips to Turkmenistan,
some pretty photographs, and much more besides! Please read
on.
The 2008 tourism season is now at an
end and we had a good year, some difficulties as always
but Koryo tours performed well in a year that saw several
other companies begin to run trips to North Korea also.
Of course in terms of experience, expertise, quality of
tour, and everything that makes the trip even more special
than it should be, there is only one choice! (yes…Koryo
Tours, in case you didn’t realise!)
We’d like to thank all of the
950+ people who travelled with us and our partners this
year and hope that you all have fond memories of the tour.
If you have any feedback or comments we are always more
than happy to hear from you. Also any photos for our guides
in Pyongyang are gratefully received when we deliver them
on our regular visits to North Korea.
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Best
Wishes for 2009!
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This year was notable for being the 60th anniversary
of the creation of the DPRK, the anniversary itself falling on
September 9th which was marked by a military parade and of course
the Arirang Mass Games. Also unique for 2008 was the occurrence
of a second concurrent Mass Games 'Prosper the Motherland!' (also
called Prosper our Country!) which ran at the same time as Arirang,
giving visitors two chances to see the definitive DPRK art form
in its highest manifestation; truly an unforgettable experience
for anyone who attended.

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We opened a few new areas
to tourism over the course of the year including the East
Coast city of Chongjin and the nearby Chilbo mountain area,
Haeju in the south west of the country and various sites
around Pyongyang. We stayed in a few different hotels, many
of which we are now able to offer to our clients and in 2009
we intend to go to even more places than ever before, some
wholly new areas and some new and expanded attractions in
more familiar places – we can’t give out all
details (some innovate, others imitate - have to keep some
of it off the website for now to protect our interest!) but
trust us - you’ll never have another holiday quite
like this one if you choose to go with us next year. We have
vastly expanded our range of tours to be ever-more inclusive
to all demands. Have a look and see if we have something
for you.
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2008 was also the year in which we continued our innovation in new kinds
of tours; we ran a football tour where a foreign side played against
a Korean team in a friendly, and the first ever Ice Hockey, Volleyball,
and even Cricket (yes, cricket!) tours took place, all of them between
visiting westerners and local Koreans. We continued our school trips
and cultural exchange programs and assisted in several interesting
and worthwhile projects, some of which are outlined further below.
We also ran Pyongyang’s first ever pub quiz. It was a very
interesting year for us all and we hope to repeat this innovation
in 2009 so if you have any ideas for trips to DPRK then we would
be more than happy to hear them, there are a great many restrictions
on what can be done there but we have many years of experience and
a track record of getting things done which is second to none, if
it can be done, then we will organise it for you.
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So again thanks for
taking the time to read this newsletter, we hope it is of interest
to you and we hope to get you to Pyongyang and beyond in 2009.
| OVERVIEW |
Tour
update
- mass games update
- 2009 tours
- Turkmenistan
- November Tour Review
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DPRK
news
- Rumours...
- Border Disorder
- DPRK sports' desk
- Ryugyong Update
- Mobiles in Pyongyang
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Koryo
Tours news
- Pyongyang Art Studio
Sale!
- New franchise
- Monthly Film screenings
- Koryo Tours on Youtube
- Reviews of recent film screenings
- Nick's Grand USA tour
- Koryo Tours heads south
- Humanitarian Appeal
- Art In All of Us
- A Postcard from Pyongyang
- Happy Birthday KBC!
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And
finally
- Bespoke Beijing
- Google Earth
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FULL TEXT BELOW
Tours update
- Mass Games update – On or off ? Despite
earlier claims that the Mass Games would not take place again
until 2012 (the 100th anniversary of the birth of DPRK President
Kim Il Sung), it seems possible that the increasingly famous
event Arirang will again be staged in 2009. The most likely dates
are from August to October and although at the time of writing
there is no confirmation of this we are optimistic that the event
will take place as planned. We will of course update our entire
mailing list as soon as we have any more information. North Korean
Mass Games consist of a 90 minute performance featuring 100,000
participants in a monumental display of synchronized gymnastics,
dancing, propaganda, and many other forms of performance; truly
a unique and unforgettable experience which could exist only
in the DPRK and also the Mass Games season is the only time US
citizens are permitted to enter the country as tourists, so keep
those dates penciled in and await updates on the Mass Games of
2009, this is an event not to be missed!
- 2009 tours - we have published our tour
dates and rates for 2009. Next year we are offering a wider
range of tours than ever before at a wider range of prices
to suit (almost) all budgets. We have standard tours taking
in the highlights of the country, more in-depth classic tours
accompanied by Koryo Tours’ expert staff, and exclusive
tours for the best services the DPRK has to offer. We also
continue to offer independent tours for those wishing to go
alone or with a group of friends and with these tours too a
greater range of hotels and sights are available than have
been offered before. We will add more tours to the list as
and when we are able to include the Mass Games (when dates
are finalised), tours for US citizens, and tours around any
other events that are unfixed as yet so do check back for updates.
We also have a charity golf tour this year in June that is
a must for anyone wishing to play every hole in the entire
country while contributing to a good cause, contact
Hannah for more details on this tour. We hope you can make
it to DPRK with us in 2009 and look forward to seeing you there!
Hannah's
2008 Turkmenistan tour review Our group of intrepid
travellers, which was mostly made up of DPRK veterans,
met up in Ashgabat having come from different destinations,
and our week of the weird and wonderful (and heavy vodka
consumption!) started there. I thoroughly recommend the
trip to all – details of our 2009 tours below. The
highlights of the trip for me included:
- swimming in the smelliest and darkest
location ever (underground sulphur lake)
- the coldest night of my life camping
out by the flaming Darvasa Gas Crater (pic right) – and
warming up by the world’s largest gas fire the
following morning
- discovering Barf detergent – available
in powder form and bars
- seeing the biggest dog in Ashgabat – and
its puppy (which was also the size of a small horse) – actually
what was more memorable was the excitement and anticipation
that this visit created!
- a vodka-fuelled engagement bash followed
by karaoke (it’s everywhere!)
- watching the camels being winched
onto trucks at the bazaar
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- Turkmenistan tours in 2009 Entering our 4th
year of offering trips to Turkmenistan we once again have two
tours on the schedule for 2009, one in May and one in November
(nice weather at those times, avoiding the worst of the sweltering
summer heat while dodging the winter temperature drop). Our tour
list is online with
full itineraries and we are taking bookings now. Generally our
groups to Turkmenistan are very small and as we don’t advertise
anywhere else everyone has a common interest in DPRK and other
exotic destinations. We visit the capital city Ashgabat, the
Darvaza flaming gas crater, the Caspian Sea resort of Turkmenbashi,
ancient sites such as Merv, Konye Urgench, and Nisa, an underground
sulphur lake, some museums and monuments (rotating gold statue
being among the best!) the world’s largest market and much
much more besides, travelling around by plane, train, boat, bus,
and even horse if you dare. This is the trip for you if you want
something completely different and to see it in the company of
like-minded folk. Email for more information and spread the word!
- November Tour Review This year’s Winter
Tour to DPRK was well-subscribed with 32 people joining the group.
Due to the size this tour was run as 2 separate trips and so
it was that both groups set off into the unknown on 15th November
this year aboard Air Koryo’s trusty Ilyushin-62. We spent
5 days in the country in which time we managed to see all the
highlights of Pyongyang (including the President Kim Il Sung
Mausoleum which was supposed to be closed, but we managed to
get in anyway), as well as a trip down to the DMZ and to Kaesong
city and an overnight stay at Mount Myohyang where we took in
the International Friendship Exhibition and had a brief hike
in the stunning mountain surroundings. Koryo tours staff on this
tour went to look at a mineral water factory so see if it had
potential for future tours and some of the evening highlights
included visiting the Golden Lane bowling centre in the heart
of Pyongyang to throw a few balls with the locals, as well as
a final night Karaoke party in the world’s most unusually
and bizarrely decorated room (location: a secret, you have to
come to Korea to find out where it is!). This was the last group
tour run by Koryo Tours in 2008, trips resume again in February
next year and we very much look forward to going back, especially
to see what changes have happened in the meantime; more Ryugyong
hotel construction and even a mobile phone network may be up
and running by then (see below for more details). The train ride
back to Beijing was relaxing and necessary after a fully-scheduled
tour and the TVs in every room of the brand new Chinese train
were an added bonus. With any luck we’ll see you in Pyongyang
in ’09!
Koryo Tours News
- Pyongyang Art Studio
Sale! The latest
incarnation of the Pyongyang
Art Studio has just opened at our offices in Beijing.
Here we will be exhibiting various types of North Korean
art with exhibitions rotating every 3 months. We have
exhibits on propaganda, film art, comic book art, and
more already planned so if you are in Beijing please
come on by. We have a vastly expanded retail section
with a great many artworks on offer with prices to
suit all budgets and all different styles of paintings
available as well as Korean books from Pyongyang, bags,
mugs, documentary films, DPRK magazines and newspapers,
postcards, T-shirts, scarves, and oh so much more.
We have an ongoing sale until December 20th where certain
framed pictures are selling for as little as 50RMB
and we have a clearance on certain DPRK books, all
proceeds from discounted items go towards a children’s
charity we are supporting in North Korea. The Art Studio
is open Mon – Fri 10AM – 6PM and on Saturdays
11AM – 3PM but can open at other times on request.
This is the perfect place to get Christmas presents
for hard-to-buy-for people, they may have everything
but we bet they don’t have a laptop bag made
in Pyongyang, or a collection of Pyongyang Times newspapers.
Please come along and have a look at what we have,
window-shoppers welcome and while the sale is on every
visitor gets a free set of postcards map
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- DPRKanada? – We are pleased to
be able to announce that the first Koryo Tours franchise
operation has opened in Canada (site still under construction
at the time of writing). Koryo Canada is run out of Winnipeg
and operates with the full authority of Koryo Tours. Events
are planned in Canada such as film screenings, lectures,
etc so if you’re in the great white north drop an
email to Christopher on koryocanada@gmail.com to
get on his mailing list and to wish him luck in the new
venture
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- Monthly DPRK film screenings Starting in February
2009 we will be running monthly screenings of North Korean feature
films in our office in Beijing. Films we plan to show include
Our Fragrance (about a Korean tour guide overly-influenced by
western tourists and her path to resentment), Pulgasari (the
cult classic DPRK monster movie), Order-027 (about an elite unit
of soldiers infiltrating South Korea during wartime), and many
more. A dedicated mailing list will be set up for those interested
in coming to these events and learning more about DPRK cinema
and each month a film will be shown and then discussed. Please
write to info@koryogroup.com to
be added to the mailing list for these screenings, and look forward
to popcorn and some of the most-interesting but least-seen films
around.
- Koryo Tours YouTube channel We have recently
established the Koryo
Tours YouTube channel - it is still under design at present
but we intend to put as much content as possible on the page;
trailers for our films, tour videos, and all manner of DPRK related
clips and films. If you have a YouTube account please subscribe.
Also if you haven’t already, don’t forget to join
the Koryo Tours Facebook
group
- Reviews of recent film screenings Over the
past couple of weeks a pair of Korean film events have taken
place in Beijing, firstly on November 30th an event was staged
in co-operation with Cherry Lane movies at Yugong Yishan bar
in Beijing where we screened our documentary The Game of Their
Lives, along with the recent DPRK feature film The Schoolgirl’s
Diary, and a brief DPRK documentary on the capture of the US
espionage ship Pueblo. Around 200 people were in attendance for
this event which featured a Q&A from Koryo Tours’ Simon
Cockerell after every film.
On 11th December at Bar Blu in Beijing, Koryo Tours organised a screening
of the cult North Korean monster movie Pulgasari as well as another DPRK
documentary. Pulgasari is fascinating film described as DPRK’s Godzilla
and more can be read about it here.
Thanks to all who came along. We hope to have many more in the future.
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- Nick’s tour of the USA Nick
Bonner traveled to the US for a three week lecture tour
of ten US Universities from east coast Berkeley to west
coast Harvard, screening the documentary films he produced
and talking on Korean art. The trip was organized by the
Korea Society whose New York office and gallery are showing
a collection of our woodblocks. This is the first time
DPRK art has been exhibited in the US and will continue
touring around the US in 2009. More
info
- Talks in SK in Jan 2009 In
the second half of January 2009 Simon Cockerell will be
in Seoul, South Korea on a brief film and lecture tour
including the International Club, Professional Women’s
Association, and the Royal Asiatic Society. Exact schedule
is not yet fixed but we will update all on our mailing
list who live in South Korea as soon as it is finalised,
we hope you can make it along to one of the talks, tell
your friends too! Koryo Tours merchandise and some artworks
will be available at the events also.
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- Humanitarian Appeal In 2009 Koryo Tours is
launching another charitable appeal, this time to assist in funding
various projects run by the Korea
Education Fund, DPRK’s only indigenous NGO. Full details
of the projects we intend to raise money for will be available
on our website soon as well as ways in which you can donate money
to the projects but we intend to focus on improving facilities
at institutions for children on the east coast of DPRK, including
residential homes for children with disabilities and educational
facilities. Our intention is to raise funding for essential items
that many places lack such as soap, adequate clothing for inclement
weather, kitchen equipment for safe and hygienic preparation
of food etc. In many parts of the country great hardship still
exists despite the best efforts of those inside the country as
well as foreign donors and NGOs so there is an ongoing need for
donations and support. If you would like to donate then please
get in touch or wait for the relevant page on our website to
go online and you can see what is needed and where it will go.
Korea Educational Fund works in partnership with foreign organisations
such as the Korea Maranatha Foundation of Australia and is an
accountable body. All funds donated to any such project are used
in full to fund the specified projects, being based in DPRK makes
overheads for the organisation very low so direct donations such
as these go a long way. If you are interested please give generously
to those in need.
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Art In All of Us in
the DPRK
In November we arranged a school visit to Rungwa Primary School in Eastern
Pyongyang for Anthony Asael from ART
IN ALL OF US. This is a non-profit organisation which, through the
mediums of art, photography and poetry, aim to promote peace and foster
awareness and tolerance of other cultures between children from all over
the world. With the children in Pyongyang Anthony had them taking photos
of each other, drawing pictures of their country and writing poems about
the DPRK. To find out more about the project please watch their promotional
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- A Postcard From Pyongyang In order to help
promote our tours we are offering a postcard service. If you
send us the name and address of a friend/relative who you would
like to receive a postcard from Pyongyang we can arrange for
this to be done. If you are interested in this offer please contact
us for more details. Postcards are limited to one per applicant.
- Happy 10th Birthday KBC Koryo Tours would
like to wish our friends at Korea
Business Consultants (KBC) congratulations on reaching the
10th anniversary of the establishment of their company. Since
1998 KBC have been acting as a bridge to bring outside investment
into the DPRK, as well publishing an essential monthly newsletter
and being involved in a variety of fascinating business projects
in North Korea. Well done to everyone at KBC and we wish you
many more years of success.
DPRK News
- Rumours - Since September North Korea has
appeared frequently in international news mainly due to ongoing
speculation over the health of DPRK leader Kim Jong Il. Cutting
through most of the slightly madder speculation (not quite as
unlikely as the recent
claim that he in fact died in 2003) the claim, originally
from South Korean intelligence sources, is that in late August
Kim suffered a minor stroke, he is expected to recover fully
but was not fit enough to attend the Sept 9th parade marking
the state’s 60th anniversary, a report can be found here.
DPRK news in institutions fully deny that the Leader has any
health problems at all and released photographs of Kim Jong Il
out and about. There followed speculation that
the pictures had been tampered with but this remains inconclusive
with Scientific American magazine publishing an article refuting
this claim. So as ever with DPRK the only certain thing is that
there is uncertainty; nobody at Koryo Tours has access to any
information regarding DPRK’s leaders other than that which
is published, and the average DPRK citizen has only domestic
news reports to go on, so speculation continues, keep an eye
on news sources such as www.nkeconwatch.com for
updates on what is being claimed and counter-claimed.
- Border disorder? - In addition to rumours
such as the above there has also been a recent flurry of news
over the closure in part or in full of the border between DPRK
and China, as well as that between DPRK and South Korea. Much
of the news is murky and confusing but facts that appear to be
established now include that the Kaesong day trips run by Hyundai
Asan from South Korea into the North are currently
suspended which means that no tourists can enter from the
South for the time being (the Mount Kumgang resort is still closed
at the time of writing also) and there are also reports that
movement in and out of the Kaesong industrial park are being
limited as well as the cancellation
of a daily train between North and South Korea (which ran
empty almost all of the time, so this is less of a shock). It
remains to be seen whether this will be a temporary closure just
for winter or a longer-term scaling back of what was a very lucrative
project for the North.
Also much speculated upon has been the alleged restrictions applying to the
DPRK – Chinese border, this is an easier one for us to clear up; every
year sometime in mid-November DPRK restricts entry to Chinese tour groups
entering the country by train, this is an annual event and despite this there
are always reports that the border is closed and something unusual is afoot.
No reason is given for this restriction but it means that the number of Chinese
tourists dwindles dramatically, as for them, air travel is the only way to
reach the DPRK until the land border re-opens in February of the next year.
For non-Chinese tourists the border remains open and group and individual
tours continue until December 15th when the country is closed to all tourists
for a month. Again this is an annual event and although no reason is given
for this policy is is predictable and anticipated. It is possible to enter
the DPRK as a tourist up until December the 15th 2008 and then again from
January the 15th 2009 (be the first western visitor of the year, book now!),
this has been the case for many years now and it is therefore no surprise
at all that this policy is continued, We hope this clears up at least some
of the speculation regarding policy towards tourists on the China – DPRK
border.
- And now over to our sports desk – 16th
November saw the final of the FIFA under 17s Women’s world
cup played in New Zealand between the USA and DPRK teams. After
a shocking start conceding an utterly unnecessary goal in the
first few minutes the Koreans fought back over the following
90 minutes and 2 periods of extra time to take the match 2-1
with a pair of very well taken goals including a real captain’s
goal to clinch the title. Read the FIFA
report. This made DPRK reigning world cup holders in Women’s
football at both under 17 and under 20 levels, however their
under 20 crown was snatched by the American team on 7th December
in a 2-1
thriller in Chile. Congratulations to all teams involved
and lets hope that DPRK and the US can have many more top level
football matches, both countries have excellent women’s
football at all levels and look set to contest many more trophies
in the near future.
- Ryugyong Hotel construction continues apace – Well
known to lovers of unusual architecture as well as DPRK
watchers in general the 105 floor pyramid-shaped Ryugyong
Hotel in central Pyongyang is one of the most recognizable
buildings in the North Korean capital. As mentioned in
a previous newsletter, work resumed in May 2008 after a
16 year hiatus as a contract was signed with Egyptian company
Orascom to make the building functional, if anyone knows
how to build a pyramid it’s the Egyptians and although
it looked at one stage as if total construction time would
rival those at Giza, the Ryugyong has recently been undergoing
a growth spurt with glass cladding spreading across two
sides of the structure, and even the rare sight of electric
lights inside being seen in the evenings as work goes on.
Planned opening date for the hotel is April 15th 2012;
the 100th anniversary of the birth of President Kim Il
Sung, massive events will obviously be taking place at
this time so book a tour now! Of course Koryo tours will
have a full range of trips on offer at that time.
- “I can’t hear you!, I’m on
the subway!” - As the Wikipedia page linked
above mentions, the Orascom deal includes their contract
to provide a civilian mobile phone network in Pyongyang,
the current network is only used by foreigners and some
high-ranking Koreans. There is a rumour that the network
may in act go online by mid-December this year. Handsets
will then go on sale to the general public and slowly
the still and silent air of Pyongyang will fill with
the sounds of people yelling “yobosaiyo!” down
handsets after a blast of the latest Cantonese pop music
alerts them to a call…..or this may be a few years
off yet, handsets are expected to be expensive at first
and out of reach of most people until prices come down,
no information is available as to the compatibility of
the new network with international networks; whether
calls can be made into or out of the DPRK, whether tourists
can finally take in their phones, what the costs will
really be, etc but watch this space for more news.
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And finally
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- Bespoke Beijing For
independent-minded travelers coming to Beijing to join
a DPRK tour (or even just coming to Beijing) there is
a new company run by friends of ours which offers a new
concept in suggested (as opposed to arranged) travel – long-term
Beijing residents have put together unbeatable packages
to help out visitors who want to know the best places
to go, eat, sleep, and visit but don’t need to
be guided around. Go check out their website for
what they have to offer, we unreservedly and enthusiastically
recommend their services for anyone coming to China’s
capital for any reason.
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- Google Earth – The latest and expanded
edition of the labeled North Korea map on Google Earth compiled
by our good friend Curtis over at www.nkeconwatch.com is
now online, many updates have been made and it is better than
ever. Explore the country from the air before you take the tour.
Download as a patch (you
need Google Earth already, it is a free download so easy to get).
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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