Continuing favorite moments from part 1, yesterday Josh My favorite moment was learning that the sailor who led the tour of the USS Pueblo was a member of the original boarding party of the ship. I felt he had communicated a message to take what we had learned there and use it to help promote peace, a different message than most of the government-promoted messages. Learning his role made the[…] Keep reading →

Toward the end of our week in North Korea I asked all my travel group-mates what they considered their favorite moment of our trip and why. Jordan Jordan liked playing Frisbee most for interacting with kids. Here he is with some kids he threw the frisbee with, in a picture by Joseph Ferris. Alex Alex said he liked the Mass Games for the spectacle, emotion, synchronicity. Here he is at[…] Keep reading →

North Korea fascinates us. Its leaders, their posturing and militarism, their economics, and more all fascinate us. Their belligerence puts them in the news often. Yet we know little about them. More than fascinating, they are globally important. They are a nuclear power with the world’s fourth largest military and most militarized border. Yet the media, mainstream and otherwise, mystifies them more. No one explains how or why anyone could[…] Keep reading →

I used to love Vice Magazine. I still like it a lot. Ten years ago or so I would scour the East Village for copies when it came out, back when no one knew to associate its back-cover American Apparel ads with harassment lawsuits. I saved copies for years to reread articles I enjoyed. I think I went to some of their parties, but I forget. I appreciate that it’s[…] Keep reading →

People often ask what the government let us do or not. Koryo prepares you for what to expect so we knew all these things before leaving Beijing. Here is a small selection of the rules. No pictures without permission North Koreans seem to resent having their pictures taken when they aren’t performing. I once forgot this rule and took a picture of some people on the street. They got annoyed.[…] Keep reading →

Today I’ll finally cover where we went on each day. Most people who have visited North Korea will recognize at least some of the places since the list of places the government lets you see is so short. For people who have never been there, I’ll cover some later and hope to get to more. Day 0 Orientation in Beijing Search for duck restaurant, exploring Beijing on foot D Lounge[…] Keep reading →

North Korea’s uniquely extreme isolation and disparity of power and wealth means you have to think of it differently than most other countries. Today I’ll present a toy idea not for serious consideration as is, but to provoke thought and promote new, potentially effective ideas or improve other plans. I call it a toy idea so no one accidentally takes it seriously on its own, but plays with it to[…] Keep reading →