Okey Dokey Lokey then. So Ya heard that North Korea is going to Nuke us. (again). I have been to North Korea before and because people are posting about it and a lot of rumors are going around. So i'll tell ya what its like (because im REALLY bored)

Going to North Korea is possible if you are an American (or westerner) but you need to understand a few things first:

1. You will have serious limitations on your movements and speech
   
2. You will always be watched
   
3. You will not be allowed to roam
   
4. You will not be allowed to interact with locals
   

Honestly that list could go on forever but those are the things you need to get into your head first. I know what you must be thinking "why on earth would you ever go to North Korea?". Good Question, My grandfather on my mother's side was an officer in the Korean Peoples Army. My father is African American and my mother is Japanese/Korean. It is a very long story how my grandfather "escaped" North Korea and I wont really get into that. But eventually I just had to see it for myself.

A friend of mine said "oh.. i get it now that's where your love of communism comes from" no in fact that is so off base it made me laugh. I find Chariman Mao and Lenin to be more inspirational than Kim Il Sung.

Going: When you have decided that you are one of the brave individuals who want to go to North Korea you will have to find a tour group here in the west that will take you. You cannot go to North Korea unless you are in a group. (It's easier to monitor groups) The one i went with is based in Chigago. After you fill out all the paperwork, medical check etc you will be on your way. For obvious political reasons you cannot just fly to North Korea. You will have to go to China or Russia first. Once you get into China you have two choices. Rail or Air. North Korea does have one state owned airline with a fleet of aging Soviet planes. You will be warned in China and it will be your only warning. Saying anything bad about the government or its leaders is a crime and you can be arrested for it. They have bugs on the plane so they can hear you. They have bugs in the hotel room so they can hear you. Remember you made this choice to go you have to accept it unless you are curious as to what North Korean labor camps are like.

Arriving: Arriving in Pyongyang you will notice a huge sign at the airport greeting you next to a portrait of the Great Leader Kim Il Sung. They will escort your group to check in and they will do a roll call to make sure everyone is where they should be. This is the fun part. You will spend about 2 hours at the entry point. You will not be allowed to bring any devices connected to the internet into the country. Cell Phones and Laptops are taken from you and you get them back at the end of the tour. You can take a camera but you better watch what you take pictures of. They will ask you for your camera to make sure you don't take pictures of things they don't you to see. Your Tour group will be assigned 3 guides. 2 of them are government "minders" their job is to do nothing but watch you and listen to what you say. They are actually really nice people the two we got were former army officers. All you can and cannot do is based on how much they trust you. They will speak English but knowing Korean never hurt. You will stay at the only hotel for Foreigners. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yanggakdo_Hotel

Again it is bugged so watch what you say. Its best just to get politics out of your mind.

Seeing: Again.. Politics aside North Korea is a beautiful country. Because it is so underdeveloped the natural beauty of the landscape shines through very easily. You will be taken to many of the major monuments and cultural sites. I won't bore you with those ill just tell you what I saw. Because there is no private property in North Korea there is no need for billboards. But they use them for really cool cartoonish Propaganda posters. There are very few cars. There is no official figure but it is estimated there are less than 30 thousand cars. They are all owned by the government through a company they create. They are usually of Chinese, Russian, South Korean or German origin. Because there are no cars it is very .... silent. The sounds you usually associate with a large city hardly apply to Pyongyang simply because there are no cars. Those video's you may have watched about the "North Korean Traffic Girls" that is all entirely true. Everything that we in the west us a "Machine or Vehicle" for they use a person. Instead of using a street sweeper to clean the streets they literally have people with brooms sweeping on the side of the road. The roads are terrible they are filled with pot holes, but because there are so few cars.. they are very ... very clean. Because there are few cars there are no traffic lights. They use "Traffic Circles or Roundabouts" at almost every intersection. The countryside is very pretty. You will see houses that are pretty much the result of a "perfect communist society". The houses are evenly divided, they are all the same size and each has a little farm/garden thing in the front and back.

Doing: You will not be able to do much but they will take you to places to show you "normal" North Korean life. My tour group went to a school and we got to see children perform a song. I think they were 6th graders and they were very skilled with their instruments. At the time I went it was around Kim II Sung's birthday so there was a fair going on. Typical carnival rides, lights and attractions. As I said before they will not let you go around and talk with the locals and whatnot but i doubt many people speak English. They probably do just not sure if it is taught. I encourage you if you plan on going to get a medical check up and some booster shots first. North Korea's medical system is not .. the best in case that wasn't obvious. They do traditional medicine like acupuncture etc. But if you get sick your best bet is to find the German or Swedish Embassy and get back to China for medical care. A Canadian guy on our trip got sick and had to leave early. I brought a lot of bottled water I'm guessing that's what made him sick was the drinking water.

Now let me touch base on the rumors real quick:

Yes, North Korean food shortages are true. And the reason why is North Korea's "Army First" policy. If the people need it the army will get it first.

Yes, North Koreans are aware of what is going on in the world. But their view is only what the government wants them to see. I was able to get a newspaper from a state owned shop. And it did have bits in it about the middle east and what not.

No. North Koreans do not hate America. The government hates America. I was able to have a chat with a girl who had joined the Army and was waiting to be told she could go from her job at the hotel. She told me that "it is the people's responsibility to protect the fatherland". Implying that they only hate us if we invade which ... I mean is understandable. Its the same thing here in America. The government does things we don't like and we don't really have the much we can do about it.

SOOOOO There ya have it. If you had nothing else better to do at least you have a small idea about what life in North Korea is like.