Just last year, North Korea opened its borders back up to tourism for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic.
But a trip to the mysterious country isn’t like a typical holiday.
Visitors have to stay with their tour guide at all times and can’t venture alone, they’re also expected to follow certain rules.
Travel YouTuber Drew Binsky, from the US, recently sent a friend from Latvia to North Korea as Americans are currently banned from entering.
In the video, he explained: ‘You can’t leave your hotel or do anything outside of the pre-arranged government approved itineraries.’
However, Drew’s friend managed to find a sneaky way to explore a little without being accompanied by a tour guide.
She had entered the capital city’s marathon and footage showed her running around the area.
‘If you run in the Pyongyang Marathon, you can go for a morning run outside of your hotel without a tour guide,’ Drew said.
Travel YouTuber Drew Binsky, from the US, recently sent his friend from Latvia to North Korea as Americans are currently banned from entering (stock)
The tourist, wearing running gear, panned the camera to show empty streets and said: ‘There’s literally no one around me, just me.’
Visitors should still be careful to respect the rules, though, because if they’re caught missing breakfast ‘they will look for you,’ Drew warned.
North Korea has been working on expanding its tourism industry, and this summer opened a seaside retreat, Wonsan Kalma.
The resort is located on the country’s east coast, near an airport in Kangwon Region.
It was originally planned to boost tourism and has been described by state media as a ‘national treasure-level city’.
Since its opening, all tourists except for those from Russia have been banned from visiting the resort.
Russian blogger Daria Zubkova spent time at the brand new destination and revealed all.
She travelled from Saint Petersburg to Vladivostok in Russia and then to Pyongyang.
However, Drew’s friend managed to find a sneaky way to explore a little without being accompanied by a tour guide (stock)
After spending three days in Pyongyang, she stayed at the Wonsan Kalma resort, which stretches along 2.5miles of white-sand coastline.
Reportedly modelled on Benidorm, the retreat apparently has a capacity of up to 20,000 visitors and features over 40 hotels, guesthouses, and leisure facilities.
‘This is a new resort that is being widely advertised everywhere,’ Daria explained.
The blogger squashed fears of ‘wiretapping’ and being listened to while at the resort, and admitted she ‘wasn’t afraid’ of the possibility ‘because we have nothing to say that would make someone scold us for it’.
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Woman reveals what it’s really like to visit North Korea after finding sneaky way to explore without a tour guide
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