Foreign tourists have been permitted to cross the border into the reclusive nation for the first time in five years as Kim Jong-un finally relaxed the strict travel ban introduced under Covid
Kim Jong-un allowed foreign tourists into North Korea for the first time in five years today.
The borders were closed in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic. Some tour operators crossed the border ahead of the first foreigners in the area of Rason this week. They told how South Korea had been removed from many tourist maps of the Korean peninsula. North Koreans also spoke of their fears that Covid had been sent into the North ‘by balloon’ from the south.
Many of the first visitors were desperate to tick North Korea off their ‘bucket list’ of countries to visit after years of waiting for the travel ban on foreigners to be lifted. One of the first over the border was Australian tour manager Rowan Beard. He told how North Korean border officials were astonished at his arrival and believed that he was Russian. Only Russian nationals have been allowed to visit from abroad in recent months due to the special relationship between the countries.
Mr Beard, of Young Pioneer Tours, joked: “At first, the North Korean immigration official was like, ‘You Russian?’ and I replied, ‘No, I’m Australian’ and handed him my passport.” He was one of a delegation of travel operators invited to assess conditions in Rason ahead of its reopening to tourists.
His company, along with Koryo Tours from Beijing, is running the first trips, leading groups of around 15 visitors each. They visited a local brewery, a foreign language school, a taekwondo academy, and a site where the North Korean, Chinese and Russian borders intersect.
Rason is a resort established in 1991 to attract foreign investment. It was never as popular a destination as the capital Pyongyang, which remains closed to all but Russians. Chinese visitors accounted for about 90 per cent of all foreign arrivals before Covid hit, with 350,000 entering in 2019 alone.
Mr Beard told The Strait Times that demand for the first tours was overwhelming. “In the first five minutes, our inbox started getting smashed with all the inquiries coming in,” he added. “We were being ‘attacked’ from all angles from people wanting more details and to book and to be one of the first to return.”
North Korea is popular with visitors from Australia, Canada and Europe, with some visitors from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. South Koreans remain barred from entry.
The US has prohibited its citizens from travelling to North Korea since 2017 following the death of American student Otto Warmbier. But US filmmaker Justin Martell obtained a second passport at significant personal cost to gain entry. He visited North Korea and saw that the country remains highly cautious about Covid. He heard theories while in the country that the virus entered via balloons sent from South Korea.
Gergo Vaczi, of Koryo Tours, said: “Local guides feel like they are out of practice. They are anxious about their English.” Kim Jong-un has been pictured at a series of events this week as the first tour operators were allowed into the country to arrange for the visits today.
