World traveler tells what it’s like to visit recently reopened North Korea

By Hannah Van De Peer via SWNS

A backpacker who has visited recently-reopened North Korea twice while traveling the world - said it was one of the “wildest” experiences of his life.

Gunnar Garfors, 48, explored every country in the world twice - and made sure “controversial” countries like North Korea were on his list both times.

North Korea reopened its doors to tourists for the first time in four years earlier this month - and the tourists are the first to visit the country since 2020.

Gunnar offered his top tips for those hoping to visit the country - and the strict rules tourists must follow to avoid punishment.

He says new tourists need to make sure their itineraries are strict - and know that phones are often confiscated as soon as they land.

He also recommends visitors head to South Korea for a few days - if they’re looking for a “break” away from Kim Jong Un’s face - which is on every newspaper, stamp and painting, he said.

Gunnar, a journalist from Oslo, said: “Visiting North Korea was one of the most surreal experiences of my life - it can wear you out very fast.

“Before you go, you always have to plan your itinerary to the last detail - you won’t see anything you’re not supposed to see, and there’s little room for impulsivity.

“Walking through Pyongyang is like walking through a scene from a propaganda film - you realise everything you’re being told is warped.”

Gunnar first visited Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, in 2009 - and stayed for five days.

He traveled with a group of friends he’d met on Facebook, alongside his ex-girlfriend, and the group were assigned two local guides for their entire stay,

Phones were also confiscated when they landed - as the global internet is banned in the country.

He said: “Even if you’re alone, you still need two guides with you at all times.

“The government doesn’t want people to break from their groups and start telling local people what the rest of the world is like.

“They’re fine, they’re mostly there to look after you - but also want to keep you in line.

“Even guides need to take bathroom breaks, though, and as soon as one breaks away from the group, the other usually begins to ask questions, like what it’s like to live in other countries.”

The first time Gunnar went to North Korea, he mostly explored Pyongyang, visiting sites like the USS Pueblo - an American warship.

He visited the North/South border, and tried to speak to as many locals as he could - although hardly any of them spoke English, and most had been instructed not to speak to tourists in the first place.

“You can talk to people here and there,” he added.

“Mostly bar and restaurant staff, or workers in shops - but managers have trained them on how to avoid unauthorised communication.

“This means there’s strictly no discussing the outside world - people aren’t allowed to ask us about where we come from or what we do.

“There are lots of things we can’t ask, either. We have to be careful when talking to locals about their own history - and we certainly can’t question their way of life.

“But it’s striking - visiting the captured American warship was surreal.

“It was the clearest example of propaganda I’d ever seen - you’re told, in a very dramatic voice, about the heroic North Koreans and the awful, nasty Americans!”

The second time Gunnar visited the country was eight years later - and some stark changes had been made in that time.

Tourists were allowed to keep their phones, purely for the purpose of taking photos.

Pyongyang had been modernised - but the countryside, which Gunnar was able to visit, stayed the same.

He said: “It really hits you in the countryside, you get a feeling the city is for all the ‘important’ people.

“It’s fairly modern in Pyongyang now, you’ve got decent food, modern skyscrapers, and decent culture. But in the countryside, people have nothing.

“There’s no agriculture - local farmers have to use their hands for digging. There aren’t any tools or tractors - even animals to help pull the load.

“They can’t communicate in English at all - so you have no way of talking to them.”

Gunnar says the most striking thing about North Korea is how much their “great leader” is plastered all over their newspapers, stamps and postcards - as well as a statue at every turn.

Creasing or folding a newspaper with a picture of the dictator on the front is considered a highly offensive act - and stealing anything bearing his image is a serious crime in the eyes of the government.

Gunnar said: “I sent a postcard to a friend of mine, back in Norway. In order to write as much as possible, I turned the stamp on its side and wrote underneath it.

“When it arrived, my friend noted the stamp had been turned right-way-up, covering up a lot of my writing.

“There’s a rule - the great leader’s image must not be turned on his side on any letter or postcard.

“He’ll always be on the front page of a newspaper - and you can’t fold it, because that would be disrespectful.

“Statues, paintings, stamps, newspapers - he’s like a sort of demi-god, he’s absolutely everywhere.

“It wears you out quite quickly, being told propaganda all the bloody time. It’s a truly bizarre country.”

Gunnar has no plans to visit again, despite the borders reopening for the first time since early 2020.