North Korea - Bắc Triều Tiên

North Korea (Official name Democratic People's Republic of Korea or North Korea) is a country in East Asia occupies the northern half of the Korean peninsula between South Korea Flying and the sea Japan. Bordered by China to the north, Russia to the northeast and South Korea in the south.

Traveling traveling to North Korea is only possible when you join a guided tour. Independent travel is not allowed. If you are not prepared to accept restrictions on your movement and behavior, you should not travel to North Korea at this time.

overview

History

The Japanese domination of Korea (1905 - 1945) ended with World War II. Korea was supported by the Soviet Union to establish a socialist government in the north from the 38th parallel and the United States helped to establish a national government south of the 38th parallel, but the United States and the Soviet Union could not consensus on the application of the Co-Mandate in Korea, and the northern government disagrees with the general election to be unified throughout the country. This led to the establishment of separate governments in the north and south, each claiming to be the legitimate government of all of Korea.

Rising tensions between the two governments in the north and south eventually led to the Korean War, when on June 25, 1950 North Korea accused South Korea of ​​allowing armed groups to cross the 38th parallel of sabotage. transportation and North Korea launched the war. The war lasted until July 27, 1953, when United Nations forces and the Korean People's Army and Chinese Volunteers signed the Korean War Armistice Agreement. The Korean Demilitarized Zone (K-DMZ) divides the two countries.

North Korea was led by Kim Il Sung (Kim Il-sung) as Secretary General of the Workers' Party of Korea and Chairman of the National Defense Council of Korea from 1948 until his death on July 8, 1994. in fact, Kim is acknowledged as the holder of "the highest position of the nation" (i.e. Head of State). He was succeeded by his son Kim Chinh Nhat (Kim Jong-il), and then his grandson Kim Chinh An (Kim Jong-un). The country's international relations have generally improved, and there was a historic North-South summit in June 2000. However, tensions with the United States have recently increased with North Korea. Tien continued their Nuclear Weapons Program.

During the reign of Kim Jong-il in the mid-1990s, the country's economy was severely reduced by the collapse of the socialist countries, and food shortages occurred in many regions. According to aid organizations, thousands of people in the countryside died of starvation, exacerbated by the collapse of the food distribution system.

Many North Koreans have illegally entered the People's Republic of China in search of food. Hwang Jang-yop, International Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea defected to South Korea in 1997[10]. According to the Daily NK news site of North Korean refugees in South Korea (South Korea), after Kim Jong-un inherited the throne from his father, North Korea ordered to shoot all who dared to cross the border and punish them. punish their relatives for 3 generations by sending them to re-education camps, mass prosecution, or cutting food stamps to gradually starve to death.

Geography

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is located in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula stretching 1,100 kilometers (685 mi) from the Asian mainland. It shares borders with three countries and two seas. It borders the Yellow Sea and Korea Gulf to the west, and the Sea of ​​Japan to the east. Bordering land, North Korea borders three countries South Korea, China, and Russia. The highest point in Korea is the 2,744 meters (9,003 ft) Baitou Peak and the main rivers are the Tumen and Yalu.

The climate is quite temperate, with heavy rainfall in summer with a short rainy season called jangma (East Asian monsoon), sometimes quite cold winters. North Korea's capital and largest city Pyongyang (P'yŏngyang); Other major cities include Kaesŏng (Kaicheng) in the south, Sinŭiju (Tan Nghia Chau) in the northwest, Wŏnsan (Nguyen San) and Hamhŭng (Ham Hung) in the east and Ch'ŏngjin (Thanh Tan) in the east. North.

Region

City

• Pyongyang - capital city and ancient capital of Goguryeo kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period
• Chongjin - industrial city in the northeast, very few tourists
• Kaesong - former capital during the Goryeo Dynasty
• Wonsan - East Coast port city is slowly opening to tourists
• Nampho - industrial center and port city on the west coast

Other destinations

Arrive

In principle, anyone is allowed to travel to North Korea, and those who can complete the check-in process are not denied entry by North Korea. Tourists are not allowed to visit outside of the pre-approved zone without the permission of the North Korean guide in order to avoid spies in the area.

Travelers with US passports are generally not eligible for visas, although exceptions have been made in 1995, 2002, and 2005. North Korea has informed travel organizers that they will issue visas to US passport holders in 2006. South Korean nationals need special permits from both governments to enter North Korea. In 2002, the area around Kŭmgangsan (Diamond Mountain), a beautiful mountain near the Korean border, was designated as a special tourist attraction Kŭmgangsan Tourist Area, where South Korean citizens do not need a permit. special permission. Tours run by private companies bring thousands of people in the southern part of the Korean peninsula to Mount Diamond every year.

Tour

North Korea can only be visited in the form of an organized group or individual tour. Prices start at around US$1000 / €700/UK £580 for a 5-day tour group including food, accommodation and transport from Beijing, but can go up significantly if you want to travel around the country or "independent" (as your own group escort). Tour operators/travel agencies organize their own tours to North Korea including:

• Asia Pacific Travel, Ltd. [1] - Chicago
• Choson Exchange [2] - USA, UK and Singapore. Not a tour agency, rather they provide training in business and economics in Pyongyang, but they occasionally bring people to visit North Korean universities
• DDCTS [3] - Dandong, China
• Encounter Korea [4]- Hong Kong, Switzerland, UK.
• Geographic Expeditions [5] - San Francisco, USA
• Juche Travel Services [6] - UK, Beijing
• Koningaap [7] - Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Korea Konsul [8] - Stockholm, Sweden
• Korea Reisedienst [9] - Hanover, Germany
• Koryo Tours and Koryo Group [10] - Beijing, Shanghai, Belgium, UK. Also organizes school visits and sports exchanges and has co-produced 3 documentary films about North Korea
• Lupine Travel [11] - Wigan, UK.
• NoordKorea2GO [12] - Amsterdam, Netherlands
• North Korea Travel [13] - Spain, Hong Kong
• The Pyongyang Project [14] - Yanji, China / Vancouver, Canada (Canadian non-profit that organizes academic programs, student trips, exchanges and Korean language study abroad at universities in the DPRK and Yanbian)
• Viajes Pujol [15] - Barcelona, ​​Spain
• Regent Holidays [16] - Bristol, UK
• Tiara Tours [17] - Breda, Netherlands
• Universal Travel Corporation [18] - Singapore
• Uri Tours Inc. [19] - NYC, US (runs standard and customized tours to the DPRK; also an Air Koryo ticketing agent in the US)
• VNC Asia Travel [20] - Utrecht, Netherlands
• Yangpa Tours [21] - USA, Korea - for all overseas Koreans focusing on food and culture.
• Young Pioneer Tours [22]
• Your Planet [23] - Hilversum, Netherlands

By air

By train

By car

Travel from China to Korea at Dandong, where there is a bridge across the Yalu River.

By bus

By boat

Go

Language

North Korea shares the Korean language with South Korea (South Korea) but is undergoing a drastic change in grammar following the script reform. There are some dialect differences within both Koreas, but the border between North and South does not appear to be a major linguistic border. There have been some minor differences, originally in the words used in the recent reforms.

The most notable linguistic difference between the two Koreas is the written language, with the restriction of words of Chinese origin in common usage in North Korea. In South Korea, on the other hand, Chinese words are still widely used, although in many cases, such as newspapers, they are rare.

The romanization of the script is also different. North Korea continues to use McCune-Reischauer's romanization of Korean while the South uses a modified version.

Shopping

Expense

Food

Drinks

Accommodation

Learn

Do

Safe

Medical

To respect

Contact

This tutorial is just an outline, so it needs more information. Have the courage to modify and develop it !