The first British tourists settled back in North Korea to tell BBC what they saw

Do not offend leaders. Do not offend ideology. And don’t judge.

These are the guidelines for the rules that are read to Western tourists as they prepare to drive across the border in North Korea, perhaps the most recent and repressive country in the world.

Then it is practical information. There is no signal for the phone, no internet, no money machines.

“The North Koreans are not robots. They have opinions, goals and a sense of humor. And in our briefing, we encourage people to listen and understand them,” says Rowan Beard, who conducts young pioneers, one of the two Western companies that resumed travel to the country last week after five years.

North Korea seals its borders at the beginning of the pandemic, excludes diplomats, assistants and travelers, and made it almost impossible to know what was happening there.

Since then, it has been further isolated from the greater part of the world, relying on the support of Russia and China. Many doubted whether the Westerners would ever be allowed back.

But after years of Cajoling and a few false starts, Rowan and some other tourist leaders received the green light to restart the operations. He gathered a group of impatient travelers in just five hours, desperately not to miss the opportunity. Most were Vloggers and Travel Addicts, some of which want to mark the final side of their list, along with the strange North Korea enthusiast.

Last Thursday, tourists from the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Australia climbed over the border from China in a remote area of ​​Rason for a four -night trip.

Among them was the 28-year-old British YouTuber Mike O’Kennedy. Even with his reputation, he was startled by the extreme level of control. As with all trips to North Korea, tourists were escorted by local drivers who followed a strict, pre -approved schedule. She included carefully choreographed trips to a beer factory, school and a new, fully stored pharmacy.

Ben Weston, one of the leaders of the Safolk tour, has likened to attend North Korea to “is on a school trip.” “You can’t leave the hotel without the drivers,” he said.

“Several times I even had to let them know when I wanted to use the bathroom,” Mike said. “I never had to do it anywhere in the world.”

Despite the operation, Mike managed to notice fragments of real life. “Everyone worked, there was no feeling that someone was just hanging out. It was somehow gloomy to see.”

During his trip to the school, a group of eight -year -old children performed dance of animation of ballistic missiles hitting goals. A video of the spectacle shows girls and boys with red ties, singing as the explosions blazed on the screen behind them.

So far, tourists are kept far from the capital Pyongyang. Koryo Tours Greg Vaccies, the other tourist company, authorized back, admits that the current route lacks Pyongyang’s Monuments. He suspects that the authorities have chosen Roson as their guinea pig, as the area is relatively contained and easy to control.

Established as a special economic zone to test new financial policies, it acts as a mini capitalist enclave in an otherwise socialist state. Chinese businessmen run joint ventures with North Koreans and can travel inward and go out quite freely.

Joe Smith, an experienced traveler in North Korea and a former writer of North Korea’s specialized platform NK News, was there on his third trip. “I feel that the more times you visit, the less you know. Every time you get a little peek behind the veil that just leaves you with more questions,” he said.

Joe’s highlight was a surprising visit to a luxury goods agency where people were selling jeans and perfumes, along with fake Louis Vuitton bags and Japanese washing machines, probably imported from China. Tourists were not allowed to take pictures here – an attempt to hide this consumer balloon from the rest of the country, they suspected.

“It was the only place people didn’t expect us,” Joe said. “I felt messy and real; a place where the North Koreans actually go. I liked it.”

But according to experienced tour leaders, the group’s movements were more limited than in previous trips, with less opportunities to wander the streets, pop into a barber shop or supermarket, and talk to the locals.

Covid was often cited as a reason, said Greg of Koryo Tours. “On the surface they are still concerned. Our luggage was disinfected at the border, our temperatures were taken and about 50% of people still wear masks.” Greg cannot understand if fear is a real or excuse to control people.

It is believed to be considered Struck a strong North KoreaAlthough it is difficult to know the degree of suffering.

Local drivers repeated the government line that the virus entered the country in a balloon sent from South Korea and was quickly eradicated for 90 days. But Rowan, who has been in North Korea more than 100 times, felt that Roson had been affected by the firm rules of forge. Many Chinese companies closed, he said and their workers had left.

Even Joe, an experienced traveler in North Korea, commented on how destroyed the buildings were. “The seats were poorly lit and there was no heating except in our hotel rooms,” he said, celebrating a trip to a cold, dark and empty art gallery. “I felt they opened the doors only to us.”

Photos of the regime can make North Korea look clean and shiny, Joe said, but you personally realize that “the roads are terrible, the sidewalks are hesitant and the buildings are strangely built.” His hotel room was old -fashioned and dirty, he said, resembling his grandmother’s living room. The whole window was cracked.

“They had five years to fix things. The North Koreans are so sensitive to what they show to tourists. If this is the best they can show, I am afraid to think what else is there,” he said. The greater part of the country is maintained well hidden, with More than four out of 10 people believed to be malnourished and need helpS

One of the few chances of tourists in North Korea to interact with locals is through their guides who sometimes speak English. On these recent trips, they were surprisingly well informed, despite the intensive propaganda machine and the regime’s information blockade. This is probably because they talk to the Chinese businessmen who come and go, Greg said.

They knew about Trump’s rates and the war in Ukraine – even the North Korean troops. But when Joe showed a photo from Syria, his guide did not know President Assad was taken down. “I carefully explained that sometimes when people did not like their leader, they rise and force them, and at first he did not believe me.”

Such conversations must be delicately processed. Strict laws prevent the North Koreans from talking freely. Ask or reveal too much and tourists can put their guide or themselves at risk.

Mike admits that there were times that it upset him. During a trip to a friendship house in North Korea-Russia, he was invited to write in the book of visitors. “I went empty and wrote something like” I wish for world peace. ” Then my guide told me it was an inappropriate writing thing.

“In general, drivers did great, making us feel safe. There were only a few moments when I thought it was weird.”

For the Koryo Tours Greg, these interactions carry a deeper goal of North Korea’s tourism: “North Koreans get the chance to engage with foreigners. This allows them to come up with new ideas that are so important in a country that is closed.”

But tourism in North Korea is controversial, especially since passengers were allowed before the auxiliary workers and most Western diplomats, including the United Kingdom. Critics, including Joanna Hosaniac of the Alliance of Citizens for Human Rights in North Korea, claim that these trips are beneficial for the regime.

“This is not like tourism in other poor countries where locals take advantage of the extra income. The bigger part of the population does not know that these tourists exist. Their money goes to the state and ultimately to its military,” she said.

A conversation settled in the head of YouTuber Mike. During his trip to the school, he was surprised when a girl, after meeting him, said he hoped one day to visit the UK. “I didn’t have the heart to tell her that her chances were very, very thin,” he said.