There are many places that could claim that bold assertion…..places like Paris, London, Ibiza, Greece, etc but now we can add one more destination to that list….the country of….(what for it)….North Korea.
It’s not like North Korea tops any “top vacation destinations” lists, but tour companies on Wednesday were still excitedly touting the latest news out of the secluded nation: After nearly five years of even further isolation brought by COVID, the North will open its borders again to foreign tourists. “We have received confirmation from our local partner that tourism to Samjiyon and likely the rest of the country will officially resume in December 2024,” Koryo Tours, based in Beijing, announced on its website, per Reuters.
Another company, KTG Tours, made a similar announcement about Samjiyon—a mountainous town known for its winter activities, and where the country says a “socialist utopia” is being built—on its own site. Per the BBC, that agency wrote on its Facebook page that “we think that Pyongyang and other places will open too!!!”
NK News notes that most of the North’s prepandemic tourists came out of China, though visitors also included “several thousand Westerners” annually. The nation shut its borders once COVID hit, and it only recently started allowing Russian tourists in earlier this year, thanks to warming relations between Pyongyang and Moscow. Chad O’Carroll, who heads up the US-based analysis firm Korea Risk Group, is wary of the news. “I will believe it when I see it,” he tells the BBC. “For now, I am quite skeptical we will see any real movement in December.”
Seriously?
Well when Donald the Orange was visiting he talked about condos on a beach there….maybe that enticed Li’l Kim to consider opening up for some tourist dollars.
But before you dash off to sign up consider this….as an American what are your chances of being arrested for spying?
Would you chance your freedom and possible torture and death to visit this little nation?
I will pass….I will read about it in the funny papers.
Choose wisely for your next vacay.
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
There are several places I would never even consider going to. Of course France is at the top of the list. But North Korea and Russia would be neck and neck for 2nd place.
I rather enjoyed France….I was in Moscow in the early 80s…not a fun place followed wherever you went….vodka was free with the room. NK is not on my list anywhere…for that matter neither is the South. chuq
l suspect I’m probably banned from France anyway thanks to the “French Baby” story I published about 11 years ago.
I am banned from Israel….not that I would ever go…..we have sand here so why bother? chuq
I shared this post about a book called “Nothing To Envy”, which details life inside this country…for anyone who admires Trump, read this book and tell me honestly why you think we should admire someone who controls everything, lets his country starve, and takes away all basic human rights…similar to Russia. You really have NO idea of the life – and human rights and freedoms – you are willing to concede to someone who cares nothing about you. It’s sad to me that people won’t consider truth and reality any longer. Here is the review I posted: https://johnrieber.com/2015/08/13/nothing-to-envy-the-horror-of-life-in-north-korea-brilliant-book-looks-at-this-isolated-hell/
Thanx for the link….I will check it out. chuq