Like you, a British blogger chose to go to North Korea for his birthday and now he’s talking about what he saw and did there.
In 2019, Simon Wilson took a random trip to the “independent socialist state,” which totally changed the way he thought about things.
Most of the time, the only way for tourists to visit North Korea is as part of a planned trip.
But people who want to journey alone will need a sponsor and permission from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
“I looked it up on Google. “I talked to a few people, and it’s easier than you think,” the YouTuber said in 2020 on the Happy Hour Podcast.
“You know, people get you the visa.” They take care of the trips. They sort, it’s like a trip with all the plans.
British YouTuber Simon Wilson went to North Korea in 2019 for his Birthday (YouTube/Simon Wilson)
“And you know, you can do it for three days, go to North Korea for the weekend, or you can do it for a week, two weeks, as long as you want.”
He began his trip by himself by taking a 24-hour train ride to Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, where he met his tour hosts.
“So as soon as you cross that border into North Korea from China, like, no internet, no phone signal,” he said.
“No, your phone is just out of power.” In other words, I hadn’t talked to anyone outside of North Korea for two weeks.”
Simon told me that people from places like the Netherlands and Germany joined him.
Simon Wilson embarked on a random journey to the ‘independent socialist state’ back in 2019 (YouTube/Simon Wilson)
“I would say North Korea was one of the places that I felt the safest I’ve ever been,” he said.
“I had my camera ready, and I asked, ‘May I take my camera inside?'” Could I bring the stand inside? May I bring the mic in? Could I take this in? Could I understand that?
“They were like, ‘Yeah, do whatever you want.'”
“I ask, ‘May I film everything?'” What can I film, for example? ‘What can I not do?’
“They said, ‘We’ll let you know when you can’t film,'”
“Like, don’t film the buildings; the military wants to keep them safe.” Also, don’t film the army. “Those are the two big no-nos.”
Simon said that the tour guides had never heard of YouTube and that they, like everyone else in North Korea, don’t have a passport and can’t leave the country.
North Koreans can leave the country, though, as long as they get permission from the government.
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Simon Wilson
