Greetings From North Korea

North Korea is one of the most isolated, authoritarian, and unpredictable countries in the world. It’s also a nation that the United States has been at odds with for seven decades.

In the Korean War (1950-53), Americans fought against North Korea to prevent the Communist takeover of South Korea. The war ended in a cease-fire but no peace treaty. More recently, North Korean leaders have charged ahead with developing nuclear weapons and have repeatedly threatened to use them.

After decades of frustrated attempts by the international community to negotiate with North Korea, then-President Donald Trump took a different approach in 2018: He met twice with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, and the two vowed to work toward peace. But the two countries remain in an uneasy standoff.

In the summer of 2019, Vladimir Somov, then 16, spent a week in North Korea by himself, exploring the country’s monuments and talking to its people. Here’s his account of that experience.      

  —Upfront

North Korea is one of the most isolated, authoritarian, and unpredictable countries in the world. It’s also a nation that the United States has been at odds with for seven decades.

In the Korean War (1950-53), Americans fought against North Korea to prevent the Communist takeover of South Korea. The war ended in a cease-fire but no peace treaty. More recently, North Korean leaders have charged ahead with developing nuclear weapons and have repeatedly threatened to use them.

After decades of disappointing attempts by the international community to negotiate with North Korea, then-President Donald Trump took a different approach in 2018. He met twice with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, and the two vowed to work toward peace. But relations between the two countries remain tense.

In the summer of 2019, Vladimir Somov, then 16, spent a week in North Korea by himself. He used the time to explore the country’s monuments and talk to its people. Here’s his account of that experience.

When the plane landed in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, the first thing I noticed was how eerily quiet it was. The only passengers in the airport were the 35 people who’d arrived on the plane with me. There were no stores selling souvenirs, no food courts offering snacks. There were, however, quite a few soldiers holding rifles in the arrivals security area.

At passport control, I was told to empty the contents of my pockets and my bags, and everything was searched. The officials looked through every page of my SAT prep book to make sure I hadn’t brought anything illegal or anti-North Korea. They searched my phone to make sure I didn’t have any inappropriate photos or banned movies.

When the plane landed in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, the first thing I noticed was how quiet it was. That seemed strange. The only passengers in the airport were the 35 people who’d arrived on the plane with me. There were no stores selling souvenirs, no food courts offering snacks. But there were quite a few soldiers holding rifles in the arrivals security area.

At passport control, I was told to empty the contents of my pockets and my bags, and everything was searched. The officials looked through every page of my SAT prep book to make sure I hadn’t brought anything illegal or anti-North Korea. They searched my phone to make sure I didn’t have any inappropriate photos or banned movies.

Then I was assigned two government guides, who would watch over me for the entire trip. They had created an itinerary and said I wouldn’t be allowed to do anything alone. For a moment, I wondered if coming here by myself had been a mistake.

It was the summer before my junior year in high school, and my plan was to spend a week in North Korea, the most reclusive Communist country in the world. As far as we can tell, I’m the first American high school student to visit in that nation’s 73-year history.

The idea started when my mother, who’s a journalist, came back from a North Korean work trip a few years ago and said, “North Korea is the only place left on Earth that is so reminiscent of the Soviet Union.” Both my parents grew up in the Soviet Union before moving to the U.S., where I was born. I wanted to see North Korea to try to understand where my parents came from and what they lived through. Because I have dual citizenship, I was able to use my Russian passport to visit North Korea even though Americans are banned from traveling there.

Then I was assigned two government guides, who would watch over me for the entire trip. They had created an itinerary and said I wouldn’t be allowed to do anything alone. For a moment, I wondered if coming here by myself had been a mistake.

It was the summer before my junior year in high school. My plan was to spend a week in North Korea, the most isolated Communist country in the world. As far as we can tell, I’m the first American high school student to visit in the nation’s 73-year history.

The idea started when my mother, who’s a journalist, came back from a North Korean work trip a few years ago. She told me, “North Korea is the only place left on Earth that is so reminiscent of the Soviet Union.” Both my parents grew up in the Soviet Union before moving to the U.S., where I was born. I wanted to see North Korea to try to understand where my parents came from and what they lived through. Americans are banned from visiting North Korea. Because I have dual citizenship, I was able to use my Russian passport to enter the country.

There are only two ways to get to North Korea: from China or from Russia. I flew to Pyongyang from Vladivostok, Russia. The passengers were mostly Russian tourists and North Koreans who worked in Russia. (Though Russia is no longer a Communist country, it maintains strong ties with the world’s few remaining Communist governments.)

The first place I visited was the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the heavily fortified no-man’s land that divides North and South Korea (see timeline slideshow below).

The souvenir shop was full of propaganda posters praising Communism. Just a year earlier, I was told, the shop had sold anti-American posters showing North Korean missiles striking the U.S. Capitol, for example. Those posters were gone, my guides said, because North Korea promised in a 2018 meeting with President Trump to stop hostile actions.

I asked my guides why North Korea would want to get rid of its nuclear weapons, as discussed at the U.S.-North Korea summit. They insisted that North Koreans want peace and won’t need nuclear weapons if they’re no longer threatened by foreign enemies.

There are only two ways to get to North Korea: from China or from Russia. I flew to Pyongyang from Vladivostok, Russia. The passengers were mostly Russian tourists and North Koreans who worked in Russia. Russia is no longer a Communist country. Still, it maintains strong ties with the world’s few remaining Communist governments.

The first place I visited was the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the heavily guarded no-man’s land that divides North and South Korea (see timeline slideshow below).

The souvenir shop was full of propaganda posters praising Communism. I was told that the shop had sold anti-American mementos, like posters showing North Korean missiles striking the U.S. Capitol, a year earlier. My guides said that those posters were gone because North Korea promised in a 2018 meeting with President Trump to stop hostile actions.

I asked my guides why North Korea would want to get rid of its nuclear weapons, as discussed at the U.S.-North Korea summit. They insisted that North Koreans want peace and won’t need nuclear weapons if they’re no longer threatened by foreign enemies.

One of the strangest places I visited was the International Friendship Exhibition, which displays more than 200,000 gifts to North Korean leaders from 184 countries. There were also halls filled with wax statues of the three men who have ruled North Korea, all members of the Kim family. As we entered, my guides lined up in front of each wax figure and bowed solemnly. Bowing is common in many Asian nations, but in North Korea it’s taken much further. North Koreans are taught to revere the Kims as if they were gods. At first, I just stood there, but then I realized I was expected to bow too, so I did. That was a very unusual experience.

I also visited the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum, a museum dedicated to the Korean War. It was fascinating to experience the alternate reality of how North Koreans view this conflict. The museum tour included anti-American rhetoric about how the evil U.S.A. started the Korean War and was totally defeated by the valiant Korean people. In reality, the war began when North Korean forces invaded the South, and it ended in a stalemate.

One of the strangest places I visited was the International Friendship Exhibition. It displays more than 200,000 gifts to North Korean leaders from 184 countries. There were also halls filled with wax statues of the three men who have ruled North Korea. Each of them is a member of the Kim family. As we entered, my guides lined up in front of each wax figure and bowed solemnly. Bowing is common in many Asian nations, but in North Korea it’s taken much further. North Koreans are taught to revere the Kims as if they were gods. At first, I just stood there, but then I realized I was expected to bow too, so I did. That was a very unusual experience.

I also visited the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum, a museum dedicated to the Korean War. It was interesting to experience how North Koreans view this conflict. The museum tour included anti-American rhetoric about how the evil U.S.A. started the Korean War and was totally defeated by the valiant Korean people. In reality, the war began when North Korean forces invaded the South, and it ended in a stalemate.

One of my goals for this trip was to meet North Korean teens, so on my third day, I asked my guides if I could visit a school in Pyongyang. It was not “on my agenda,” I was told, so the guides had to seek approval from the Foreign Ministry and other governmental entities.

We got permission to visit Kang Ban Sok High School, a showcase school in the capital with about 300 students. Emblazoned on the top of the building’s exterior were the words “Let us learn for Korea!” Over the entryway was a sign that read, “Let us become true sons and daughters of the respected General Kim Jong Un.”

The school had a strict dress code, and the girls had identical haircuts: chin-length straight hair with bangs. All students wore red pins with portraits of North Korean leaders on them.

Classes ended at 3 p.m., at which point students broke into small foreign-language clubs, such as Chinese, English, and Russian. I joined the English-speaking students. When we entered, they immediately took their places at the desks without any prompts. I was surprised by the similarities to my own classmates: They chatted amongst themselves, wandered around the classroom, and laughed. But they were quieter than the students I was used to, and I wondered how much quieter life in a repressive police state like North Korea would make them as they got older.

One of my goals for this trip was to meet North Korean teens. On my third day, I asked my guides if I could visit a school in Pyongyang. It was not “on my agenda,” I was told. As a result, the guides had to seek approval from the Foreign Ministry and other parts of the government.

We got permission to visit Kang Ban Sok High School, a showcase school in the capital with about 300 students. The words “Let us learn for Korea!” adorned the top of the building’s exterior. Over the entryway was a sign that read, “Let us become true sons and daughters of the respected General Kim Jong Un.”

The school had a strict dress code. The girls had identical haircuts: chin-length straight hair with bangs. And all the students wore red pins with portraits of North Korean leaders on them.

Classes ended at 3 p.m. Then students broke into small foreign-language clubs, such as Chinese, English, and Russian. I joined the English-speaking students. When we entered, they immediately took their places at the desks without any prompts. I was surprised by the similarities to my own classmates. They chatted among themselves, wandered around the classroom, and laughed. But they were quieter than the students I was used to. I wondered how much quieter life in a repressive police state like North Korea would make them as they got older.

The guides asked me to talk briefly about myself and then to ask students some questions. The students told me sports played an important role in North Korean culture. Soccer, basketball, hockey, and swimming were the most played and watched sports, they said. They knew a lot about basketball and American basketball legends, like Michael Jordan. At the end, I asked the students what they thought of Russia and of the U.S.

They all said, “Russia is fine, no problem.” But when asked about the U.S., every single student said without hesitation, “U.S. is bad, really bad.” In a country where the government controls everything its citizens hear about the outside world, they knew next to nothing about either country, but they all shared essentially one opinion without variation or detail. Unfortunately, with my official guides looking on, I couldn’t ask them if they really believed this or were just too afraid to offer an opinion other than the official government line.

While I saw similarities between American and North Korea students, there were huge differences between the lifestyles people led in the two countries.

The guides asked me to talk briefly about myself and then to ask students some questions. The students told me sports played an important role in North Korean culture. They said that soccer, basketball, hockey, and swimming were the most played and watched sports. They knew a lot about basketball and American basketball legends, like Michael Jordan. At the end, I asked the students what they thought of Russia and of the U.S.

They all said, “Russia is fine, no problem.” But when asked about the U.S., every single student said without hesitation, “U.S. is bad, really bad.” In a country where the government controls everything its citizens hear about the outside world, they knew next to nothing about either country. Still, they all shared essentially one opinion without any difference or detail. Unfortunately, with my official guides looking on, I couldn’t ask them if they really believed this or were just too afraid to offer an opinion other than the official government line.

While I saw similarities between American and North Korea students, there were huge differences between the lifestyles people led in the two countries.

Virtually everything in North Korea is limited—to a degree that’s hard for an American to grasp. There are only five TV channels, all of which are controlled by the government. They broadcast nationalistic propaganda about the North Korean army, Kim Jong Un, and the “greatness” of the country. They’re shut off every weekday at 10 p.m. and on weekends at 11:30 p.m.

People aren’t able to buy their own homes or even choose where to live. After graduating from college, serving in the military, and getting married, civilians are placed on a wait list. The wait is anywhere from a few months to a few years before they’re assigned apartments. Until then, newly married couples live with their parents.

Almost everything in North Korea is limited. It’s hard for an American to understand. There are only five TV channels, all of which are controlled by the government. They broadcast nationalistic propaganda about the North Korean army, Kim Jong Un, and the “greatness” of the country. They’re shut off every weekday at 10 p.m. and on weekends at 11:30 p.m.

People can’t buy their own homes or even choose where to live. After graduating from college, North Koreans serve in the military and get married. They’re then placed on a wait list for a home. The wait is anywhere from a few months to a few years before they’re assigned apartments. Until then, newly married couples live with their parents.

The biggest surprise was the complete isolation from the outside world. I found myself constantly checking my cellphone, and every time I had no data and no Wi-Fi. I asked my guides if there was any way I could access the online world, and they said that, as a foreigner, I could go to a specific hotel and pay for Wi-Fi. I did end up trying that, but the Wi-Fi was slow, and most social media apps were blocked. (Ironically, when I was visiting the DMZ and standing on a balcony overlooking the South Korean side, my iPhone started to beep—it was receiving messages! I realized that it was “roaming” and catching a weak signal from a South Korean provider.)

The biggest surprise was the complete isolation from the outside world. I found myself constantly checking my cellphone, and every time I had no data and no Wi-Fi. I asked my guides if there was any way I could access the online world, and they said that, as a foreigner, I could go to a specific hotel and pay for Wi-Fi. I did end up trying that, but the Wi-Fi was slow, and most social media apps were blocked. Ironically, when I was visiting the DMZ and standing on a balcony overlooking the South Korean side, my iPhone started to beep. It was receiving messages! I realized that it was “roaming” and catching a weak signal from a South Korean provider.

My guides were the people I spent the most time with. One evening, they took me to the basement of my hotel to play ping pong in teams and carefully coached me on how be a better player. At one point, I noticed one guide playing a knockoff version of Angry Birds on his cellphone. A couple of times, we talked about music we like, and I shared songs from my iPhone with them.    

But even during such unscripted moments in North Korea, I always felt like I was being watched. As eye-opening as the trip was, it was a relief to fly back to Vladivostok, where my mother was waiting for me, and essentially re-enter the 21st century. My trip to North Korea lasted only seven days, but almost two years later, I’m still learning from it.

My guides were the people I spent the most time with. One evening, they took me to the basement of my hotel to play ping pong in teams. They carefully coached me on how be a better player. At one point, I noticed one guide playing a knockoff version of Angry Birds on his cellphone. A couple of times, we talked about music we like, and I shared songs from my iPhone with them.

But even during such unscripted moments in North Korea, I always felt like I was being watched. As eye-opening as the trip was, it was a relief to fly back to Vladivostok, where my mother was waiting for me, and essentially re-enter the 21st century. My trip to North Korea lasted only seven days, but almost two years later, I’m still learning from it.