# Vacation in North Korea **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 21, 2017, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-north-korea/789533 "2017-06-21T14:34:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-north-korea/789533/21 "2017-06-21T17:23:33Z")
Nope. I know me. At some point I would sneeze in the wrong direction or pick up the forbidden stick. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-north-korea/789533/22 "2017-06-21T17:29:00Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Not just no but Hell No. > > My kids were both born in South Korea. I wouldn’t put it past the North Korean bastards to decide to grab them (if they were with me) or grab me and hold me for ransom just because. > > If I wanted to experience the official fictions of a fascistic oligarchy, I would watch MSNBC. > > Regards, > Shodan Excellent answer. Amazing that anyone thinks NK is a place to vacation. Yes, Americans have freedoms. Other nations don’t recognize our freedoms, so going to visit expecting that your behavior shouldn’t change is nuts. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-north-korea/789533/23 "2017-06-21T17:30:23Z")
No thanks. I can eat grass at home. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-north-korea/789533/24 "2017-06-21T17:39:51Z")
Bad idea. I’d just as soon have a Holiday In Cambodia. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-north-korea/789533/25 "2017-06-21T17:48:52Z")
Enough westerners have gone to, and returned from, DPRK that it’s clearly a plausibly do-able thing. Just pay CLOSE attention to the rules, and you should be fine. But - Still not something that I’d recommend. WAY too much of a hassle, with far too many pitfalls, for too little gain. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-north-korea/789533/26 "2017-06-21T17:49:48Z")
I work for a federal agency, and for that reason, I think the DPRK would regard my application would too much suspicion to allow me into the country. Trying to get a visa would be like beating my head against a wall. ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-north-korea/789533/27 "2017-06-21T17:56:36Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I work for a federal agency, and for that reason, I think the DPRK would regard my application would too much suspicion to allow me into the country. Trying to get a visa would be like beating my head against a wall. This and why on earth would I want to contribute even a dime to their economy? ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-north-korea/789533/28 "2017-06-21T18:13:28Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > I wouldn’t vacation in North Korea if you paid me. My sentiments exactly, and I voted accordingly. That said, it really would be better than Disneyland. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-north-korea/789533/29 "2017-06-21T18:26:15Z")
> [@Bayaker](#): > > That said, it really would be better than Disneyland. 🙂 But not Disney World. The difference between Disney and North Korea is that when Disney builds an amusement park on top of 150 acres of swamp, it’s an improvement. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-north-korea/789533/30 "2017-06-21T18:48:03Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Bad idea. I’d just as soon have a Holiday In Cambodia. Pol Pot! 😛 The list of places on the planet that I’d like to visit grows smaller every day, either due to danger or the local politics, which I guess go hand in hand. It’s a shame since there’s so much natural beauty and history that I’m never going to experience. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-north-korea/789533/31 "2017-06-21T18:50:05Z")
Would they let me interview Kim Jong-un and shake his hand? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-north-korea/789533/32 "2017-06-21T19:39:58Z")
> [@BeeGee](#): > > This and why on earth would I want to contribute even a dime to their economy? This. I would not support such a totalitarian regime economically. But I might go if I get to meet Dennis Rodman. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-north-korea/789533/33 "2017-06-21T20:04:41Z")
I checked “No, it’s stupid to even consider going there.” Given the frequency with which the NK regime grabs foreigners and uses them as de facto hostages, no thanks! I actually think the US ought to consider banning all travel by US citizens there. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-north-korea/789533/34 "2017-06-21T20:34:12Z")
> [@Tranquilis](#): > > Enough westerners have gone to, and returned from, DPRK that it’s clearly a plausibly do-able thing. Just pay CLOSE attention to the rules, and you should be fine. I don’t believe that is correct. If they want to nab you for some reason, it’s not going to matter whether you followed the rules or not. NK is not a country ruled by laws. It’s a country ruled by one person. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-north-korea/789533/35 "2017-06-22T08:04:32Z")
Personally, I wouldn’t, but less because of the risks and more because all of the money goes to support the regime and because all visitors go on the exact same Potemkin tour, which you can read about in many places on the Internet; I don’t have any particular desire to experience it for myself. Prior to the Warmbier incident, there wasn’t any reason to think it was particularly risky; the government _wasn’t_ in the business of kidnapping random tourists, and many, many people had visited NK as tourists without incident. It should be noted that the list of foreign nationals detained in North Korea is [short](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_foreign_nationals_detained_in_North_Korea), and the number of those who entered as tourists is even smaller; most of those also seem to have been missionaries who actually did break the rules by trying to proselytize. I do think that Warmbier changes the calculus, since there’s a good chance that he was innocent and was detained because the government wanted an American hostage and he conveniently happened to be traveling alone, but I also don’t think it would be outrageously stupid to travel there as a tourist even now, particularly if you are not American. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-north-korea/789533/36 "2017-06-22T11:26:38Z")
Id go in a minute. I’m now at the point where I am going around picking up the countries Ive never been to before, and North Korea would certainly be near the top of my list of priorities. A;long with Mongolia, Chad, Yemen and Pacific Island groups. I would never decline to go anywhere merely because it has become a popular political whipping boy. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-north-korea/789533/37 "2017-06-22T11:35:41Z")
PS – I went to Somalia last year. Don’t worry about it. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-north-korea/789533/38 "2017-06-22T11:56:13Z")
I don’t know if there is a lot to see there, but I would find it interesting for a few days. I think as long as you’re careful and don’t do anything stupid like take a poster down or flip off a Kim statue you’ll be ok. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-north-korea/789533/39 "2017-06-22T12:04:58Z")
Sure. I went to North Korea in 2009 and had an enjoyable time there. It was interesting to see the USS Pueblo, got to ride a roller coaster and hike in the mountains up north. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-north-korea/789533/40 "2017-06-22T12:05:38Z")
If I like won the vacation, I’d probably go. I wouldn’t be too concerned about my safety, to be honest. I’d be fine, be verpolite and smile a lot, go ONLY touristic spots, eat lots, do nothing even bordering on controversial, and leave without incident. But I’d have to win the vacation in a raffle or something, because there are many, many places ahead of this that I’d rather visit. But I’m pretty confident I could visit without incident, and without fear for my life. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-north-korea/789533.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vacation-in-north-korea/789533.md?page=3)