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Gallery|Human Rights

Holiday in North Korea?

Still considered one of the world’s most closed-off nations, North Korea aims to expand its tourist industry.

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The Yalu river divides the Chinese city of Dandong and the North Korean city of Sinuiju. It is the main point of entry for tourists arriving by train. [Axel Storen Weden/Al Jazeera]

By Fredrik Brogeland Laache and Axel Storen Weden

Published On 30 Jul 2015

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Pyongyang, North Korea – After the country, which some describe as the “hermit kingdom”, was shut off to tourists in late October due to fears of the Ebola epidemic spreading there, the North Korean regime is now determined to further develop the impoverished nation’s tourist industry and aims to welcome two million tourists by 2020.

While the majority of visitors come from neighbouring China, a growing number of Western tourists are arriving in North Korea, joining carefully coordinated package tours.

Today, several tour companies founded by Westerners offer a broad range of itineraries inside North Korea, ranging from “Surf’n Beach” tours to “Business Interest” tours.

The most common tour is the one-week “See-It-All” trip in and around Pyongyang.

Despite the heavily monitored nature of the often hectic and polished tours, one is still exposed to the hardships suffered by the vast majority of the North Korean population.

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Soviet-era trains still travel along the Sinuiju-Pyongyang line [Fredrik Brogeland Laache/Al Jazeera]
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People participating in the April harvest can be seen through the windows of the train travelling to Pyongyang. [Fredrik Brogeland Laache/Al Jazeera]
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In Pyongyang the iconic traffic ladies appear on almost every street corner. Street cleaners keep the city tidy and cut the grass regularly. Stepping on the grass is illegal in the city and even the traffic officers take caution by standing on a special stone. [Fredrik Brogeland Laache/Al Jazeera]
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On the birth date of the late leader Kim Il-sung, students from the Kim Il-sung University in Pyongyang perform a dance in front of the Monument to the Korean Workers' Party in the capital. Visiting tourists are often invited to participate in the spectacle. [Axel Storen Weden/Al Jazeera]
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A regular stop on the Pyongyang tour is the Flower Exhibition Hall, where local people come to be photographed in front of the portrait of the 'Great Leaders' Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. [Fredrik Brogeland Laache/Al Jazeera]
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A representative from the state-run media, KCNA, documents the tourist group visiting the Monument to the Korean Workers' Party in Pyongyang. [Axel Storen Weden/Al Jazeera]
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At the Children's Palace in Pyongyang the students are obliged to practise their talent at least four hours every day. The children are hand-picked from around the country to play instruments, dance, and do acrobatics. They perform at national events and celebrations honouring the 'Great Leaders'. [Fredrik Brogeland Laache/Al Jazeera]
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A newly erected statue of Kim Jong-un lights up one of the stations in the Pyongyang metro system. [Fredrik Brogeland Laache/Al Jazeera]
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The Korean Film Studio in Pyongyang opened in 1947 and has served as the location for many North Korean film productions. Kim Jong-il was a big fan of cinema. His enthusiasm is thought to be the reason behind the kidnapping of famous South Korean director Shin Sang-ok to produce movies in North Korea. [Fredrik Brogeland Laache/Al Jazeera]
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A female shop attendant along the highway to the southern city of Kaesong, crosses the road wearing a traditional Korean dress. [Axel Storen Weden/Al Jazeera]
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A visit to a factory producing sparkling water is a must on the North Korean tourist trail. [Fredrik Brogeland Laache/Al Jazeera]
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The children in the Chongsan kindergarten go home once in 10 days because their parents work in the state-owned agricultural collective. The children, ranging from three to five years old, spend nearly all their time in the kindergarten, sleeping, eating, playing, and studying history. [Fredrik Brogeland Laache/Al Jazeera]
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Photos and drawings on the kindergarten walls depict atrocities committed during the Korean War, as seen from the North Korean perspective. [Axel Storen Weden/Al Jazeera]