Welcome to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

North Korea is a place that is shrouded in mystery and conjecture, much of it of its own creation. For so long it has chosen to close itself off from the rest of the world that little information flows in or out of the place. In the absense of hard facts, rumour and speculation run rife. I plead guilty as one who has engaged in plenty of rumour-mongering in the past (and, let's be honest, will probably try my hand at it in the future), but to really come to grips with the place it is necessary to see it first hand. Much of the speculation is not meant in a harsh, negative way - although there are elements of that - but is instead meant in the same way that people watch the bearded lady at the circus. Curious, but not necessarily critical. Perhaps they could but those on the number plates - DPRK: The Bearded Lady of Asia.

Since there are so few who have seen the place but so many who speculate, I think it is worth publishing a few thoughts after my trip. It's important to remember a couple of things as you read what I have to say. Firstly, I'm a human, and like others in my species, I am subjective and colour what I see with my own opinion. Secondly, I was on a tightly controlled tour that attempted to shield us from some of the realities of North Korean life. Thirdly, most of the trip was in Pyongyang, which is not at all typical of North Korean life, and certainly not near any nuclear research, political prisons or human breeding laboratries, all of which are said to exist in DPRK. With that in mind, here's my take on my North Korean adventure, 15-20 February, 2005.

UPDATE, 16/02/2006: It's been a year now since my trip to DPRK, and I've decided to tidy up my blog diary account of the trip. For a start, here's a complete list of posts:

1. Welcome to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
2. North Korea as a tourist
3. Streets of Pyongyang
4. The ego of the Kims
5. Pyongyang Metro
6. Commerce in North Korea
7. Happy Birthday Mr Kim
8. Media in DPRK
9. Panmunjeom and DMZ
10. A place to rest my head
11. Monuments of Pyongyang 1
12. Monuments of Pyongyang 2
13. Monuments of Pyongyang 3
14. Let the children play
15. Flying in and training out
16. Final thoughts