Dictatorship Tourism: North Korea Opens (Briefly) to U.S. Citizens

Travel Blog  •  Jim Benning  •  03.14.07 | 4:01 PM ET

imageYes, in its infinite wisdom, Kim Jong-Il’s regime has generously decided to allow U.S. citizens to visit the Orwellian nation this year—during two stadium festivals, one taking place this spring and the other in the fall. According to Elisabeth Eaves’s story in Forbes, the president of Asia Pacific Travel, based in Illinois, “received an e-mail from the North Korean tourism authority saying it was appointing his company the sole travel agent it would deal with for the U.S. market.” Nice work if you can get it. I exchanged e-mails with Eaves today. She wasn’t too surprised that North Korea has opened, if only briefly, to Americans. The country needs the money, she wrote, and “it’s the foreigners who can afford the priciest festival seating.” (Festival seats go for up to $300.) But what about the ethics of visiting North Korea?

She e-mailed:

As for other personal thoughts, visiting a country with a repressive government and virtually zero in the way of human rights always raises an ethical question, but both sides of the debate have merit. Do you stay out to help starve the regime of your dough and signal your protest? Or do you go in and hope that some contact with freer people, and the revenue you bring in, will have a positive effect?

It’s a good question. The U.S. boycott sure hasn’t hastened the fall of Castro in Cuba. Of course, comparisons between Cuba and North Korea—two very different countries and economic situations—can only go so far, but given the chance, I vote for going and hoping the exchange helps promote change from within. Besides, who doesn’t love a good tightly controlled festival?

More information on booking trips to North Korea can be found at NorthKorea1On1.com.

Related on World Hum:
* You Scored a North Korea Visa? Hold Everything!
* North Korea: The Leader in ‘Don’t Do It!’ Vacations

Photo by gin_e, via flickr (Creative Commons).

Tags: Asia, North Korea


1 Comment for Dictatorship Tourism: North Korea Opens (Briefly) to U.S. Citizens

Vincent 09.18.08 | 9:31 AM ET

Wasn’t easy to sneaky get these pics out of the DPRK; goo luck to all journalists/photographers who are going there!

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