Kiwi leads tourists off beaten path
Foreign tourists looking to go off the beaten path in North Korea can now camp out on the country’s biggest volcano.
Hoping to open up a side of North Korea rarely seen by outsiders, a New Zealander who has extensive experience climbing the mountains of North and South Korea is leading the first foreign tourists allowed to trek offroad and camp out on Mt Paektu, a volcano that straddles the border between China and North Korea.
Paektu was in 946 AD the site of one of the largest eruptions in history. It is still active, though there haven’t been any big eruptions in recent years.
It is revered in the North for its links to the ruling Kim family.
Trips to the mountain are popular with North Koreans on excursions that are part indoctrination and part recreation.
Roger Shepherd, founder of Hike Korea, which is based in the South, convinced North Korean government officials to let him take his guests off the beaten path for the first time. Shepherd’s group has for the most part avoided the typical propaganda lecture experience that often awaits foreign tourists here.
On Saturday, the group climbed the mountain from near its base and then hiked out across a volcanic plateau to pitch their tents for the first of five nights.
North Korea under leader Kim Jong Un has prioritised tourism as a source of much-needed foreign currency and as an industry that can be fairly closely controlled and monitored.
It is carrying out massive infrastructure projects in several locations, including at Samjiyon, the largest city near Mt Paektu, and in the eastern port city of Wonsan and the adjacent Mt Kumgang area, which was open to South Korean tourists until about 2008, when a South Korean housewife was shot for wandering into a restricted area.
Shepherd’s trekking group was made up of two Australian women and two Norwegian men.
American tourists are blocked by a travel ban imposed by President Donald Trump in response to the death of college student Otto Warmbier, who died shortly after his release from North Korean custody for allegedly trying to steal a propaganda banner.
By the time Warmbier was released, he was in a vegetative state. What happened to Warmbier while he was in custody remains unclear.
Shepherd said his intention was to get beyond the politics. ‘‘Out here it’s very apolitical. ‘‘There’s no need for the nonsense. We’re all trying to do the same thing. Work together as a team, pitch tents, eat together, walk together. In my experience that’s a good way to see the real people of this country.’’ –AP