Young Pioneer Tours
Blog
Welcome to the Young Pioneer Tours blog about everything North Korea, and all of our other special off the beaten the track destinations.
Since starting in 2008 we have seen blogging about North Korea and our other great destinations as a great way to engage with our customers and to show the world a slice of life in the great destinations we visit.
Due to the mass amount of great content we create, as well as receive from our Pioneers we have since started our travel lifestyle magazine “The Young Pioneer”.
We’re always looking for contributors to our sites, so feel free to browse through our blogs, and , get in touch if you’d like to write for us.
Check out and subscribe to the YPT Blog and travel magazine
Do you want to study in North Korea?
April 18, 2019 / by Gareth Johnson
In 2012 Young Pioneer Tours offered our first study programme in North Korea – our Juche Study. This initial trip was quite groundbreaking: it did not only focus on Juche, the state ideology of North Korea, but was also a de facto language study tour. …
Exploring the Korean dialects
April 18, 2019 / by Gareth Johnson
One of the questions we most commonly get asked on tour is if North and South Korea speak the same language. The quick and simple answer is of course yes, but after 70-plus years as a divided nation there are indeed a few caveats that are worth explori …
Fallen Heir: Mao Anying
April 18, 2019 / by Gareth Johnson
Who was Mao Anying? Mao Anying was the eldest son of Mao Zedong (sometimes spelled Mao Tse-tung) the leader of the People’s Republic of China from its inception in 1949 and chairman of the Communist Party of China from 1935. Mao’s family life could – a …
Pakistan unveils visa-on-arrival policy for 5 countries, e-visas for 175 more
April 17, 2019 / by Gareth Johnson
In a move widely seen as a move towards facilitating foreign tourism to the country, Pakistan has recently begun a visa-on-arrival policy to 5 preferred countries. Initially, visas on arrival are available to nationals of the United Kingdom, Turkey, Ch …
Golden Lane Bowling Alley (Pyongyang)
April 17, 2019 / by Gareth Johnson
North Korea might be famous for its lack of internet, but for those of us old enough to remember there was actually a pre-internet time when people went out and, well, socialized. In North Korea bowling is a thing, and the Golden Lane Bowling Alley is …
What is the Belarus Exclusion Zone?
April 17, 2019 / by Joel Vostok
Chernobyl, most infamously known for the catastrophic nuclear disaster that almost wiped out Europe, occurred in Northern Ukraine and it’s most associated with the nearby town of Pripyat, which was built for power plant workers and their families but e …
North Korean Beers – Taedonggang
April 17, 2019 / by Gareth Johnson
Taedonggang beer? Can you drink in North Korea? Can North Koreans drink? These are just some of the questions we veterans of the DPRK get asked on a regular basis. Let’s get to some North Korea myth-busting: here’s our guide to the beer of Pyongyang an …
5 Countries that Used to Exist Part 2
April 17, 2019 / by John McGovern
We here at YPT are constantly enthralled at what makes a country and how many actually exist or have existed. Here are five that are no more: 1. Kingdom of Kurdistan In 1922, the Ottoman empire – lying prostrate in the wake of the Great War – was the s …
Omar El-Bashir ousted from the Sudanese Government
April 12, 2019 / by Pier Doyon
The president of Sudan, Omar el-Bashir, has been ousted from his office by the Sudanese military. This ends the 30-year rule of El-Bashir, who was one of the longest running leaders of North Africa and the Arab World. Omar el-Bashir became the leader o …
