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
The Koryo-Saram
December 18, 2019 / by Gareth Johnson
‘Koryo-Saram’ is the collective name given to the members of the Korean diaspora that lived (and still live) in the former USSR. ‘Koryo’ is a historical name for the Korean peninsula, and ‘Saram’ means ‘people’. Hence, ‘Koryo-Saram’ = ‘Korean people’. …
7 things you need to know about durian: the world’s stinkiest snack!
December 17, 2019 / by Gareth Johnson
If you’ve ever been to Southeast Asia you will have seen the signs that say “no smoking”, and “no durian” with a big red cross against consumption of this rather controversial of fruits! I’ve previously written about the differences between durian and …
7 reasons you should visit Seoul
December 17, 2019 / by Gareth Johnson
At Young Pioneer Tours we have been pioneering travel to North Korea for over ten years, but despite this we have regularly run trips to Seoul as part of our All Koreas Tour. In celebration of One Korea, and because we just really like the place, here’ …
The Hanbok – Korea’s national dress
December 17, 2019 / by Gareth Johnson
The hanbok is the national dress of the women of Korea, a dress that was still regularly worn on a daily basis until the early 20th century. Nowadays you will ladies wearing on special occasions in both the South and North of Korea, and it has a histor …
Top 11 Korean Foods to try
December 17, 2019 / by Gareth Johnson
At Young Pioneer Tours we do not just consider ourselves experts about North Korea, but about all things Korean in general. We have written a lot about the top street food, snacks and foods of North Korea, but by doing this have skipped a whole beat ab …
Cutud Lenten Rites 2020 Media & Photography Packages
December 17, 2019 / by Gareth Johnson
The Cutud Lenten Rites Festival is a yearly festival held in San Pedro, Pampanga Province. The Cutud Festival is the largest of its kind whereby penitents get nailed to the cross on Good Friday. This is one of the largest media events in the Philippine …
Kenji Fujimoto’s sushi restaurant
December 17, 2019 / by Gareth Johnson
Kenji Fujimoto is famous as being the former chef of Leader Kim Jong Il. He has also written a few books, and publicly maintains a close friendship with Marshal Kim Jong Un, which led to him coming back to Pyongyang and opening a restaurant. So, what i …
How to say Hello in Mongolian
December 17, 2019 / by Gareth Johnson
Tours to Mongolia are one of our favorite things to do at Young Pioneer Tours, be it passing through on the Trans-Mongolian Railway, taking part in the Nadaam Festival, doing a bit of Mongolian Wrestling, or simply chilling in the Gobi Desert. Whilst m …
Everyday DPRK – Sinuiju City
December 17, 2019 / by Gareth Johnson
Sinuiju city is the border city between North Korea and China. Sitting opposite Dandong and across the Yalu River, Sinuiju is the first “taste” of North Korea that tourists travelling into the country get. The Sinuiju – Pyongyang train actually spends …
