Yough 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
Kim Il Sung Park – Damascus, Syria
May 13, 2019 / by Gareth Johnson
For anyone who’s travelled to North Korea – or has more than a passing interest in all things DPRK – it’s no secret that a great many things are named after the founder of the DPRK, Kim Il-sung. Kim Il-sung Square and Kim Il-sung Stadium are just two e …
The Hyesan City Guide
May 13, 2019 / by Gareth Johnson
Understand Hyesan is a city in North Korea’s Ryanggang Province that borders China’s Changbai Autonomous County. It has a population of almost 200,000 people. Getting into Hyesan From the Chinese side, the city is accessible via the Changbai-Hyesan Int …
Why it would be a shame to only visit Juba in South Sudan
May 11, 2019 / by Pier Doyon
With more and more people chasing the wonderful dream of visiting all the countries in the world (we’re trying to be there to help!), we see a number of trends developing. On many of our tours, discussions about countries are sure to come up amongst th …
Pyongyang Autumn Marathon — the cheapest show in town!
May 10, 2019 / by Nicolas Platt
Unfortunately the Pyongyang Marathon (Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon) held in April was cancelled in 2020 due to the spread of the Coronavirus. Luckily our partners in Pyongyang have confirmed with us that Annual Autumn Maraton will still go …
Can LGBT people travel to North Korea?
May 10, 2019 / by Gareth Johnson
Contrary to popular belief, homosexuality is not against the law in North Korea, and people from the LGBT community are more than welcome to travel here – in fact, openly gay tour guides have frequently led tours here without issue. That being said, No …
How to cross from Iraq (Kurdistan) to Turkey overland
May 10, 2019 / by Pier Doyon
So you had a great trip with us in Iraqi Kurdistan and you are now looking for the next adventure? While Erbil International Airport has all the international connections around the world you might need, and it is not recommended to cross into Southern …
Mount Hagen Festival – top 6 tips
May 8, 2019 / by Pier Doyon
Visiting Papua New Guinea for the Mt Hagen festival? Here are a few tips and what to do and what to expect. Go early! Get the two-day pass and make sure you get there for about 9 am. The benefit of this is you’ll get access to the hundreds of tribes as …
The Sakhalin Island Koreans
May 8, 2019 / by Gareth Johnson
Sakhalin Island People visit North Korea for many reasons: there are those that go just the once to check it off the list; there are some who go multiple times to really soak in the culture and the wide variety of cities and natural sights that the cou …
Korean reunification: what would it look like?
May 8, 2019 / by Gareth Johnson
If you’ve spent any time in either South or North Korea, you will understand that Korean reunification is still not only the official endgame of both governments, but still an issue that very much pervades the public consciousness. There are many diffe …
