Whilst it is illegal for journalists to travel to North Korea in an undercover capacity, filming in NOrth Korea is allowed with the correct permissions – as the Michael Palin’s trip, facilitated by Koryo Tours, attests to. Filming in North Korea Past Projects At Young Pioneer Tours, we have a storied and unique history in […]

What does DPRK mean? What is the DPRK meaning? What does DPRK stand for? So, you have North Korea and South Korea. Or the DPRK, and the ROK. For South Korea, ROK means Republic of Korea. So, what does the DPR bit of DPRK mean? When you travel anywhere in the world, it’s important to […]

Air Koryo gets a lot of unwarranted crap: from being the “world’s only one-star airline” to their infamous mystery burger, the poor airline takes a licking but keeps on ticking. In actuality, not only do they have an excellent safety record, but flying with them – either domestically or internationally – can be quite the […]

There are many special times to visit the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, one of which is the Day of the Shining Star. The Day of the Shining Star (Korean광명성절) is a major public holiday in North Korea and falls on February 16th – the birthday of former North Korean leader General Kim Jong Il. […]

Kaesong was the ancient capital city of the Koryo dynasty that ruled the Korean Peninsula. Nowadays the historic city is a UNESCO world heritage site containing a number of historical relics from the 10th-14th century. Incidentally, had it not been for the Korean War, Kaesong would have been part of the Republic of Korea. It’s […]

Introduction to North Korean Traffic Girls One of the most recognizable sights on the streets of Pyongyang is the cities, renowned traffic girls. The beautiful women dressed in crisp, stunning blue and white uniforms standing in white circles at the cities intersections directing the ever-growing traffic of the capital city have long captured the interest […]

Introduction to Pothonggang Hotel The Pothonggang Hotel (보통강려관) or also spelt as Potonggang was built in 1973 as a joint-venture between the late Reverend Moon leader of the Unification Church in South Korea and North Korea. The hotel is well-known in Pyongyang for being one of the most deluxe and expensive hotels in North Korea […]

Korean Mountains are an important sceneic and cultural element to both sides of the Korean divide. Officially there are 5 sacred mountains on the Korean Peninsula (although Kim Jong Il kind of added a 6th). Of the five, three are located in the DPRK and 2 are in the Republic of Korea (South Korea). The […]

Kenji Fujimoto was the personal sushi chef to General Kim Jong-Il. There are many anecdotes that do the rounds about Kim Jong Il’s former sushi chef, Kenji Fujimoto, but who was he and where is he today? We explore the mystery! Who exactly was Kenji Fujimoto? Kenji Fujimoto (藤本 健二) is famous for being the […]

May Day is a holiday that is perhaps best known for its association with communist or former communist countries but what is the holiday all about, and why is it so specifically associated with communism? Way back May Day The earliest celebrations of May Day took place long before communism was a thing – in […]