North Korean ginseng is the stuff of legends, quite literally. The DPRK itself is no stranger to unfounded myths and anecdotes. One such story is that they once owed a debt to then-Czechoslovakia (or Bulgaria, depending on who’s telling the tale) that they paid off with North Korean ginseng. Although Czechoslovakia and/or Bulgaria were not […]

We at YPT have an inordinate fondness for creating arbitrary lists of our favourite things: bars, silly countries and even Soviet cars all have their own articles, and in that spirit we now bring you a look at the remnants of Pyongyang Castle and four other ‘national treasures’ of the DPRK. These national treasures are […]

Introduction The International Friendship Exhibition (국제친선전람관) also known as the International Friendship Gift House, is one of the most iconic and must see sights of North Korea. The exhibition was first opened on August 26 1978 and holds over 250,000 gifts presented to either Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Suk (Kim Il Sung’s first wife), […]

How to get from Seoul to Pyongyang? You can’t be a North Korean travel agency – or involved with Korean tourism – without providing up-to-date and on-the-pulse information about travel to the aforementioned destination. It is with this in mind that we bring you the not-so-simple guide to travel between Seoul and Pyongyang! Can you […]

YPT’S GUIDE TO MAKING A NORTH KOREA DOCUMENTARY Planning on making a North Korea documentary? Here’s our comprehensive guide on how to do just that! 1. Don’t try to be VICE — get creative with your North Korea documentary! In the mid-2000s, VICE published a series of videos chronicling its founder Shane Smith’s two trips […]

Introduction to Mount Paektu Whilst Mt Paektu (also spelt Peakdu or known as Paektusan or Paekdusan to the Koreans), is sacred to both North and South Korea and considered the mythological birthplace of the Korean people, it has much a deeper and more recent significance to North Koreans. To them, the mountain is not just […]

To say that the Pyongyang skyline has changed quite a lot over the last ten years would be quite the understatement. Previously there were much fewer cars, frequent blackouts, and not actually much in the way of a skyline. Nowadays the city is booming and has an actual skyline, and a large part of that […]

If you’ve spent any time following Young Pioneer Tours, you’re probably aware that we are nothing if not passionate ferroequinologists (pretentious-speak for ‘train enthusiasts’). To our mind, there’s nothing more fun that travelling on the North Korean railway, and we like to see ourselves as pioneers of the rails. If you’ve spent any time following […]

Without wanting to be accused of being worse than Mussolini, I personally like how we calculate age in the West. You get born, on your first birthday you’re one, and then your age goes up on every birthday. I’ll be 40 on July 29th 2020, and by Jove I’ll be 39 until 23:59 on July […]

Korean New Year is the annual Lunar New Celebration for Koreans on the peninsula and beyond. As a Lunar New Year Korean New Year occurs at the same time as the more well known Chinese New Year and Tet in Vietnam among others. Is it the same in North and South Korea? Whilst the holidays […]