Simon Wilson embarked on a random journey to the ‘independent socialist state’ back in 2019, and it completely changed his perception.
How he got there
British YouTuber Simon Wilson went to North Korea in 2019 for his Birthday (YouTube/Simon Wilson)
To travel to North Korea as a tourist, you can normally only do so as part of an organised tour.
Independent travellers though, will need a sponsor and permission from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
“I started Googling. I started speaking to a few people, and it’s actually easier than you think,” the YouTuber told the Happy Hour Podcast in 2020.
“You know, people sort the visa out for you. They sort the flights out. They sort, it’s like a full itinerary trip.
“And you know, you can do it for three days, go to North Korea for the weekend, or you can do it for a week, two weeks, as long as you want.”
No cell phone service
Simon Wilson embarked on a random journey to the ‘independent socialist state’ back in 2019 (YouTube/Simon Wilson)
The solo adventure started off with a 24-hour train ride into Pyongyang, the country’s capital, where he met up with his North Korean tour guides.
“So as soon as you cross that border into North Korea from China, like, no internet, no phone signal,” he explained.
“No, your phone is just dead. So, like, I didn’t have any contact to anywhere outside of North Korea for two weeks.”
Simon said he was joined by tourists from other countries, such as the Netherlands and Germany.
No camera restrictions
“I would say North Korea was one of the places that I felt the safest I’ve ever been,” he admitted.
“I had my camera set up, and before I’m going in, I’m like, ‘Can I like take my camera in? Can I take the tripod in? Can I take the mic in? Can I take this in? Can I take that in?’
“And they just, like, ‘Yeah, whatever you want’.
“I’m like, ‘Can I film everything? Like, what can I film? What can I not?’
“They were like, ‘We’ll tell you when you can’t film,’ right?
“Like, don’t film the buildings, because they’re protected by the military. And don’t film the military. They’re the two big no nos.”
Simon claimed that the tour guides had never heard of YouTube and, along with the country’s residents, don’t have a passport and cannot travel out of North Korea.
However, North Koreans can travel out of the country, as long as they have permission from the government.
