Contact Admin. M any people would balk at the idea of a westerner setting foot in North Korea , which is known internationally for its nuclear weapons, human rights record and its highly regimented, militaristic society. I am well aware that my experiences are very much those of a foreigner. I had been interested in socialism ever since studying the Russian Revolution at high school, while my sinologist father, Chinese mother and childhood love of Japanese anime had sparked a passion for Chinese and Japanese.
I went on to study in China and lived on the same dormitory floor as the North Korean contingent. I became intrigued by their lapel pins depicting their national leaders and the North Korean flag stickers on their doors no other students did this. I soon began learning all I could about everyday life in the country, from its architecture and fashion to how its people viewed the world. Eventually, I managed to arrange a trip to Pyongyang.
I became particularly close to two Koreans who worked for a local tour company, and in partnership with them founded my own tour operator specialising in educational tourism to North Korea, Tongil Tours, through which I began to make regular trips to the country leading groups of western tourists. After finishing my degree in Asian studies, I decided to take my interest in North Korea to postgraduate level. As a long-term foreign resident on a student visa, I have nearly unprecedented access to Pyongyang.
Interaction with locals can be limited at times, but I can shop and dine almost anywhere I want. North Korea today is in transition. Despite heavy sanctions, Pyongyang has a small but growing consumer class, due in part to government policies to liberalise sections of the economy.
Dining out is an important manifestation of this new spending power. Among restaurants I have visited along with other foreign students is a trendy conveyor belt hot pot restaurant, where diners can choose from more than 50 ingredients β from shiitake mushrooms to macaroni β for their broth.
