North Korea
A factory, the beach and a summer camp, seemingly all so perfect
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Johan Kruseman
Updated on 31 July 2024
Updated on 31 July 2024
Shortly after, we were disrupted by an interesting visit to an old factory, where I hoped the emergency number didn’t contain too many 8s and 9s, as the emergency phone was an old-school rotary device. Our next stop was the beach, passing by a great-looking beach filled with local Koreans. Unfortunately, we were dropped off at a fenced and isolated section of the beach reserved specifically for foreigners.
Later, on the pier, a family invited me to join them as they cracked some nuts. I was just about to start some interesting political discussions when our private guard suddenly said it was time to go (joke, as there wasn’t much English spoken in the family, and my Korean skills were limited to saying “hello,” “thank you,” and “congratulations on the festival”). Our Mr. Li saying it was time to go was no joke: we had enough local interaction for the day.
Our last visit was to a summer camp for children, which seemed too good to be true. It had its own water park with slides, a theater, a cinema, a sports center, an aqua-zoo, and a nature museum, all in perfect condition. The children were so well-behaved that it was hard to believe. In my experience, children usually scream, go upside down, and pull swimmers down to set new speed records. Here, every child sat perfectly straight with both hands on the sides of the slide, going down in slow motion with a forced smile expressing joy and harmony.
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Traveled route: Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, Pyjongyang, Kaesong Checkpoint, Wonsan, Hamhung
× A factory, the beach and a summer camp, seemingly all so perfect
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