North Korea
Peaceful yoga changed to a showcase of military propaganda
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Johan Kruseman
Updated on 10 August 2024
Updated on 10 August 2024
On the morning we were about to leave the country, the big TV screen in the hotel lobby suddenly showed military parades, missiles being fired, soldiers shooting, bombs exploding, and aircraft attacking instead of the usual happy scenes of healthy Koreans doing easy fitness exercises in peaceful mountain places.
Rumors started to spread that North Korea had declared war on South Korea. It was time to leave this country! In the train, we received more details, learning that South Korea had started broadcasting imperialistic propaganda like weather reports and news updates at the border as a reaction to two soldiers being injured by landmines allegedly placed by North Korea. In response, North Korea had declared a semi-state of war starting at 5 PM. At 3 PM, we arrived at the border with China, and after customs reviewed all our smartphone photos (camera photos remained unchecked, weirdly enough) and deleted a few sensitive ones (which were easily restored from the “deleted images” folder, lol), it was a big relief to leave the country at 4 PM.
All in all, it had been an incredibly interesting journey, leaving me with more questions than answers. It’s hard to reconcile the often peaceful settings and perfect places with what we know about this country.
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Traveled route: Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, Pyjongyang, Kaesong Checkpoint, Wonsan, Hamhung
× Peaceful yoga changed to a showcase of military propaganda
next country: Pakistan
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North Korea
Did this story inspire you to go to North Korea? Read more on what North Korea has to offer, what the best months are for visiting and check the handy links for backpacking there.
