Another wonderful highlights tour, with unrivalled access to the local people and a chance to get your hands dirty in a cooperative farm !
June 21 - 28, 2014 : Educational tour - A multitude of discoveries !!!
We are pleased to announce that we are now offering a second educational tour to the DPRK, right at the start of the 2014 summer holidays. This tour has the specific aim of learning more about the educational and experiential opportunities that tours to North Korea can provide to adults and students alike.
The 7-night program is packed with excursions and outings that will appeal to an audience of administrators, teachers, students and parents who want to get to know the DPRK better by visiting most of the cultural and natural highlights that the country has to offer. This trip also ensures that the participants get to spend as much time as possible with Koreans of all ages, so that everyone can share experiences and gain a better insight in their way of life, their hopes and aspirations, and their daily routines.
HOT OFF THE PRESS !!! We have just received approval to take this group to work at a cooperative farm for a few hours, and to get really involved in the life of the local farmers and their families. This is a unique opportunity to do something that has not been done before, and is yet another way in which we are able to get a bit closer to the daily realities of the people of the DPRK.
Furthermore, there is a specific focus on opportunities for creativity (arts, music), action (hiking, sports and games) and service. There will be visits to secondary schools, where there will be ample time to exchange information about lifestyles and to ask many of the questions that we all have about life in the DPRK.
Participants will visit the capital city, Pyongyang, then head to beautiful Mount Myohyang in the centre of the country, then on to Sinchon, Kaesong and the Demilitarized Zone in the South, and the Kuwol mountains and the city of Nampo in the South-West.
There will also be opportunities to experience the various cultural forms in which the North Koreans express themselves (watch mind-blowing performances at the School Children's Palace, enjoy a visit to the Opera or orchestra, indulge in a bowl of Pyongyang cold noodle, spend an evening in a local coffee shop, department store or bowling alley, go for a splash at the recently opened water park, and of course make the most of your time to discuss matters of interest with the local guides.
For logistics of this tour, please click here.
For the cost of this tour, please click here.
Trip program*
Day 1 - Saturday June 21st
Meet at Beijing Capital Airport Terminal 2 at 10.30 am for Check-in
13.00 Flight from Beijing to Pyongyang, arrival in Pyongyang at 16.00 (local time; two-hour flight)
Customs at Pyongyang Airport, meet guides and driver, Mansudae Grand Monument, Mansudae Fountain Park, Arch of Triumph,
transfer to Yanggakdo or Ryanggang Hotel.
Accommodation : Yanggakdo Hotel, Pyongyang
Dinner : Yanggakdo Hotel (revolving restaurant)
After dinner there may be an outing to the local bowling range or shooting range
Day 2 - Sunday June 22nd
Morning : Visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun - the mausoleum of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. Visit to the Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery, the Tower of the Juche Idea (for amazing views of Pyongyang), and the Party Foundation Monument
Afternoon : Visit Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum, USS Pueblo, Mangyongdae Native House (where Kim Il Sung was born). We then go for a walk in Moranbong Park and meet the locals on their day off
Drive to Mount Myohyang
Dinner in Mount Myohyang
Accommodation : Chongchon Hotel, Mount Myohyang
Day 3 - Monday June 23rd
Morning : Visit the International Friendship Exhibition, Pohyon Buddhist temple, hike in Manpok Valley
Afternoon : Return to Pyongyang and visit the Kang Bang Suk Secondary School. Guided tour of the school, followed by extensive one-on-one time with the local students and teachers, followed by mutual cultural performances (music, song, ...), followed by sports exchange (football, table tennis, ...)
An alternative school visit is at the newly accessible Pyongsong secondary school, just outside Pyongyang. This school is on the way between Mount Myohyang and Pyongyang, so no extra driving time is needed.
Accommodation : Yanggakdo Hotel or Ryanggang Hotel, Pyongyang
Rungna Fun Fair after dinner (entry fee 1 euro per person, cost for the rides between 1-4 Euro, visitors need to pay on the spot).
Day 4 - Tuesday June 24th
Early morning run along the Taedong river
Morning : Drive to Nampo over the Youth Hero Highway, visit the West Sea barrage and brief stop in town. Continue over the West Sea barrage, drive via Kuwol Mountains through the very scenic and agricultural countryside, to Sariwon. Along the way we see the farmers go about their work, and we pass many small villages that show us daily life in the rural areas. In Sariwon we visit Folklore Street (interesting display on the history of Korea). We have lunch in Sariwon.
Afternoon : Continue from Sariwon to Sinchon. Visit the Museum of US War Atrocities. Meet one of the survivors of a very sad page in Korean history. Continue drive to Kaesong, arrive late afternoon.
Time permitting, we visit Mount Songak (Anhwa temple with 1000 Buddhas at the top), and we join people playing volleyball in the temple grounds.
Check in Minsok Folk Hotel. Possibly have a Korean cooking demonstration / class in the hotel (Euro 5 per person).
Accommodation : Minsok Folk Hotel, Kaesong (traditional hotel where you sleep on relatively thin mattresses on the heated floor - a great night's rest guarateed !)
Traditional dinner in the Minsok Folk Hotel
Day 5 - Wednesday June 25th
Morning : Panmunjom (DMZ), Koryo Museum (former Confucian University). Shop in stamp shop and ginseng shop. Return to Pyongyang via tomb of King Kongmin.
Lunch in Pyongyang or packed lunch at rest stop along Reunification Highway
Afternoon : Return to Pyongyang over Reunification Highway (2.5 hours). Visit Mansudae Art Studio, Pyongyang Film Studio, War Victory Monument
Accommodation : Yanggakdo Hotel or Ryanggang Hotel, Pyongyang
Evening : Golden Lane Bowling Center (optional: EUR2.5 per round) and/or visit to Pyongyang Fitness Centre and/or Kaeson Fun Fair (entry fee 1 euro per person, cost for the rides between 1-4 Euro, visitors need to pay on the spot) and/or ice skating / water park.
Day 6 - Thursday June 26th
Morning : Depart for Pyongsong, visit the town (town square, revolutionary site, former university), guided tour of the food factory. Visit the Wolhwari Cooperative Farm, have lunch, work at the farm for a while (plangent rice, work in the fields, about 2 hours, bring own gloves and boots).
Lunch at the farm or at Jangususan Hotel, Pyongsong
Afternoon : After lunch and farm work, return to Pyongyang. Visit the School Children's Palace, guided tour and attend performance.
Dinner in Pyongyang
Accommodation : Yanggakdo Hotel or Ryanggang Hotel, Pyongyang
Day 7 - Friday June 27th
Morning : Visit one of the Pyongyang Universities (PUST, KIS, Music Academy), guided tour and spend time with the students and staff, followed by visit to Kim Il Sung square, Foreign Languages bookstore
Lunch in Pyongyang
Afternoon : Visit Grand People's Study House. Attend a circus performance (optional, to be paid on the spot) / Water park
Paradise Department store, Pyolmuri Coffee Shop
Accommodation : Yanggakdo Hotel or Ryanggang Hotel, Pyongyang
Farewell dinner in Pyongyang
Rungna Fun Fair after dinner (entry fee 1 euro per person, cost for the rides between 1-4euros, visitors need to pay on the spot) / Fitness centre / Squash
Day 8 : Saturday June 28th
Morning : Transfer to airport for flight to Beijing, depart Pyongyang by Air Koryo at 9 am, arrive Beijing 10 am local time.
Alternatively : Depart Pyongyang by train at 10.15 am, arrive in Dandong (China) at 18.00. Stopover in Dandong is possible (please enquire for details), otherwise continue to Beijing, arrival at Beijing West Station at 8.00 next morning.
End of trip
* Participants are advised that the schedule of the day to day program may undergo changes up to the day of arrival in Pyongyang. However, the content of the program will not be affected.
For details on the cost and the conditions, click here.
To register for this tour, please click here.