North Korea

Michael spends two weeks in the notoriously secretive Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, a cut-off land without internet or phone signal, where the countryside has barely moved beyond a centuries-old peasant economy but where the cities have gleaming skyscrapers and luxurious underground train stations.

Dates

26th April - 10th May 2018

No. of Days

15 Countries Visited

2 Number of Minders

5

Highlights

A selection of highlights from Michael’s journey in North Korea, meeting ordinary people in this secretive and little understood country.

North Korea, Day 4, Pyongyang, North Korea

The Mysterious Soundtrack Of Pyongyang

A low resonating vibration. A long-drawn-out chord that seems to be coming from everywhere around me. It’s an eerie, ethereal, synthesised sound – like something Brian Eno might have created. I che...

North Korea, Day 6, Mount Taesong, North Korea

International Workers’ Day

It's May Day in the DPRK - International Workers' Day – and the country is on holiday. Sadly the sunshine that has softened our surroundings since we arrived has been replaced by an un-festive grey...

North Korea, Day 10, Wonsan, North Korea

Happy 75th Birthday

Today is my seventy-fifth birthday. And would have been Karl Marx’s two hundredth. So where more appropriate to be than somewhere where socialism is still taken seriously? It’s also one of the busi...

North Korea, Day 14, Pyongyang, North Korea

Our Last Full Day In The DPRK

A bright dawn. The weather looks set fair for our last full day in the DPRK. The phone rings as I’m dressing. It’s So Hyang. For a moment I think she might be calling to say that the time differenc...

Route

Follow Michael's route in North Korea with our immersive and interactive map.

Photography

Nothing was easy in North Korea. However, the more we got to know our minders the more relaxed they became with us and the resulting photos, all taken by myself and the crew, give a rare and unusual glimpse of life away from the eyes of the world.