Russians Who Traveled to North Korea: ‘It Feels Like They’re Trying To Hide What It’s Really Like’

North Korea looked like the old Soviet era.
Only slogans and flags were displayed, without any billboard advertisements.

“When you look at North Korea, you can see how grandparents lived during the old Soviet era. It’s like time-traveling to the past. There are no advertisements in the city, only party slogans and flags are displayed.”

Ilya Voskresensky, a Russian tourist who visited North Korea for the first time after the COVID-19 pandemic, shared his experience during an interview with CNN on the 26th (local time). As a travel blogger, Voskresensky was so anxious about traveling to North Korea that he fooled the North Korean authorities into thinking he worked part-time in a store.

Despite his anxiety, he chose to visit North Korea because he wanted to compare the old Soviet Union and North Korea, which he had only heard about.

Earlier this month, 97 Russian tourists visited North Korea on an Air Koryo passenger plane, Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, Mangyongdae Schoolchildren’s Palace, and Masikryong Ski Resort in Wonsan, and returned to Russia on the 12th.

The tour was part of an agreement between the delegation from Primorsky Krai and North Korean authorities following a summit between Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, and Russian President Vladimir Putin in September last year.

The travel cost per person was 750 dollars, and tourists had to be accompanied by a Russian-speaking guide at all times.

Lena Bychkova, who visited North Korea with Voskresensky, also expressed her concerns about the tour but didn’t want to miss the opportunity to travel to North Korea, known as the Hermit Kingdom.

Bychkova particularly remembered the restrictions related to photography, stating, “We were asked not to take pictures of soldiers or people in uniform, or buildings under construction.”

She added, “We were told not to fold newspapers or magazines in a way that would crumple the pictures of (North Korean) leaders.”

Bychkova also shared her impression that North Korea was trying to hide its reality from tourists.

For example, at a performance held at the Mangyongdae Schoolchildren’s Palace, there were only 97 audience members, but approximately 200 children performed for an hour.

Bychkova explained, “We could feel that they were trying to plant a certain image of North Korea in us, but through other details, we could see that this image was not entirely true and that a different life existed.”

Russia plans to speed up group tourism exchanges with North Korea by sending a second and third group of tourists next month.

Recently the two countries have been showing close ties in various fields including military and economy.