This is all very interesting to me. The tour guides are clearly taking you to the places they want you to see. Nothing wrong with that. You definitely looked nervous the whole time. That's pretty messed up. I had the chance to be surrounded with NK people last year. I was part of the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games as an NOC Assistant (National Olympic Committee). I was assigned to the North Korean delegation, which included representatives, manager, trainers and athletes (No representatives came). The kids were extremely quiet and only the manager spoke English, so I had no way of communicating with them other than with signs. I got along especially well with the girl in weightlifting, she was really sweet and smiley. The manager told me "don't talk to them". I think he then realized how harsh it sounded and corrected himself with "They won't understand you". He was a nice guy, very centered and polite. Never lost his temper (even when we ran into problems). The trainers didn't speak English so I couldn't really understand them. We just sort of understood each other with signs, pointing, and nodding. They didn't go sightseeing at all while they were here, they went out only once to buy a pair of sneakers and protein powder. They didn't have credit cards nor cellphones. They eventually purchased three to keep in touch because everyone kept getting lost. There were several activities going around the Olympic Village but they never participated. The most shocking thing to me was that my co-assistant (who speaks some Korean) asked one of the girls if her parents were happy about her being here competing. I assume she must have misunderstood the question because she answered "my parents are happy because we live in a happy country". That really stuck with me.
I don't think she misunderstood. They're brainwashed to only say good things about their leader and their country. She was probably terrified to leave a bad impression or disrespect her family by saying anything else
I imagine this would be like if someone from the outside came to tour the Hunger Games universe, they' take you on a tour of the Capital and maybe like District 1 and be like see, things are great here they're not so bad
Ever driven quickly through the Detroit ghetto... lol. Bad places all over. Mass murderers in wealthy suburbs like my ex gf/her father. Guaranteed NK doesn’t have the rampant unchecked crime of the same type as the US. Almost nobody does.
this gives me the same energy as showing a house tour where they only show you the pretty renovated main floor but the rest of the house is closed off and restricted
Yeap, we understand your tone of voice showed that you were scared of getting into trouble, I am glad you got of that place alive with full body functioning parts.
He keeps sayinh how "nicely stocked the stores are" . Take a closer look, that is obviously not stocked to be sold, that is obviously not merchandise that is being sold all the time, i work in retail, you will never stock 3 pieces of chocolate so nicely , if you are selling them. Its very obvious that those stores are there for the tourists to see , and think how well north korean stores are "stocked" , when in reality there is shortage of food and people dont have a choice of what they buy.
It makes no sense to pour so many resources into making the entire country look good for a few hundred Western tourists each year, every time someone shows that the DPRK is fairly normal, and that the troubles of the 90s aren't still ongoing, these frankly moronic conspiracy theories always spout out, about how it's all being faked. Do you really think a heavily sanctioned, relatively poor state could even afford to create such a massive facade, solely to impress a few hundred visitors?
"Do you really think a heavily sanctioned, relatively poor state could even afford to create such a massive facade, solely to impress a few hundred visitors?" Yes, yes I do, and its not a few hundred, its much much more, they recently opened up and many tourist agencies offer Korea trips , with the same destinations. Because Korea made a program, to open up to tourists, they made tours, with STATE tour guides, and they are specifically told what to show and what to say. Ofcourse they want to portray themselves as a functioning state without hunger etc. And I know two people who told me the same thing, who went there from my hometown. This is really not a surprise and really not news, I just dont get why people cant figure it out from a single glance
Thousands of visitors from China pour in yearly yes, but the number from the West is typically in the low hundreds. State tour guides are only really used for Western visitors for what should be obvious reasons, and still then it's not particularly difficult to get permission for free travel through the country during your stay, so long as you check in with the proper authorities. Much of what people experience when traveling to the DPRK in the area of restrictions in travel is because they're going along with a touring agency, which has a schedule, planned routes, and has to keep track of the tourists they're bringing through the country. These touring agencies have to be responsible for dumbasses like Otto Warmbier which they bring into the country. You really are brainwashed if you believe that they'd pour hundreds of millions of dollars of their relatively tight funds into developing a handful of areas just for tourists. The truth about the DPRK is much more simple- while they're a relatively poor state, largely as a result of the genocidal sanctions imposed by the US and its lackeys, they are nonetheless a functioning state. Their undernourishment rate is lower than that in most of South Asia (according to independently sourced UN statistics), some 60% of the population lives in urban rather than rural areas today, their economic growth over the past decade has been widely recognized as having been considerable, because it isn't the 1990s anymore. Visitors not coming through a touring agency, which have traveled independently, have well documented that the DPRK is fairly well developed nationwide, not just in Pyongyang and some surrounding areas. Aram Pan, through his DPRK 360 project, has shown this time and time again. The typical image of the DPRK being a starved, desolate place comes from the time of the Arduous March of the 1990s. This resulted from the experience of some of the worst flooding in the region seen in a century. "For an example of the severity of the flood period, in Pyongsan county in North Hwanghae province, 87.7 centimeters of rain were recorded to have fallen in seven hours. The engorged Yalu River saw its highest water levels in 70 years in 1995, contributing to the 1.5 million tons in grain reserves destroyed as a result of flooding in that year alone, pairing with 1.2 million tons of lost grain production resulting from washed out fields. The DPRK lost roughly 85% of its power generation capacity during the 1994-1996 flood period, with hydroelectric power plants suffering severe damage, the flooding of several coal mines, severe damage done to roads and railways utilized in the transport of coal, among various other damages to vital infrastructure. Nearly all hydroelectric turbines along the Yalu River were severely damaged, while the electric rail lines powered by those turbines were now out of operation, further stunting the ability to transport coal along the remaining railways due to the reliance on electric trains rather than oil or coal engines."
Speeding Atheist im from africa and also starving for the most part, but honestly 1meal a day is over enough depending on how much calories you burn...
I’ve watched a lot of documentaries and vlogs on North Korea as its intriguing country, and wasn’t expecting to see anything new considering how controlled the Pyongyang tours are. Pleasantly surprised to find you have shot lots of footage of places I haven’t seen and love being also given more information (thanks to your attention to detail). The editing and music is really great too.
yeah man. every NK person you see, is privileged, bless by the government, and highly trained. and you wont ever see that parts that dont get electricity, which is most of the country. so weird.
Ever read any of the end of year budget accounting audit report for the US DoD? It’s widely publicized they haven’t been able to get the numbers to reconcile even once in something like at least decades. More than something like 90% of government documents/foia information about the us gov is never made public. We really aren’t that different.
It's so creepy how almost none of the people are willing to look at the camera. In the three videos I've watched so far I think two people have looked at the camera.
Spent 4.5 years as a war planner in Korea and a infantry company commander on the DMZ. I know extremely well the well rehearsed process you were apart of and very predicable. Lots of folks went hungry in the countryside while you were there...not to mention the brutality of this government on their own people. You did not see the REAL North Korea frankly. You saw only what the government set you up to see and you did exactly what their government hoped you would do. These are the folks that beat and tortured a college kid senseless and sent him home to the states to die. Meanwhile to the south is a modern society that is light years ahead of this despot of a nation. Keeping it real.
My point, why does anyone with compassion visit this country? His tourist dollars do nothing to help the North Korean people, but the despicable regime.
Vance Walden Well in return this guy has probably made so much Adsense money from his click baity titles and almost propaganda style videos that his trip money is more than covered. It’s sad to bring so much “positive” attention to a country so awful. Perhaps he should have asked for the active concentration camp tour. Or maybe a tour of the minefields, electric fences, and unground bunkers with armed guards pointing guns upwards, waiting for people to walk over them. At the minimum he could have visited the damn near starved to death people. Oh but wait that could never exist somewhere as beautiful as North Korea. But hey all he cares about is that big cha ching. Those lives aren’t relative to his, he’s just there for the RUclips clips.
Also can you imagine how busy that beach would be if NK was a open free country. Sitting there on a clean quiet beach having a beer, without a tourist bar, shop, boat etc in sight is incredibly rare these days, hope you enjoyed it
I feel like NK officials read RUclips comments under non-propaganda travel videos. Because every time someone visited there has been videos and comments about things what were lacking and missing.. Things what felt weird for people watching. And now when someone goes to visit - those things what were lacking before were fixed one by one.. Every fresh video ther has been some changes made and this have most of them. Kinda creepy but same time impressive from North Koreans to managing to do that fairly efficient time.
Lmao, you really believe a poor country has the money and resources to pay actors and build entire cities only for tourists to enjoy and be lied to? C’mon, use common sense. Don’t be so paranoid. It seems that Western Media can be as brainwashing as North Korean propaganda.
@@AnImperialGod That's not what they were saying. They said that elements of the tour were changed, which they clearly have been over the years. I'm sure like any tour operators they use all feedback at their disposal to improve things and I'm sure that includes RUclips. And I agree that North Koreans are doing this to promote a cleaner image of themselves rather than purely to garner customer satisfaction.
@@AnImperialGod NK isn't that poor as a country though, they just keep the majority of the population in poverty as a means of control. I highly recommend Yeonmi Park's channel, she talks about her life there before she escaped.
@@AnImperialGod when the country has enough money to make nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles, why can't they make a whole village for tourists and pay actors?
That's obvious. That's what a lot of countries do. I mean, as the administrator over a popular area, you'd wanna improve upon it so people can see the area and your country in a better light because it will bring you benefits, and a pretty good thing to do is too check out, well, reviews.
I have watched several of your North Korea videos and it's scary to see just how structured each activity was,. And those "well stocked" stores were just damn creepy. Congratulations on having the cojones to travel to such a despot controlled country and I am just glad for you and your family that you survived.
influence by media that's were causing to your mind accepting that propaganda. Really those you said not be true.that country such you think really doesn't dangerous and west just are trying to showing we are right and others country are bad and they have enmity with us.I just a few weeks ago for try to English if that is.....sorry,.I'm trying.
N. Korea seems to progress better than many countries from so-called free world. Well done, respect. Meanwhile in US and EU citizens are enslaved by taxes and rules for Big pharma and Military industrial complex gains, where only rich elite enjoys all the freedom aka corruption is booming. Especially since US proxy war against Iraq, Libya, Afganistan and Russia. Also covid19 plandemic. Democracy myasss.
@@facelessgirl4731Since it is communist, everyone can enter the stores. Unfortunately, many can’t afford it. That’s the only problem. They may go to any store/restaurant but the only thing limiting them is money.
“ good afternoon, good evening and goodnight “ that’s what Truman says in the movie ‘ the Truman show ‘ which is actually quite fitting for this place since nothing is real and is always being watched ( monitored ).
I don't know why people were hating on you praising the food. We aren't idiots and we know that only tourists get such lavish meals... that doesn't mean it's not good. Those dishes looked great to me. North Korean cuisine (for those privileged enough to taste enough of it) is the closest to what they would have had in ancient Korea. While South Korea pretty much adds a shit tonne of spice to everything.
Hmmmm... perhaps because these vids are a ludicrous display of total lack of awareness... never even crosses his mind the ridiculous stories he was told are simply not true ugh. He's beyond naive to truly believe he was allowed to show/see just anything he wanted lol... he just saw the propaganda show for outsiders! He should be smarter then simply presenting progaganda with no mention, or understanding, of actual reality! He just ate up & passied on the bs fed to him as fact without it ever really crossing his mind it wasn't real ugh.
@@JustMeELC tf do you mean passed on the bs fed to him as fact..? nothing he says in any of the videos is false lmfao. he had good food. he saw ridiculously impressive monuments. all in all the trip looked pretty good. you want him to lie and say the foods shit? or the museums aren’t impressive? no shit he’s getting a controlled tour of certain parts of pyongyang. no shit there’s people in the rest of the country in poor conditions. no shit it’s the most censored country filled with propaganda in the world. he’s only documenting what he’s being presented with and he did a great job of it 👍
@@Herpderpdesu he didn’t edit, voiceover, or upload any of this until he was out of North Korea. In my opinion it’s really BS that he didn’t do much other than take everything told to him for face value- so much of this is a lie and he did a great job playing into it, which was best for his safety, but he did a horrible job of reminding us viewers at home that this is all a sham
@@IndigoTraveller Thanks for this. Although you were with guides, you probably understand that negative aspects exist in every nation. Any photos taken on the downside get lots of propaganda uses. The U.S.A. has horrid areas, but a positive spin is always advanced. Hate-filled attitudes, comments, and opinions about a nation will always be the norm.
There's something beautiful about every country imo, it's never the government, it's mostly the landscape, and North Korea's no exception in beautiful landscape if it ins't just farmland and staged cities.
Absolutely incredible series. Stumbled upon your channel from the RUclips recommended page and am stunned. Love the unabridged, decide-for-yourself style of narration. The video shots are incredible and raw. Stellar photography work. You should be proud! Keep the great work coming.
Those "fully stocked" stores are for show just for the tourists. There's been smuggled out videos of local people going in them and being told the stuff "is not for sale" also there's some video on a tour where one of the tourist who was filming picked up one of the neatly stocked bags of chips and they had a expiration date of like 3 years earlier. It's a fasad, that's why it feels odd to you because it's fake.
@りRi When I try to watch that video, all I get is a mesage saying 'An Error occurred'. Seems like there are some not wanting to have the message spread to the world.
He just ate up propaganda spoon fed to him... never even crosses his mind the ridiculous stories he was told are simply not true ugh. He's beyond naive to think he was allowed to show/see just anything he wanted lol... he just saw the propaganda show for outsiders! He should be smarter then simply presenting progaganda with no mention, or understanding, of actual reality! He just ate up & passied on the bs fed to him as fact without it ever really crossing his mind it wasn't real ugh.
Yigor Vinogradof read between the lines before you call him names cause the only naive person might be you. This guy can‘t say a single bad thing about NK, he‘s forced to say it‘s great. The NK people control all visitors‘ footage and the pictures they take during the trip. The hotel room is most likely under surveillance so he can‘t speak freely anywhere. He replied to some previous comments and confirmed this. He‘s clearly very nervous and tense during this whole trip. Whenever he calls something interesting or bizarre he really means it’s weird or unsettling. So please focus on the video and not on what he‘s saying because he knows just as well as us that it‘s all bullsh*t. But if he didn‘t say it he would face problems for these videos.
It reminds me so much of the China I went to in 1990! There are a lot of similarities- looking trapped in time is one of them. I was there before Deng Xiaoping opened up the economy so it was a very different China back then. Still absolutely loving this series, Nick. A million thanks for the time you’re putting into editing. 🙏🏼👍🏼✌🏼
Indigo Traveller Yes, totally. Back a few decades, China was super communist just like DPRK. Mao and his “cult of personality “ following was just like with Kim Jong Il - in fact, Mao set the template for this kind of worship. China changed, DPRK didn’t, after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Kishore Singh Not before 1976, there wasn’t. And it wasn’t until 1984 that Americans were even allowed to come in an travel and teach English. There were still photos and media reports. There was definitely emulation of one another and why the strong relationship between the two nations exists today.
The VICE series on NK was cool, but this was great! Very smart if you to mind your manners the whole time, they definitely had eyes on you the entire trip.
The kids singing in the school seemed like it was literally timed to start as you walked passed there.. It was choreographed. Everything around you there seemed contrived..
This might be my favorite series about DPRK. Also, the quality of the shots, the natural beauty and the music chosen makes the NK countryside one of prettiest on earth. What a great job. Also, what's the name of the outro song? Really loving it, keep it up
I heard that they play classic music in the political death camps to drown out the screams from the women being raped and the babies that are being fed to starving dogs in the countryside. "one of the prettiest on earth" Good grief....give me a flippin break
ok, have you been there? I'm sure all of the surviving North Korea defectors would disagree. Can't say i'm any more knowledgable on the matter but even with restricted footage, you can still see signs of intolerance there.
A good friend of mine is a guitarist for the biggest rock band in South Korea and played a show in Pyongyang last year as part of a culture-sharing event. Shook Kim Jeong Un’s hand. Now that must have been surreal.
My great-grandfather was a Methodist missionary and my grandmother was born and grew up in Songdough, N. Korea. Her little brother died there and is supposed to be buried there as well as some twins that were still born. I’ve always wanted to go see where she grew up, as she said it was so beautiful. I will likely never be able to see that. Thanks for giving me some sort of inclination as to what it’s like.
Great series so far, I was wondering if they check all the footage you recorded while you were in the country before you leave? Because it sort of surprised me that they would allow through some of your commentary like "we are being watched", "roads are bumpy" etc etc. I was expecting that kind of stuff to purely be post-trip voiceovers like you have for some parts. Excellent unique footage btw, I am checking your other videos when I have the time and they are just full of so much I didn't know!
It is not like you can't say anything negative. It isn't that strict. You just don't say anything bad about the leaders. They did check a bit of my footage but hardly any. Thank you!
So many ignorant comments. Thanks you for showing this. My jaw literally dropped when i saw the tower light up in the first video as well as the SUBWAY STATION. Ive never wanted to visit a museum so badly.
@@adolfog316 yes exactly everyone in the comments are so negative like yeh we get it the country is in a terrible state but that doesn't mean he didn't have fun or enjoyed the places at all or that everything nice he said is for show.
@@osvaldaspaslauskas5040 It is VERY telling how this horde of people are talking about how bad NK is and how the people there are brainwashed etc. They should first look at the mirror lol. The bad image of NK is so ingrained in their brains that they can't help but spew negativity even when there is absolutely no need to.
I saw the word Heungnam in your video. If the factory you visited is really in Heungnam, you visited the first nitrogenous fertilizer factory in Korean History. It is a such meaningful place for both of Koreas. In 1920, when Japan occupied Korea, they built that factory to increase rice production. There are a lot of interesting stories regarding that factory. I wish I can visit it. Since I am a Korean, I am not allowed to go to North Korea. And that was the place from where thousands of Koreans came to South Korea by the US military warship. Because, the US forces tried to throw bombs to that area.
12:18 Obv pour the hot water in the cold so it’s warm, because they don’t have a water heater. But always run your own bath water because they could’ve put something in it.
IH AND 5 C, FROM NORTH KOREAN DEFECTORS IDIOT!! GET YOURSELF INFORMED WIKIPEDIA RUclips VIDOE ON THE SUBJECT - YOUVE GOT AN INTERNET CONNECTION THEN USE IT INSTEAD TO ASK PEOPLE INOS YOU CAN GET YOURSELF IF YOU WERE FUKING GETTING YOUR FINGER OUT YOUR ASS AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!! YOU ARE SO IGNORANT IT HURT TO READ YOUR STUPIDS COMMENTS.
I read many books by NK folks who escaped, free health care , sure, the hospitals leave corpses outside for rats to feed on, then the staff eat the rats.
5c4v3ng3r Says the fucking guy who literally uploads dozens of conspiracy videos about flat earth and whatnot. The irony... I really hope you're a fucking troll but I doubt it.
He can't. He isn't seeing what life is truly like in NK and in SK he would. He is only seeing the "set" they have developed for all visitors. This is not NK.
Appears to be a potemkin fertilizer factory. Spotless, quiet, no activity or workers running and monitoring machinery during part of the peak planting time.
And I'm really amazed at how beautifully colorful all of the buildings are! I've only ever seen colorful buildings like that in very warm areas like Southern Florida, San Francisco, Mexico, and the Caribbean! The buildings in South Korea have lost a lot of their character because most of their high-rises are white.
Love these videos and getting to see a "glimpse" into what things really are like. Great job of editing them and putting them together, plus the narration.
Personally i think that since hes a foreigner its not hard when youre acctually north korean then it would be difficult and north koreans live there for years and they know north korea more than a few days or weeks however much.
The perception of North Korea given here is still propaganda. It's the best parts of a prison country, but still a prison. Hopefully things will improve there.
Awesome. Loving your series. I’ve watched literally everything on NK, and I have a deep appreciation and gratitude for you sharing your experience. Very well captured.
Totally get the love for the fertilizer factory. I did two semesters of college in Beijing, and people always ask me "How was the Great Wall?" "Did you see the Forbidden City?" "Tiananmen Square?" and that stuff was all cool, true, but my most memorable experiences in China were places like a seedy nightclub in Korea-town, or a muslim quarter in Xi'an, or a random dumpling stand in an alleyway. It is the little things and the random things about traveling that stay with you
We went to the same fertilizer factory, waterfall and beach hotel during our 2 week trip to DPRK in 2016. I don’t recall the food at that hotel being good like u experienced. Our room had a heating coil to make hot water!
mate... we absolutely love your work ....but these North Korea videos are simply astounding .. well done and thanks for your efforts to make these videos.. fascinating to get a peek inside a country and part of the world that nobody normally knows or goes
Cool to see a country the outside world rarely sees. The tour stops and meals seem staged to me. The factory visuals didn’t really match your description and seemed curious that individuals in military dress would be walking around as workers in a factory. I am curious about who is paying for this trip and is this a tour company or a government sponsored company. Good luck and safe travels.
David Smith it is most likely a tour company. There is NO WAY you can explore North Korea freely especially as a westerner. He may be paid but we don’t know.
He cannot roam anywhere freely without a guide, there’s no way you could get to NK alone without a guided tour approved with the officials and they show you only what they want to show you. It’s all a show
Of course the factory worker/manager was smilling when he guided you since he has no other choice but to smile and pretend like he is happy. I imagine working there would compare to slavery..you act like everything is so nice there come on man you know its not the reality
The factory was not functioning, not one bag of fertilizer is seen, NK fertilizer industry is folks have to shit in a bucket and the night soil is collected in the morning for the rice fields. Why just ask yourself why a tourist bus goes to a fertilizer factory, ????
BlazingJalopi a North Korean agent has to defend his country from my comment, hi yoh Jalopie is a nick name for old car in Antarctica Africa. Thankfully you recognise the true god.
No. He could have *easily* said what he *really* thought (you're assuming he can think - the evidence from this video suggests otherwise) with the subtitles and voiceovers he applied in post-production. Guy's an absolute bonehead. @@donaldmack2307
Here’s a general guide to what’s going on: -Voice overs: not controlled -footage: controlled by government -Talking in footage: controlled by government Overall, anything he did or said there was checked before he left the country and these opinions are not his own he was forced to say certain things.
He clearly said at the start that he WASN'T promoting the North Korean regime, but I get what you mean, he's only showing the 'positive' aspects, in other words, the only aspects he's allowed to see.
This shit is beautiful, man. I've just watched a few of your videos. Somalia, Venezuela and this. You're made to do this stuff. I have a RUclips channel documenting some of my motorcycle rides in China. I watch your videos thinking that you've honed this skill for filming, editing and narration. They are lovely videos to watch. I love the style of travel. I too have only ever traveled like rough back packer way. I wanna say that your videos are really heartfelt. They communicate something. Well bloody done.
Yeah, there was a lot going on during my trip to North Korea, too. I ended up writing my travel diary between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m., then I went back to sleep.
Great job Nick!! Really interesting videos. it gave me feeling like I'm in the USSR again... I can watch it in videos for some time but I'd never want to "go back" there. We (my parents I mean) had enough of it. Baltika beer :)) ha-ha
Fascinating video series and eerie scary to watch . How he is having to almost sleep with one eye open , look over his shoulder and carefully think what he has to say. He is basically nervous and controlled in pretty much the same way as the local citizens. Only difference is he gets to leave
Pretty Amazing, The Stores are props. How many grocery stores you see, I loved the open markets in Eastern Europe. Waterfall was Beautiful man, I’m sure the bus has a special route only good for the viewer, which is okay by me to see some good there. But could never imagine a lifestyle of working for Government or more less Dictator. Totally respect you Broska and always respect the people. Peace Out, Belus Traveller.
Hey Belus! I mean, these are all projections though? Aren't they. If it is anything I learned, is that propaganda works 2 ways. Things are said to be improving here since Jong-un has taken over, I mean any progress is good progress, right? CHeers, brother!
But at the same time, 'progress' doesn't negate all the bad things, the concentration camps, the human rights abuses and complete and utter lack of freedom in almost every way possible for their citizenry.And while there may be progress, I believe everything is just an attempt to keep the Kim dynasty in power and sometimes pleasing your people is a part of that because all stick and no carrot will cause a revolt eventually.
Samuel Rs yes I totally understand. One thing I have found in life is time will take care of everything. It may take 100’s of years but time will cure the problem. To me any dictator or communist country is not free! My own opinion. Peace Belus
you talk as if in america it's all good, guantanamo is ruled by americans where's the human rights there?? isn't america the country that had MK Ultra? isn't america the country where police kills blacks and trials aren't fair for them too? or the "human rights abuse" card only works for others? im not saying that the situation in korea is great but don't talk like your country is perfect, you yourself also live in a propaganda!
magnilsonmelo my email is belusband@gmail.com, Would love to talk the good and the bad, I respect all people of all countries and all faiths. Subscribe to my channel as well, I’m doing some blogging on America, We do have bad as well as good like any country.
So eerie feeling. Did you know most of the shops are staged? meaning they are just for foreigners or just to show. Normal North Koreans citizens are not allowed and even if they do they can't afford to buy them. You should've traveled outside of the cities like villages or towns. It's like a living in 1950's. You've seen only the best part which was just made to foreigners to show hows good North Korea is.
"Old, old phone"... We had them at home when I was a kid, in the 80's, not thaaat long ago ;) And that was in Sweden, a developed country! That made me feel old >_
Drinking a beer in North Korea beach, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity man. Thanks for making these videos, I want to visit North Korea once in my life.
Just watch the North Korean state television and you could get the same perspective as in this video. It's basically the same because that's what he's been allowed to see and show.
@@lain-ih6jj Yes they are. World public opinion is the main enemy of North Korea. Because of this there is no single politician in the world that defends 'ndpk' sovereignty
I'm just watching this for the 1st time and I love how respectful you are in your videos. You have shown us so much in a dignified way and we all appreciate you for it.
Want to see how I got into North Korea and how much it cost me? Watch here:
ruclips.net/video/AoFT3DzR4Mg/видео.html
Indigo Traveller Juche is the official religion in NK.
Did you bang any DPRK chicks, dude??
Great work... I'm really enjoying these.
Here is a very similar experience...
ruclips.net/video/csoP8Didoi0/видео.html
Indigo Traveller i love your voice
food food food food food
This is all very interesting to me. The tour guides are clearly taking you to the places they want you to see. Nothing wrong with that. You definitely looked nervous the whole time. That's pretty messed up.
I had the chance to be surrounded with NK people last year. I was part of the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games as an NOC Assistant (National Olympic Committee). I was assigned to the North Korean delegation, which included representatives, manager, trainers and athletes (No representatives came).
The kids were extremely quiet and only the manager spoke English, so I had no way of communicating with them other than with signs. I got along especially well with the girl in weightlifting, she was really sweet and smiley. The manager told me "don't talk to them". I think he then realized how harsh it sounded and corrected himself with "They won't understand you". He was a nice guy, very centered and polite. Never lost his temper (even when we ran into problems). The trainers didn't speak English so I couldn't really understand them. We just sort of understood each other with signs, pointing, and nodding. They didn't go sightseeing at all while they were here, they went out only once to buy a pair of sneakers and protein powder. They didn't have credit cards nor cellphones. They eventually purchased three to keep in touch because everyone kept getting lost. There were several activities going around the Olympic Village but they never participated.
The most shocking thing to me was that my co-assistant (who speaks some Korean) asked one of the girls if her parents were happy about her being here competing. I assume she must have misunderstood the question because she answered "my parents are happy because we live in a happy country". That really stuck with me.
That's really sad.
China is pretty bad, but North Korean is even worse.
I don't think she misunderstood. They're brainwashed to only say good things about their leader and their country. She was probably terrified to leave a bad impression or disrespect her family by saying anything else
cool story...tbh i would have interrogated them police style lol..
@@fuckoff187 kidnap them lol
Martina Castro Vallejo
He is simply, & shamefully, just eating up bs propaganda & passing it on seemingly unaware! Sad!
I imagine this would be like if someone from the outside came to tour the Hunger Games universe, they' take you on a tour of the Capital and maybe like District 1 and be like see, things are great here they're not so bad
mikesgirl8304 nice comparison lol
mikesgirl8304 another conspiritard
You stole my words
nicee!!!!
Ever driven quickly through the Detroit ghetto... lol. Bad places all over. Mass murderers in wealthy suburbs like my ex gf/her father. Guaranteed NK doesn’t have the rampant unchecked crime of the same type as the US. Almost nobody does.
this gives me the same energy as showing a house tour where they only show you the pretty renovated main floor but the rest of the house is closed off and restricted
Girl proper description!!! Well said!!
Am partially disabled but thrilled to be traveling with you from my armchair. Brilliant series, enjoying tremendously.
Yeap, we understand your tone of voice showed that you were scared of getting into trouble, I am glad you got of that place alive with full body functioning parts.
He keeps sayinh how "nicely stocked the stores are" . Take a closer look, that is obviously not stocked to be sold, that is obviously not merchandise that is being sold all the time, i work in retail, you will never stock 3 pieces of chocolate so nicely , if you are selling them. Its very obvious that those stores are there for the tourists to see , and think how well north korean stores are "stocked" , when in reality there is shortage of food and people dont have a choice of what they buy.
We can all see that, no car parks full of cars and folks stocking up.
Julie Hobbs What the fuck is your point.
It makes no sense to pour so many resources into making the entire country look good for a few hundred Western tourists each year, every time someone shows that the DPRK is fairly normal, and that the troubles of the 90s aren't still ongoing, these frankly moronic conspiracy theories always spout out, about how it's all being faked. Do you really think a heavily sanctioned, relatively poor state could even afford to create such a massive facade, solely to impress a few hundred visitors?
"Do you really think a heavily sanctioned, relatively poor state could even afford to create such a massive facade, solely to impress a few hundred visitors?" Yes, yes I do, and its not a few hundred, its much much more, they recently opened up and many tourist agencies offer Korea trips , with the same destinations. Because Korea made a program, to open up to tourists, they made tours, with STATE tour guides, and they are specifically told what to show and what to say. Ofcourse they want to portray themselves as a functioning state without hunger etc. And I know two people who told me the same thing, who went there from my hometown. This is really not a surprise and really not news, I just dont get why people cant figure it out from a single glance
Thousands of visitors from China pour in yearly yes, but the number from the West is typically in the low hundreds. State tour guides are only really used for Western visitors for what should be obvious reasons, and still then it's not particularly difficult to get permission for free travel through the country during your stay, so long as you check in with the proper authorities. Much of what people experience when traveling to the DPRK in the area of restrictions in travel is because they're going along with a touring agency, which has a schedule, planned routes, and has to keep track of the tourists they're bringing through the country. These touring agencies have to be responsible for dumbasses like Otto Warmbier which they bring into the country.
You really are brainwashed if you believe that they'd pour hundreds of
millions of dollars of their relatively tight funds into developing a
handful of areas just for tourists. The truth about the DPRK is much more simple- while they're a relatively poor state, largely as a result of the genocidal sanctions imposed by the US and its lackeys, they are nonetheless a functioning state. Their undernourishment rate is lower than that in most of South Asia (according to independently sourced UN statistics), some 60% of the population lives in urban rather than rural areas today, their economic growth over the past decade has been widely recognized as having been considerable, because it isn't the 1990s anymore. Visitors not coming through a touring agency, which have traveled independently, have well documented that the DPRK is fairly well developed nationwide, not just in Pyongyang and some surrounding areas. Aram Pan, through his DPRK 360 project, has shown this time and time again.
The typical image of the DPRK being a starved, desolate place comes from the time of the Arduous March of the 1990s. This resulted from the experience of some of the worst flooding in the region seen in a century.
"For an example of the severity of the flood period, in Pyongsan
county in North Hwanghae province, 87.7 centimeters of rain were
recorded to have fallen in seven hours. The engorged Yalu River saw its
highest water levels in 70 years in 1995, contributing to the 1.5
million tons in grain reserves destroyed as a result of flooding in that year alone, pairing with 1.2 million tons of lost grain production
resulting from washed out fields.
The DPRK lost roughly 85% of its power generation capacity during the 1994-1996 flood period, with hydroelectric power plants suffering severe damage, the flooding of several coal mines, severe damage done to roads and railways utilized in the transport of coal, among various other damages to vital infrastructure. Nearly all hydroelectric turbines along the Yalu River were severely damaged, while the electric rail lines powered by those turbines were now out of operation, further stunting the ability to transport coal along the remaining railways due to the reliance on electric trains rather than oil or coal engines."
"Honestly i felt controlled this whole trip and this place kinda sucks..." *Gets sniped*
Lol
this could have happened you know
lmao, the funniest part is that it actually could happen
fishy production to funny
Leaves comment... gets sni...
i bet the food is good because your tourists and they want to appear like a good country when locals don't have much for food
West eats way too much anyway, Humans adapt to their circumstances
Speeding Atheist was that directed towards me?
+For 20 Who else could it be directed to? So you're slow, too?
Speeding Atheist im from africa and also starving for the most part, but honestly 1meal a day is over enough depending on how much calories you burn...
+For 20 Not enough food but an internet connection, a computer, electricity and a place to live. Funny priorities you have there.
*"Good afternoon, good evening and good night"*
lol definitely a very relevant Truman Show reference.
He said that in the second video too, definitely a quote
I'm shocked how much of the countryside you were able to see AND that they allowed you film so much.
They didn't.. & that's why things are how they are now😂
The contrast between the two Koreas is crazy considering the fact that the citizens of both countries have the same ethnicity.
Some of them are actually relatives.
Indeed
Some North Koreans have moved to South Korea which is interesting.
Look at India and Pakistan what a difference.
MyNightmareEyes It is not that interrsting considering the brutality and oppression of the North Korean regime.
I’ve watched a lot of documentaries and vlogs on North Korea as its intriguing country, and wasn’t expecting to see anything new considering how controlled the Pyongyang tours are. Pleasantly surprised to find you have shot lots of footage of places I haven’t seen and love being also given more information (thanks to your attention to detail). The editing and music is really great too.
According to what I have heard from several sources, they use Human poop as fertilizer in North Korea.
@@stephenlangsl67 sounds efficient
@@stephenlangsl67 they use human dead here in America too
@@adolfog316 Efficient for spreading E.coli, hepatitis, rotavirus, salmonella, etc.
@@Eargesplitten-Loudenboomer that's not a problem if you're doing it correctly
for some reason I feel like they are hiding a whole lot of things. just the vibes and all, it's wierd
Believe your logic because that's the truth.
yeah man. every NK person you see, is privileged, bless by the government, and highly trained. and you wont ever see that parts that dont get electricity, which is most of the country. so weird.
I'm getting a Bioshock vibe.
Ever read any of the end of year budget accounting audit report for the US DoD? It’s widely publicized they haven’t been able to get the numbers to reconcile even once in something like at least decades. More than something like 90% of government documents/foia information about the us gov is never made public. We really aren’t that different.
That's because they are
Indigo Tourist: some kids playing over here
Kids: what? No. No playing happening here...
Snitching on them
It's so creepy how almost none of the people are willing to look at the camera. In the three videos I've watched so far I think two people have looked at the camera.
They are scared
Spent 4.5 years as a war planner in Korea and a infantry company commander on the DMZ. I know extremely well the well rehearsed process you were apart of and very predicable. Lots of folks went hungry in the countryside while you were there...not to mention the brutality of this government on their own people. You did not see the REAL North Korea frankly. You saw only what the government set you up to see and you did exactly what their government hoped you would do. These are the folks that beat and tortured a college kid senseless and sent him home to the states to die. Meanwhile to the south is a modern society that is light years ahead of this despot of a nation. Keeping it real.
Interesting. When were you there exactly?
81 to 83 and 87 to 89
If he went there and didn’t understand that before that would be quite sad.
My point, why does anyone with compassion visit this country? His tourist dollars do nothing to help the North Korean people, but the despicable regime.
Vance Walden Well in return this guy has probably made so much Adsense money from his click baity titles and almost propaganda style videos that his trip money is more than covered. It’s sad to bring so much “positive” attention to a country so awful. Perhaps he should have asked for the active concentration camp tour. Or maybe a tour of the minefields, electric fences, and unground bunkers with armed guards pointing guns upwards, waiting for people to walk over them. At the minimum he could have visited the damn near starved to death people. Oh but wait that could never exist somewhere as beautiful as North Korea. But hey all he cares about is that big cha ching. Those lives aren’t relative to his, he’s just there for the RUclips clips.
Also can you imagine how busy that beach would be if NK was a open free country. Sitting there on a clean quiet beach having a beer, without a tourist bar, shop, boat etc in sight is incredibly rare these days, hope you enjoyed it
yea, there would be more happy people having a better time socializing like human beings are suppose to.
Well, if it opened up, it would be taken over by tourists
I feel like NK officials read RUclips comments under non-propaganda travel videos.
Because every time someone visited there has been videos and comments about things what were lacking and missing.. Things what felt weird for people watching.
And now when someone goes to visit - those things what were lacking before were fixed one by one.. Every fresh video ther has been some changes made and this have most of them. Kinda creepy but same time impressive from North Koreans to managing to do that fairly efficient time.
Lmao, you really believe a poor country has the money and resources to pay actors and build entire cities only for tourists to enjoy and be lied to? C’mon, use common sense. Don’t be so paranoid. It seems that Western Media can be as brainwashing as North Korean propaganda.
@@AnImperialGod That's not what they were saying. They said that elements of the tour were changed, which they clearly have been over the years. I'm sure like any tour operators they use all feedback at their disposal to improve things and I'm sure that includes RUclips. And I agree that North Koreans are doing this to promote a cleaner image of themselves rather than purely to garner customer satisfaction.
@@AnImperialGod NK isn't that poor as a country though, they just keep the majority of the population in poverty as a means of control. I highly recommend Yeonmi Park's channel, she talks about her life there before she escaped.
@@AnImperialGod when the country has enough money to make nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles, why can't they make a whole village for tourists and pay actors?
That's obvious. That's what a lot of countries do. I mean, as the administrator over a popular area, you'd wanna improve upon it so people can see the area and your country in a better light because it will bring you benefits, and a pretty good thing to do is too check out, well, reviews.
I have watched several of your North Korea videos and it's scary to see just how structured each activity was,. And those "well stocked" stores were just damn creepy. Congratulations on having the cojones to travel to such a despot controlled country and I am just glad for you and your family that you survived.
influence by media that's were causing to your mind accepting that propaganda. Really those you said not be true.that country such you think really doesn't dangerous and west just are trying to showing we are right and others country are bad and they have enmity with us.I just a few weeks ago for try to English if that is.....sorry,.I'm trying.
N. Korea seems to progress better than many countries from so-called free world. Well done, respect.
Meanwhile in US and EU citizens are enslaved by taxes and rules for Big pharma and Military industrial complex gains, where only rich elite enjoys all the freedom aka corruption is booming. Especially since US proxy war against Iraq, Libya, Afganistan and Russia. Also covid19 plandemic. Democracy myasss.
I think that stores are more for the tourists then average locals I think if you ask you can shop there as a tourists I guess🤔
@@facelessgirl4731Since it is communist, everyone can enter the stores. Unfortunately, many can’t afford it. That’s the only problem. They may go to any store/restaurant but the only thing limiting them is money.
“ good afternoon, good evening and goodnight “ that’s what Truman says in the movie ‘ the Truman show ‘ which is actually quite fitting for this place since nothing is real and is always being watched ( monitored ).
Sounds like america to me 😊
@@kimo8941shiiiit
I don't know why people were hating on you praising the food. We aren't idiots and we know that only tourists get such lavish meals... that doesn't mean it's not good. Those dishes looked great to me. North Korean cuisine (for those privileged enough to taste enough of it) is the closest to what they would have had in ancient Korea. While South Korea pretty much adds a shit tonne of spice to everything.
North Korean Cusine is the same as sOuth Korean Cusine
Hmmmm... perhaps because these vids are a ludicrous display of total lack of awareness... never even crosses his mind the ridiculous stories he was told are simply not true ugh. He's beyond naive to truly believe he was allowed to show/see just anything he wanted lol... he just saw the propaganda show for outsiders! He should be smarter then simply presenting progaganda with no mention, or understanding, of actual reality! He just ate up & passied on the bs fed to him as fact without it ever really crossing his mind it wasn't real ugh.
@@JustMeELC bro you do know you can't say anything negative about NK while you're there right? He was literally avoiding getting thrown in jail lol
@@JustMeELC tf do you mean passed on the bs fed to him as fact..? nothing he says in any of the videos is false lmfao.
he had good food. he saw ridiculously impressive monuments. all in all the trip looked pretty good. you want him to lie and say the foods shit? or the museums aren’t impressive?
no shit he’s getting a controlled tour of certain parts of pyongyang. no shit there’s people in the rest of the country in poor conditions. no shit it’s the most censored country filled with propaganda in the world.
he’s only documenting what he’s being presented with and he did a great job of it 👍
@@Herpderpdesu he didn’t edit, voiceover, or upload any of this until he was out of North Korea. In my opinion it’s really BS that he didn’t do much other than take everything told to him for face value- so much of this is a lie and he did a great job playing into it, which was best for his safety, but he did a horrible job of reminding us viewers at home that this is all a sham
It's interesting how you try to find the good in every country you visit, not even North Korea's an exception. I like your style!
Thank you, mate :)
It's not difficult when he's treated like a king compared to how most North Koreans live there is it. Wake up and smell the coffee ffs.
@@IndigoTraveller Thanks for this. Although you were with guides, you probably understand that negative aspects exist in every nation. Any photos taken on the downside get lots of propaganda uses. The U.S.A. has horrid areas, but a positive spin is always advanced. Hate-filled attitudes, comments, and opinions about a nation will always be the norm.
There's something beautiful about every country imo, it's never the government, it's mostly the landscape, and North Korea's no exception in beautiful landscape if it ins't just farmland and staged cities.
Because ethnic food will always be better than white people food and that’s a fact
North Korea now is like what Eastern Europe was in the 50's. Fascinating
Full of deception.
Except no freedom
Absolutely incredible series. Stumbled upon your channel from the RUclips recommended page and am stunned. Love the unabridged, decide-for-yourself style of narration. The video shots are incredible and raw. Stellar photography work. You should be proud! Keep the great work coming.
6:35 that painting almost seems like they're reminding the Korean people ("farmers in that one) that they're always watching
Those "fully stocked" stores are for show just for the tourists. There's been smuggled out videos of local people going in them and being told the stuff "is not for sale" also there's some video on a tour where one of the tourist who was filming picked up one of the neatly stocked bags of chips and they had a expiration date of like 3 years earlier. It's a fasad, that's why it feels odd to you because it's fake.
Are they still online? If yes: Do you have any links?
@りRi When I try to watch that video, all I get is a mesage saying 'An Error occurred'. Seems like there are some not wanting to have the message spread to the world.
He just ate up propaganda spoon fed to him... never even crosses his mind the ridiculous stories he was told are simply not true ugh. He's beyond naive to think he was allowed to show/see just anything he wanted lol... he just saw the propaganda show for outsiders! He should be smarter then simply presenting progaganda with no mention, or understanding, of actual reality! He just ate up & passied on the bs fed to him as fact without it ever really crossing his mind it wasn't real ugh.
@@JustMeELC THANK YOU!! I am also in disbelief of how naive this guys is!
Yigor Vinogradof read between the lines before you call him names cause the only naive person might be you. This guy can‘t say a single bad thing about NK, he‘s forced to say it‘s great. The NK people control all visitors‘ footage and the pictures they take during the trip. The hotel room is most likely under surveillance so he can‘t speak freely anywhere. He replied to some previous comments and confirmed this. He‘s clearly very nervous and tense during this whole trip. Whenever he calls something interesting or bizarre he really means it’s weird or unsettling. So please focus on the video and not on what he‘s saying because he knows just as well as us that it‘s all bullsh*t. But if he didn‘t say it he would face problems for these videos.
It reminds me so much of the China I went to in 1990! There are a lot of similarities- looking trapped in time is one of them. I was there before Deng Xiaoping opened up the economy so it was a very different China back then. Still absolutely loving this series, Nick. A million thanks for the time you’re putting into editing. 🙏🏼👍🏼✌🏼
Interesting, China and DPRK must have many similarities depending on what part in China. Cheers, Karin!
Indigo Traveller Yes, totally. Back a few decades, China was super communist just like DPRK. Mao and his “cult of personality “ following was just like with Kim Jong Il - in fact, Mao set the template for this kind of worship. China changed, DPRK didn’t, after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Karin B
But atleast China allowed a little foreign investments and as the technology was less developed then , it was easy to hide the secrets .
Kishore Singh Not before 1976, there wasn’t. And it wasn’t until 1984 that Americans were even allowed to come in an travel and teach English. There were still photos and media reports. There was definitely emulation of one another and why the strong relationship between the two nations exists today.
Karin B this is the comment I was waiting for
The VICE series on NK was cool, but this was great! Very smart if you to mind your manners the whole time, they definitely had eyes on you the entire trip.
The kids singing in the school seemed like it was literally timed to start as you walked passed there.. It was choreographed. Everything around you there seemed contrived..
the fact that he said "wow its like you can't even tell the factory apart from a 1940's film and the 21st century" is scary
Feel like those workers dont know anything outside of that identity which is pretty spooky tbh
Nick, your channel is a whole television ! You can be very professioonal travel journalist
Thank you, George!
@@IndigoTraveller go bac 2 sinai and try 2 go 2 the west desert and 2 buda;regrd ;
This might be my favorite series about DPRK. Also, the quality of the shots, the natural beauty and the music chosen makes the NK countryside one of prettiest on earth. What a great job. Also, what's the name of the outro song? Really loving it, keep it up
Thank you, Rui! The song is Divergent from Epidemic Sound. Appreciate your kind words!
I totally agree. Great series, super interesting and beautifully shot. Thanks Indigo Traveller! Keep it up!
Ganda Fernando Santos. But yeah my favourite North Korea series so far keep it up Indigo xD
I heard that they play classic music in the political death camps to drown out the screams from the women being raped and the babies that are being fed to starving dogs in the countryside. "one of the prettiest on earth" Good grief....give me a flippin break
ok, have you been there?
I'm sure all of the surviving North Korea defectors would disagree.
Can't say i'm any more knowledgable on the matter but even with restricted footage, you can still see signs of intolerance there.
7:09 that is not a "stocked" shop...that's a display.
A good friend of mine is a guitarist for the biggest rock band in South Korea and played a show in Pyongyang last year as part of a culture-sharing event. Shook Kim Jeong Un’s hand. Now that must have been surreal.
Everything looks post-apocalyptic once you get out of Pyongyang.
Even in Pyonyang
Except the staged model village he had to visit
Looked nicer than any ghetto in the U.S.
Claudia Apparently you’ve never been to India.
Have you been to nkorea before?
This series is just so interesting and has some really nice content. great job man!
Thanks!
Cool video! You're work has really evolved. Thanks for producing this content :)
Thanks Peter!
Your* correcting you with nothing but love - I enjoy your content!
Those quiet grocery stores give me chills. You can tell times are tough for people. Hopefully north and south work out their differences
cant happen because China (and partly Russia) are backing North Korea up
My great-grandfather was a Methodist missionary and my grandmother was born and grew up in Songdough, N. Korea. Her little brother died there and is supposed to be buried there as well as some twins that were still born. I’ve always wanted to go see where she grew up, as she said it was so beautiful. I will likely never be able to see that. Thanks for giving me some sort of inclination as to what it’s like.
9:06 "So fascinating I absolutely loved it" Voice is super monotone
I can't stop being amazed by your films. I've never seen anything like this from the DPRK, unbelievable they let you film so much
Thank you Arie 🍻
@@IndigoTraveller amazing video I like learning about North Korea 🇰🇵
I was thinking the same thing. I’m surprised he was able to film so much
Yea but then again it all made the country look good. So, it’s no surprise they would want people to look at a bunch of the good stuff.
@@JasmineP-qk6ob Which country would want tourists to see the bad stuff? Stop fooling yourself...
Great series so far, I was wondering if they check all the footage you recorded while you were in the country before you leave? Because it sort of surprised me that they would allow through some of your commentary like "we are being watched", "roads are bumpy" etc etc. I was expecting that kind of stuff to purely be post-trip voiceovers like you have for some parts. Excellent unique footage btw, I am checking your other videos when I have the time and they are just full of so much I didn't know!
It is not like you can't say anything negative. It isn't that strict. You just don't say anything bad about the leaders. They did check a bit of my footage but hardly any. Thank you!
Thanks bud! It was really amazing and interesting to see a new side of North Korea.
So many ignorant comments. Thanks you for showing this. My jaw literally dropped when i saw the tower light up in the first video as well as the SUBWAY STATION.
Ive never wanted to visit a museum so badly.
@@adolfog316 yes exactly everyone in the comments are so negative like yeh we get it the country is in a terrible state but that doesn't mean he didn't have fun or enjoyed the places at all or that everything nice he said is for show.
@@osvaldaspaslauskas5040 It is VERY telling how this horde of people are talking about how bad NK is and how the people there are brainwashed etc. They should first look at the mirror lol. The bad image of NK is so ingrained in their brains that they can't help but spew negativity even when there is absolutely no need to.
I saw the word Heungnam in your video. If the factory you visited is really in Heungnam, you visited the first nitrogenous fertilizer factory in Korean History. It is a such meaningful place for both of Koreas. In 1920, when Japan occupied Korea, they built that factory to increase rice production. There are a lot of interesting stories regarding that factory. I wish I can visit it. Since I am a Korean, I am not allowed to go to North Korea. And that was the place from where thousands of Koreans came to South Korea by the US military warship. Because, the US forces tried to throw bombs to that area.
Dang. I’m getting Hunger Games vibes from that factory, District 12 to be precise.
12:18 Obv pour the hot water in the cold so it’s warm, because they don’t have a water heater. But always run your own bath water because they could’ve put something in it.
It’s so sad how they host feasts for tourists meanwhile korean people are literally starving eating rats and insects 😪
Brian D another conspiritard with no evidence to back his claims
Rats and insects can be superb cuisines. Believe me. It depends on your cooking skill.
IH AND 5 C, FROM NORTH KOREAN DEFECTORS IDIOT!! GET YOURSELF INFORMED WIKIPEDIA RUclips VIDOE ON THE SUBJECT - YOUVE GOT AN INTERNET CONNECTION THEN USE IT INSTEAD TO ASK PEOPLE INOS YOU CAN GET YOURSELF IF YOU WERE FUKING GETTING YOUR FINGER OUT YOUR ASS AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!! YOU ARE SO IGNORANT IT HURT TO READ YOUR STUPIDS COMMENTS.
I read many books by NK folks who escaped, free health care , sure, the hospitals leave corpses outside for rats to feed on, then the staff eat the rats.
5c4v3ng3r Says the fucking guy who literally uploads dozens of conspiracy videos about flat earth and whatnot. The irony... I really hope you're a fucking troll but I doubt it.
It would be cool if you can go to SK and reflect on the differences between NK
One day i will!
He can't. He isn't seeing what life is truly like in NK and in SK he would. He is only seeing the "set" they have developed for all visitors. This is not NK.
@@defeatignorance8681 but you have never been to NK, so how do you know? 🤔
Appears to be a potemkin fertilizer factory. Spotless, quiet, no activity or workers running and monitoring machinery during part of the peak planting time.
I am impressed about this video. Actaully i am south korean so i can't go there.. that's why i am impressed. feel sad little bit :-)
i’m american, i can’t go either :(
Can people who hold a United Kingdom passport travel to North Korea ???
And I'm really amazed at how beautifully colorful all of the buildings are! I've only ever seen colorful buildings like that in very warm areas like Southern Florida, San Francisco, Mexico, and the Caribbean! The buildings in South Korea have lost a lot of their character because most of their high-rises are white.
Hey... It's quite interesting to watch this video about NK. It's really worth to watch. Ur narration is awesome and that's d highlight of ur videos
Thank you mate!
Love these videos and getting to see a "glimpse" into what things really are like. Great job of editing them and putting them together, plus the narration.
Just found your channel from your North Korea series. Really enjoying all of your content I have seen. Thanks for sharing your point of view.
Thank you so much!
Personally i think that since hes a foreigner its not hard when youre acctually north korean then it would be difficult and north koreans live there for years and they know north korea more than a few days or weeks however much.
Hey! Just randomly came across these videos of your trip to North Korea!! I’m hooked! You’re videos are so cool. I’d watch this over Netflix any day!
Me too
I love the Arch of Reunification! Living in South Korea right now, it is amazing to see how much South Korea has advanced!
The perception of North Korea given here is still propaganda. It's the best parts of a prison country, but still a prison. Hopefully things will improve there.
@Quiet Wolf Gaming what protection of regime has to do with objective truth?
Awesome. Loving your series. I’ve watched literally everything on NK, and I have a deep appreciation and gratitude for you sharing your experience. Very well captured.
Totally get the love for the fertilizer factory. I did two semesters of college in Beijing, and people always ask me "How was the Great Wall?" "Did you see the Forbidden City?" "Tiananmen Square?" and that stuff was all cool, true, but my most memorable experiences in China were places like a seedy nightclub in Korea-town, or a muslim quarter in Xi'an, or a random dumpling stand in an alleyway. It is the little things and the random things about traveling that stay with you
. Disgusting everything. "Fertilizer "factory - made from human feces(роор), which EVERYONE must donate! a certain norm.
We went to the same fertilizer factory, waterfall and beach hotel during our 2 week trip to DPRK in 2016. I don’t recall the food at that hotel being good like u experienced. Our room had a heating coil to make hot water!
mate... we absolutely love your work ....but these North Korea videos are simply astounding .. well done and thanks for your efforts to make these videos.. fascinating to get a peek inside a country and part of the world that nobody normally knows or goes
Love your videos Nick, thanks for documenting a lot of info for a series! It's one of my favorites now, learning a lot about North Korea.
Thanks Zak!
"i absolutly loved it" when u talk about their 1920 labor....
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Enjoyed the waterfall, very beautiful. Food does look good. Thank you for sharing this with all of us!
You seem like a really kind open minded and humble guy loved your DPRK videos !! Keep it up !
Cool to see a country the outside world rarely sees. The tour stops and meals seem staged to me. The factory visuals didn’t really match your description and seemed curious that individuals in military dress would be walking around as workers in a factory. I am curious about who is paying for this trip and is this a tour company or a government sponsored company. Good luck and safe travels.
David Smith it is most likely a tour company. There is NO WAY you can explore North Korea freely especially as a westerner. He may be paid but we don’t know.
He cannot roam anywhere freely without a guide, there’s no way you could get to NK alone without a guided tour approved with the officials and they show you only what they want to show you. It’s all a show
In countries ruled by dictators military is everywhere
Of course the factory worker/manager was smilling when he guided you since he has no other choice but to smile and pretend like he is happy. I imagine working there would compare to slavery..you act like everything is so nice there come on man you know its not the reality
The factory was not functioning, not one bag of fertilizer is seen, NK fertilizer industry is folks have to shit in a bucket and the night soil is collected in the morning for the rice fields.
Why just ask yourself why a tourist bus goes to a fertilizer factory, ????
Shut up god damn enjoy the video
BlazingJalopi a North Korean agent has to defend his country from my comment, hi yoh Jalopie is a nick name for old car in Antarctica Africa. Thankfully you recognise the true god.
You do realize he has to be very careful with his words and that all footage has to be approved? He cannot say what he - really - thinks.
No. He could have *easily* said what he *really* thought (you're assuming he can think - the evidence from this video suggests otherwise) with the subtitles and voiceovers he applied in post-production. Guy's an absolute bonehead. @@donaldmack2307
The "truman show" irl
Here’s a general guide to what’s going on:
-Voice overs: not controlled
-footage: controlled by government
-Talking in footage: controlled by government
Overall, anything he did or said there was checked before he left the country and these opinions are not his own he was forced to say certain things.
Adam D yeah, except the voice overs are also about “amazing” “really cool” “tasty food”. He’s an idiot.
gurgy3 he’s not political he’s just on a vacation lol
@@jillianmcallister1012 hes running a youtube channel. its not vacation, it's for profit. (which is fine, just keepin it real)
@@gurgy3 still no accounting for people who can't read between the lines and get the jabs he sneaks in I see.
gurgy3 the food is actually probably good....lol
I immensely appreciate your work. This is life changing stuff! ❤
These videos are like watching a North Korean propaganda movie.
He clearly said at the start that he WASN'T promoting the North Korean regime, but I get what you mean, he's only showing the 'positive' aspects, in other words, the only aspects he's allowed to see.
False. There's no anti-American sentiment going on here and he's not being paid to promote a regime.
Yeah, makes you wonder about the intentions of the host does it not?
I got that impression.
You got this impression just because he is not talking bad stuff about it? Mericans...
As a brazilian I am really jealous of all these clean places and roads.
trust me you wouldnt see them if you were born in North Korea
You have more than that and is call freedom 😊
The beach was beautiful!! Btw 12:49 they're watching you lol
This shit is beautiful, man. I've just watched a few of your videos. Somalia, Venezuela and this. You're made to do this stuff. I have a RUclips channel documenting some of my motorcycle rides in China. I watch your videos thinking that you've honed this skill for filming, editing and narration. They are lovely videos to watch. I love the style of travel. I too have only ever traveled like rough back packer way. I wanna say that your videos are really heartfelt. They communicate something. Well bloody done.
Yeah, there was a lot going on during my trip to North Korea, too. I ended up writing my travel diary between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m., then I went back to sleep.
Great job Nick!! Really interesting videos. it gave me feeling like I'm in the USSR again... I can watch it in videos for some time but I'd never want to "go back" there. We (my parents I mean) had enough of it.
Baltika beer :)) ha-ha
Haha cheers, mate!
Subbed. I Love the videos so far and very nice job.
I'm glad that all of your meals were so delicious. The question is: What do the people who live there eat?
Fascinating video series and eerie scary to watch . How he is having to almost sleep with one eye open , look over his shoulder and carefully think what he has to say. He is basically nervous and controlled in pretty much the same way as the local citizens. Only difference is he gets to leave
It’s crazy how you see so much beauty and no locals there to enjoy it
that ending”they have nothing but the best food” lmao 😂
LMAO. Yep, everyone eating Michelin star quality food over there.
InDisskyS131 this video is quite contradicting. But it’s better than most propaganda shit.
11:10 Wire is going in to air went :D right side.
Pretty Amazing, The Stores are props. How many grocery stores you see, I loved the open markets in Eastern Europe. Waterfall was Beautiful man, I’m sure the bus has a special route only good for the viewer, which is okay by me to see some good there. But could never imagine a lifestyle of working for Government or more less Dictator. Totally respect you Broska and always respect the people. Peace Out, Belus Traveller.
Hey Belus! I mean, these are all projections though? Aren't they. If it is anything I learned, is that propaganda works 2 ways. Things are said to be improving here since Jong-un has taken over, I mean any progress is good progress, right? CHeers, brother!
But at the same time, 'progress' doesn't negate all the bad things, the concentration camps, the human rights abuses and complete and utter lack of freedom in almost every way possible for their citizenry.And while there may be progress, I believe everything is just an attempt to keep the Kim dynasty in power and sometimes pleasing your people is a part of that because all stick and no carrot will cause a revolt eventually.
Samuel Rs yes I totally understand. One thing I have found in life is time will take care of everything. It may take 100’s of years but time will cure the problem. To me any dictator or communist country is not free! My own opinion. Peace Belus
you talk as if in america it's all good, guantanamo is ruled by americans where's the human rights there?? isn't america the country that had MK Ultra? isn't america the country where police kills blacks and trials aren't fair for them too? or the "human rights abuse" card only works for others? im not saying that the situation in korea is great but don't talk like your country is perfect, you yourself also live in a propaganda!
magnilsonmelo my email is belusband@gmail.com, Would love to talk the good and the bad, I respect all people of all countries and all faiths. Subscribe to my channel as well, I’m doing some blogging on America, We do have bad as well as good like any country.
I love your upbeat, "non-denominational" videos. Really wonderful
All the food looks so fresh and healthy. I love your videos - learning so much!
So eerie feeling. Did you know most of the shops are staged? meaning they are just for foreigners or just to show. Normal North Koreans citizens are not allowed and even if they do they can't afford to buy them. You should've traveled outside of the cities like villages or towns. It's like a living in 1950's. You've seen only the best part which was just made to foreigners to show hows good North Korea is.
How you only have 107k subscribers is shocking!
Haha thank you!
@@IndigoTraveller You deserve more subs!
"Old, old phone"... We had them at home when I was a kid, in the 80's, not thaaat long ago ;) And that was in Sweden, a developed country! That made me feel old >_
Drinking a beer in North Korea beach, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity man. Thanks for making these videos, I want to visit North Korea once in my life.
It’s a nice play but it’s dangerous for us people I wouldn’t want to ever be born there
I love how everything is neat and clean
Yes and the food looked really good!
That’s only in the areas they allow you.
Very nice video .. we see the world through ur eyes
Thanks Heba!
Omg!
It’s so fucking beautiful!!!
I love the country side!
2:25 guy on left taking a piss in the field... he's probably dead now.
OMFG HAHAHA
Lmaooooooo
Sad how this is true
How do you know this. And how he lived 40 years without diying before you write your comment.
Beautiful video of a struggling country presented with compassion. Thanks.
Thanks for sharing this videos with a different perspective about North Korea, that's what I actually want to see.
I'm enjoying them ✌
Just watch the North Korean state television and you could get the same perspective as in this video. It's basically the same because that's what he's been allowed to see and show.
You know your room was bugged?
You know... you're also missing a kidney?
Of course the DRNK would bug a rooms of a random youtuber, because they're too afraid of someone sayin' bad things 'bout them. Hi brainwashed!
@@lain-ih6jj Yes they are. World public opinion is the main enemy of North Korea. Because of this there is no single politician in the world that defends 'ndpk' sovereignty
BlackPhanton 164 these hotels they stay at have a whole floor dedicated to them for nothing but surveillance. Yes the rooms are bugged.
You know that Google and Facebook do the same?
Such an interesting place, unfortunately it's not easy and cheap to get there, thanks for posting man, you rule!
Cheers, mate!
I admire your courage, fantastic series!
I'm just watching this for the 1st time and I love how respectful you are in your videos. You have shown us so much in a dignified way and we all appreciate you for it.