added on 12-04-06

                                    Kumgansan in North Korea


Late on a Friday night in late November, Austin, Steve, Andrew, Nate, and myself boarded a bus that would take us where few Americans before us had been...


NORTH KOREA!! 


Now the very thought of entering North Korea is a bit disconcerting, but for the past several years a wonderful tourism opportunity has been offered to Kumgansan (the Diamond Mountains) in the southeast of North Korea.

I've been in Seoul for a little over three months but I was not sure for how much longer this tour would be a realistic option for me. Recently North Korea has put its name back in the headlines with actions of nuclear aggression, and I was fearful of the tour program shutting down, at least for American participants.

The experience was fantastic!! We had wonderful hiking weather and the scenery of snow capped mountains was amazing!

We really saw only what they allowed us to see...but we did pass by or through a few small villages. One road took us near a school. There were a dozen North Korean guards in the area making sure the children did not focus on us AND making sure we did not take any pictures of them. One guard was even hiding behind a tree while watching our buses pass.

If a guard spotted us taking a picture then he would raise a red flag and ALL of the buses would stop so the guards could board the bus, find the camera and picture, and make sure it was promptly deleted or destroyed. I should also mention these guards were stationed (sometimes hiding) about every 10 meter along the roads just to watch our buses.

Crazy!!

Other signs of more realistic North Korean lifestyles were farm equipment being pulled by long horned oxen and ALL people riding bicycles. It was actually a moving sight for me to see the shadowed outlines of the North Koreans riding their bicycles in the distance during the morning sunrise.

On our first day we helped our muscles recover from the day's hike by relaxing during a performance of the north Korean acrobats followed by a visit to the hot springs spa and sauna where we bared all to enjoy the magical healing powers of the hot spring water of Kumgansan North Korea.

The trip was overall VERY fantastic and if I have the opportunity to return I would do so without regret. It is really ashame that such a wonderful place is so closed off from the majority of people to experience it, but I suppose that is also what allows it to maintain its special aura and natural feel. 





         
                                          The cold icy peaks of the Diamond Mountains in North Korea.



                    
                  I made new friends in North Korea.                            Finally, proof we REALLY are in North Korea!!