Mark Crysell: former Sunday reporter on North Korea reopening for tourism

North Korea's set to reopen for international tourists by the end of the year.

Two tour companies with connections to the isolated country have made separate online announcements - saying tour groups would be allowed to visit the city of Samjiyon.

It's been almost five years since the country shut its borders due to the pandemic.

Former Sunday reporter Mark Crysell has been to North Korea, and says he recommends visiting.

"Every other country in the world is pretty much the same now because of globalisation - North Korea is like going to the moon. And when you go inside, it's like being sealed in a tupperware container."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
God feather Do for Seelan.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
North Korea is set to allow tourists back into the
country after nearly five years of COVID restrictions. The country
has two main tourism operators and these guys are going
to start the trips again from December this year. The
last set of tourists to visit the country were Russian
in an attempt to strengthen diplomatic ties now. Mark Kreisel
is a former tivs Et Sunday journalists who's actually traveled
to North Korea before. He is with me now in studio.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
Hey Mark, Hello Heather, how would you go?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Well, first of all, how are you very well? Nice
to see your face. Yeah. Now would you go there
as a tourist?

Speaker 1 (00:33):
I would recommend it.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
I would.

Speaker 1 (00:35):
I've been so I don't need to go back and
I'm happy about that.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
Is it the once? Is it a visit once?

Speaker 1 (00:39):
It's like going to the moon. Every other country in
the world is pretty much the same now because the globalization,
same shops, things like faces and languages are different, but
the experiences can be the same. North Korea is like
going to the moon, and when you go inside, it's
like being sealed in a tupperware container.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
Yeah, okay, you don't need to go back because you've
been there. I've never been there. Should I go?

Speaker 1 (01:01):
Be brave and go because it's fascinating. And that's one
of the great things about travel, isn't it that you
go to places that people haven't been before. We were
lucky enough to go to places that no foreigners had
ever been before in North Korea. And what you'll see
is what they want you to see when you go.
You'll see Peongyang, which is like looks like a set
in the Jetsons or something like that. But just be

(01:22):
aware that you'll be followed and watched and monitored with
everything you do. We were in our rooms in a
place called Sanuju in the north, just near over the
river from Dandong and China, and we said, because we've
had all our books taken office at the border. We said,
we're sitting in the room my cameraman and producer Luisa,
and I said, oh, man, I wish we'd brought some cards.

(01:44):
The next morning, they brought us some cards.

Speaker 2 (01:46):
Have they got microphones or just microphones?

Speaker 1 (01:49):
I don't know. I guess I don't know. God, I
would hope they didn't have cameras.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
Did you jump out of the shower so fast and
get dressed so fast?

Speaker 1 (01:57):
No, I'm not shy.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Okay, you've got new tendencies.

Speaker 1 (02:02):
They're only human.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
What's there to see?

Speaker 1 (02:04):
Oh, it's just fascinating to be in another culture.

Speaker 2 (02:08):
Only do they have monuments.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
They have monuments so that those monuments of the two
leaders are incredible. But you have to be so careful
that you don't do anything silly around them or disrespect
what they were assuming to be disrespectful. I took a
photo of my cameraman, Martin, in front of a big
portrait in our lobby of the two first two leaders
who are revered. I went up to my bedroom. There

(02:30):
was a knock at my door. Who was two policemen
wanted to see the photo. Oh yeah, okay, yeah, So
you become well I did. I became quite paranoid and claustrophobic.
So it's quite happy to leave the country when we did.
But we were, like I say, going to places that
were where foreigners don't normally go. We had a big
entourage with US people who said they were scientists and journalists.

(02:51):
They were probably secret police people things like that. So
we couldn't. We couldn't leave our hotel without an escort.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
So it's not a relaxing place. It's not like going
to feed you.

Speaker 1 (03:00):
But they have a ski resort there, which is apparently
really and they're poured money into it. And apparently the
beaches are quite nice, because remember when Trump had his
meeting with Kim John and Singapore and he pitched condos
on the beach there, so apparently the beaches are quite nice.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
Okay, all right, I don't know that you've sold it
to me, but I suppose just once be brave, once
you've seen everything else in the world, Right, you could
go there and try this one when you're eighty on
a bus. Yeah, okay, go to North Korea. But do
it when you're young so you can run away. Just
don't drop my name here, Mike, Thank you so much appreciated.
I'm glad you made it out in one piece. Mark Kreisel,
journalist who's obviously been there, nineteen Away from Sex.

Speaker 1 (03:40):
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