BY EMILY NESS | The Statesman Fantasy has long borrowed the idea of “other worlds" from myth, legend and religion. The idea that a world foreign to our own exists has been pondered over for centuries. Many argue that other worlds must be present, given our infinite universe. When considering this, however, few think to imagine that another world could exist within our own.
Upon entering North Korea on a tour in 2013, a University of Minnesota Duluth graduate, who must remain anonymous in order to protect his safety, was taken into another world.
In this world, communism was engraved in everything.
Kim Jun Un’s name rang throughout the streets where glossy murals of smiling children bowing to their infamous leader were proudly displayed and propaganda depicting America’s Lady Liberty cutting North and South Korea in half with a sword was showcased theatrically.
Born and raised in Osceola, Wisconsin, the UMD grad majored in Political Science. Following his graduation in 2012, he went on to study International Business in China. He is fluent in the language and he has resided there for four years.
Living in China has given him the opportunity to pursue many interesting things. Perhaps the most interesting was his tour of North Korea.
“To join was very easy. I Googled North Korean Tours, found a company based in Beijing that would do it and had filled in the application. After about three weeks, my visa was approved and I was on my way to the Hermit Kingdom.”
The UMD grad had no idea what was coming.
“Our flight to North Korea took off from Beijing. Flying there was nerve wracking because I knew that once we landed, there was no going back.”
Upon arriving, the UMD grad had to sign multiple documents stating that he would not disclose information about the Nation. The tour consisted of 26 people from around the world. Accompanied by a guide, they walked the streets of North Korea.
“We had to be with our tour guide at all times. We were told that if we left the tour, we could be shot.”
In North Korea, everything is controlled. No music, movies or books are allowed without the permission of the regime. The only content that North Koreans are allowed to view is propaganda.
“Hardly anyone in North Korea had cell phones. Some had pay phones. On top of this, it cost 50 euros a minute for tourists to call the United States. This is roughly 55 dollars a minute in US dollars. As a result of this, we lost nearly all contact with the outside world.”
Far from what he was used to, the UMD grad felt out of place. In an attempt to feel less unworldly, the UMD grad thought of familiar things. Specifically, he thought of his grandfather who once served as a United States veteran in the Korean war.
“I wondered if my grandfather had walked these streets.”
If he had, much had since changed.
“I had never seen anything like this. Touring North Korea was like going to Disney World in a war zone.”
In another attempt to feel less unworldly, the UMD grad tried to connect with North Koreans.
“I wanted to show North Koreans that foreigners weren’t monsters so I smiled and waved as we walked down the street. Only two groups of people smiled and waved back. Those groups were children and soldiers.”
The UMD grad felt himself thinking about what these people truly thought and felt. He even wondered if his tour guide believed what she was saying or if it had been engraved in her through control.
“I felt like I was in a zoo. North Koreans were always standing behind glass walls looking at us… And they were always just a little too far away.”
In the end, the UMD grad’s experience proved to be a moving one. “It was revealing, it was depressing and it was sobering. We don’t realize how lucky we are to live in the United States.”