[KS] Field Trip to North Korea

[Dr. Eckart Dege]

Dear list,

During the Hamburg AKSE conference I was asked by several fellow 
Koreanists whether I could organize a field trip to North Korea for 
AKSE members and other interested people, like I have done several 
times for my students or for German geography teachers. Basically 
such a field trip is possible, but I have to find 10 to 15 participants 
to form a group. If you are interested in taking part, please send me 
a note at dege at geographie.uni-kiel.de . Unfortunately this offer is 
limited to European passport holders, since I am not able to arrange 
for visas for US passport holders. Negotiations in this matter led to 
no results. Working language on this field trip will be English.
                                             
FIELD TRIP TO NORTH KOREA

TIME: 3 weeks (last week of September and first half of October, 
1999) - the best season for travelling
PRICE: about 3000 EURO (this includes the airfare from Frankfurt 
to Beijing, train from Beijing to Pyongyang, all transportation, 
accommodations and all meals in North Korea, return flight
Pyongyang - Beijing - Frankfurt). It does not include the excursion 
to Paektu-san, the entrance fee for Anak Tomb No.3 and the tickets 
to the theatre or circus. Accommodation is in double rooms
in good to very good hotels; for single rooms there will be a surcharge 
of about 700 EURO.
ITINERARY: the itinerary will be negotiated with the Korean side, 
once enough people signal their interest. According to past experience 
the following places of interest are possible (though sudden changes 
of the itinerary tend to occur).

Places to visit in Pyongyang: overview from the Tower of the 
Chuche Idea; hike on Moran-bong with Ulmil-dae; Taedong-mun; 
Potong-mun; Korean Central History Museum; Korean Art
Gallery; Mansudae Art Studio; the Pyongyang Subway; Grand People's 
Study House; Grand Monument on Mansu Hill; Chollima Statue; Arch 
of Triumph; Friendship Tower; Chonsung Revolutionary Site; 
Liberation Tower; May Day Stadium; Party Founding Museum; 
educational institutions like Mangyongdae Schoolchildren Palace, 
Moranbong Highschool No.1 or Kim Hyong Jik University of Education; 
medical institutions like the Pyongyang Maternity Hospital;
religious institutions like the Catholic church, one of the two Protestant 
churches or the Buddhist temple Yonghwa-sa. Evening entertainment 
may be a revolutionary opera in the Pyongyang Grand Theatre, 
revolutionary folk music in the Mansudae Art Theatre or a performance 
of the Pyongyang Circus Troupe in the Pyongyang Circus.

Places of interest in the vicinity of Pyongyang include: Kim Il-sung's 
birthplace in Mangyongdae; Ryongak-san with the temple of Pobun-am; 
Taesong-san with the Koguryo mountain fortress and the (newer) 
Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery, the Central Zoo and the Central 
Botanical Garden; Tomb of Tangun near Kangdong; Tomb of King 
Tongmyong in Yokpo District.

All trips to the countryside start from Pyongyang, but include one 
or more nights away from the capital. The following excursions are 
possible:

Pyongyang - Wonsan (with the resort of Songdowon). Kumgang-san 
is for the time being no longer accessible from the North.

Pyongyang - Kaesong. In Kaesong: view of the old city from Chanam-
san; Namdae-mun; Manwoltae with the foundation stones of the Koryo 
palace; Sonjukkyo; Koryo Museum (the old Koryo Songgyungwan). 
>From Kaesong excursions to: the tomb of King Kongmin, to Panmunjom,
to the mountain fortress Taehung-sansong with the temple Kwanum-sa 
and the waterfall Pagyon.

Pyongyang - Myohyang-san: International Friendship Exhibition; 
temple Pohyon-sa; hike up Chontae Valley to the hermitage Habiro-am 
and the Tangun Cave; hike up Sangwon Valley to the hermitage of 
Sangwon-am. On the return trip visit to an underground hydroelectrical 
plant at Yonpung Lake and to Yonpung Middle School.

Pyongyang - Nampo - West Sea Barrage - Kuwol-san (mountain fortress, 
temple Woljong-sa) - Kwail County. For people willing to pay the 
outrageous entrance fee of USD 150.00 this trip can include a visit to 
Anak Tomb No. 3 with its famous Koguryo murals.

Pyongyang - Paektu-san. This trip is only possible if enough people 
sign up to share the cost of chartering a plane (last time it was USD 2000 
for the entire group). The trip leads by chartered plane from Pyongyang 
to Samjiyon (two nights in a good hotel there). From Samjiyon excursions
by bus to the top of Paektu-san, along the upper reaches of Amnok-kang 
to the Secret Camp on Mt. Paektu, to Rimyongsu Falls and the Secret 
Camp on Chong-bong and to the Grand Monument on Lake Samji. The 
flight to Paektu-san can now be combined with a stopover at
Chongjin and a visit to Chilbo-san, but I have not been there yet.

If this has whetted your appetite, drop me a line and start saving. 
It would be nice to have you along in North Korea.

Yours sincerely,
Eckart Dege
Prof. Dr. Eckart Dege
Geographisches Institut der Universitaet Kiel
D-24091 Kiel
Germany
Tel.(office) +49 431 8802941
Tel.(home)   +49 4342 889695
Fax (office) +49 431 8804658
Fax (home)   +49 4342 889694


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