[KS] trips to DPRK by Korean-Americans

[Afostercarter at aol.com]

Thanks to Ken for reminding us of this.

Another category of Korean-Americans who could
visit the DPRK, and presumably still can, are those
deemed sufficiently sympathetic to Pyongyang. Or,
at least, who are prepared to go on tours organized 
by those of such persuasion - of whom there have 
always been some, even in the US of A; see eg
www.minjok.com

When I attended Sunday service at Pongsu church
in Pyongyang, way back in 1990, there was quite a
large group of Korean-Americans in the congregation.
I think they were of this category, rather than visiting
relatives, They were mainly elderly, from the Los Angeles area.

Ken mentions Toronto. Back in the bad old days, this city
had the reputation of being a hotbed of Korean radicalism:
strongly anti-Park and Chun, with quite a big pro-NK fringe.
Does anyone know why this should have been so?

A further consideration is that North Korea may operate
different bureaucratic procedures for ethnic Koreans,
distinguishing them from other foreigners; just as China
has separate channels for overseas Chinese. Again, I
wonder if anyone can confirm that?

More generally: Anyone who has never visited North Korea 
should surely grab the chance.

cheers
Aidan

AIDAN FOSTER-CARTER
Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Sociology & Modern Korea, Leeds University 

Home address: 17 Birklands Road, Shipley, West Yorkshire, BD18 3BY, UK 
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www.aidanfc.net
[Please use @aol; but if any problems, please try @yahoo too - and let me 
know, so I can chide AOL]



In a message dated 22/06/2006 16:25:06 GMT Standard Time, 
ken.kaliher at us.army.mil writes:


> Subj:Re: [KS] trips to DPRK by Korean-Americans 
> Date:22/06/2006 16:25:06 GMT Standard Time
> From:ken.kaliher at us.army.mil
> Reply-to:koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws
> To:koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws
> Sent from the Internet 
> 
> 
> 
> Tracy,
> 
>    I don't know about tours "at this magnitude," but for a period including 
> the early 1990s, it was becoming almost common for Korean-Americans (and 
> presumably other kyopo populations) to visit their relatives in North Korea under 
> carefully prearranged circumstances.  A friend of ours went then with her 
> parents (early '70s immigrants to the U.S.), flying in from Beijing.  They were 
> part of a good-sized group, which spent several days touring Pyongyang 
> together, then split up to meet and visit their respective relatives at 
> predetermined sites.  
>    Our friend and her parents stayed several days with the father's brother 
> and his family near Hamhung.  Other relatives came to see them there.  The 
> grandfather's tomb had even been moved to a site near the uncle's home so the 
> American visitors could pay their graveside respects without having to travel 
> to another location.  Not surprisingly, the uncle's home had been spruced up 
> for the occasion, and the local KWP branch sent over some special rations and 
> a couple of "helpers" who were in the kitchen during all waking hours, 
> within easy earshot of conversations with the visitors.  It was natural, of 
> course, for such visitors from overseas to bring gifts and money, and apparently 
> standard procedure as well to buy the local NK relatives a color TV or other 
> such luxury.
>    These trips were not hard to arrange back then, and a Korean-Canadian 
> travel agent was booking a lot of them.  At some point in the early 1990s, 
> however, the NK regime seems to have determined that the ideological pollution 
> these visitors brought with them was not worth the hard currency and other 
> material benefits it was reaping from the program, and that door closed.
> 
> Ken Kaliher
> Seoul/Pyongtaek
> 
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
> Back-up E-mail: kenkaliher at hotmail.com 
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
> 1) The results of a Roh Moo-hyun-Kim Jong-il summit “may well exceed our 
> expectations [because] Kim is always being portrayed as broad-minded in the 
> North Korean media.” 
> -- South Korean Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok, speaking to journalists 
> on May 3, 2006 
> 2) “North Koreans live in the most censored country in the world.... Content 
> is supplied almost entirely by the official KCNA. It serves up a daily diet 
> of fawning coverage of ‘Dear Leader’ Kim Jong-il.” 
> -- Committee to Protect Journalists, announcing “10 Most Censored Countries,”
>  May 2, 2006
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> 
> From: Tracy Stober <sayyes2korea at yahoo.com> 
> 
> Date: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 2:50 am 
> 
> Subject: [KS] trips to DPRK this summer and fall 
> 
> 
> 
> > Dear all list members, 
> > According to New Korea Tours, Korean American citizens are being 
> > allowed to visit North Korea 'for the the first time ever'. 
> > Please check out the website http://www.newkoreatours.com/ 
> > I was wondering if such tours had ever occured at this magnitude 
> > before, and whether or not the United States had limited the 
> > travel of its' Korean American citizens. I believe American 
> > citizens have been allowed to visit under certain circumstances. 
> > 
> > Thank you for your help. I was also wondering if anyone was 
> > interested in taking part in one of these tours this year. 
> > 
> > Sincerely, 
> > Tracy Stober 
> > MA International Relations-Korea Studies 
> > UW-Seattle 
> > 
> > 
> 

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