Comments | saithkar: North Korea Photos

saithkar

North Korea Photos - April 2012

Jun 11, 2012 22:59

As the least open, least visited and least understood country in the world, North Korea is bound to generate many misconceptions, however it seems the most pervasive one is that you can’t actually go there. In reality nothing could be further from the truth. All you do is fill out a visa application, send them some money, and providing you’re not a ( Read more... )

Comments 20

aske June 13 2012, 12:28:29 UTC

Bloody epic writeup there!

I was always a little confused about the name of the hotel we stayed in... I was certain it was "Ryanggang", then I saw your photo of it which says "Raynggang" which confused me even further. The hotel review website uses "Ryanggang". And I'm pretty sure there's no "rayng" syllable in Korean. Beginning to wonder if they made a colossal fuckup on the lettering of the hotel building?

Ah, the zoom on your DSLR afforded you some great shots of Kim Il-Sung Square and Sariwon. I still can't bring myself to convert, though!

saithkar June 13 2012, 12:38:37 UTC

Yep, probably dedicated more time to this than several of my essays this year, heh.

As for the hotel's name, I went by my photo of the sign, but considering how the letters appear to be falling off a thought occurs it could be wrong, and maybe in the past some did drop off and some workman put them back in the wrong order. You never know.....

Hehe yeah the DSLR is a pain in the arse to lug around sometimes, but worth it in the end. This picture of Sariwon is one of my favourites, although credit to that German guy for that shot of us boozing on the train out, came out better than I could have hoped for.

anonymous June 18 2012, 22:01:41 UTC

Acerbic wit and inciteful analysis, cutting through the crap like a laser. Fabulous! Dom the Champagne Swiller

saithkar June 19 2012, 01:38:53 UTC

Glad you enjoyed. And cheers for the champers on the train out, a fitting finale to a great trip.

ext_1265009 June 19 2012, 04:44:14 UTC

Great write up. I posted a few pics on Facebook, but you made a true story of our Journey. Thanks again for the links!

saithkar June 19 2012, 14:32:40 UTC

Ahoy. Checked out your Facebook, but can't see any of your pictures so added you.

Glad you enjoyed the pictures and story, I raise a bottle of Taeddong to you for taking that marvellous shot of Ash and myself at the Arch of Reunification.

lady_om November 2 2012, 00:17:29 UTC

Hey, I randomly stumbled upon your profile (from lolcats, actually) and I was so totally engrossed by this photo essay I stayed after work to finish it ;) It's great. The way you cut through crap... and the detail you put in. You should totally work as a tour guide or write travel books or something ( ... )

saithkar November 2 2012, 07:16:39 UTC

Thanks for the feedback, I did put quite a bit of time into this and glad to see others have enjoyed it. As I mentioned in the intro, North Korea remains mostly unknown to people beyond threats of nuclear tests and Team America World Police, so while the life of both a tour guide and writer appeals, those sadly are not really on the table as options at the moment ( ... )