Senior travels to a forbidden land

The State Department warns strongly against travel to the Communist country of North Korea, where Americans have been arrested and imprisoned when visiting the country. But when senior Anais Han was given the opportunity to spend five days in North Korea, she said yes. It is, after all, where most of her grandparents come from. Even with the dangers and risks involved in traveling to North Korea, Han and her mother embarked on this journey together.

“This is something I [had] been working on for four years,” Han said. “[This was my] last chance to do something like this while [I was] still in high school.”

Han has an internship at Education Ministry International, a non-governmental organization that works with refugees from North Korea that flee to South Korea. Through a partnership with a travel agency with a government grant from North Korea, the organization was able to send members, including Han, on a tour of North Korea from Oct. 22 to Oct. 27.

Entering the country was not easy. Han was required to submit extensive paperwork, including visa forms and additional paperwork on the plane. She was not permitted to bring electronic devices, such as laptops, cell phones or books of any kind.

“[I] can definitely feel more of a sense of freedom [in America],” Han said. “While [I was] in North Korea, [I could] feel that ‘someone-is-watching-you’ kind of feeling.”

Han was bombarded by a culture shock in North Korea, where American customs such as jeans and Coca-Cola are forbidden. Public displays of propaganda from the Korean War that were decidedly anti-American were prominent. Despite this, the citizens that Han met were kind to her and seemed unaffected by her American ties.

She visited smaller cities in addition to larger ones, such as Pyongyang, the capital. She noticed a difference between the people living in the capital and those living in the countryside, as people in the capital had the opportunity to go to college and learn about life outside the country, while citizens from the countryside were blind to political and governmental affiliations. She was also able to visit museums that taught her about North Korean history. Han went to the demilitarized zone, the border between North and South Korea, and saw Korean War-related documents. Throughout her stay, Han noticed that citizens carried a sense of national pride similar to other countries. While spending time with locals, Han developed a greater appreciation for them.

“Even though [the citizens] kept to themselves, you could tell they were happy, just not as expressive as people elsewhere,” Han said.

In contrast, Han’s experience in South Korea, to where she also traveled with her internship group, was more relaxed.

“It was just really interesting to see how different the two countries were. North Korea is definitely farther behind. They were still using [cattle] to farm the land,” Han said. “[It was interesting] to see how close [the two countries] are, yet [how] far apart.”

Overall, Han said that she enjoyed the trip and was glad she was given the opportunity to
visit North Korea.

“[The trip] was a huge learning experience. Being able to experience a country that no
one else has really been to,” Han said. “It reminded me that we have a lot work to do
to improve the state of the world and to help these people”.