This website collects cookies to deliver better user experience. Cookie Policy
Accept
Sign In
The Wall Street Publication
  • Home
  • Trending
  • U.S
  • World
  • Politics
  • Business
    • Business
    • Economy
    • Real Estate
    • Markets
    • Personal Finance
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Style
    • Arts
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
Reading: YouTuber’s North Korea go to goes viral after 5 years since nation’s tourism halt
Share
The Wall Street PublicationThe Wall Street Publication
Font ResizerAa
Search
  • Home
  • Trending
  • U.S
  • World
  • Politics
  • Business
    • Business
    • Economy
    • Real Estate
    • Markets
    • Personal Finance
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Style
    • Arts
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
© 2024 The Wall Street Publication. All Rights Reserved.
The Wall Street Publication > Blog > World > YouTuber’s North Korea go to goes viral after 5 years since nation’s tourism halt
World

YouTuber’s North Korea go to goes viral after 5 years since nation’s tourism halt

Editorial Board Published March 7, 2025
Share
YouTuber’s North Korea go to goes viral after 5 years since nation’s tourism halt
SHARE

Be part of Fox Information for entry to this content material

Plus particular entry to pick out articles and different premium content material together with your account – freed from cost.

By getting into your electronic mail and pushing proceed, you’re agreeing to Fox Information’ Phrases of Use and Privateness Coverage, which incorporates our Discover of Monetary Incentive.

Please enter a legitimate electronic mail handle.

Having bother? Click on right here.

A British traveler not too long ago went viral after documenting his distinctive expertise as one of many first Western vacationers to go to North Korea in over half a decade.

Mike O’Kennedy boasts greater than half one million followers on his YouTube channel, “Mike Okay.” His journey documentary about his journey to North Korea, “Inside North Korea After 5 Years of Isolation,” accrued over 3 million views within the first week because it was posted on Feb. 28.

O’Kennedy, who stated that he likes to “do things as uncensored as possible,” spoke with Fox Information Digital about his expertise visiting the remoted nation. He arrived within the metropolis of Rason on Feb. 20. (See the video on the prime of this text.) 

FLIGHT PASSENGERS NOW PAYING PLANE TICKET TAX TO DEPART POPULAR TRAVEL DESTINATION

“My main kind of takeaway was that this is an incredibly developing country that is at least 50 years behind anyone else,” O’Kennedy stated. “It’s where China was… in the mid[dle] of the last century.”

“I’m not qualified to talk about it politically,” he continued. “But what I can say is, it’s an incredibly proud country.”

Mike O’Kennedy, a British man who also called “Mike Okay” on YouTube, racked up tens of millions of views after documenting his journey to North Korea. (@mikeokay through YouTube)

O’Kennedy’s candid video of the journey confirmed a number of unusual conditions. Whereas flying over North Korea, he and his fellow aircraft passengers have been required to maintain their window blinds closed to stop them from seeing the nation from the air. 

North Korea partially resumed worldwide tourism final 12 months after almost half a decade, in line with vacationer operators. 

“The Hermit Kingdom” closed its borders initially of the COVID-19 pandemic, banning nearly all outsiders from getting into the nation for enterprise, journey or non-vital diplomatic relations. 

The nation partially re-opened its borders in 2023, Fox Information Digital reported.

Nonetheless, stories now say that journeys to North Korea, as of Thursday, have been canceled.

POPULAR TRAVEL DESTINATION BREAKS ANNUAL TOURISM RECORD, SETS NEW GOAL OF 60M VISITORS

“Just received news from our Korean partners that Rason is closed to everyone. We will keep you posted,” China-based KTG Excursions, which makes a speciality of North Korean excursions, stated Wednesday on Fb, as BBC reported.

Since O’Kennedy’s go to, North Korea has as soon as once more closed its borders, suspending overseas tourism simply weeks after it welcomed its first Western guests.

At one level in his documentary, O’Kennedy is seen attempting to open a window in his lodge room earlier than realizing it’s been sealed shut.

“There were times where you could cut the tension with a knife. You could feel the weight of this moment.”

He informed Fox Information Digital that there was “pressure on the whole situation.”

“This is the first time any foreign tourists and non-Russian and non-Chinese tourists have entered the country for five years,” he stated. 

“So, there were times where you could cut the tension with a knife. You could feel the weight of this moment.”

Although O’Kennedy wasn’t granted the freedoms he would usually take pleasure in throughout his travels – corresponding to interacting with locals, utilizing the lavatory with out permission and taking solo walks – he was nonetheless aware of the particular therapy that he and his fellow vacationers have been getting.

EXPERT WARNS AMERICANS ABOUT ELEPHANT TOURISM AFTER YOUNG STUDENT IS KILLED IN THAILAND: ‘RECIPE FOR DISASTER’

“Instead of it being like, ‘We’re not allowed to see this because that’s secret’ … it was just more that they just wanted to show you the best it had to offer,” he stated. “I didn’t have this overwhelming feeling that this is a bad place.”

O’Kennedy stated his expertise in North Korea felt claustrophobic. (@mikeokay through YouTube)

“There were plenty of enjoyable moments… It was just they were just shrouded by a constant kind of level of subtle buzz, of paranoia and anxiety.”

O’Kennedy stated he witnessed dozens of enthusiastic youngsters from Rason carry out a track and dance devoted to chief Kim Jong Un. The present included futuristic house costumes, a light-weight present and visuals of rockets.

For extra Life-style articles, go to foxnews.com/way of life

“Almost every song that comes out of the DPRK is, as expected, a tool of worship toward the country’s current or former leaders,” he narrates within the video. “The recurring theme throughout this trip was the utter devotion people had towards Kim Jong Un… To them, he’s a god.”

“We did karaoke one night…drinking North Korean soju [and] North Korean beer, which is delicious, by the way.”

However the professional traveler additionally stated that he loved easy pleasures on the journey, corresponding to North Korean beer – although the meals left one thing to be desired.

Lots of the streets that O’Kennedy confirmed from Rason, North Korea, have been eerily empty, he stated. (@mikeokay through YouTube; Getty Photos)

“We did karaoke one night … drinking North Korean soju [and] North Korean beer, which is delicious, by the way,” O’Kennedy recounted. “Smoking North Korean cigarettes with all guides, and singing karaoke with them. And that was pretty cool. That was a pretty fun thing to do.”

He added, “The food was nothing to write home about for me. It didn’t feel like anything I’d really had in Asia before. Maybe toward the weirder side of, like, Chinese cuisine with … sea slugs and clams. And we had a flaming snail at one point.”

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER

O’Kennedy additionally stated that he had by no means encountered an space remotely much like North Korea earlier than. 

The Uyghur Autonomous Area of Xinjiang in northwestern China was the one place that got here shut.

A gaggle of North Korean youngsters carried out an elaborate present in honor of Kim Jong Un throughout O’Kennedy’s journey. (@mikeokay through YouTube; Getty Photos)

“I was doing a lot of hitchhiking and stuff [in Xinjiang], and the police would just pop up out of nowhere a few times … They don’t get any foreigners out there at all, really,” he stated. 

“So, there was a level of [a] kind of control and curiosity, but not on the same level as [North Korea] was. This was very restricted to the point where it sometimes felt a little bit claustrophobic.”

O’Kennedy stated he expects that tourism in North Korea will return to its restricted, pre-pandemic ranges. He additionally hopes that extra vacationers get the possibility to work together with North Koreans.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“The more people go to North Korea, the more North Koreans we get to meet. And I personally think that’s a step forward for the world.”

O’Kennedy’s documentary might be seen on YouTube.

Fox Information Digital’s Bradford Betz contributed to this report.

Supply hyperlink

The submit YouTuber’s North Korea go to goes viral after 5 years since nation’s tourism halt appeared first on World On-line.

TAGGED:countryshaltKoreaNorthtourismviralVisityearsYouTubers
Share This Article
Twitter Email Copy Link Print
Previous Article Bhad Bhabie & Child Daddy Face Armed Intruders at Dwelling Bhad Bhabie & Child Daddy Face Armed Intruders at Dwelling
Next Article Trump administration cancels 0 million in grants and contracts with Columbia College Trump administration cancels $400 million in grants and contracts with Columbia College

Editor's Pick

JPMorgan unveils its 2025 summer season studying record

JPMorgan unveils its 2025 summer season studying record

JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon on the significance of management abilities, deregulation coverage, power independence and the Federal…

By Editorial Board 4 Min Read
Overview: Hollywood star delivers an enormous shock at BottleRock Napa
Overview: Hollywood star delivers an enormous shock at BottleRock Napa

Followers turned out to see Kate Hudson at BottleRock Napa Valley on…

5 Min Read
Man shot and killed on one hundredth Avenue in Oakland on Saturday
Man shot and killed on one hundredth Avenue in Oakland on Saturday

Oakland police are investigating the loss of life of a person, 34,…

1 Min Read

Oponion

Both Manchin and Biden Are Wrong About Build Back Better’s Inflation Impact

Both Manchin and Biden Are Wrong About Build Back Better’s Inflation Impact

President Biden’s Build Back Better plan is intended to reshape…

December 22, 2021

The Finest Heat and Cozy Drinks to Hibernate With This Fall

As I’m scripting this, I’m curled…

October 21, 2024

MicroStrategy Won’t Change Bitcoin Plans Despite Recent Declines, New CFO Says

MicroStrategy Inc.’s new chief financial officer…

May 18, 2022

Meta Quietly Reduces Staff in Cost-Cutting Push

Meta Platforms is planning to cut…

September 21, 2022

Horoscopes Sept. 17, 2024: Danielle Brooks, elevate your spirits

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Patrick…

September 17, 2024

You Might Also Like

Local weather activist Greta Thunberg and “Game of Thrones” actor Liam Cunningham be a part of help ship crusing to Gaza
World

Local weather activist Greta Thunberg and “Game of Thrones” actor Liam Cunningham be a part of help ship crusing to Gaza

Local weather campaigner Greta Thunberg and 11 different activists set sail for the Gaza Strip on Sunday afternoon, aboard a…

6 Min Read
Assault close to support supply level killed greater than 30 folks, Gaza well being officers say as truce talks falter
World

Assault close to support supply level killed greater than 30 folks, Gaza well being officers say as truce talks falter

Greater than 30 folks have been killed and scores have been wounded on Sunday after an assault close to a…

7 Min Read
Mud storm chaos: IndiGo flight hit by main turbulence, pilot aborts Delhi touchdown – Video | India Information
World

Mud storm chaos: IndiGo flight hit by main turbulence, pilot aborts Delhi touchdown – Video | India Information

NEW DELHI: Passengers aboard an IndiGo flight from Raipur to Delhi skilled a tense second on Sunday night because the…

2 Min Read
Invoice Clinton on opposing President Trump’s agenda: “We cannot throw the legacy of this country away”
World

Invoice Clinton on opposing President Trump’s agenda: “We cannot throw the legacy of this country away”

President Invoice Clinton criticized President Trump’s actions attacking the rule of legislation, and predicted that the president would pay a…

6 Min Read
The Wall Street Publication

About Us

The Wall Street Publication, a distinguished part of the Enspirers News Group, stands as a beacon of excellence in journalism. Committed to delivering unfiltered global news, we pride ourselves on our trusted coverage of Politics, Business, Technology, and more.

Company

  • About Us
  • Newsroom Policies & Standards
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Careers
  • Media & Community Relations
  • WP Creative Group
  • Accessibility Statement

Contact

  • Contact Us
  • Contact Customer Care
  • Advertise
  • Licensing & Syndication
  • Request a Correction
  • Contact the Newsroom
  • Send a News Tip
  • Report a Vulnerability

Term of Use

  • Digital Products Terms of Sale
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Settings
  • Submissions & Discussion Policy
  • RSS Terms of Service
  • Ad Choices

© 2024 The Wall Street Publication. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?