Country so ‘secretive’ plane blinds had to be closed

A tourist has opened up about his trip to a country so “secretive” that every passenger was forced to close the blinds on their plane - and the awkward mistake he made.

A British tourist who was the first from his country to visit North Korea since the pandemic five years ago has revealed some of the most bizarre encounters while in the isolated country.

Mike Okay, a popular YouTuber who has clocked 30 million views on his clips, was among a group of travellers from the UK, France, Germany and Australia who made the five-day trek to the Asian country’s remote Rason region earlier this month.

Since January 2020, it’s been completely closed off to the outside world – until now.

While the country’s 13 administrative divisions remain closed, Rason, which borders China and Russia, is the only zone to open. It’s a special economic zone, where its economic policies differ from the rest of the country. It’s a region actively investing in foreign trade.

Mike said the country is “so secretive” that as the group approached the destination, they had to close the plane’s window blinds because they “weren’t allowed to look outside”.

Mike Okay, a popular YouTuber from the UK, was the first from his country to visit North Korea since the pandemic five years ago. Picture: YouTube/Mike Okay

“You can only visit North Korea with a tour company – otherwise they won’t let you in,” Mike said during an exclusive interview with news.com.au’s From The Newsroom podcast.

The 28-year-old said the moment they stepped foot onto Rason soil, they were constantly “watched” by their three “minders”.

“They were with us the entire time, except for when we were in our hotel room,” Mike said.

“I was rarely less than more than 10 metres away from any of them.”

He said despite the “weight of the trip”, the minders were great, and had a good sense of humour.

“They were funny and cool most of the time – they just wanted it to go as smoothly as possible.”

He said the country is ‘so secretive’ they had to close the plane’s window blinds upon landing because they ‘weren’t allowed to look outside’. Picture: YouTube/Mike Okay

Young Pioneer Tours, a company that facilitates trips into the country, was finally able to resume operations following the country’s decision to allow tourists back in, after being thwarted for the last half-decade.

The group of 10, including two Western guides, entered the country through China on their trip to Rason in the far northeast — more than 800km from the capital city of Pyongyang, which occasionally welcomed tourism groups.

They visited several different locations including a factory, school and bookshop.

“We went to a school uniform factory and the workers just didn’t make eye contact … not once,” Mike explained.

Mike said there were certain things they couldn’t take photos or footage of including local markets (which they weren’t allowed into) and the military. Picture: YouTube/Mike Okay

When asked if he had an authentic experience or whether it was staged or fake, he said he wouldn’t go that far.

“The way that my American guide put it was “we’re not that f*****g important”,” he laughed.

“They’re not going to put on this huge, Truman Show style for eight nerds. We’re just eight nerds that want to go to North Korea.”

He said it was “absolutely physically impossible” for these guides to hide everything from the group.

“We’re driving through the countryside, we’re in the city, there’s control and there’s a lot outside of their control.”

However, he said one thing that was controlled was what they could and could not take images of.

“I never got asked to delete anything, [but] the first thing our guide said to us when we got on the bus was, ‘Ask me when you want to take pictures, I’ll either say yes, or I’ll say absolutely not’.

“The things that he said absolutely no to were mostly like super public areas, like local markets (which we weren’t allowed into) … and taking photos of military.”

Mike, who filmed his entire experience in a YouTube clip, also pointed out some of the more bizarre encounters including a trip to a school where students were performing a pop song put out by the government.

Mike pointed out some of the more bizarre encounters including a trip to a school where students were performing a pop song put out by the government. Picture: YouTube/Mike Okay

“It came out 10 months ago – it’s put out by Kim Jong-un’s government and it’s about him – ‘Our great father, he loves us with all of his heart, we must love him with all of his heart’.

“The fact that it’s put out by him is odd and I think that’s the one thing that struck me – all these people that are seemingly devoted to this man and to this leadership – there is no religion there – he is their version of God.”

Another encounter that left him rattled was during a visit to the ‘Russia-China Friendship House’ – a house built by Kim Jong-un to commemorate China, Russia and North Korea’s relationship.

He also said he made a ‘dumb’ mistake when his guide asked him to write in a guest book during a visit to the ‘Russia-China Friendship House’. Picture: YouTube/Mike Okay

“There was a visitor’s book on the table and my guide says to me, ‘Mike do you want to write in the visitor’s book?’ and I was like ‘I don’t know what to write’.

“So, like a nine year old girl on Christmas Day, I write ‘I wish nothing but peace to the world’.”

Mike said there was an audible silence in the room before his guide turned to him and said, ‘do you think this is a suitable thing to write in the book?’

“I was like, oh, God, I’ve offended them. They’re going to take me away. What have I done?”

He said it was “pretty dumb move to make” considering the day before he’d seen a bunch of kids dancing in front of a backdrop of animated ballistic missiles.

He said while he never felt unsafe, it’s not a place you would go to break rules. Picture: YouTube/Mike Okay

“I just said, look, ‘I’m really sorry’. They probably saw it as some kind of criticism, which it wasn’t at all.”

Mike said overall, he was surprised by the level of leniency, adding compared to other countries it would seem very strict and controlled.

“But compared to what I thought, there was a level of leniency into what we could and couldn’t film and things that we could and couldn’t do.”

He said while he never felt unsafe, it’s not a place you would go to break rules.

“It’s probably one of the safest places you can possibly travel. If you follow the rules, there’s zero chance of anything dangerous happening.”

He said the entire time he had a subtle buzz of anxiety and paranoia that was mostly stemmed from preconceptions.

“When you get drilled into your head this is a ‘bad place, this is an evil place’ you go in not wanting to put a foot out of line,” he explained.

“I saw happy people and I saw friendly guides and a developing country that’s 60 years (at least) behind everyone else.

“They are just trying their absolute best to put their best foot forward and show me their best work.”

Mike said it is a “bizarre place” but he doesn’t think it’s an “evil or bad” place.