North Korea

Guided tours only, and most governments advise against all travel

The advisory position is clear. The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to North Korea, and US passports are not valid for travel there without a special validation, following the death of Otto Warmbier in 2017. Independent travel does not exist. All visits are on state-approved guided tours with minders present at all times.

There is also a genuine ethical question that anyone considering a trip should sit with. Tourist revenue goes directly to a government responsible for one of the most severe human rights situations in the world, and what visitors are shown is a carefully constructed presentation rather than the country as it is. Reasonable people disagree about whether engagement or boycott is the better response.

What tours cover is Pyongyang, with its monumental architecture, the metro stations, and the Arirang Mass Games when they run, plus the DMZ, Kaesong and sometimes Mount Paektu. Photography is restricted, itineraries are fixed, and stepping outside them is not permitted. Borders have opened and closed repeatedly since 2020, so availability is unpredictable.

Annual events and festivals

• Day of the Shining Star (16 Feb) — Kim Jong-il birthday, a major state holiday.
• Day of the Sun (15 Apr) — Kim Il-sung birthday and the most important date in the calendar.
• Arirang Mass Games (varies) — tens of thousands of performers in synchronised gymnastics and card displays. Staged intermittently.
• Pyongyang Marathon (Apr) — one of the few events where foreigners run on city streets alongside locals.
• May Day (1 May) — mass public celebrations in parks and squares.
• Victory Day (27 Jul) — marks the 1953 Korean War armistice, with large military parades.
• Liberation Day (15 Aug) — marks the 1945 end of Japanese rule, shared with South Korea.
• Day of the Foundation of the Republic (9 Sep) — another major parade date.
• Party Foundation Day (10 Oct) — anniversary of the Workers Party, often marked with large displays.
• Lunar New Year and Chuseok (varies) — traditional Korean holidays, observed more quietly.