For most of the world, covid-19 black days look like a distant memory. But not in North Korea, says Justin Martell, who has just become the first American known to step on the interior of the secret nation since the start of the pandemic for over five years.
Strict sanitary measures such as masks and temperature controls continue to be routine and popular tourist sites, including local markets, remain banned due to persistent virus transmission fear.
Martell states that pandemic paranoia remains deeply rooted in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (RPDC), as North Korea is officially known. The journalist even found bizarre theories about the origin of the virus.
“There seems to be a rumor that Covid-19 entered the country through a South Korea-sent balloon,” explains Martell, a Connecticut-born filmmaker who founded Pioneer Media, which specializes in unique and difficult to access.
He was part of a small delegation of tour operators who recently visited North Korea to launch the foundations for the next tourist trips.
After spending five days in North Korea to prepare the foundations for the limited return of Western tourism, the Tumen River Bridge, where it is cold to crack down China.
(Young Pioneer Tours)
Martell and his traveling companions – including Australian Rowan Beard from Young Pioneer Tours (YPT) and Hungarian Gerg Vaczi of Koryo Tours – are not wasting time.
Shortly thereafter, they were already gifted to begin to bring small groups of Western tourists to Rason, a remote corner of North Korea near China and Russia borders. Tourists from Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Macao and Jamaica are among those who reserved places.
Beard, who leads North Korea excursions for over a decade, states that upcoming trips represent a significant step after years of isolation, perhaps the most extreme that North Koreans, already isolated, have ever experienced.
“I am very happy that the first group from this week,” says Beard.
“There is a lot of enthusiasm on the ground,” he adds. “But it is a difficult reboot. And it will take time to find the balance. ”
He noted that important experiments, such as visiting Rason’s market to bargain with local residents using the North Korean currency, are currently out of boundaries. Despite these setbacks, Beard remains optimistic, stressing that tourism companies are in talks with local ministries to restore access and rebuild confidence step by step.
Beard noted that the North Korean bank account that opened in Rason for over a decade still had the same balance: about 25 Yuanes Chinese (just over three euros).
During his visit, tour operators discussed the possibility of adding a local film experience to future itineraries. North Korea has recently revitalized its film industry under Kim Jong-un, with new releases such as the Dramas of the “72 Hours” Korea War and “One Day and One Night” on theaters.
North Korean capital Pyongyang is still banned to Western visitors, despite allowing the access of Russian tourists since last year, in the context of deepening bonds with Moscow.
Although the pandemic prevented all visitors from entering, Americans were already prohibited from entering North Korea from long before coronavirus pandemic. The US State Department imposed a travel ban on September 1, 2017, following the death of Otto Warmbier, a 22 -year -old American student who was arrested in North Korea and returned home in a persistent vegetative state, dying shortly thereafter.
Martell, who had already visited North Korea 11 times, was in the country when the ban came into force.
“I was crossing the border between Sinuiju and dedong when the ban came into force,” he recalls. “I think I was the last US tourist with a US passport leaving RPDC.”
(Young Pioneer Tours)
Despite the ban, Martell continued to return to North Korea.
“I didn’t want to stop coming,” he wins. “I didn’t want the conversation to end.”
To circumvent the prohibition of traveling to the US, Martell obtained double citizenship of São Cristóvão and Neves, a nation of the Caribbean known for his investment citizenship program. By contributing to a six -digit sum to the country’s sustainable island fund, Martell says he has achieved a second passport, which allowed him to legally return to North Korea without violating the restrictions imposed by the US.
“It was about a year old,” he explains. “Verification of antecedents, financial revelations – all.”
But since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the prices of investment citizenship programs have increased, he adds.
“Prices doubled and tripled due to the number of Russians who obtained seconds passports,” continues Martell. “Currently, the price is $ 250,000. I paid much less than that. ”
Despite the cost, he considers that the investment is worth it.
“It takes a lot of desire to go,” he says. “But my advice is: if you will spend time and money, make sure the passport offers more than just access to North Korea. My St. Christopher’s Passport allows me to enter Russia without a visa – something my US passport can’t do. ”
Beard says that a “known” YouTube travel influencer is currently involved in the similar process to obtain a Spanish passport at a price of almost $ 200,000.
While US policy raised conversations among the North Korean guides, the theme of the Russian War in Ukraine was treated with silence – or with careful omission.
The Ukrainian and Western governments claim that Pyongyang sent North Korean troops to fight alongside Russia, with many units suffered heavy losses.
Vaczi, responsible for traveling to Koryo Tours RPDC, observed the sensitivity around the subject.
“I had a guide that knew east Europe very well,” he explains, ”but I didn’t talk about Ukraine. It looked like a line that should not be overcome. ”
However, Martell notes that the North Korean guides were aware of global events, from the rates proposed by former President Donald Trump to the conflict in Ukraine. For him, his perspectives are more revealing in what they chose not to say than what they shared.
“We talked about geopolitics, but in relation to Ukraine, they listened above all,” he recalls. “It was a theme that they approached with caution, even when they expressed support for Russia.”
Vaczi states that his guides have demonstrated a strong awareness of world affairs.
“They knew the recent events in South Korea, Trump’s customs tariffs and the situation in Ukraine,” he says. “They are informed because they are with foreigners.”
Vaczi found the itineraries in Rason, a special economic zone, limited and poorly inspired.
“Many factories and schools,” he continues. “There are no markets. There is no spontaneity. It becomes repetitive quickly. ”
However, there were some notable changes. The rules of photography, once infamously strict, were much more flexible.
“They only scolded me once,” says Vaczi, “and that was by filming a guide.”
Martell, however, felt the scrutiny of being American – even with his kittitian passport.
Martell in front of a poster in Rason on February 16, 2025. The text translates as “Long live socialism!” (Young Pioneer Tours)
“They asked me to erase two recorded clips at the same time; One was when I was filming the assembly of a mass ball and the other was because the guide had badly translated an advertising slogan and then I had made a video explaining the slogan incorrectly. ”
Despite being American, Martell says he did not find any hostility. “As for anti-American comments, there were none,” he says. “Once we were strolling in Hae’an Park and some kids saw us and fled. One of the guides played: ‘Maybe because you know you are American imperialists!’ I answered: ‘No, just one! And we all laugh. I didn’t interpret it as a malicious comment. ‘
Even the usual symbols of hostility to the United States seemed more moderate. Martell noted that he did not see any anti-American propaganda poster on display and had to specifically ask for anti-American postcards at the foreign language bookstore, as they were no longer exposed ahead.
Despite the barriers, it was the human meetings – raw, without script and personal – that stayed with Martell and his companions. In a local school, Martell gave herself to answer questions from curious students.
“The kids didn’t want to know about politics,” he ends. “They wanted to know about music, sport, what life was like in the US. They wanted to establish calls. ”
