In
order to obtain a visa to travel into the DPRK
(North Korea), you must get one from the North
Korean embassy. There are several around
the world, but the one most people use is in
Beijing, China. While this may seem like
something simple, it can be simpler for some
than others. For instance, if you are a
citizen of any country other than the US or
South Korea, you have a greater chance of
getting in with minimal difficulty.
(Minimal being relative to the difficulties
those with American or South Korea
passports.) If you are a U.S. or South
Korean citizen, your chances of entry have
dropped tremendously. The reason for
this is because there are no diplomatic
relations between the DPRK and the US or South
Korea.
There are
many agencies in China that promote travel to the DPRK and
will arrange for a trip within the country. These are
all typically prepaid with your lodging, meals,
entertainment and travel within the country included.
Some people may thing they are traveling to a resort area
with recreation and entertainment any time of day or
night. This is not the case. Your travel
within the DPRK is usually going to be preplanned, as well
as being prepaid. Your itinerary will be set and
chances are, it will not vary.
If you
have questions, we will be glad to try and answer them for
you! Contact us at AsianInfo!
Air
Koryo
IATA JS
ICAO KOR
Callsign AIR KORYO
Air Koryo
(formerly Chosŏn Minhang (조선민항
| Корё
Ханггонг
(Koryo Khanggong)), short
for Air Koryo) is the state-owned national flag
carrier airline of North Korea, headquartered in
Sunan-guyŏk, Pyongyang. It operates international
services and charter flights to points in Asia and
Africa. The carrier is based at Sunan International
Airport (IATA: FNJ).
Air Koryo has
offices in Beijing, Shenyang, Macau, Bangkok, Toronto,
Berlin, Moscow, as well as sales agencies in Hong Kong,
Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Tokyo, Taipei, Khabarovsk and
Vladivostok.
If you have
questions, we will be glad to try and answer them for
you! Contact us at AsianInfo!
.
Destinations
Main article: Air
Koryo destinations
Inter-Korea
flights
The first regular
charter flights between North Korea and South Korea
began in 2003. The first Air Koryo flight operated by a
Tupolev Tu-154 touched down at Seoul's Incheon
International Airport. Air Koryo operated 40 return
services to Seoul along with flights into Yangyang and
Busan in South Korea. Inter-Korean charters from Hamhung
Airport to Yangyang International in South Korea began
in 2002. Yangyang has since been suspended as Yangyang
International Airport was closed in late 2008.
Fleet
Air Koryo operates
38 aircraft in its passenger fleet and 4+ in its cargo
fleet (as of 26 July 2010):
Air
Koryo Fleet
Aircraft
In Fleet
Orders
Passengers
(Business/Economy)
Notes
Antonov
An-24
7
0
52 (0/52)
Five
An-24RV's and two An-24R's
Ilyushin
Il-18D
1
0
120 (0/120)
To be
retired: 2010
Ilyushin
Il-62M
4
0
180
(16/164)
Two
operated in VIP configuration for the state
Mil Mi-172
17
0
32 (0/32)
Tupolev
Tu-134B-3
2
0
84 (0/84)
Tupolev
Tu-154
4
0
152
(16/136)
Three
Tu-154B's and One Tu-154B-2
Tupolev
Tu-204-300
1
0
166
(16/150)
P-632
Tupolev
Tu-204-100B
1
1
210 (0/210)
P-633
Total
37
1
Air
Koryo Cargo Fleet
Aircraft
In Fleet
Capacity
(Max.Weight)
Notes
Ilyushin
Il-18V
1
34.5 Tons
cargo
Ilyushin
IL-76TD
3
44 Tons
cargo
Mil Mi-17
17
Unknown
numbers operating solely for cargo operations
Total
4
Notes
Air
Koryo only offers Business class seating on these
specific aircraft types
The Koryo
Hotel is the second largest operating hotel in
North Korea. The twin-towered building is 143 metres
(469 ft) tall and contains 43 stories. Erected
in 1985 under the close scrutiny of Kim Il-sung, it
was intended to "showcase the glory and
strength of the DPRK." The hotel's extravagance
is exemplified by its entryway, which consists of a
9-metre (30 ft) wide jade dragon's mouth that leads
into an expansive lobby dominated by a mosaic of
North Korean cultural symbols. The mosaic tiles make
use of a wide variety of precious metals and
gemstones underneath low-dispersion glass panes,
which are replaced biannually to preserve the
mosaic's luster.
The hotel is
rated three stars by western standards. North Korea
rates it as five stars. The Canadian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs describes it as "Deluxe"
and the "best international hotel in
Pyongyang".
Accommodations
The hotel
offers 500 rooms although only about 50 rooms are
occupied at any one time, usually by business people
from China, Africa, and the Middle East and UN
staff. The Washington Times claims most of
the hotel's foreign guests are international arms
dealers. The hotel does achieve full or near
capacity every April 15 with delegations invited to
celebrate Kim Il Sung's birthday.
It would
appear the US State Department has been using a
guest room in the hotel since 2007 as a de facto
office by a single employee to handle administrative
affairs.
Location
The hotel is
situated along the Taedong river in Chung-kuyok,
central Pyongyang
Rooms
and Rates
According to
the World Health Organization the rates are as
follows:
single, upper
story room: $112
double, upper story room: $121
single, lower story room: $102
double, lower story room: $112
Rooms,
services, food, and other goods within the hotel
appear to be priced in dollars.
In room TVs
carry three channels. Guests report power outages
and recommend packing your own flashlight. Rooms are
equipped with a mini-bar and are checked each day by
a team of three people, of which one person
inventories, the second recounts and a third
supervises the pair.
Amenities
Amenities
include a hard currency gift shop, gym, a swimming
pool, a revolving restaurant on the 45th floor, a
circular bar on the 44th floor and two movie
theaters (one 200 seat cinema and one 70 seat
cinema). The hotel also features a billiards room on
the second floor and a casino in the basement. The
casino offers blackjack, roulette, and slot
machines. The casino is staffed by Chinese workers.
Restaurants
Each tower is
actually topped by a revolving restaurant, however
only one is open. One can order steak ("the
best steak in town") at the restaurant. The
revolving restaurant apparently had a 9 pm closing
time but in recent years the closing time has been
extended or relaxed based on the quality of the
guests' tipping. Aside from the single open
revolving restaurant, the hotel has four other
restaurants including a Japanese restaurant and a
Korean BBQ restaurant.
The
restaurants are run by Japanese expatriates and are
run as private businesses but must pay a fee to the
state.
Guest
liberty
By some
reports guests are prevented by guards from leaving
the hotel. However, others report the ability to
wander off the hotel grounds. If one can wander off
the grounds, the hotel is a few blocks from the
city's restaurant district and the Pyongyang
Railroad Station.
Older
Koryo Hotel
The Koryo
Hotel replaced an older hotel of the same name, but
in a different location. For a time after 1946 the
leader of North Korea's Democratic Party Cho Man-sik
was kept under house arrest in the older Koryo
Hotel. When United Nations forces threatened to
overrun Pyongyang in October 1950, it is thought he
was executed.
Yanggakdo
Hotel
The Yanggakdo
International Hotel is one of the largest
working hotels and the second tallest building in
North Korea, after the unfinished Ryugyong Hotel.
The hotel is located on Yanggakdo (Yanggak
Island), two kilometers to the south-east of the
center of Pyongyang, the nation's capital. It
rises to an overall height of 170 meters and
sports a slowly revolving restaurant on the 47th
floor. The hotel is said to contain 1,000 rooms
and a total floor space of 87,870 square meters.
The structure was built between 1986 and 1992 by
France’s Campenon Bernard Construction Company
and opened in 1995.
The North
Korean currency can be purchased at official rates
at reception, and postcards and letters can be
mailed from the desk next to it. Behind the
latter, there is a small shop which sells basic
commodities at western prices. The ground floor
also contains a small bar to the right of the main
entrance, and to the left, a small bookshop which
stocks a wide range of North Korean reading
material including back-issues of the local
English-language newspaper, the Pyongyang Times,
treatises by the Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il,
various children's books, and a wide range of
material which describes the North Korean
understanding of the history of the region.
Yanggakdo
Hotel
In addition
to the revolving restaurant, the hotel guide
issued to all guests indicates that the hotel
contains four further restaurants on the second
floor -- these include the numbers one and two
dining-room, the main banquet hall and the
Japanese, Chinese and Korean food dining-rooms.
The hotel's
basement contains a bowling alley, a pool room, a
swimming pool, a barber shop, a casino and a
massage club run by a Chinese company with an
exclusively female staff.
The hotel's
grounds include a 9,000 square meter nine-hole
golf course. Also on Yanggak Island, right next to
the hotel's grounds the Pyongyang International
Cinema Hall can be found, which hosts the opening
and closing ceremonies of the Pyongyang
International Film Festival.
The hotel is
a standard stop on most tours of North Korea and
was featured in the graphic novel Pyongyang.
Disclaimer:
AsianInfo.org
does not guarantee the complete accuracy of the information provided on
this site or links. Do your own research and get a professional's
opinion before adhering to advice or information contained herein.
Use of the information contained herein provided by AsianInfo.org and
any mistakes contained within are at the individual risk of the user.
(We
do not provide links to, or knowingly promote, any violent or pornographic
sites.)