A YouTube vlogger shares his impressions of what it's like to visit North Korea as a foreign tourist.
Mike O'Kennedy, better known on YouTube as “Mike Okey,” spoke to Fox News Digital about his unique experience as one of the first Western tourists to visit North Korea in five years.
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A British traveller recently went viral online after sharing his unique experience of becoming one of the first Western tourists to visit North Korea in half a century.
Mike O'Kennedy has over half a million subscribers to his YouTube channel, Mike Okay. His documentary about his trip to North Korea, Inside North Korea After 5 Years of Isolation, has amassed over 3 million views in just the first week of its release on February 28.
O'Kennedy, who said he likes to “keep things as uncensorable as possible,” spoke to Fox News Digital about his experience in the isolated country. He arrived in the city of Rason on Feb. 20.
“The main conclusion I came to is that this is a country that is growing rapidly and, you know, is at least 50 years behind everyone else,” O'Kennedy said. “It's something that you could compare to China … in the middle of the last century.”
“I can't talk about it from a political point of view,” he added. “But I can say that it is a country full of pride.”
Mike O'Kennedy, a Briton better known on YouTube as “Mike Okey,” has racked up millions of views after documenting his visit to North Korea. (@mikeokay via YouTube)
In a candid video about the trip, O'Kennedy showed some odd moments: while flying over North Korea, he and other passengers were instructed to keep the window shades closed so as not to see the country from above.
North Korea partially resumed international tourism last year after a nearly half-century hiatus, according to tour operators.
The “hermit kingdom” closed its borders at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, barring almost all foreigners from entering the country for business, tourism or non-essential diplomatic relations.
The country partially reopened its borders in 2023, Fox News Digital reports.
However, according to the latest information, trips to North Korea have been cancelled for Thursday.
“We have just received information from our Korean partners that Rason is closed to everyone. We will keep you updated,” KTG Tours, a Chinese company specializing in tours to North Korea, said on its Facebook page on Wednesday, the BBC reported.
Following O'Kennedy's visit, North Korea again closed its borders, suspending foreign tourism just weeks after welcoming its first Western visitors.
At one point in his documentary, O'Kennedy tries to open the window in his hotel room, but realizes it is sealed.
“There were moments when the tension was so strong that you could cut it with a knife. You could feel the weight of the moment.”
He told Fox News Digital that “the whole atmosphere was under pressure.”
“This is the first time in the last five years that foreign tourists from outside Russia and China have come to the country,” he noted.
“There were moments when the tension was so strong that you could cut it with a knife. You could feel the weight of the moment.”
Although O'Kennedy did not have the level of freedom he was accustomed to during his travels, such as the ability to interact with locals, use the toilet without permission, and walk alone, he was still acutely aware of the special treatment he and his fellow tourists received.
“Together
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