Liberation Day Tour (North Korea)
North Korea is an isolated country, full with contrast. Howevere nowadays some regions are open for visitors.
While the fantastic parade for the Liberation of North Korea leave you dazed with its fabulous colorfulness and hundreds of dancers, the visit of the Demilitarized zone which borders have been finally set after the end of the Korean war from 1950 – 1953 will make you feel as you have gone back in time in the years of the Cold war. We will make an exciting roundtrip of this isolated country and will not miss to see a part of all the strange and sometimes brutal things that happens here and we hear about on the news.
Tour highlights:
♦ Kumsusan Memorial Palace – the Mausoleum of the Farther of all Koreans, President Kim Il-Song
♦ Liberation Day – 15 August 1945 that celebrates with great pomp by thousands of Koreans performing memorable dances and acrobatics.
♦ Demilitarized zone - a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula, at the 38th parallel, that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea.
Trip plan:
Day 1. Arrival
Arrival in iand accommodation in a hotel. The rest of the day is on your own.
Day 2. Beijing- Pyongyang
Flight from Beijing to Pyongyang (around 3 hours). Accommodation in a hotel. Sightseeing including the big monuments on Mansu Hill.
Day 3. Pyongyang - Myohyangsan
Visit to the Tower of Juche Ideas, dedicated to the Worker Party of Korea; Mangyondae (President King Ⅱ Sung’s birthplace), visit to Mangyondae Schoolchildren palace or of one of Pyongyang's Secondary Schools . Departure to Myohyangsan mountains (170 km from Pyongyang ). On the way we visit the Buddhist temple Pohyon, the International Friendship Exhibition (exhibition of gifts from foreigners to President Kim Il-Song and the leader Kim Jong-Il. Drive back to Pyongyang. Accommodation in a hotel.
Day 4. Pyongyang – Nampo- Pyongyang
A trip to the city of Nampo. Excursion to the West Sea Barrage and the Museum of Barrage Construction, an interesting documentary is shown.On the way back to Pyongyang climb to the mountain Renjak (not far from Pyongyang). Visit to Korean Film Studio - North Korea's version of Hollywood. Something not to be missed!
Day 5. Pyongyang
Today we visit the Kumsusan Memorial Palace - the Mausoleum of President Kim Il-Song (tourists must follow a strict dress code - no shorts, no blue jeans and mini-skirts, no T-shirts). Then we will make a ride on Pyongyang Metro and later drive to the Cemetery of the Revolutionaries and anti-Japanese martyrs. Lunch. Then we go to Mansudae Art Studio- possibility to buy Korean ceramics, embroideries, paintings etc. Our next stop is the Moranbon park located on Moran Hill, favourite place for Koreans for spending a holiday day. A very beautiful view on Pyongyang opens from there. In the park centre is situated the Monument to the Soviet Army.
Day 6. Pyongyang (August 15, Liberation Day (1945).
We start the day at Mansu Hill where the Arc of Triumph is. Later we will submerge in the Mass Dance in the central Pyongyang on the occasion of the Liberation Day involving dozens of thousands of Koreans. Drive to the Korean War Museum where you can hear and watch the North Korean version of this bloody war 1950-1953. On the museum’s top floor a big rotating war panorama can be seen – a real masterpiece from Korean painters and sculptors. Then we visit Grand People Study House – DPRK’s biggest library and educational centre located on the North Korea main square – Kim Il Sung’s square. Visit of the American spy ship USS Pueblo, captured by North Koreans in 1968. The 1,000-ton ship, equipped with various kinds of arms and sophisticated reconnaissance facilities, was boarded by 81 U.S. seamen and had been captured just by 7(!) Korean seamen. Hopefully you meet one of them on this ship. Although the ship's crew were repatriated after a lengthy negotiation, North Korea kept the ship as a war trophy.
Day 7. Pyongyang - Kaesong –Pyongyang
We make a trip to Kaesong (capital of Korea up to 15 th century and today ginseng cultivation center), located just 8 km from the Demilitarized Zone dividing the 2 two part of Korea. Our guide force is increased by several North Korean officers who show us around in Panmunjom. Together we inspect the Demilitarized Zone and the Military Museum on the 38th parallel. Later on we drive back to Pyongyang where we have some time to visit to some souvenir shops including a visit to the International Book Store - good choice of propaganda books, tapes, CDs, DVDs, (much cheaper than in your hotel). Overnight in hotel in Pyongyang.
Day 8. Pyongyang – Beijing
Breakfast. Transfer to the railway station and departure to Beijing. One night on the train. Sightseeing: the railway bridge over Yalu-river is at the same time the North Korean border to China . When crossing this bridge, we see another bridge destroyed by the Korean War. China rebuilt its half of the bridge but North Korea intentionally didn’t, but instead wanted to leave bridge remainings (just piles are seen) as a monument to the Korean War.
Day 9. Beijing
Arrival at Beijing (around 9 o’clock); transfer to Yuandong hotel e we have breakfast. The rest of the day in Beijing is on your own.
Day 10. Departure
Transfer to the airport for departure to your country.
The price includes: ► joint transfer from/to airport in Beijing ► flight Beijing- Pyongyang (one way) ► train Pyongyang-Beijing (’softsleeper’, sharing a 4-persons coupé) ► accommodation in 3*-hotels with breakfast (Beijing; only on Day-10) and 3*-hotels in North Korea (fullboard) ► all ground transportation (acc. to program) ► English-speaking local guide and tour leader from Penguin Travel ► entrance fees (acc. to program) ► North Korean visa ► NOTE! The price is per person sharing a double room accommodation. Single traveler who has ordered a bed in a shared double room must be prepared to pay for a single room if a room-mate cannot be arranged.
Not included: ► international flights to/from Beijing ►Chinese visa (double entry) ► alchohol drinks ► tips ► personal expenses ►everything else which is not mentioned in the section "The price includes".
Other expences: ► single supplement: 375 Euro ► entrance fees other than those mentioned in the itinerary ► Insurance - We recommend a travel insurance that covers at least repatriation. Please contact your own insurance company for more information.
Good to know: ► One should be properly dressed when visiting places considered to be holly ► Please note that from time to time our itineraries may be slightly changed, either for operational reasons or in response to feedback from customers ► Cell phones and GPS are not allowed in North Korea. These have to be declared/deposited at the airport. (With reservation for changes due to information that has not come to owr knowledge).
Visa: In connection with the North Korean visa you have to provide (at the time of booking) a quality scan of you passport as well as a photograph (passport formate). Please be aware of that you need a 'double entry' visa for China.
Vacation Extensions:
Yangtze River - Downstream Cruise
Transsiberian Railway - Stopovers in China
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