No cameras with too powerful a lens. No mobile phones. And certainly no criticism of the economy or politics.
These are just some of the ground rules for tourists visiting North Korea, probably the most secretive and highly controlled country in the world.
South Korea's Hyundai Asan company started running cruises six years ago to scenic Mount Kumgang, just across the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas, after the area was designated a special tourism zone by the communist North.
PHOTO: AP
Although around 700,000 people have been herded though Kumgang since tours opened, things haven't always been smooth.
In 1999, a South Korean woman was detained for about a week after suggesting a North Korean guide should come and stay in the South because living standards were better. That caused a two-week suspension of the tours, before the situation was resolved under pressure from Seoul.
"It is very difficult running tourism in North Korea but it must be appreciated that this project marks the beginning of something much bigger between the two Koreas," said Kim Yoon-kyu, chief executive of Hyundai Asan, at the recent opening of the refurbished 167-room Hotel Kumgangsan.
Kim was referring to the belief of many in the South that business cooperation is a key way to resolve political tensions.
The tours have also at times fallen victim to flare-ups in ties between the two Koreas, which remain technically at war after the 1950 to 1953 Korean War ended with only a truce.
And tensions have been exacerbated by the fact that the capitalist South was estimated to have a per-capita income 16 times bigger than the North's US$818 by last year.
Economic ties between the two Koreas have increased over the past few years, but diplomatic relations remain thorny and sporadic naval skirmishes still occur along a disputed maritime border in the Yellow Sea.
A crisis over the North's nuclear weapons programs has further strained Pyongyang's ties with neighbors and Washington, which has labeled the country part of an "axis of evil."
The first cruise ships bringing tourists from the South to Kumgang were initially confronted by North Korean navy vessels unsure of who had the right of way.
Company officials and South Korean journalists familiar with the area say the atmosphere for travelers to Kumgang has become more relaxed after early problems.
A guide issued to tourists going to Mount Kumgang lists a range of forbidden items including binoculars of more than 10 times magnification, cameras with a lens longer than 160mm and video recorders with an optical zoom of 24 times or more.
Mobile phones are also banned.
Tours to Kumgang have recently started going by land via a road opened last year through the Demilitarized Zone, the world's last Cold War frontier.
Once in the North, the roads taken by the tours are generally fenced off from distant villages with photography forbidden and soldiers dotted every few hundred metres, part of the vast million-man army that dominates the tightly controlled North.
It is also advised not to drink too much while trekking on the leafy trails that wind through Kumgang, given you are only supposed to use public toilets, which can cost a hefty US$4 a time.
Foreigners who have spent time living in the capital Pyongyang say authorities routinely monitor their movements.
Some have reported that their rooms have been entered while they are out, with personal items being either deliberately or inadvertently moved.
Reflecting the nervousness of the populace about outside interaction, some shops in the capital will not serve foreigners and even ask them to leave if they try to enter. North Koreans will usually avoid eye contact and often pull their children away if foreigners or their offspring attempt any contact, even a smile.
Overseas visitors also routinely encounter pressure to bow to certain statues of North Korean leaders past and present and buy flowers from official sellers to present as an offering.
Images and statues of the country's founder, the late Kim Il-sung, known as the "Great Leader", and his son and current leader, Kim Jong-il, receive god-like respect in the North.
Pyongyang forbids most North Koreans to watch or listen to foreign media broadcasts, although cable channel CNN is available in some hotels used by foreigners.
Beijing-based Koryo Tours, a travel agent run by two Britons that organizes trips to North Korea, gives a frank assessment on its Web site (www.koryogroup.com) of the rules for visitors.
"In the DPRK you will be under close scrutiny from the guides and security," it said, referring to the acronym for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"Leaving the hotel without the guides or the guides' express permission is not possible. If you are feeling the need for `a breath of air' then a casual stroll along the river is possible but only if accompanied with a guide."
In late October of 1873 the government of Japan decided against sending a military expedition to Korea to force that nation to open trade relations. Across the government supporters of the expedition resigned immediately. The spectacle of revolt by disaffected samurai began to loom over Japanese politics. In January of 1874 disaffected samurai attacked a senior minister in Tokyo. A month later, a group of pro-Korea expedition and anti-foreign elements from Saga prefecture in Kyushu revolted, driven in part by high food prices stemming from poor harvests. Their leader, according to Edward Drea’s classic Japan’s Imperial Army, was a samurai
Located down a sideroad in old Wanhua District (萬華區), Waley Art (水谷藝術) has an established reputation for curating some of the more provocative indie art exhibitions in Taipei. And this month is no exception. Beyond the innocuous facade of a shophouse, the full three stories of the gallery space (including the basement) have been taken over by photographs, installation videos and abstract images courtesy of two creatives who hail from the opposite ends of the earth, Taiwan’s Hsu Yi-ting (許懿婷) and Germany’s Benjamin Janzen. “In 2019, I had an art residency in Europe,” Hsu says. “I met Benjamin in the lobby
April 22 to April 28 The true identity of the mastermind behind the Demon Gang (魔鬼黨) was undoubtedly on the minds of countless schoolchildren in late 1958. In the days leading up to the big reveal, more than 10,000 guesses were sent to Ta Hwa Publishing Co (大華文化社) for a chance to win prizes. The smash success of the comic series Great Battle Against the Demon Gang (大戰魔鬼黨) came as a surprise to author Yeh Hung-chia (葉宏甲), who had long given up on his dream after being jailed for 10 months in 1947 over political cartoons. Protagonist
A fossil jawbone found by a British girl and her father on a beach in Somerset, England belongs to a gigantic marine reptile dating to 202 million years ago that appears to have been among the largest animals ever on Earth. Researchers said on Wednesday the bone, called a surangular, was from a type of ocean-going reptile called an ichthyosaur. Based on its dimensions compared to the same bone in closely related ichthyosaurs, the researchers estimated that the Triassic Period creature, which they named Ichthyotitan severnensis, was between 22-26 meters long. That would make it perhaps the largest-known marine reptile and would