I’ve been to North Korea 30 times and it’s a completely normal country – but there’s a strict rule all tourists must follow to avoid getting in trouble
A British tour guide who shows visitors from around around North Korea says the rest of the world has got the notoriously secretive dictatorship ‘wrong’ and it’s a perfectly ‘normal’ place to live.
Zoe Stephens, 31, from Liverpool, has visited North Korea 30 times since March 2016 and has also guided countless tourists from the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia around the country, which is governed by dictator Kim Jong Un of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
After developing a passion for the nation, Zoe now wants to change its perception on the world stage via TikTok where she shares glossy vlogs of herself exploring Pyongyang in what she claims are examples of ‘normal’ life – but she’s not fooling many viewers, who have accused her of spreading propaganda.
Zoe proclaims North Korea, a totalitarian state which imprisons, enslaves and tortures thousands of its own citizens, is an ‘amazing’ place – and shows her audience picturesque views of the landscape she sees when going on hikes.
North Korea is a highly centralised totalitarian state.
Despite being one of the poorest countries in the world, it maintains one of the largest militaries and devotes significant resources to its illicit nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. There’s no phone signal, no internet, and no cash machines.
Despite painting the dictatorship in a pleasant light, Zoe does admit she has to follow rules when taking visitors around Pyongyang, the country’s capital city.
These include a tour-guide-to-tourist ratio, whereby every tourist must be accompanied by two guides; and not taking silly or light-hearted photos and videos of artworks of Kim Jong Un.
Zoe Stephens, a 31-year-old tour and marketing manager from Liverpool, has visited North Korea 30 times and says it’s an ‘amazing’ country
Zoe, an international tour and marketing manager, said: ‘I want to show people the human side of North Korea – a lot of foreigners think people there are starving and trying to escape.
‘But in reality, people just go about their everyday life there.
‘I love going for hikes in rural North Korea – and in Pyongyang, my favourite things to do are literally just grabbing coffee and getting my hair done.’
For a time, Zoe was visiting North Korea once a month. However, when the Covid pandemic hit, the nation closed its borders to all foreign visitors in a bid to keep the virus out.
It isn’t known for certain how many North Korean citizens died from Covid, but the government didn’t declare its first case until 2022.
This year, borders were opened up to international visitors for the first time in five years – and Zoe was one of the first people to take up the opportunity.
Zoe glosses over the dictatorship’s human rights abuses and reports of slavery and imprisonment of its own citizens to share what she says is the ‘normal’ side of the country
Zoe says the people are the best thing about the dictatorship, but admits she cannot keep in touch with them when she’s out of the country because communication is so heavily under surveillance
Zoe’s tours usually begin in Beijing, China, before she crosses the border to go into Pyongyang
Her tours usually begin in Beijing, China, and head towards Pyongyang, North Korea. Every time she takes her group out, she needs to undertake a one-hour briefing session on the rules.
‘I want to ensure everyone’s safety and help them challenge cultural misconceptions,’ she said.
‘There are three general rules you follow as a traveller; when taking photos of any image of the leader, you have to remain respectful.
‘You can’t take any photos of the military or construction sites.
‘Stick together as a group – solo travellers aren’t allowed in the country – and there has to be two guides with you at all times.’
Even on her tours, Zoe hopes to encourage people to challenge their ‘misunderstandings’ of culture in North Korea.
Zoe revealed there are a few rules tourists need to follow in order to be allowed into the country – including no solo travellers
She wants people to see how ‘normal’ the country can be, and believes it isn’t an unsafe country to stay in, if you follow the rules.
The tour guide says there are even beautiful, rural hiking spots she often enjoys.
Zoe added: ‘There are a lot of misunderstandings between North Koreans and foreigners.
‘Like, in Pyongyang, North Koreans don’t understand why foreigners don’t want to get the bus.
‘In their mind, it’s something they’ve provided and built – so why wouldn’t anyone want to use it?
‘But really, it’s just tourists wanting to walk around, get out there and get the vibe of the city.’
Despite some viewers telling her she’s spreading propaganda, Zoe says she’s never felt unsafe in the city, and has made many friends through the years.
She struggles to stay in contact with friends from North Korea due to restrictions on international calls and social media.
But she says the people are the best part of the country, and she loves meeting ‘normal humans doing normal things’.
‘I totally see how my content could be seen as propaganda,’ she said.
‘But, I think it’s because people aren’t comfortable with seeing a non-negative side of North Korea.
‘I’m not trying to promote the country. I have to say, my favourite thing about visiting is the people – over the food and the sights.’
Zoe isn’t the first Western tourist to share her trips to North Korea on social media since the country reopened its borders.
British YouTuber Mike O’Kennedy, 28, took a five day trip in the most secretive place in the world, after the dictatorship began to allow tourists back in following the Covid-19 pandemic.
While there, he was given a guided tour around Rason, a special economic zone near the borders of China and Russia, which is one of the few places where tourists can visit.
He also encountered several strange situations such a visit to a bottled water factory with no workers, while he also watched school children perform a song and dance dedicated to their leader Kim Jong Un.
Before arriving in the country, Mike and his tour group, which included visitors from France, Germany and Australia, were required to keep their window blinds closed to prevent them from seeing the country from the air.
The trip also had to be planned months in advance by a tour company, and at the border he was asked to list every electronic device in his possession.
He explained: ‘That list had to match our items on the way out, not because they’re worried about what we might take with us, but because they’re concerned about what we might leave behind.
‘You’re not allowed to bring anything that could be considered politically sensitive such as a book about North Korea or a USB containing external political content.’
