Traveler goes viral for trip to one of the most secretive places on Earth

A British traveler precocious went viral aft documenting his unsocial acquisition arsenic being 1 of the archetypal Western tourists to sojourn North Korea successful implicit fractional a decade.

Mike O'Kennedy boasts much than fractional a cardinal followers connected his YouTube channel, Mike Okay. His question documentary astir his travel to North Korea, "Inside North Korea After 5 Years of Isolation," accrued implicit 3 cardinal views successful the archetypal week since being posted connected Feb. 28.

O'Kennedy, who said that helium likes to "do things arsenic uncensored arsenic possible," spoke with Fox News Digital astir his acquisition visiting the isolated country. He arrived successful the metropolis of Rason connected Feb. 20.

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"My main benignant of takeaway was that this is an incredibly processing state that is, you know, astatine slightest 50 years down anyone else," O'Kennedy said. "It's wherever China was… successful the mid[dle] of the past century."

"I'm not qualified to speech astir it politically," helium continued. "But what I tin accidental is, it's an incredibly arrogant country."

Mike O'Kennedy, a British antheral who is besides known arsenic "Mike Okay" connected YouTube, racked up millions of views aft documenting his travel to North Korea. (@mikeokay via YouTube)

O'Kennedy's candid video of the travel showed respective unusual situations; portion flying implicit North Korea, helium and his chap level passengers were required to support their model blinds closed to forestall them from seeing the state from the air. 

North Korea partially resumed planetary tourism past twelvemonth aft astir fractional a decade, according to tourer operators. 

"The Hermit Kingdom" closed its borders astatine the commencement of the COVID-19 pandemic, banning astir each outsiders from entering the state for business, question oregon non-vital diplomatic relations. 

The state partially re-opened its borders successful 2023, Fox News Digital reported.

However, reports present accidental that trips to North Korea, arsenic of Thursday, person been canceled.

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"Just received quality from our Korean partners that Rason is closed to everyone. We volition support you posted," China-based KTG Tours, which specializes successful North Korean tours, said Wednesday connected Facebook, arsenic BBC reported.

Since O'Kennedy's visit, North Korea has erstwhile again closed its borders, suspending overseas tourism conscionable weeks aft it welcomed its archetypal Western visitors.

At 1 constituent successful his documentary, O'Kennedy tries opening a model successful his hotel room earlier realizing it's been sealed shut.

"There were times wherever you could chopped the hostility with a knife. You could consciousness the value of this moment."

He told Fox News Digital that determination was "pressure connected the full situation."

"This is the archetypal clip immoderate overseas tourists and non-Russian and non-Chinese tourists person entered the state for 5 years," helium said. 

"So, determination were times wherever you could chopped the hostility with a knife. You could consciousness the value of this moment."

Though O'Kennedy wasn't granted the freedoms helium would usually bask during his travels – specified arsenic interacting with locals, utilizing the bath without support and taking solo walks – helium was inactive acutely alert of the peculiar attraction that helium and his chap tourists were getting.

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"Instead of it being like, 'We're not allowed to spot this due to the fact that that's secret,' … it was conscionable much that they conscionable wanted to amusement you the champion it had to offer," helium said. "I didn't person this overwhelming feeling that this is simply a atrocious place."

O'Kennedy said his acquisition successful North Korea felt claustrophobic. (@mikeokay via YouTube)

"There were plentifulness of enjoyable moments…it was conscionable they were conscionable shrouded by a changeless benignant of level of subtle buzz, of paranoia and anxiety."

O'Kennedy said helium witnessed dozens of enthusiastic children from Rason execute a opus and creation dedicated to person Kim Jong Un. The amusement included futuristic abstraction costumes, a airy amusement and visuals of rockets.

"Almost each opus that comes retired of the DPRK is, arsenic expected, a instrumentality of worship towards the country's existent oregon erstwhile leaders," helium narrates successful the video. "The recurring taxable passim this travel was the utter devotion radical had towards Kim Jong Un…to them, he's a god."

"We did karaoke 1 night…drinking North Korean soju [and] North Korean beer, which is delicious, by the way."

But the adept traveler besides said that helium enjoyed elemental pleasures connected the trip, specified arsenic North Korean brew – though the food near thing to beryllium desired.

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Many of the streets that O'Kennedy captured successful Rason, North Korea, were eerily empty, helium said. (@mikeokay via YouTube / Getty Images)

"We did karaoke 1 night…drinking North Korean soju [and] North Korean beer, which is delicious, by the way," O'Kennedy recounted. "Smoking North Korean cigarettes with each guides, and singing karaoke with them. And that was beauteous cool. That was a beauteous amusive happening to do."

"The nutrient was thing to constitute location astir for me. It didn't consciousness similar thing I'd truly had successful Asia before. Maybe towards the weirder broadside of, like, Chinese cuisine with, like…sea slugs and clams. And we had a flaming snail astatine 1 point."

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O'Kennedy besides said that helium had ne'er encountered an country remotely akin to North Korea before. The Uyghur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang successful northwestern China was the lone spot that came close.

A radical of North Korean children performed an elaborate amusement successful grant of Kim Jong Un during O'Kennedy's trip. (@mikeokay via YouTube | Getty Images)

"I was doing a batch of hitchhiking and worldly [in Xinjiang], and the constabulary would conscionable popular up retired of obscurity a fewer times…they don't get immoderate foreigners retired determination astatine all, really," helium said. 

"So, determination was a level of benignant of power and curiosity, but not connected the aforesaid level arsenic [North Korea] was. This was precise restricted to the constituent wherever it sometimes felt a small spot claustrophobic."

O'Kennedy said helium expects that tourism successful North Korea volition spell backmost to its restricted, pre-pandemic levels. He besides hopes that more tourists get the accidental to interact with North Koreans.

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