{"id":19408,"date":"2013-10-14T23:36:17","date_gmt":"2013-10-15T03:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theredphoenixapl.org\/?p=19408"},"modified":"2013-10-14T23:36:17","modified_gmt":"2013-10-15T03:36:17","slug":"what-its-like-to-spend-a-night-in-a-north-korean-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/2013\/10\/what-its-like-to-spend-a-night-in-a-north-korean-house\/","title":{"rendered":"What it\u2019s like to spend a night in a North Korean house"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"inside-north-korean-home\"<\/a><\/p>\n

North Korean homestay offers unparalleled scenery, interaction with locals<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

BY<\/span>\u00a0SUSAN AHN<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

A state-owned \u201chomestay\u201d program on North Korea\u2019s Chilbo Mountain invites foreigners to eat, sleep and experience the local lifestyle.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chilbo Mountain is located in the nation\u2019s northernmost North Hamgyong province. \u201cChilbo\u201d translates into \u201cseven buried treasures,\u201d and this mountain hidden well north of the DMZ does have a beautiful landscape worthy of discovering.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many beautiful sceneries in North Hamgyong province because it\u2019s circled by the ocean,\u201d North Korean founder Kim Il Sung was once quoted as saying in the Rodong Sinmun. \u201cAbove all, Chilbo Mountain\u2019s scenery is the most beautiful.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For tourists, two things set this mountain apart: Its well-preserved nature provides travelers with views of a volcanic ridge, valleys and peaks where they can enjoy sightseeing and hiking. Also, it is the only place in North Korea that allows foreigners to stay in local North Korean homes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"chilbosan-map\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The homestay facilities were built in October 2006 with 20 blocks of Korean and European-styled \u201cprivate dwelling houses\u201d where visitors can stay with a North Korean family, according to a KCNA report from that year. The facility can accommodate around 40 to 100 tourists.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI understand that Kim Jong Il proclaimed that other countries allowed homestays, (and) that is a good idea and the DPRK should have them also,\u201d said Joseph Ferris, who works as a guide for Young Pioneer Tours and who blogs about his experiences in the North at Americaninnorthkorea.com.<\/span><\/p>\n

The homes are upscale compared to typical North Korean houses with clean beds, digital TVs and neatly papered walls.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe homes are nothing like the modest dwellings of the neighboring village,\u201d Ferris told NK News. \u201cBut the people living at the homestay are real North Korean families and the interactions are genuine.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese families work hard to host foreigners, mostly Chinese, and when the tourists depart they return to the fields and seas for farming and fishing like everybody else.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"homestay-chilbo-bedroom\"<\/a><\/p>\n

HOW DOES IT WORK?<\/span><\/p>\n

Ferris traveled to the area in spring 2013 with the Young Pioneer\u2019s Tour through a partnership with the DPRK Chilbosan Tourism Company.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe guides with Chilbosan feel very comfortable in this region and provide access that is impossible for Pyongyang-based Korea International Travel Company (KITC) to provide,\u201d he said. \u201cThe company also arranged plenty of interesting leisure time and activities shared with the homestay residents.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While the mountain is open for all foreigners, Americans and Japanese are not allowed to stay in the homestay village for the night. Instead, they have to stay at the Outer Chilbo hotel.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur two North Korean guides seemed genuinely embarrassed by this government requirement and felt it hurt our group spirit and camaraderie,\u201d said Ferris.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cConsidering that Americans were only allowed into the DPRK as tourists just a few years ago, it doesn\u2019t surprise me that restrictions like being forbidden to stay overnight at the homestay are on the books. I believe Americans will eventually be allowed to stay there; it will just take time for those in charge to feel secure enough to allow such close interaction.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

North Korea lifted its restrictions on U.S. citizens visiting the country in 2010.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"homestay-chilbo-outside\"<\/a><\/p>\n

HOMESTAYS, NORTH AND SOUTH<\/span><\/p>\n

In South Korea, homestay is arranged through websites such as Koreastay, a Korea Trade Organization-certified program for international visitors, or Korea-homestay.com, a homestay exchange company. Typically, there are two types of homestay arrangements: in homes with a modern design or in hanok, traditional Korean housing.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, there are also expectations from the host families, with many offering deals to foreign visitors willing to tutor the host\u2019s children.<\/span><\/p>\n

Interactions during a homestay at Chilbo Mountain appear quite different.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe spent an evening with a (North Korean) guide discussing DPRK nuclear policy over soju and beers, it was fascinating,\u201d Ferris said of his experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"chilbo-san-dancing\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe non-American tourists who stay at the homestay spend their evenings talking with their host families. I was briefed on what had happened that night and understand conversations were non-political, with some of the most fascinating focusing on the telling of myths from the guest\u2019s respective countries. (A tourist\u2019s) story of a Maori god that traveled across the heavens had several of the North Koreans genuinely amazed, with them believing that New Zealanders actually thought this to be true. A bit of explanation was necessary to reassure them that it was understood to only be a myth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Other activities included volleyball, traditional wrestling with the locals, fishing boat rides on the sea, and an evening campfire and sing-along on the beach.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere was even some early morning gardening for those non-Americans who spent the night,\u201d Ferris said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"homestay-chilbo-dogs\"<\/a><\/p>\n

MORE TO COME?<\/span><\/p>\n

North Korea has lately been increasing efforts to boost foreign tourism, and the region near Chilbo is among those impacted.<\/span><\/p>\n

Recently, Park Sang-kwon, chairman of Pyeonghwa Motors Corp. \u2013 a joint venture operating in North Korea \u2013 visited the DPRK for the 60th anniversary of the armistice ending the Korean War, where he heard that the North will develop six special tourist zones, including at Chilbo Mountain, and will privatize three airports (including one near Chilbo Mountain),\u00a0DongA News<\/span><\/a>\u00a0has reported.<\/span><\/p>\n

What role the homestay facility will play in these recent development plans remains to be seen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pictures: J. Ferris<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Fuente<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

North Korean homestay offers unparalleled scenery, interaction with locals BY\u00a0SUSAN AHN A state-owned \u201chomestay\u201d program on North Korea\u2019s Chilbo Mountain invites foreigners to eat, sleep..<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[322],"class_list":["post-19408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-democratic-peoples-republic-of-korea"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/redphoenix.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/inside-north-korean-home.jpg?fit=690%2C360&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}