How to survive 3 years in North Korea as a foreigner is indeed a good question. 3 years is a long time!
Some time ago, I was asked about life in North Korea. Who had I upset to have been banished to the “Hermit Kingdom” for 3 years. I imagine they were slightly taken aback when I told them I had volunteered. They then sent me a series of questions. They asked for a snapshot of what it was really like living, working and surviving there for so long. This I was happy to do.
North Korea Military Work With British Diplomat relates to a unique situation where a British diplomat had a close working relationship with the North Korean military for a 6 month period, and this would in itself raise more than a few eyebrows. Working for 3 years in North Korea was on the one hand a time of frustration and on the other a time of discovery in this fascinating yet enigmatic country.
Life In North Korea As A Foreigner Surviving 3 Years
Butting heads on a daily basis with the stifling North Korean bureaucracy was always a battle, but occasionally there was a glimmer of achievement and sometimes from the most unlikeliest of sources. The North Korea Military context provided unique insights.
In early 2004, I was contacted at the embassy in Pyongyang by the brother of an RAF pilot who had been shot down in 1952 over North Korea during the Korean war. He said he had full details of the shoot down supplied by eyewitness United States Air Force (USAF) pilots and map coordinates of the site of the crash (which he sent to me) and wished to visit the area to discover the fate of his brother.