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Air Koryo JS Y PEK-FNJ and a North Korea work visa
It's 4 PM Wednesday, 25 July, Juche 101 (2012). I'm in Pyongyang, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, generally called North Korea), surrounded by about 50 young DPRK men. Dozens more are watching from multiple tiers of windows above us. They are cheering, shouting words in Korean I can't comprehend. I'm on the ground, on my knees, hoping not to get hit in the head. This sounds like what my parents feared when I told them I applied to work here.
Hi. I'm Adam, a thirty-something PhD student in math education at the University of Georgia, USA. I research how students learn statistics. When the opportunity arose to teach statistics through the Pyongyang Summer Institute (pyongyangsummerinstitute.org), I quickly applied. This is a report about my tenure as Adjunct Professor at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST, pust.kr). I wrote a longer report, with more personal photos, at my personal website.
For Flyertalk, I'm emphasizing flights and lodging. There's no caviar or Dom, but I hope you'll enjoy the trip. This was part of a larger work journey, including prior conferences in Cebu City, Philippines, and Seoul.
Most of my other flights were on a United business class award ticket. Due to scheduling, I had to fly United in both directions SFO-ICN, which was like many other United Business 747 reports. The only interesting thing was arriving at Cebu airport to discover that United had messed up my CEB-ICN overnight return on Asiana. I was not surprised and had arrived extra early. The 12 hour time difference helped, because the day shift people quickly fixed the ticket.
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Air Koryo JS 152, PEK-FNJ, 14 July 2012
On the 13th, I checked out of the Park Hyatt Seoul (point stay and fabulous, as one would expect) and flew China Southern from GMP-PEK. They put the two Caucasians at the front of the economy cabin and brought us blankets from business class. Besides that, it was uninteresting. We instructors gathered at the Swissotel, which is decent. It's not as nice as the JW Marriott or other true 5 star hotels in Beijing. The Air Koryo office is around the corner, which made tickets and visas a little easier. American citizens get a separate card, not a passport stamp. DPRK immigration takes the card back on the way out.
Flying Air Koryo wasn't much different from other airlines. I had to pay a baggage fee because I was carrying in books and supplies, pushing my luggage over 20 KG, and neither Star Alliance Gold nor Skyteam Elite Plus helped. Amex Platinum Priority Pass did get me into the Air China lounge in Terminal 2. It was very empty.
We teachers thought we might be the only non-Koreans, but the relatively full flight was almost half Caucasian. A group of loud British tourists were traveling, as well as polite old plane enthusiasts. I believe we flew on a Ilyushin Il-62.
Even though I did not get an upgrade (yes, Air Koryo has business class), on a two hour flight, we had decent legroom, rice and potato lunch catered from Beijing, Pyongyang Times government-supported newspaper to read, and decent service. It was better than United, though that standard might be unfair. To Air Koryo.
On landing, the stewardesses didn't mandate headphone removal, so I listened to Lux Aeterna, the battle theme from LOTR: The Two Towers. During the long taxi to the terminal, women in the fields waved as we passed.
The terminal has one gate. Baggage claim was not quick, but faster than Delta in Atlanta. We then cleared customs with bag X-rays, handed over cellphones, and met our official minders. Pyongyang airport matches bags and luggage tags, like airports should.
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PUST Campus and Lodging
PUST was built between 2003 and 2010, opening in summer 2010. There are now 100 juniors, 100 sophomores, 100 freshmen, and about 60 graduate students. Currently, all students are male. Founder and President James Kim has a fascinating life story (see this Fortune article). Most university funding comes from American and South Korean evangelicals. Instructors like me volunteer without pay.
PUST lies south of the urban city, though construction is starting to approach the campus fences. Here's a wide shot of campus and a closeup of the classroom building.
Posters and wall decorations differ from American colleges.
I taught in English, Statistics Primer to 33 sophomores and Technical Writing to 18 graduate students. Each class met 90 minutes a day, Monday through Friday. PUST undergraduates apply after one or two years at another college, receive government approval, and then are selected into the PUST class. I really like them because they yearn to learn. Education really, really matters, unlike the fun and games of the "college experience" at most American universities. Unlike my current employer, PUST doesn't shut down classrooms and libraries for football home games.
Undergraduates must wear shirt, tie, and dress shoes to class and meals. They also wear the required DPRK citizen pin and optional PUST university pin. They strongly support each other. I heard a comment that letting others fail is against their values.
Graduate students have school provided laptops - Dell, Acer, and Samsung (!). They can even search the Internet - though they must be inside the library and record their searched sites. From my discussions with the graduate students, they genuinely want to succeed in their careers and help their country. They asked about worldly things, like TV audience surveys, oil price forecasting, RFID sensors, and cancer models.
Lodging was in the faculty dormitory. Relatively new, it's in decent shape. Unfortunately, most rooms are not air conditioned. Pyongyang temperatures roughly match Milwaukee, with summer highs around 30 and lows around 20. Also, July is monsoon season on the Korean peninsula; it rained most days. By the end of the two weeks, my room was a hot humid mess.
The bed is king sized, new, and very firm. The room had a small seating area with table and two chairs, a wardrobe, and a few other drawers. There is a CRT TV. I thought it was ornamental for the first few days, until someone told me PUST gets the international hotel feed. It has CNN, official DPRK TV, and about 20 Chinese channels.
In the very small bathroom, each room has its own hot water heater, cleverly supplied by gravity feed.
My rate of US$0 per day, a discount from the standard US$30, also included three daily meals in the cafeteria. It was acceptable, though I missed the buffet and waffles at the Hyatt. White rice and water kimchi appear at every meal, three times a day. Noodles, soybeans, and potatoes are also common. Vegetables are offered about four days a week; tofu, three; bread, two or three; fish, one. The only main dish meat was chicken on the final Friday; small ham or chicken pieces would also appear in bibimbap. The cafeteria staff prepares decently tasty food; unlike Seoul, there are sauces beyond red pepper paste. I got much better with chopsticks, even though I had brought a fork. The students laughed at my fork.
Overall, I've seen many worse dorms, including a few in America, and some worse hotels. As a hotel, it would receive 2 stars out of 5. For those of you planning a summertime jaunt, I recommend the air conditioned rooms.
Last edited by ramolnar; Sep 7, 12 at 5:21 pm..
Reason: typo
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A Quick View of Pyongyang
Here's the view from my lodging room window, looking towards downtown Pyongyang. It's more of a skyscape than I had guessed.
Like almost all non-citizens, outside campus we were accompanied by guides. We visited tourist sites and stores. PUST staff have a little more freedom than tourist tours, including access to a couple DPRK citizen markets. The market rate was about 5000 to US$1.
Several long time visitors said that there were more lights around Pyongyang, compared to 2008 or 2007. Power cuts occurred on a few days. Some people consider this progress, as the government struggles to supply power to new air conditioners and buildings. I had prepared to teach without power, so it was more of a frustration than a hindrance.
When we arrived, the main Kim Il Sung square was empty.
The next weekend, there was a large youth rally.
Here are two city scenes from the top of the Juche Tower, about 150 meters over the city. I highly suggest paying 7 euros for the elevator. Tourist areas like the Juche Tower accept Euros, USD, and Chinese RMB. They know exchange rates. Prices are not outrageous. For instance, I got 10 postcards for 1 euro. The Meet Me in Pyongyang T-shirt at the library gift shop (the best gift shop) is US$15.
Pyongyang is clean and tidy. I felt very physically safe, safer than anywhere in a long time. Hanging around the waterfront was calm and soothing and surprisingly beautiful. One weekend day, I saw a rowing crew, reminding me of my undergraduate days. I wanted to join them.
Last edited by ramolnar; Sep 7, 12 at 5:22 pm..
Reason: typo
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The Opening Story and Departure
I guess I should explain the opening story. I was a goal judge and ball retriever at the final of the 5 on 5 campus soccer tournament. Unlike FIFA, PUST has goal judges. Then again, some of our goals are just cones. After a defensive 0-0 draw, the championship moved to penalty kicks. I knelt next to the side of the goal to clearly see the goal line on our small goals.
We were playing on concrete outside the classroom building, because monsoon rain made grass unplayable. Other members of the two classes - each grade has 4 classes, each with about 25 students - surrounded the penalty area. Other classes couldn't come out of their assigned study halls to watch, but their faces lined the second, third, and fourth floor windows. For the final, a little study break was acceptable.
Like all real soccer contests, there was controversy; someone shot right at the whistle. The referee decided to allow the goal. In the end, the juniors defeated the freshmen, 3-2 on penalties. Earlier, we had played faculty vs. student leaders, with the faculty earning a 1-0 triumph. I defended at left back; I don't understand why the students tried aerial balls into the box, since at 1.85 meters I stood taller than all of them. Soccer in Pyongyang was a wonderful experience which I never expected. Of course, my happiness shattered when I returned to the office and found a power outage, meaning my test couldn't be copied. Bliss is fleeting.
Air Koryo JS 151, 28 July, FNJ-PEK
On the way back, 28 July, we flew Air Koryo 151. Before we loaded bags on the bus, it was time to double check that things had been packed or left behind, that exit visas were filed, and to say farewell. I had some trepidation. Did I have a visa problem? Would there be harsh questioning? Would the guards view my camera photos? No, no, and no. The guards were less intrusive than in the United States, with no nude-o-scopes or shoe removal. There's also a small gift shop at the airport, the best place to get a DPRK flag.
Air Koryo uses two doors when boarding the Tupolev Tu-204, something US carriers cannot seem to manage. On the way back to Beijing, we got a classical concert on the drop down screens, Korea Today magazine, and a "hamburger". I believe it contained some beef, though that's disputed. Again, the trip was at least as good as any American legacy in economy.
After customs, someone went to Starbucks; someone else got a Diet Pepsi. I headed to Pizza Hut for a supreme pizza. I can't foresee PUST as a long term option after my PhD - more likely English speaking lands like South Africa or Kenya - but I want to return for a full month next summer. I had a great time.
Feel free to post or PM questions. Thanks for reading.
What a fascinating trip report. I got my doctorate in education policy a few years ago and would love to teach a class in the DPRK, just for the experience. Alas, being married with a small child - with another on the way - may make just a dream merely a fantasy.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NurseRatched
Excellent report.
Who took your cell phones, and were they returned before your return flight?
Cellphones are handed to guards at the airport. They're kept in a storage room at the terminal. They are returned on the way out. Be sure to get a receipt and don't lose it! You can retrieve your cellphone without the receipt, but it's a lot easier if you have the paper.
