Reflections on Pyongyang

[Editor’s Note: This essay is drawn from the personal travel notes and recollections of Stratfor’s Xiaoming Ma following her recent visit to North Korea.]

As someone who has observed North Korea many times through a telescope, or from a sailboat on the Yalu River, I have always wanted to visit the mysterious country. Even for a person who grew up in Liaoning province, which shares a border with North Korea, the country is a closed box. In April, I was offered the chance to travel south of the border with a small group of friends. I was warned in advance that I couldn’t use my phone and computer there, and it was even suggested that I bring food and water because “there is nothing to eat in North Korea,” but that didn’t deter me.