North Korea

Government advisories

• ☐ Canada: level 4/4 — Avoid all travel

Health notices

• ☐ Global Measles (level 1)

Entry requirements

☐ Most visitors to North Korea must obtain a visa in advance from one of the North Korean diplomatic missions.

Practical

• ☐ Plug type C/F, 220V — bring an adapter if yours differs
• ☐ Drives on the right
• ☐ Emergency (police): local numbers only
• ☐ Emergency (ambulance): local numbers only
• ☐ Emergency (fire): 110 or 8119
• ☐ SIM: as of jyou are allowed to carry a mobile phone from outside the country into North Korea. You will not be able to use your current SIM card in North Korea, however. The only network you are allowed to connect to is the local network, Koryolink, via one of their SIM cards. Your phone must be a 3G WCDMA phone which can connect to the 2100MHz 3G frequency band.
• ☐ Money: The currency is the North Korean won, denoted by the symbol ₩ (ISO code: KPW) and not typically available to foreigners, except some old North Korean won sold as souvenirs. The only places where tourists are allowed to obtain and spend North Korean won are at the Kwangbok Supermarket, which is included in some tours of Pyongyang, and in the Rason Special Economic Zone. Black market exchange rates

Laws that could get a tourist arrested

• ☐ Unauthorized movement — Visitors are not permitted to wander alone and must obtain permission and have a guide accompany them to leave their hotel.
• ☐ Restricted photography — Taking photos of military personnel or imagery that depicts the country in a negative light is prohibited; guides will force the deletion of such images.
• ☐ Deviation from tour — Travel is highly organized and deviations from designated guided tours are not permitted.
• ☐ Prohibited speech — Visitors must avoid discussing sensitive topics and are expected to refrain from saying anything critical of the country.

Before you go

General trip-prep, not specific to North Korea — the same short list applies anywhere.

• ☐ Register with your embassy's traveler program if one exists
• ☐ Check your passport's validity and blank-page requirements on your destination's official entry-rules page
• ☐ Photograph/screenshot your passport, visa, and travel insurance documents
• ☐ Download offline maps for your destination
• ☐ Confirm your bank/card issuer knows you're traveling
• ☐ Check whether your phone plan needs a travel add-on or a local SIM