Mysterious North Korea Exploration

Your memorable tour of North Korea starts with an international flight from Beijing to the capital city, Pyongyang. Take a flight from Beijing to Pyongyang by yourselves. Air tickets will be arranged by TCG. After 2 hours air journey, you will arrive in Pyongyang.

Upon arrival, you will be warmly welcomed by your Korean guides. Then we will transfer you to the Yanggakdo Hotel, which is located in the city center and is one of the most deluxe hotels in the country. On our way to the hotel, your Korean guides will give you a brief introduction to the city and the itinerary for the following days.

Dinner will be provided in the hotel. After that, you can have a good rest. Korean Time is half an hour earlier than Beijing Time.

Note: Foreign visitors are not allowed to go out without your Korean guides, so we suggest that you stay in your room and have a good rest after dinner. If you really want to out, you can discuss and go out together with your Korean guides.

Meals: Dinner
Accommodation: Yanggakdo Hotel

After breakfast, we will start our day in Pyongyang. We will first visit President Kim II Sung's Native Home in Mangyongdae, where the former president of North Korea was born and spent his childhood in the humble cottage with his family. There you will learn the life and stories of the president and see the old houses and items of the president. If you are visiting on a weekend or holiday, you will see local students voluntarily cleaning the yards and learning about their former president. Then we head for the Korean Revolution Museum on Mansu Hill, where you can learn the revolutionary history of the country. The Mansudae Grand Monument is located beside the museum, and the statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il are in front of the monument. The North Korean people respect their presidents very much. Visitors are asked to follow their customs to place a bunch of flower front of the statues.

After lunch, our visit continues to the Juche Tower, the world highest stone monument. You can get to the top of this 150-meter high tower by elevator and enjoy the overview of Pyongyang and the beautiful Taedong River flowing through the city. We will then explore the Pyongyang Metro. As the world's deepest metro system, the Pyongyang Metro is built 100 - 200 meters underground to minimize the impact on buildings above the ground and to serve as a bomb shelter during wartime. We head for another of the city's architectural features, the Arch of Triumph. The arch, larger than the one in France, was built to commemorate the victory of the Korean people's anti-Japanese war led by President Kim Il Sung. 

The day's visit ends here. You can have a good rest in your hotel after dinner or simply enjoy the night view of the city in your room (you will see the Juche Tower and the Arch of Triumph in distance).

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast, we will head for Kaesong, a southern border city about 2.5 hours drive from Pyongyang. First, we will drive to Panmunjom where North and South Korea have faced each other for decades. Accompanied by a Korean soldier as your guide, you will visit the places where the truce of the Korea War were discussed and signed, as well as the DMZ - the demarcation line between North and South Korea.

In the afternoon, our tour continues to another famous attraction in Kaesong, the Koryo History Museum. The museum was once an imperial palace of the Country of Koryo in early 11th Century AD, and functioned as a guesthouse for foreign visitors at that time. The museum now houses over 1,000 relics reflecting the history and culture of the Goryeo period. Our next destination is the Tomb of King Wanggon. At the end of 9th Century AD, King Wanggon unified the country and founded the Country of Koryo. There you will learn more about the king. Our last stop in Kaesong is a ginseng store. There you will learn about the famous specialty in North Korea, ginseng, which is very good for your health. Then drive back to Pyongyang for a good rest.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Get up early in the morning. After breakfast we head to Mount Myohyang in the northwest of the country, about 2.5 hours drive from Pyongyang. It is one of the four most famous mountains of the country Mount Myohyang, the mountain of mysterious fragrance, got its name from the delicate fragrance the pines on the mountain give off. The mountain is not only famous for its natural beauty but also for the noted International Friendship Exhibition Hall. In the 6-floor exhibition hall, you will see over 220,000 gifts to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il from all over the world including your own country. Visitors are required to go through security check before entering the hall, and electronic products like cameras and smart phones are not allowed into the hall. After visiting the hall, enjoy the stunning view of the mountain on the balcony of the hall.

Before lunch we will visit the Pohyon Buddhist Temple. The temple built in 1024 is one of the most famous temples in the country. In the old pavilions and halls, there are statues of Buddha and Buddhist pagodas, as well as precious Buddhist scriptures. After lunch, we will drive back to Pyongyang to watch a talent show at the Pyongyang Schoolchildren's Palace or a secondary school. The lovely kids may invite you to the stage to dance with them. We suggest you take some small gifts for them.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

The morning tour will first take you to the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum (Korean War Museum), where you will learn the war history of the country from documents and relics. In the museum, you will also see the American spy ship USS Pueblo, which was captured by the DPRK navy in 1968. Old photos, relics, and documents from the ship can also be found there. We will then head for the Moranbong Park, also known as Peony Hill. The hill is located in the north of the city, and gets its name because it resembles a huge peony flower. It is not only famous for its beautiful scenery of flowers, trees, and waterfalls, but also for its many old pavilions, halls, and towers. Standing on the mountain, you can enjoy the splendid view of the city.

In the afternoon, we will take a stroll around Kim Il Sung Square, the largest square in Pyongyang. Among the building around the square, the most famous one is the Grand People's Study House. This 10-floor old style building is a free public library that houses over 30 million books and can hold 10 thousand readers at once. All citizens can read books and attend free classes in the library. At the same time, college graduates can get their master's and doctor's degrees after attending the postgraduate education there. We will then walk to a nearby foreign language bookstore. We also have some time to walk along the beautiful Taedong River which flows through the city. Tonight, our guides will invite you for a farewell dinner in the paradise Microbrewery restaurant in the city center.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

This morning, we will fly back to Beijing. Our memorable tour ends here. We hope you enjoyed the trip!

Meals: Breakfast