AN Irish lad has lifted the lid on tourism in North Korea — where folks worship Kim Jong-un but have never even heard of pop god Justin Bieber.
Will Meara, 27, told how he wasn’t allowed leave his “prison-like” hotel without minders — but did get to meet locals and taste dog soup.
The adventurous backpacker was followed by one of dumpy despot Kim’s low-level henchmen who videotaped Will’s entire trip to the repressive regime.
Despite intense scrutiny from the tubby Commie overlord’s goons, Dub Meara said it was a “dream come true” getting to witness the everyday lives of North Koreans.
But having visited places all over the world including Iraq and Pakistan, the globetrotter said the tourist experience in the pariah state is far from five-star.
Speaking to the Irish Sun, Will revealed: “The only two times nerves ran down my spine was entering and exiting. Apart from that I never felt unsafe, it was just a totally unique experience.
“Immigration isn’t your standard immigration. They asked me what books I had, was I bringing in any Korean literature, searched every page, then took my phone and passport and photographed them together.
“The day before I arrived I got a briefing on things I could and couldn’t do, then I got on to the one flight going to North Korea that day.
“It takes about an hour to get in then you’ll meet a rep on the other side, and she’ll have a guy with her with a camera and he just videos you the whole time.
“The hotel that tourists stay in is on a mini island that has one road leading to it and you’re not allowed leave it at night. You can walk around the grounds like a prison but you can’t leave until your escort arrives next morning.
“I wasn’t allowed access to any of the local currency, I had to use dollars and euro. I think it’s because they don’t want any leaving the country.
“I went into this hotel, which is only opened for you, no other purpose, and the guy switches on the lights and it looked like he’d been asleep for ten years.
“Everything had dust on it, the food all came out cold and they spoke no English. The escort has a small bit and that’s how you communicate.
“More often than not though they just try to have everything done so you don’t even have to speak. As soon as you sit down the courses come out and they give you a beer anyway so you don’t have to order one.
“In any of the ‘tourist’ places that they bring you the food is absolutely dreadful. They do serve dog soup though which in the end we just couldn’t avoid eating.
“To the locals it’s just another animal and if they have meat on them they’ll eat it. They wouldn’t eat a poodle or certain dogs, it’s strange.
“The soup comes out and it’s got chunks of dog in it and you just can’t really get away from eating it over there, it’s a delicacy there. It’s like lamb really.”
As for the everyday life of locals, Will said it’s impossible to relate to anyone because they know so little about the outside world.
The hostel owner said: “A lot of them can leave the country, they can fly in and out of Beijing, so news is going to get back in.
“But there are still public executions in the countryside so no one is likely to speak about it or against the leadership.
“And while tourists aren’t allowed access to local currency, the leadership doesn’t want locals getting their hands on euro or dollar or anything because if they do there’s more chance they’ll leave the country and see there’s more money to be made.
“The last thing they want is very wealthy citizens. There’s no traffic or anything, you could stand in the middle of the road in the city for 10 minutes and not get hit, nobody has cars.”
He added: “A lot of people were afraid to ask me questions. They were fascinated about like what I did for a living and how I made money.
“If I asked people what type of music did they like they couldn’t relate because they’ve never heard of Michael Jackson or Justin Bieber or anyone like that.”
You can follow Will’s next journey and his trip to North Korea on his blog readyforroad.com.
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In North Korea DON'T:
WALK by a statue of the leader or ex-leaders without bowing.
Fold a picture of the leader or fold around him.
Take anything with you as you leave the country.
Attempt to log onto the information superhighway of the worldwide web while in the country.
Leave your hotel without your designated tour guide and his videotaping sidekick.