Customer testimonials

Rob, Ben and Hugh (UK, Hong Kong). Group tour October 2011

Just a short note to thank you all for making our visit to North Korea last week so enjoyable and successful. It is certainly a most extraordinary country with many contradictions – and through all your efforts the visit passed off smoothly. The days were certainly busy, which we liked, the guides excellent and the company really good fun (well, in the main!)
We would be very happy to talk anyone who is interested in going and would like a reference. Keep up the good work.

Christopher R. (Australia). May Day Group tour 2011

I just wanted to write my thanks for arranging the May Day Tour. It was one of the most remarkable travel experiences imaginable. I was extremely satisfied with the pre-trip planning, itinerary, and the wonderful guides, Mr Rim and Ms Pang. I am determined to visit North Korea again, to hopefully meet my guides once more, and see other parts of Pyongyang and the country in general. 
 
Since leaving North Korea I have recommended Korea Konsult to every interested person I have met. 

Tea and Tapani (Finland). Individual tour in DPRK and Mongolia in April 2011

The whole trip was great! Everything worked as it was planned. In both countries we got experiences more than we could imagine.
In Mongolia the weather was nice first two days, but then there was a snowstorm and for this reason we could not see the mountain temple. But the visit to the 13th Century Park and horse and camel riding were in good weather. And the ger was warm enough – it was surprisingly comfortable to sleep there. In the museums our guide was really professional: we got enough information and not too much details.

DPRK was really something and we are still confused how different the country was what we beforehand thought. The timing was excellent – it was warm enough and flowers everywhere and not so much other tourists. The trip program was excellently planned and the days were full of going and seeing, 12 hours every day. We could not dream anything more to see in this time! May be it would have been interesting to visit one ordinary shop or shopping center, but our guides had always some reasons not to drop in any. This was not any big issue for us. But we want to tell you about the hotel in Kaesong. In this time of year in the living room was about +10 C and the water was freezing. In the contrary the floor of the sleeping room was swetty hot. There was also long shortage of electricity and you should carry torch with you all the time. But anyway, we were hoping for experiences and we surely got them – we also got a romantic evening at candlelight. We can recommend this kind of traveling and your services to anybody.
Thank you for organizing our excellent spring-journey!

Kyle S. (USA). Individual bike tour August 2011

First off,  thank you to Korea Konsult for helping me realize my dream of going to the DPRK! I had an amazing time and I can't wait to go back. Secondly,  our 4-person independent tour made history...we were the first ever foreigners to be allowed to ride bicycles in the DPRK! So that was VERY exciting! We picked up some bikes in China, checked them in to our Air Koryo flight, and on the second day of our trip, we geared up with our tour guides, plus a few extra people from the KITC, and we drove several kilometers away from Pyongyang, where our guides let us off on the highway.  The four of us did a 2-hour bike ride along the Pyongyang-Nampho highway. Except for a few cars buzzing by, we had the highway to ourselves. I imagine that the locals, who are only used to seeing tourists with a quick glance through the windowpane of a tour bus, were surprised to see us. Several of them, including villagers and soldiers, came out to look at us and wave at us.  It was a rare moment in the DPRK to be alone. We had our tour guides in vans behind and in front of us, respectively, but for two hours it was just the four of us in the quiet Korean countryside, which was more verdant and colorful than I had imagined. It was truly a unique experience and I recommend it to anyone planning on making a trip to the DPRK!

Elizabeth C. (Australia). Film Festival group tour September 2010

Just got back from our Film Festival tour and wanted to say thank you for organising a great tour.
Our tour leaders - Miss Park and Mr Lee - were exceptionally helpful and understanding, doing their best to accommodate our needs - they maintained their calm manner throughout and were thoroughly professional.

Notwithstanding the very difficult times the country is experiencing we were able to see the beauty of the countryside, the warmth of the people and the resilient culture.   For most of us, Arirang was the highlight - seeing pictures doesn't do it justice as once you are there, the excitement of the crowd and the music makes for a once in a lifetime experience.  For me personally, the other highlight was the Pyongyang Film Festival.  Although there were no North Korean films in the competition, it gave me the opportunity to see what kind of films were selected and sit in an audience of North Koreans and see their response to the films that were shown.

One of the main reasons for going on the tour for many members of the group was to see for ourselves North Korean society - though realizing the limitations of people coming from outside the culture and such a short and limited stay - nevertheless all the members felt it was an amazing experience to see a society organised so different to our own.

All the best and I will be letting others know about your excellent tour.

Olaf D. (Germany). National Day short group tour September 2010

I am very sorry to write to you so late. Thanks a million for that fantastic trip to North Korea! For sure it was the most interesting trip I have ever done.

Thanks again for everything!
Greetings from a cold Berlin

Adam L. (UK). Group tour August 2010

Hi there,

A bit slow responding but just to say that my trip to the DPRK was fantastically well organised throughout and will likely remain one of my most memorable trips ever!

The delay at Dandong was one of those things.  To be honest it wasn't really a problem, it just meant that the party went on that little bit longer! Thanks again and I wish you all the best for future tours.

Best Regards

Marion F. (Germany). Group tour August 2010

Thank you for a fantastic trip, excellent preparation, unforgettable impressions in the DPRK ! This was amazing.
Everything worked out fine !

All the best

Cesare S. (Italy). Individual tour August 2010

Hi,
I'm back in China, i arrived in Beijing this morning by train.
The trip to North Korea was very well organized and i didn't have any trouble; i really enjoyed it, thanks also by the guides, and i'll surely recommend this trip to my relatives and friends.

So thanks for everything!

Lars-Erik S. (Norway). Individual tour July 2010

About one week ago, we came back home to Norway. By that time we had been travelling for 28 days, and I think I can safely say that I've never experienced so many interesting things during a period of 4 weeks before. Russia was amazing, so was China. But of course, North Korea was undoubtly the most interesting country of them all. It will be difficult to explain it properly. Pyongyang was a dazzling city,full of impressive monuments and buildings! Also, it had some strange features, like the massive roads without cars leading in and out of the city, and the dark appearance at night, with builders constantly working, accompanied by opera-like revolutionary Korean songs on loudspeakers. We also got to see beautiful nature, and in addition we had a pleasant stay at a spa hotel. And of course many, many other interesting things. The visit to the Kim Il Sung mausoleum made a huge impression on all of us. Being in the same room as the eternal president was incredible, and it is something which I of course will never forget. But I think that the most interesting place we visited, was the DMZ. I can't think of any other place in the world where you can get closer to reality. You could really feel the tension in the air. We were even allowed to cross the border to South Korea inside one of the buildings built across the border. That was also a strange experience. But nevertheless a strong one.
There's really too much to say about the trip. I'm very, very satisfied with how the itinerary turned out; I think we got the very most out of the week we spent in one of the world's strangest countries. We enjoyed it so much! Really, a journey to remember. I must tell you how impressed I am with how smooth everything has gone. Thinking about it now, after half a year of planning, it has been quite a lot
of things to handle. And nothing would be possible without your aid, for which I am deeply thankful for. I think you have been simply FANTASTIC! Quick and informative answers to any question, and obviously a great knowledge of what you're doing. I
rarely have the pleasure to experience such great service from a company and it's employees, and for that I thank you again, and I hope you will carry on with your great efforts in the future!

We had a wonderful time in North Korea, and who knows, we might return some day...but until then, we still have all the memories. And some hundred pictures and videos to look at!

Anne T. and Alice D. (USA). Individual tour October 2009

The trip you planned for us was outstanding, and everything went smoothly. Your careful planning and all of the arrangements could
not have been better. Being in the DPRK was an amazing experience. Thank you so much.

The two guides, Mr. Lee and Mr. Kim, were knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly. The driver Mr. Lee was also very nice and was an
excellent, careful driver, especially noteworthy considering the Korean style of driving he had to deal with on the roads. We also
enjoyed the Korean food and the restaurants that were selected. We really appreciated the opportunity to observe the lifestyle,
participate in their customs, see the enormity of the monuments, and learn the North Korean perspective of their history as well as current desire for reunification. Needless to say, Arirang was MAGNIFICENT (we went twice).

I should also mention that we liked the way so much was packed into each day. No time was wasted. With only four days, we did and saw as much as was possible.

Thanks again for a great experience.

Paul H. (UK). Individual tour August 2009

I am writing to thank you for your assistance with our excellent trip to DPRK & China. We had an absolutely great time, everything went smoothly (transport, connexions and accommodation), and our guides couldn't have been more helpful and charming).

We were very sorry to leave DPRK, which I thought was an excellent place, and only wish that we could have stayed for longer and done some more exploration, particularly of the NE of the country and the coast.

Beijing was largely unrecognizable from when we were last there in 2001, much more traffic-choked and clearly fully embracing unrestrained capitalism. I hope that Pyongyang doesn't end up the same way, though I think it inevitable that it will sooner-or-later.

I did email our DPRK guides to thank them, and to send a couple of pictures. If you are in contact with them please let me know if they were able to receive the message, if not then I'll re-send via you, if that's OK.

I shall continue to extol the virtues of DPRK, and point any interested people in your direction.

Once again many thanks for such an excellent trip.

Best wishes

Luke C. (Australia). June group tour 2008

Great tour and great organisation and support from Korea Konsult, I was very happy with the choice, and Julia helped us all save a few bucks. The only thing that got annoying was how we always seemed to be running late even though we were on time!!!!! Hmmmmm I wonder why :-)

Peter S. (Denmark). Individual tour Nov 2009

Hi,

I am back from a very well organized trip to North Korea. It was a very interesting visit and I really saw a lot. The food was excellent, the hotel was fine and I was happy with the guides and the driver. China Air was on time (this was my biggest worry). It was cold and I had not brought enough cloth. Alltogether a successful trip. Thank you for having organized it so well.

Regards

Ola O. (Sweden). September group tour 2009.

Thanks a lot for organizing this trip. My week in northern Korea under your tour was the most amazing week in my life. I have long had an interest in the country and to finally go there was beyond expectations. The organizing was smooth, communication excellent and the tour itself amazing!

The Koreans showed to be the kindest and most sincere people I have ever encountered.It saddens me to realize that I can’t have the opportunity to pay back by being a just as good host for these people in my country.

Isolation is never good, and what you are doing to bring people to Korea is of utmost importance, both for Koreans and for us from outside.

I hope I can come back in a near future, and will then of course go with Korea Konsult once again!

Francesc P. (Spain) October group tour 2009

Our trip was surely a memorable one, maybe my best trip ever: not because of the beauty of what we saw, but for the chance to have a first-hand impression of such a closed country.

Moreover, the people I was traveling with were also excellent colleagues and I can now consider some of them my friends. The Korean guides were also very friendly and nice to us: I personally got the chance to have several conversations with one of them and that made my experience even richer.

Best regards

Chan R. (USA). Individual tour August 2008

hey,

i just wanted to let you know that i will do everything possible to help bring as many tourists into that country, it was one of my
favorites (top 3 for sure). i have 85 different people on my email address and most of them are world travelers (and my friends). my guides were fantastic and very patient. they helped out always and made this trip special (i didn't want to leave). i would love to work
there as an english teacher but i don't think they allow americans to do that.i miss them already.

thanks again and keep in touch. if there is anything i can do to help these very hard working people you tell me what it is and i'm there to help out.

i will definately go back within the next year.

mass games was the best ever.

thanks

Patrik T. (Switzerland). Individual tour October 2009

hi,

i just wanted to say one more time "thank you very much for your excellent work"!
i had a wonderful stay in korea. it is probably the strangest country i've ever seen but this makes it so unique. the two guides were very friendly and helpful at all time. Everything was perfect!

thx and have a good time.
cheers

Koen C. (Belgium). August group tour 2009

Hello,

Erik Detemmerman and I have returned recently from our trip to the DPRK. We would like to express out gratitude for the well organized and interesting tour we joined, the good food and the good accommodation.

It was a trip we will never forget.

With kind regards

Melanie M. (Germany). Individual tour Nov 2007

Dear Julia,

I thought I would just write to you and thank you for organising our trip to DPRK. We had a great time, it is a fascinating country and the
people are great, and we would both really like to go back there sometime:-)
There were a couple of planned things that we could not do, but nevertheless I think we saw and experienced a great deal during our short stay!!

The holiday to DPRK was really very good and absolutely fascinating. The guides and driver were also very nice and their English is really
impressive. It was my idea to go there, so I was not sure what Petrik would think of it, but he wanted to stay an extra week!

Ricardo C. (Portugal). July group tour 2009

Hey there DPRKers!

Finaly I got back home after 4 months on the road. I must say, DPRK, was, so far, the most interesting and unsettling travel experience that I have ever had.

Thank You Korea Konsult to garantee such an experience. More pictures of my trip in http://pelocaminhomaislongo.blogspot.com/ (can translate to english with google translator)

Tessa M. (Australia). Individual tour May 2009

Dear Julia,

Just a quick note to thank you so very much for arranging our tour in North Korea. We had a really wonderful time. It all went excellently, and we particularly loved visiting Wonsan, Sijung and Mini-Kumgang. We are specially grateful to our guides, Ms. Kim Sul-Gyung and Mr. Kim Myung-Su who were charming and extremely helpful, and also to the lovely driver Mr. Pak. My sister has decided that she wants to visit North Korea again sometime soon! Currently we are in China, and will be returning home soon.

Thanks again and best wishes

Michael F. H. (Denmark). Group tour June 2008

I went on a trip with Korea Konsult in June 2008, and I fully enjoyed the trip and the country. It is so different from anything else! It's an experience all should have... it's a bit of an eye-opener! Would love to go back for the Mass Games...

Caren S. (Netherlands). Individual tour August 2008

Finally managed to find a little time to let you know about our trip to North Korea. We came back a little over a week ago, but are still
processing the whole thing. So many things we've seen and experienced!

First of all, thanks again for all your work. Everything was expertly arranged, and we cannot thank you enough for that. If anyone ever asks us for recommendations on travel agents for North Korea, we're more than happy to point them to you ;-)

As we were told, indeed our days were packed to the hilt with sights and activities, so we did not mind getting back to our hotel room at night! Think all of the desinations on our program, except, to our regret, the visit to Kim Il-Sung university. According to our guide, this was because staff was busy with the prospective students' entrance exams, and we just had to take his word for it ;-) Instead we went to the Pyongyang Folk Museum, which was interesting enough. We particularly enjoyed our trips to
Wonsan/Lake Sijung (that beach!), and Kaesong and the DMZ. As to the latter: it was surreal to stand across from tourists on the Southern side at only a couple of feet distance. None of us said anything, guess both sides were stunned at the sight!

Our guides even sang us a goodbye song in the car on the way to the hotel after our last dinner together ;-)) Furthermore, we were able to benefit from Mr Rim's extensive knowledge base, which made for very informative excursions, and we also had some very interesting discussions on very diverse topics.

So all in all, a very interesting (and exhausting!) trip, which has definitely wetted our appetite for more. Who knows, in the future....?

By the way, we had that beautiful sunny weather throughout our whole trip!

Thanks again, and kind regards

Roberto S. (Italy). July group tour 2008

Hello !

I just want to thank you for the all the attention you gave me for the preparation of the trip in North Korea.The group was great and personally I enjoyed the trip so much!!! The funniest moment was when the van broke down and we remained on the road back to Pyongyang for hours: a real North Korean experience!!!

I liked the trip so much (compared to China) that I regretted the decision to leave before the Mass Games, but since I'll stick with Asia in my next trips... I could take a detour and decide to come back, with the Mass Games included of course!

Thanks for everything!

Joe B. (Poland). July Group tour 2008

I want to start off by thanking you guys for all the work you guys put into getting me over to North Korea! I am so grateful to have had the chance to travel to such an exotic and beautiful land :)

I have never had or seen a company work so hard for a client like you guys! You guys really tried your best to get me to a location where I really wanted to go.

I hope to return someday in the near future to the D.P.R. of Korea. And I will certainly use your services to get me there. Once again, thanks much! :)

Manuel L. (Netherlands). Individual tour July 2008

I have been to North Korea july 2008 and was really surprised by the country and its' people. The trip was well organized by Korea Konsult and definitely wanna go back sometime!