Given that Western tourists seem to receive “tour guides” & elaborate guided tours for the duration of their stay, it seems possible that more Western visits to North Korea would strain the resources of the Kim regime. (Though it’s hard to assess what this expenditure would be fungible with – seems roughly as likely that resources would be redirected from food programs as they would be from other regime priorities.)
The visit would be relatively easy to put together, logistically (there are flights to Pyongyang from China). The intervention is definitely neglected.
Experience in North Korea would probably also build one’s career capital (by boosting reputation, signaling risk tolerance, and (perhaps) establishing relationships in the DPRK & China). This seems especially salient for folks who are aiming at diplomatic & public policy careers.
A visitor who is detained in-country (not the norm but not unheard of, from my very rough understanding) could also have positive altruistic impacts, by generating international pressure on the regime. But being detained would in all likelihood be extremely unpleasant & perhaps fatal, so maybe it’s better to not include possible altruistic upsides from detention in the calculus.
[Question] Is visiting North Korea effective?
Epistemic status: exploring, probably a bad idea. This is definitely not a recommendation.
If you find yourself seriously considering a trip to North Korea, please reach out so I can try to talk you out of it.
Here’s a paraphrased quote from South Korean journalist Choi Hak-Rae (given around minute 37:00 of the third episode of National Geographic’s mini-doc on North Korea):
It’s possible for (some?) Westerners to visit North Korea, though the US State Department strongly discourages it:
Youtube documentary 1
Youtube documentary 2
Youtube documentary 3
Given that Western tourists seem to receive “tour guides” & elaborate guided tours for the duration of their stay, it seems possible that more Western visits to North Korea would strain the resources of the Kim regime. (Though it’s hard to assess what this expenditure would be fungible with – seems roughly as likely that resources would be redirected from food programs as they would be from other regime priorities.)
The visit would be relatively easy to put together, logistically (there are flights to Pyongyang from China). The intervention is definitely neglected.
Experience in North Korea would probably also build one’s career capital (by boosting reputation, signaling risk tolerance, and (perhaps) establishing relationships in the DPRK & China). This seems especially salient for folks who are aiming at diplomatic & public policy careers.
A visitor who is detained in-country (not the norm but not unheard of, from my very rough understanding) could also have positive altruistic impacts, by generating international pressure on the regime. But being detained would in all likelihood be extremely unpleasant & perhaps fatal, so maybe it’s better to not include possible altruistic upsides from detention in the calculus.