The Beat October 2002

A Motorcycle Rally ’Round Mt. Keumgang
Story and photos by: Ben May

The 2nd Annual South-North Korea Motorcycle Tour of Mt. Keumgang was held during the August 15th Liberation Day holiday. A friend of mine who works for the Korean Motorcycle Federation (one of the tour‘s sponsors) invited me and my coworker, Nick, to join the 2-night/3-day tour of the mountain, which is just over the border in North Korea.

Nick and I were excited about the possibility of riding our bikes in North Korea, but a bit bewildered about how little information we were provided with along the way. We weren't told that the tour was confirmed until 11 days before our departure. We were told to bring some U.S. dollars, but not how much. The application process was ridiculously easy; no visa needed. I kept getting the feeling that something was missing. It seemed too simple.

We left Busan on a rainy Monday morning (8/12) with a group of Korean and Japanese riders, headed for the rally up in Seoul. I had never ridden that far before in poor conditions and the other riders were much more experienced than me. We had to take the back roads because motorbikes aren't allowed on the expressway. It took 13 hours and by the time we got there, I was sore and dead tired.

Tuesday morning opened with the starting rally at Olympic Park in Seoul. About 100 riders had gathered on every kind of bike imaginable. There were some really cool custom jobs there. Other than the Japanese, there were only 3 expats on the tour: a German guy, Nick the Aussie, and me, the lone American. Many other foreigners had cancelled because they got scared away after the North-South naval clash. People who don't live on the Peninsula seem to think that North Korea is really dangerous.

We had to sit through speeches from officials about promoting peace and exchange between the Koreas, but we all knew that it was just a really cool excuse to go for a ride in the North. From there, we made our way east through Kangwon Province, headed for Seorak Mountain. It was a beautiful day as we sped along the highway, sometimes at 150 km/hr. The next morning we would load up on the ferry at Seokcho for the 4-hour ride around to the northern side.

Loading our bikes on the ferry was a huge hassle because the people in charge didn't seem to know what was going on. They kept yelling at us to line up and wait and then hurry up and get on the boat and wait. Immigration processed us after we were given our ID badges. They informed us that NK officials would not honor our passports, so the substitute would be this piece of paper with our picture and passport info on it to be worn around our necks at all times. After all that, I was ready to sit down and have a beer and the bar was happy to oblige with 1,000 cc drafts. Now we had to pay for everything with US dollars. It seems the greenback travels far.

We sailed out of clear sight of the coast heading around to the North, but coming back in, we started seeing the mountainous coastline. At this point we were told that no more photographs could be taken as the area was used by the NK navy. Hyundai occupied the bay with its docks, floating hotel, and freshly decapitated hill on the south side. The north side rose up to a huge mountain with a gray, lifeless village at its base.

We were lined up for immigration processing and I was told that I would be going through last. This made me quite nervous, but the official's questions were pretty standard. We then had to go through inspection of our motorbikes and cover our license plates with tape, so the locals could not see the Korean writing on them. Following this we were loaded up on buses for the restaurant: an all you can eat buffet- very ironic in North Korea. The food was average.

On Thursday we kicked off the bike riding with another ceremony. Nick & I were not told exactly where we were going or what we would be doing, just "hurry up and wait". We became used to this routine. We were told that all the riders had to stay together. We were not allowed to stop or take pictures of buildings or people. We would not have military escorts as they had the previous year.

Heading down the road, we passed farm villages that didn't seem to have a lot of activity. The people were just standing around staring at us and a few returned our friendly waves. The buildings were small, colorless, and run-down. There were no cars anywhere. The road was lined with barbed-wire fences and manned by young military guards at each crossing. I was very curious about what the locals were told about us. They were living in shabby houses and walking while we were riding by on expensive motorcycles. They seemed to look at us very suspiciously. It was funny to see all the propaganda billboards with paintings of "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-Il communing with the people. They did trim down his ridiculous potbelly, though.

We made our way to a place called Seondol Beach with beautiful rock formations. It was here that we met our first "fake" people. Everywhere we went, there would be a few young, attractive North Koreans who were very well groomed, wearing new clothes and bright, smiling faces. The propaganda machine was at work. I tried to speak to them with my limited Korean, but the biggest problem was that I couldn't think of anything to talk about. They are worlds away from the Koreans we know. They don't have cell phones or PC rooms, have never heard of the Beatles and never eaten a Big Mac.

Quite a few people had brought digital and video cameras, despite having been clearly told not to at our pre-trip briefing in Seoul. The authorities didn't care, but we were constantly reminded of what we couldn't photograph. This was getting very annoying because the members of the press who were with us were taking photos and footage of everything.

After lunch, it was time to head up the mountain. Passing several guard posts, we rode through the forest next to a stream running down the mountain. When the canopy would open up, we could see the craggy peaks of the mountain and a few waterfalls. Pristinely beautiful can't begin to describe it. There were no people, buildings, ad signs, soju tents or noise except for our motorcycles. I didn't see one piece of trash anywhere. There were monetary fines for littering, spitting, or relieving ourselves in undesignated areas. I did see one rider with his pants down around his ankles hose off the mountain. I guess he didn't get caught.

Up the mountain, the road began to deteriorate into rough gravel and the ride became more difficult. Quite a few riders bailed and there were some injuries. Every bump hammered my crotch into the gas tank, but hey this was fun! We made it to the top to see the valley we had just ridden up through and it was a sight to see. A bit of time was spent up there before we had to head back down for the evening acrobatics show by the NK Circus.

We couldn't keep together for the ride down, so it was each rider for himself. I made it down alone for the ride back to the hotel. This had to be the best part of the whole trip. There I was, alone, riding like a bat out of hell on a road in North Korea. It was such a great feeling, like I could do anything. So what did I do? I turned around and did it again. I saw some guards watching me and I had a feeling I was going to get into trouble for it, but I didn't care. I had that 3km road to myself and I wasn't going to let it end that soon. Luckily, there was no trouble for my shenanigans.

Friday morning we were taken around to the back of the bay where Hyundai has set up a private beach for the tourists with beer and banana boat rides. I guess they're trying to make their own little Haeundae Beach here. Joni Mitchell said it: "They paved paradise and put up a parking lot". In the afternoon we passed through immigration and loaded back on the ferry with a lot of confusion and "hurry up and wait". We were given the wrong info about what to do with our bags and that led to a fiasco. We persevered, though, and said farewell to North Korea.

It was damn cool to ride my bike up there and aside from the physical demands of such a long ride, it was pretty easy all around. Americans can go to the North, so don't believe the hype. They're not going to stamp your passport anyway. Believe me, I tried.

Although expected, it was disappointing about how controlled the tour was and how we were always kept separate from the locals. It was too much Hyundai and not enough North Korea. The next bike tour up there will be in August 2003. KMF is negotiating a land crossing for it. I hope they expand the riding possibilities to make it more enjoyable.