Staying in a North Korean's House?! Have a look inside. 🏠

Have you ever wanted to see inside a North Korean’s house? It may shock you to know that you can actually stay in a homestay in North Korea…
There’s one place in North Korea you can stay in a homestay, and it’s pretty cool. There’s a small catch; it’s located in a pretty remote and hardly visited area in North Korea’s northeast Chilbosan region. Which just makes it even more cooler to be honest…
This is the only place you stay stay in a North Korean Homestay and enjoy local North Korean life with the North Korean families who live there.
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Big thanks to my Patrons;
Clarke, James, Charles and Alex.
Without you it’d be hard to keep these videos up!
Join the community here;
Links;
North Korean Homestay - koryogroup.com/travel-guide/n...
Volleyball in Chilbosan. -koryogroup.com/travel-guide/v...
North Korean cooking class in Chilbosan - koryogroup.com/travel-guide/n...
Korean wrestling - koryogroup.com/travel-guide/k...
Mt. Chilbo Region - koryogroup.com/travel-guide/m...
Music: Arirang
Want to go to the homestay?
Some tours -
Mega Tour
koryogroup.com/tours/north-ko...
Budget Tour
koryogroup.com/tours/koryo-no...
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- GET THERE
To get to the Chilbosan region, you have to take an internal flight from Pyongyang - or spend a few days on a train.
It is rarely visited by foreigners, but is famed for its stunning landscapes and fresh air.
- CHILBOSAN (Mt. Chilbo)
Mt Chilbo is named after the ‘Seven Treasures’ of East Asian lore and one of North Korea's famous "5 Peaks".
It is one of North Korea’s most pristine and remote natural attractions.
Unlike many places in the country, the area is relatively untouched by politics, although there are still some mosaics related to the leadership.
The area is famed for its mountain range of peaks, waterfalls and unusually shaped rocks.
These rocks have led to locals telling (often profane) folk stories about the meaning of each shape....
- THE HOMESTAY AREA
The homestay itself is located right next to the sea. In fact, it is just a 2 minute walk to the beach, and a 5 minute walk to walk down to an area you can swim!
It’s a large area with 20 different houses.
When you first drive in, you will arrive in the middle of the homestay village. To the left and to the right are where the houses are situated.
Kim Jong Il visited here in 2006 and stayed in one of the cottages. He stayed in No.16.
On-site, there is also a restaurant located in the centre, as well as a small shop selling books and souvenirs, and a local shop selling drinks and snacks.
You're probably likely to run into a few of the families dogs outside too!
The families that live here are real North Korean families, and go about their daily lives there even when you're not there!
Since there is a large outside area, there is plenty of room to take part in various activities. This includes;
* North Korean food cooking class - where you can make your own noodles and eat them afterwards.
* Korean wrestling - try it out!
* Volleyball with the North Koreans - the local team and members of the family at the homestay
* Swimming
* Beach BBQ - great at sunset
* Hang out with your North Korean family, help them with chores, play with the children, help with cleaning.. etc!
* Enjoy a traditional breakfast of North Korean food cooked by your family!
You also have to try the famous pine mushrooms. These are expensive mushrooms that grown in the north east, famous across the Korean Peninsula and indeed throughout Asia. For the summit in 2018, North Korea sent 2 tons of pine mushrooms to South Korea, the value of which is estimated to be in the region of $1.4 million.
- INSIDE THE HOUSE
Each house is two-story with a kitchen, living room, and your own bedroom.
The bedrooms are basic and traditional. You sleep on a traditional tatami mat floor on a thin mat. The floor is heated.
All houses come with electricity and running water. Although, there is no hot water.
There is also a TV and fan in every house.
The rooms are basic but have everything that you would need. And, if you're lucky, they come with a killer view of the sea - great for watching the sunrise and sunset.
#northkorea #dprk #chilbosan

[@user-tr4ed4ko4g]

In April 2023, a video taken in Hamgyeong-do was obtained. Looking at the statue, villagers sit on the street and talk about their neighbors, saying, "That house is starved to death." It supports the presumption that the food shortage is so serious that there are a series of starvation cases in North Korea

[@kamilzarzycki7163]

What's the title of the video?

[@hannahcat1338]

Another great video x

[@Torchiy]

Thanks for this very informative video. Staying in a North Korean homestay seems much more attractive to me than staying in a typical tourist-oriented hotel.

[@ZoeDiscovers]

Yes right! It's a very unique experience. Hope you can join one day :)

[@scottya2745]

What's the song at the start of the video? Great video by the way, I definitely hope to visit the DPRK some day.

[@ZoeDiscovers]

In the bio 😇

[@CommandoCrossfire]

First! Lovely video ! Can’t wait to visit one day!

[@ZoeDiscovers]

Hope you can!!!

[@mrp8871]

Your videos are incredibly interesting. Thank you ☺️

[@ZoeDiscovers]

Glad you like them!

[@theshaulfamily]

This was so interesting thank you Zoe x

[@ZoeDiscovers]

Glad you enjoyed!!!

[@Phantom-ez4zv]

"theres also tv and fun in every house" lmao, couldnt be more obvious, theres no possible way you said that, someone told you to say it.

[@tamingthetiger]

She was speaking English. She said "fan", not "fun".

[@murillomorgan1914]

great video! But was it fine to sleep on the floor? And another question, Couldn't you take videos from the house? Is there a limitation to that?

[@ZoeDiscovers]

i could! i just wasn't doing vlogs when I went there so didn't take any videos... next tme!!!! and sleeping on the floor is great. good for your back and it's super common in east Asia !

[@gungwahadiprana1757]

Politics aside, this place is so surprising and very beautiful, I agreed that sometimes world should be splitted by politics to be more better place. Also someday I'll go travel there as the first Indonesian who travel the Northeast DPRK. Btw may I know the song name? In the description it's arirang but every music videos aren't matching, could you please give me the full name of the song or link? Thank you for reading my comments!

[@ZonkedOutTCM]

Love the video, was just curious, at 2:54 what is that building used for?

[@ZoeDiscovers]

So this is basically about 5 mins from the homestay area and it's a kind of function hall / restaurant / shower room etc. Imagine on most beach fronts you have these kinds of areas with showers at the bottom and places to buy food/dine etc. We went in there and because it was off-season there wasn't much going on at all, pretty empty.

[@ZonkedOutTCM]

@@ZoeDiscovers Ah makes sense, thanks for the response

[@charlesk1089]

Excellent video. As two questions: 1: I understand that generally on tours to the DPRK the days are highly programmed and often rather frenetic. Is that true for the home stay or is the schedule more relaxed and spontaneous ? 2. I understand that generally on tours to the DPRK one is very tightly limited to only going where, when and if the DPRK guide permits that. For the home stay, is that more relaxed ? Could one go with the home stay family for a spontaneous walk in the woods in the evening or to play a game with a dog ? Thank you.

[@ZoeDiscovers]

Very correct Charles. 1. It is much more relaxed. There isn’t much to “do” in the north east like in Pyongyang, e.g see so many sights and museums, go shopping, restaurants, bars, etc. in the north east there is the homestay and the surrounding areas and hiking in the Chilbosan region. That’s about it! But it’s delightful and much more relaxed, much more natural. It’s very pure ! 2. In the North east it’s a tricky one. They’re newer to tourism so tend to be a bit more strict; so in some respects it’s stricter than being in Pyongyang. But at the same time, you’re also not in the government capital and also not in a place you could walk around and “get lost” in too easily - so it’s a bit of both. Either way, generally more relaxed at the homestay for sure. You can walk around and explore the whole area yourself without a guide 😊

[@charlesk1089]

@@ZoeDiscovers 😊 Thank you.

[@AlanTheOlive]

Making your own noodles then helping cleaning sounds like an amazing time. I would gladly do some chores in that village.

[@GAXE47]

it is interessing video on contryside of DPRK

[@ZoeDiscovers]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@wolfandraven891]

I have a question! I am planning to go to North Korea one day, and would really love to do the homestay, as it allows much more interactions with the locals and the activities are fun. But if you do the homestay, can you also visit the DMZ on top of that? Please answer :)

[@ZoeDiscovers]

Hi! Yes definitely. Usually Pyongyang and DMZ are two main items you visit on a short tour. The north east tour is something you usually do after these things. Have a look at Koryogroup.com for your options, particularly; koryogroup.com/tours/north-korea-national-day-mega-tour-1, koryogroup.com/tours/koryo-north-korea-budget-tour-summer-northeast-adventure-extension

[@wolfandraven891]

@@ZoeDiscovers Thank you! :D

[@fabio2d]

Awesome video! Thanks for doing this!

[@ZoeDiscovers]

Any time!

[@corvusprojects]

Great video, comrade!

[@ZoeDiscovers]

More to come!

[@avus-kw2f213]

Nice House it’s better than the majority of rule housing in North Korea but the new Kim Jong un ones are pretty nice

[@nandayot]

Every new video makes me want to go to NK more and more. Nice video!

[@ZoeDiscovers]

Happy to hear that!

[@change691]

She is paid to spout north Korean propaganda.

[@lawsonrichards2584]

Love to visit Korea, will try in the next 2 years , always been fascinated by this country & culture, how many times have you visited & what would be average budget for 10 -14 days spending money,cheers

[@ZoeDiscovers]

ive been around 30 times, you can visit koryogroup.com for info on tour pricing!

[@tv9004]

The interior of the North Korean house, which has not been open to the public in South Korea for 75 years, is also briefly omitted here. No matter what video you watch, the interior of a North Korean home is not revealed in detail.

[@ZoeDiscovers]

next time I go i'll do more vids - this was from before I started vlogging so only have a few pics

[@maxignr79]

The only English reporter I like to see and listen. Good video .

[@ZoeDiscovers]

Thanks!!

[@semilyezhuregimbekov]

Where can I register for the tours on the countryside?

[@ZoeDiscovers]

koryogroup.com!

[@semilyezhuregimbekov]

@@ZoeDiscovers Understood, Thank you for your information, I have been dreaming to have a tour in DPRK 😁

[@cazv2593]

That sounds brilliant. I'd love to go to the North Korean homestay. I'd like to visit North Korea, but I don't much like being stuck in a city. You've said it's more relaxed than other tours, so do you have to participate in the activities, or can you spend more time wandering about on the beach and being lazy? ;)

[@ZoeDiscovers]

Well as a group tour you should take part in all activities on the itinerary - unless all of you as a group decide you just want to be lazy and hang out on the beach 😂 but it is definitely a less packed itinerary and lots of things like hiking you can just enjoy by yourself (it’s a 2hr hike and everyone goes at their own pace~)

[@euan7166]

I had one booked before covid :( disappointed I didn't get to go, but glad for my bank balance. Hope to do it one day.

[@ZoeDiscovers]

I hope so too!!!

[@avus-kw2f213]

5:20 wow that’s like 5000 tons of wheat

[@DavidNunezPNW]

She really made this video without saying how you can book a homestay like this, wtf?

[@ZoeDiscovers]

Lololol sorry! I guess it’s because you can’t book it at the moment because borders are closed! The info is in the bio! 🎉

[@tuk2931]

Meglio di un appartamento a Milano comunque

[@vatodad]

I guess I just have a problem with using the word "normal" so much. Nothing about your stay was even close to "normal" for anyone who lives outside the capital. Having electricity and running water is extremely abnormal. Heated floors are almost unheard of. Most of the hotels do not have heating. The people you met or anything but normal. They had to have the correct rating and they were specifically trained by the government. All of the people are virtual slaves as they cannot even choose their own career or mate and certainly do not have the ability to choose to live in a resort village. They are hand picked to fool you into promoting their lies. I certainly agree that all of the Asian cultures are magnificent and that there are some amazing lands in North Korea. But the Kim regime is purely evil and denies all of its people even the most basic human rights. Only those who engage and they're disturbing activities are are allowed to have a decent life. This excludes 90% of the people! Again the only reasons that North Korea allows tourism are 1) cash for the evil regime and 2) to promote propaganda. You are serving your master's well!

[@dodykusumanto8377]

"Heated floors are almost unheard of". Then, you know nothing of Korean culture. So GTFO.

[@allhandlestaken]

Well said!

[@MAFLORENCIA]

I agree. I've read books about Korean defectors and it's honestly disgusting how this woman supports a country with such things.

[@ZoeDiscovers]

Unfortunately your main point on why NK allows tourism is wrong. By the time everything else is paid there is little money left over to go to the regime and even if it did it's so minimal it would literally be max a few thousand dollars; which is nothing to a regime that has so many projects focused on money making on the go. This is shown by covid closures as well... they're certainly in no rush to open the country back up to tourism... I would also argue that the people I met are also "normal"; just because they have to fit certain conditions in order to host foreigners, does that make them abnormal? The people I saw and spoke to on the street, also abnormal? Is normal only fitting that category when it represents the masses? In which case which 'mass' is normal to represent in North Korea? The upper class in Pyongyang? Those in camps? Those without electricity in the countryside? Those enjoying illicit border transactions in border towns? Because I feel like it can't just be represented by one category and one category alone.

[@w7lves]

You literally took time out of your day to go around her channel to spout the same recycled shit about “paid propagandist” and “prison camps” or whatever. Get a life dude😂

[@FRFC2020]

Is North Korea opening up for tourism again? Been wanting to visit from The Netherlands 🇳🇱

[@ZoeDiscovers]

Unfortunately still not open ! Let’s hope for later this year or next year 🤞

[@baddie1shoe]

Please do not support that regime with your tourist dollars.

[@duplighostproductions7616]

It's rather immoral to go to north Korea with your freedom with those living there have to suffer under tyranny...going to North Korea is not a good experience for anyone I'd seriously reconsider if anyone intends to go there.

[@dlight9849]

Zoe, I've watched several defectors on YT who say tape worms and parasites in people are a common problem in North Korea. Do you know about this? Did you or anyone you know experience this? I have wanted to visit DPR Korea for years, but the tapeworm and/or parasite issue scares me.

[@TeamEternalEmpire]

she works for the governament, even if she want talk about the defectors she couldn't, there are two north Korea, the high level people and the normal citizen, the content produced by the high level ones will make you like the country

[@murillomorgan1914]

@@TeamEternalEmpire so you really believe the people on the video are actors? They are not real people? They're being paid to act? Is that your theory?

[@change691]

They use human waste as fertilizer so you will definitely get parasites from eating the food there. She won't answer your questions because she cannot admit the truth, she's paid for her propaganda by north Korea.

[@Rssika]

​@@TeamEternalEmpireThanks, south Korean intelligence agent.

[@annaneves8289]

I have no idea why you don't got more views, you're amazing! Actually I know why, you're not like these desperate for attention anti-socislists who put "Went to North Korea and almost got killed 😱😱" in the title 😂😂 Loved and actually had no idea tourists could stay in locals home 😀 Your videos are amazing 😍😍😍 please keep doing it 😭😭 and sorry for my bad English, I'm from Brazil :/ Communism will win ♥️

[@hannahcat1338]

Very well wrote, Zoe is under rated and she is lovely.

[@solvermelho9721]

Tamo junto, camarada Anna 🇰🇵

[@tinyhope7861]

It’s sad that not all North Korea is like that that’s probably where the leader lives

[@gunnaraas218]

Source: made it up

[@Dave-kj4vr]

Are there any gulags there too?

[@dodykusumanto8377]

I don't know what you mean. But every country have prison. So get over it.

[@tagomisan2865]

Yeah they hold your mom there in a 20 ton capsule

[@NewportKings69]

@@dodykusumanto8377 most countries let their prisoners out alive I can’t say the same about Otto warmbier

[@dodykusumanto8377]

@@NewportKings69 Otto left Korean prison alive technically.

[@baddie1shoe]

It’s unconscionable to support that regime as a tourist. You encourage their suffering.

[@ZoeDiscovers]

I have a video on the ethics of visiting north korea, feel free to have a watch kzbin.info/www/bejne/foG6o6KgptyUa8k

[@NewportKings69]

Bro she doesn’t care. You’re shouting into the void. This girl would drink bottles orphan tears as long as she was getting paid a bag

[@romipunz]

You are so incredibly brainwashed by the imperialist machine. Learn about the Korean war and what the USA did to the peninsula, learn about Juche philosophy, learn abour how the Peasant and working masses of Korea viewed Kim Il Sung. Read Patriots Traitors and Empires by Stephen Gowans.

[@yca4309]

Hey what are u doing for north korea then?

[@baddie1shoe]

@@NewportKings69 lol

[@gokurose8651]

Boring

[@user-ge5to8fp7b]

My cat has a better home life