Science and technology are a propellant for building a thriving country, and the happiness of the people and the future of the country hinge on their development.
Kim JONG UN
It was in spring 2018 when Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un discovered their mutual friendship and engaged in a surprising – but, as we know, not so long lasting – friendship. It seemed as if the ice was melting on the Korean peninsula ! Just one year after having been invited to a medical/IT conference in Seoul, I was about to draw plans to set foot in the North, Pyongang, capital of the People Democratic Republic of Korea.
Setting foot in North Korea, how about doing this in a sportive way ? For instance, by repeating footsteps just about ten thousand times scaling the half-marathon distance (21.0975km) in the streets of the capital of one of the planets’s most isolated countries. I was able to get a seat on a tour organized by a Chinese agency offering ordinary westerners (with the exception of people holding a US passport) the opportunity to travel to North Korea and participate in the Pyongyang International (Half)Marathon.
Eventually, after a vaction stay with my son in Dubai, I was heading East alone to spend one night in Shanghai before boarding on 06 April 2018 flight JS158, one of Air-Koryo’s Antonow An-148 aircraft. What a change: Dubai – Shanghai – Pyongyang !
Alltogether, I spent 3 exciting days in the city. I traveled to the DMZ to catch a view across the border to see the South Korean flag waiving on the other side of the fence, delimited by the famous lineup of small blue wooden baracks hosting the UN troups. On the morning of the last day, the actual running was a very mixed experience: extremely hard since I had to drag myself along the track due to an upset stomach and shivers (I tried to spare myself any thoughts of requiring medical treatment inside the country), on the other side: The surreal aspect of smiling, cheerful North-Koreans supporting my lost capitalist soul on the race track, having ample room on the empty streets of the capital decorated by big, colorful posters proclaiming the potent destruction of their ennemies.
after a long journey, once I arrived back in Frankfurt, I found a note stuck under the windshield wipers of my car: “You made it !” (merci Sylviane !)