The following article is the thirteenth in a multipart series by Gareth Johnson of Young Pioneer Tours about being a North Korea tour guide. Views expressed in columns are exclusively the author’s own and do not represent those of NK News.

Study tours are nothing new in the world of tourism, combining sightseeing with opportunities to learn the local language and immerse oneself in another culture.

This travel trend came relatively late to North Korea, a country that doesn’t even allow independent tourists. Yet once they arrived, study tours to the DPRK proved to be very popular, specifically language tours