International Influencers in North Korea: Tourists or ‘Accidental Propagandists’?

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Introduction

When North Korea unexpectedly closed its borders in February/March, despite still having foreign tourist groups within the country, many analysts speculated that the decision was drawn from concerns regarding the social media uploads and increased international attention. However, a month later, borders reopened for the Pyongyang International Marathon. Many of the travelers to Pyongyang were the same visitors from the Rason group, and they also happened to be full-time content creators. At this time, another wave of North Korea-related content flooded social media platforms.

While creators openly acknowledged the strict filming restrictions within the country, comparisons made on the related commentaries found within the Rason vlogs and Pyongyang vlogs indicate no shift in the DPRK’s regulations. With a close analysis of the actual images presented by the creators, I suggest that North Korea permitted these individuals to enter the country, document their experience, and publish it online as a revamped propaganda strategy. At a time when traditional propaganda strategies may not resonate as effectively with people, North Korea has adjusted to the changing times and is employing up-to-date tactics to promote a favorable view of itself and establish legitimacy.

North Korea’s Recent Tourism Push

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) imposed a stringent lockdown that barred foreign travelers from entering the country. This suspension remained in effect until late last year, when the regime slowly began allowing Chinese and Russian visitors to enter the country and travel to select locations. Surprisingly, the North Korean state later expanded these travel opportunities by extending the range of sites open to visitors and widening eligibility for entry.

In February 2025, a very limited number of visitors were permitted to enter the country and visit the Rason Special Economic Zone. Members of this group included travelers from England, Argentina, India, and more, marking the DPRK’s first attempts in over five years to rewelcome international tourists from beyond China and Russia. However, just a month later, in early March, these visits were abruptly suspended. Borders closed while a group of tourists was still within the country, and no information was released on why this happened or for how long the circumstance will persist.

The next month, in April, North Korea’s borders unexpectedly reopened to many’s surprise for the 31st edition of the Pyongyang International Marathon. Held in honor of Kim Il-Sung’s birthday, the sports event was the first iteration of the annual marathon held in six years, hosting hundreds of runners from more than 40 countries to participate in the full marathon, half marathon, 10-kilometer, and 5-kilometer races. Koryo Tours, the Marathon’s exclusive travel partner, announced that amateur runners were also welcome to participate in the event this year. In previous years, only elite runners from socialist and nonaligned states were invited.^[1] As a result, many non-professional athletes entered North Korea and participated in the race.

A “Glimpse of Life” Into North Korea

The sudden influx of foreign tourists into the country was paired with an unprecedented spread of North Korea-related media online. Interestingly, many of the visitors permitted into the country were well-established [travel] content creators with platforms extending from YouTube, Instagram, and other social media networks. Some of the notable channels from the Rason tour group include ‘Ojwojtek’ from Poland (926k subscribers), ‘Mike Okay’ and ‘Zoe Discovers’ from Great Britain (747K and 21.2K subscribers respectively), and ‘Ale Salvino’ from Argentina (51.4K subscribers). The Pyongyang tour group included ‘Harry Jaggard’ and ‘Matt and Julia’ from the UK (2.47M subscribers and 302K subscribers respectively), Travel with AK from India (1.13M subscribers), and ’iGoBart’ from the Netherlands/South Korea (255K subscribers).

Covering the notorious ‘North Korea’, this content naturally piqued public interest; many are curious to obtain a rare glimpse into life within the hermit kingdom, and for the first time in years, this is the most on-site coverage provided by foreign visitors. This sole fact immediately garnered the attention of millions around the globe. The added variety in format (photo carousels and short/long form videos), style (vlog and investigative), location (Rason and Pyongyang), and creators catered to a wider audience, generating further interest. All coupled with the easy accessibility to these materials through social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube, suddenly, millions of eyes were on and “in” North Korea.

Among the content shared online, videos uploaded onto YouTube received the most traction. The platform offers a wide variety of content categories, and one of the most widely searched for and watched genres is travel. Within the broad category of travel content also exists the ‘dark tourism’ niche. Creators belonging to this group travel to controversial destinations associated with conflict and tragedy.

Travel videos are popular because they offer audiences the possibility to see the world from home through their screens. Many creators upload this type of content as a visual diary of their journeys, known as a ‘vlog’, and some even aim to educate and entertain others by sharing their experiences, insights, and more. Videos falling under the ‘dark tourism’ genre often take a more investigative tone, and many creators usually attempt to shed new light on these places, looking to unveil new truths. While the DPRK is not a frequently traveled-to country among the general public, restrictions aside, it is definitely a destination on the radar for many of these creators with interests in exploring and showcasing obscure places. With the DPRK’s reopening of borders this year, a few have finally been able to check it off their bucket list, eager to see what lies within. As a result, many of the emerging videos that document travels to North Korea take the ‘vlog’ form. With some of the creators belonging to the ‘dark tourism’ niche, some videos also adopt a more investigative approach in their narrative style.

North Korea’s Self-Curation

The subjective experience of an event naturally differs from person to person. That of the individuals who visited North Korea, documented their travels, and shared them online had been made public for the world to watch and observe. A vlog’s inherent purpose is to capture an experience and share it for what it is. Many of the creators who toured North Korea have also emphasized their objective to observe, understand, and document the daily lives of the people living in the countries they travel to and attempt to offer the world a fresh perspective. This same motivation applied to their North Korea-related content. Beyond presenting landmarks and activities on their itineraries, these creators invite their viewers into their personal journeys by offering unfiltered interactions, reactions, observations, reflective commentary, and more.

All visitors to Rason (and later, Pyongyang) were offered the same experience; Entry into the DPRK was only possible through tours booked with either Koryo Tours or Young Pioneer Tours, and each of their itineraries included the same sites, activities, and sights. As analyzed by Kim et al in 2007, North Korea’s tourism activities fall under three categories: political or ideology-based attractions, heritage resources, and/or natural resources.^[2] Throughout the vlogs uploaded documenting travels to Rason and/or Pyongyang, we see these tropes emerge. For instance, the stops to the DPRK-Russia friendship house, the slogan trees, and the Mansudae Grand Monument fall under the ‘political or ideology-based attractions’ category; visits to art museums, the Pyongyang National Library, and cultural performances (from taekwondo demonstrations to ‘K-pop’ style dancing) fall under the ‘heritage resources’ category; and hiking excursions or trips to Rason’s deer park or Pyongyang’s Kangdong Greenhouse Complex belong to the ‘natural resources’ category.

These three kinds of tourism activities collectively comprise North Korea's ‘socialist-style tourism’ and serve as a means to fulfill its five main functions designated by Kim Jong Un. As defined by academic North Korean literature, the roles of socialist tourism (in order of importance) are: to serve as propaganda, promote economic development, enhance material and cultural living, support environmental protection, and augment state financial revenues.^[3] Tourists may not wander and explore the country without authorized supervision, so all the sites, activities, and sights they experience are carefully selected to ensure they observe and absorb the North Korean state’s virtues and symbols. The itineraries tourists are obliged to follow are intended to promote socialist ideologies to foreigners, foster sympathy for North Korea’s Juche ideology, discredit negative publicity on communism and socialism, and legitimize the North Korean state and Kim Jong Un’s leadership.^[4]

The Rason vlog videos uploaded by some tourists have garnered huge attention worldwide, with each upload having accumulated between 22,000 to 8.9 million view counts so far. The comment sections under these videos and external online forums, like Reddit, have been flooded with mixed opinions from around the world, and many viewers have expressed their criticisms of North Korea. A few analysts have speculated that the DPRK’s suspension of tourism may have been a response to harsh online reactions. For instance, Oh Gyeong-seob, a researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, suggested that tourism will likely remain curtailed until the regime identifies and implements stricter control measures.^[5] However, just a month later, North Korea reopened its borders to foreign tourists for the Pyongyang International Marathon, and more vlog-style content emerged online.

In their vlogs, influencer travelers to Pyongyang portrayed a range of different experiences, including their participation in the marathon, group tours, and dinners. Their ability to film and share all of these moments does not suggest that tighter controls were imposed for the second tourism efforts, following less than a month after the abrupt closure of borders in February. This idea is further emphasized by the fact that even creators who had previously traveled to Rason in March and uploaded their footage were permitted to return, such as Zoe Discovers. Additionally, when comparing the commentary provided within these videos, it appeared that the Rason tourists had more complaints than the Pyongyang tourists regarding the strict surveillance. This might reflect a range of variables, including personal expectations and itinerary differences. Nonetheless, both groups appeared to encounter similar, if not the same, filming guidelines. These observations challenge the theory that tourism was abruptly suspended in March to allow the North Korean state to identify and implement tighter controls on filming.

Although all tourists faced extremely strict filming guidelines, as mentioned in their videos, it is notable that they were still granted entry into the country, allowed to film, and publish. Tourists in North Korea all have a very strict itinerary they must follow, and they cannot explore outside those bounds and on their own, making for a very curated experience. As they are only shown what the state wants them to see, they are allowed to record and share with the outside world. Although North Korea ultimately lacks full control over what is later said by these tourists in terms of experience, insights, etc, they still have authority and control over the actual visual images portrayed about the country. As a result, North Korea crafts an image for the outside world to see.

Conclusion

Over the past few years, content creators (also known as ‘micro-influencers’) have been increasingly integrated into strategic political and ideological campaigns. By leveraging their wide-reaching platforms, localized outreach, and perceived credibility, these individuals serve as effective intermediaries for promoting narratives and values without overt markers of traditional propaganda or bots/sock puppets.^[6] With their large social media followings and strong online communities, governing actors have identified content creators as powerful tools to pursue soft power objectives.

North Korea has been advancing its propaganda operations over the last decade. With the world now living in a digital age, traditional media forms no longer reach and impress audiences the way they once did. Instead, social networking platforms have evolved to become the primary sources for community, entertainment, and information. These digital spaces, which are globally accessible, have provided the DPRK with a powerful new venue for disseminating materials and directly reaching foreign audiences. Although the state’s original efforts at employing this tactic by utilizing its own domestic influencers failed, the regime has identified international content creators as a tool to subtly disseminate pro-regime messages and disinformation abroad.

It is specified on various tour operator websites, including Koryo Tours and Young Pioneer Tours, that visas are not issued to journalists (unless they are invited by North Korean authorities under special circumstances). While most content creators are not formally journalists, their roles often overlap—both share information, educate, and entertain. Although being a journalist typically requires formal training and credentials, content creators have a comparable influence to shape public perception, particularly in the current digital age.^[7] 

As previously mentioned, vlogs aim to capture unfiltered experiences and may adopt an investigative tone similar to documentaries. Given North Korea's reputation as the "hermit kingdom" due to its political, social, and economic isolation, there is natural curiosity about life inside. For content creators working within the travel or "dark tourism" niches, producing material that "unveils truths" about such a secretive and misunderstood nation aligns with their brand and draws significant public interest.

As these creators already have a set global audience interested in travel-related content, along with wide-reaching platforms, they can vastly circulate this curated image crafted by the DPRK. Instead of investing in more efforts to build its own domestic influencers, the North Korean regime is able to utilize these already established foreign influencers to portray its state-approved image. As creators share their experiences through vlogs (‘true’ recounts) and are not officially state-linked actors, they do not violate any of the social media platforms’ guidelines. By accepting these internationally known content creators into the country as tourists and allowing them to record and upload their footage online, the North Korean state has subtly employed them as accidental propagandists in their operation. 

Bibliography

Dean J. Ouellette, "Understanding the ‘Socialist Tourism’ of North Korea Under Kim Jong Un," North Korean Review 16, no. 1 (Spring 2020), p. 55-81.

Kim Hyun-bin, “N. Korea Halts Foreign Tourism Abruptly Amid Concerns Over Influencers,” The Korea Times, March 5, 2025. https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/foreignaffairs/northkorea/20250305/n-korea-halts-foreign-tourism-abruptly-amid-concerns-over-influencers.

Lekan Otufodunrin, “Media Career Q&A: Difference between Journalism and Content Creation?” Media Career Development Network, June 12, 2024. https://mediacareerng.org/media-career-qa-difference-between-journalism-and-content-creation/.

Sammy Westfall, “North Korea Hosts International Marathon After Six-year Pause,” The Washington Post, April 7, 2025. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/04/07/north-korea-pyongyang-marathon/.

Samuel C. Woolley, "Digital Propaganda: The Power of Influencers," Journal of Democracy 33, no. 3 (July 2022): p. 119-123.

Samuel Seongseop Kim, Dallen J. Timothy, and Hag-Chin Han, "Tourism and Political Ideologies: A Case of Tourism in North Korea," Tourism Management 28 (2007), p. 1031–1043.

^[1] Westfall, “North Korea Hosts International Marathon After Six-year Pause.”

^[2] Kim, Timothy, and Han, "Tourism and Political Ideologies,”, p. 1035.

^[3] Ouellette, "Understanding the ‘Socialist Tourism’ of North Korea Under Kim Jong Un," p. 68.

^[4] Kim, Timothy, and Han, "Tourism and Political Ideologies," p. 1032.

^[5] Kim “N. Korea Halts Foreign Tourism Abruptly Amid Concerns Over Influencers.”

^[6] Woolley, "Digital Propaganda: The Power of Influencers."

^[7] Otufodunrin, “Difference between Journalism and Content Creation?”