A billboard advertisement for the sale of North Korean produced cars and trucks of the Pyeonghwa Motor company.
Perhaps I missed them last year, or perhaps they are new, but this year I found two more vehicle billboards each located in the countryside outside Pyongyang – In 2011 I saw only one car advertisement billboard located in the Pyongyang city center. In my first post about the North Korean vehicle billboards I made the simple suggestion that perhaps the Pyongyang vehicle billboard advertisement is an indication of capitalism creeping its way into the North Korean system, but upon further investigation I have found it suggested that these billboards are nothing more than propaganda.
With such a low production output, 314 cars produced in 2003 and 400 in 2005, I think the case made that these advertisements are simply propaganda is pretty valid.
I work as a Chief Mate on U.S.-flagged oceanographic research ships. The voyages and expeditions I have worked brought me from the Yangtze River of China, to the icebergs off Cape Horn South America, Antarctica, and many other points around the world.
My passion is world travel and I have spent the last 13 years working and independently traveling through over 90 countries. I have no home and live out of a backpack I also love to read literature, study history, and make trouble where and when I can.
Traveling to North Korea has been a life changing experience but it's far from being my only one. I have hiked at Mt. Everest, worked as a white water rafting guide, hung out with rebels and liberation armies in various war zones, been killed off in a Chinese kung-fu film, studied Vietnamese at a university in Hanoi, and most recently I received the US Coast Guard's highest license, Master Unlimited.
In 2013 I became a partner and guide with Young Pioneer Tours. I spend my 5 months of vacation a year working the cutting edge of experimental travel, not only in North Korea, but in Iran, Eastern Europe, and remote parts of Asia - places your parents wished you stayed away from!
Travel to North Korea
I am always available to offer DPRK travel advice, and if my professional work schedule allows I may be available to custom design and lead your private tour to the DPRK.
Upcoming 2013 DPRK Trips:
Spring season is over, more info to come about my October trips.
I also expect to be helping out Young Pioneer Tours with their big November 2013 Eurasian Tour: Trans Siberian Express Beijing to Moscow, Minsk, Kiev, Chernobyl, Odessa, Transnistria, Moldova, and Romania.
For more info email me:
joseph@youngpioneertours.com
josephferris76@yahoo.com
Testimonials
Great trips! YPT knows how to throw one of a kind, fun-filled tours, and Captain Joseph Ferris III is an awesome guide. Great times, will surely be back for more. I'm not just saying this based on one trip. I've went in with Joe three times this year. We had a blast, rain or shine!
When I decided to visit North Korea, my friends thought I had finally lost it, but they weren’t surprised. I travel a lot, and looked to completely change the paradigm of trips to something unique. The DPRK was that for me. It was a life experience that brought a bond with foreigners who decided to travel on this crazy journey. The photos I took circulated several large websites and serve as treasured memories. And my stories at get togethers are the stuff of legend.
