A man from the United States found a way to enter North Korea despite a travel ban being in place.
In early 2025, North Korea reopened its doors to tourists for the first time in five years after closing due to the pandemic.
However, the secretive nation, under the leadership of Kim Jong-un, soon ceased accepting international tourists again.
Youth Pioneer Tours reports that, as of November 1, North Korea (DPRK) is still officially closed to international tourism, except for Russian nationals who are allowed entry under specific conditions.
The timeline for when North Korea might open to tourists again remains uncertain.
Moreover, even if tourists were welcomed back, American passport holders are prohibited from traveling to the country due to an existing travel warning.
The Department of State notes, “US passports cannot be used to travel to, in, or through the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) unless they are specially validated for such travel by the Secretary of State.”
It further states that ‘special validations are granted only in very limited circumstances’.
Despite these restrictions, travel influencer Alex Page devised a method to enter the country.
He applied for dual citizenship in 2024, leveraging his father’s Mexican birthplace. Mexican citizens face no travel advisories for North Korea, allowing him to use his Mexican passport.
While North Korea is not receiving tourists, it does admit amateur athletes participating in events like marathons.
Alex also faced the challenge of securing a flight to North Korea.
Alex detailed to PEOPLE, “I found out I needed a visa to China as well, because the only flights to North Korea go from Beijing, or there’s a couple in Russia, but the only popular one is through Beijing to Pyongyang. I needed a Chinese visa to go back from North Korea into China from there.”
He pondered: “There were so many questions of: ‘Is this even possible? Am I gonna get flagged for making content? Am I going to get flagged for being American? Am I gonna be flagged for not having a visa to China?'”
Ultimately, his determination paid off, and at 23, he successfully entered North Korea to participate in the marathon.
Alex described this experience as the ‘single craziest experience of my life’.
Reflecting on the race, he said, “It felt like we were the star athletes in the Olympics, which is wild because I’m like an amateur runner going to do this.” The marathon, as shared on his TikTok, took place in April.
“Then the professional North Korean runners came out all in uniform, all extremely muscular. They were almost all in flat shoes that looked pretty normal. Then they ran a 2:25 marathon time,” Alex mentioned.
He continued, “The race started, everyone cheered, and we went off after the opening ceremony, and then within a mile, all the pro runners were completely gone.”
“The biggest part of this whole experience was the spectators, because there were thousands and thousands of North Koreans coming to watch this race lined up on the sidelines,” Alex added.
He believes he was the only American to have participated in the race.