As the economic gap between China and North Korea widens, more and more young Chinese people are traveling to North Korea to see the sort of poverty their parents endured, China's Xinkuai Bao reported on Thursday.
About thirty years ago, before Deng Xiaoping began reforms, China's economy was similar to that of North Korea. But now youngsters from China which is brightly illuminated at night are visiting North Korea where the electricity is cut off after dark.
"Cheez, Mom, this place is a dump!"
"Yes, number one son, it's just like going home [sniff]!"
The tourists usually go by train to North Korea through the Chinese border city of Dandong. The Chinese youngsters look different from their North Korean counterparts, with their trendy clothes, digital cameras, and loud laughter at tourist attractions like Panmunjon.
North Korean authorities ask the tourists to use the euro, but the Chinese prefer to use the Chinese yuan. That means the yuan is now accepted as hard currency at most sightseeing spots in North Korea. |