5 Night Marathon Tour from Beijing

Arrival Day in Pyongyang

• Train transfer at Dandong Station from overnight sleeper train to the Dandong-Pyongyang local train. Our local representative in Dandong will assist with the transfer. Train crosses the China-North Korea border followed by North Korean customs and immigration.
• Flight departure from Beijing on Air Koryo - flight times are TBC and subject to change. Currently expected to depart around midday/early afternoon. A 1.5-hour flight with basic lunch.
• Arrival to Pyongyang's Sunan International Airport (FNJ). DPRK immigration and customs, meet your Korean guides and transfer to the city.
• Train arrival to Pyongyang Railway Station expected at 6:45pm.
• Check into the Yanggakdo International Hotel, Pyongyang - home away from home for most (but not all!) foreign visitors to Pyongyang, this 47-story hotel is located on an island in the middle of the Taedong River and offers great views of the city. Comfortable rooms and comprehensive leisure facilities: swimming pool, spa, billiards, bowling, gift shops, tea houses and beer brewed on-site

Pyongyang City Tour

• Mansudae Fountain Park | The historic centre of Pyongyang popular with local citizens after school and on weekends. Flanked by examples of ancient and modern architecture from different eras.
• Mansudae Grand Monument | Enormous bronze statues of President Kim Il Sung and Leader Kim Jong Il overlooking downtown Pyongyang. A presentation of flowers and bow by the group is customary here (5 EUR). Please note this is a government-administered sight and visits are subject to cancellation. Visitations are by special request only and decent dress is required (close-toed shoes and covered legs and shoulders).
• Chollima Monument | or ‘thousand ri (400 km or 250 mile) horse’ -a symbol of speed- commemorating the quick rebuilding of the country in the 1950s following the Korean War.
• Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum | Tour this world-class museum led by a local museum guide. Renovated in 2012 and it exhibits the Korean War from the DPRK perspective containing artefacts, documents, photos, and lifelike dioramas. The exterior grounds house the War Victory Monument and displays of Korean People’s Army Hero Equipment and captured equipment from the US military, including the USS Pueblo. Central to the understanding of the country today and highlight of the trip.
• Kim Il Sung Square | Pyongyang’s central square lined with government ministries, museums, and The Grand People’s Study House.
• Foreign Languages Bookshop | Store selling Korean publications translated into English, German, French, Russian, Chinese, and Spanish. Also pick up DVDs, postcards, and small works of art.
• Okryugwan | A meal at Pyongyang’s most famous restaurant. Housed in a huge traditional building on the banks of the Taedong River. Okryugwan specialises in Pyongyang Cold Noodles.
• Grand People’s Study House | Huge national library and public university housed in a large neo-traditional Korean building overlooking Kim Il Sung Square and the downtown Pyongyang.
• Pyongyang Metro Tour | One of the deepest metro systems in the world with stunning artwork reflecting the name of each station. Ride six stations on the Chollima Line.
• Arch of Triumph | A massive archway made for the 70th anniversary of the birth of President Kim Il Sung in 1982 and commemorating the liberation of Korea from Japanese colonial rule in 1945. Larger than its counterpart in Paris.
• Golden Lane Bowling Centre | Where Pyongyang locals go for their ten-pin fix (2.5 EUR per person per game). Also has billiards and arcade games. Non-bowlers can head next door to the Kumrung Leisure Centre for an airgun shooting range (approximately 6 EUR per 20 round cartridge) and some of the best coffee in Pyongyang.
• Future Scientist Street | An evening stroll around of of Pyongyang's newest districts

Overnight | Yanggakdo International Hotel, Pyongyang.

Pyongsong & Nampo

• Early Morning Run in Pyongyang | Your chance for a pre-marathon run in Pyongyang! You will have to be up early for this, a good opportunity to give yourself some preparation for the following day's big event. Optional activity, for those that don't participate you can enjoy a sleep in.
• Drive 45 minute north to Pyongsong, a satellite city of Pyongyang, centre of science and technological research, and the provincial seat of South Pyong’an province.
• Pyongsong City Square | Central square of Pyongsong City with statues of the DPRK leadership and flanked by the provincial revolutionary museum. Presentation of flowers customary.
• Tok Song Primary School | The area's top primary school for gifted students. Tour the school's classrooms & facilities, watch music & dance performances by the students, and test your ping pong skills against them in the gymnasium.
• Konji-ri Revolutionary Site | Location of the headquarters of the Korean People's Army & home of Kim Il Sung during the Korean War. Tour the renovated buildings and learn about life there during the war.
• Drive back to Pyongyang for lunch
• Nampo | Drive west along the ‘Youth Hero Highway’ to this port city of Pyongyang on the Taedong River estuary. A 45 minute to 1-hour drive.
• West Sea Barrage | An 8 km concrete, steel, and earthen barrage constructed between the Taedong River estuary and the West Sea for land reclamation, irrigation, flood prevention, and power generation. It also acts as a ship lock and fish ladder. One of the DPRK’s greatest engineering feats.
• Local Factory | Nampo is a major industrial area of the DPRK, we'll visit one of the local factories to see and learn more about the industrial side of the country. We will visit either a glass factory, mineral water bottling plant or if we're lucky the famous Chollima Steelworks. Please note that factory visits may depend on on-site activities/conditions.
• Chongsam-ri Co-operative Farm | The DPRK’s most famous and iconic model farm. Visited hundreds of times by Kim Il Sung, the place where the ‘Chongsam-ri Method’ was developed (they will explain on-site). See how the farming system works, visit a farmhouse, the local shop, kindergarten and see the fields and greenhouses.
• Return to Pyongyang
• Kim Il Sung Stadium & Marathon Route Preview | Visit the stadium where you will start and finish your race, and then drive the marathon route to familiarise yourself with the roads, turning points and toilet stops.
• Dinner @ local restaurant
• Yanggakdo International Cinema | Optional screening of Run and Run, a DPRK film about marathon runner Yong Ho who faces the physical and mental struggles of marathon participation. After both his father and work unit manager tell him to stop running, he becomes more determined to achieve his marathon dream. The film will be shown at the Pyongyang International House of Cinema (80 RMB entry fee paid on the spot). A Koryo Tours exclusive and sure to provide you with motivation ahead of the big event!

Overnight | Yanggakdo International Hotel, Pyongyang.

The big event! The Pyongyang Marathon 2024!

• The 2024 Pyongyang Marathon | this is your chance to run the streets of Pyongyang in the DPRK’s largest annual sports event! Join the Full Marathon, Half Marathon, 10km or 5km race — all of which follow a return course that starts and ends in Kim Il Sung Stadium in front of a 50-000-strong capacity crowd of local Koreans. The full route, which has been certified by both the IAAF and AIMS, leads right through the city centre, past a number of iconic landmarks, and then out into Pyongyang's less urban districts. Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to see more of the capital and interact with people along the course. Prizes are available for the winners of each race.
• Shower, resting time and lunch | After the marathon's closing ceremony, we'll be heading back to the hotel to recharge, shower and rest
• Kwangbok Department Store | Opportunity to use Korean currency and shop with the citizens of Pyongyang! Try the snack stand on the first floor for some of Pyongyang’s best local eats.
• Tower of the Juche Idea | Iconic tower dedicated to the DPRK’s guiding philosophy on the Taedong River. Take the elevator to the top for great views of the city (elevator ticket is 5 EUR).
• Party Foundation Monument | Iconic structure featuring the hammer, sickle & writing brush which make up the emblem of the Worker’s Party of Korea and represent workers, farmers, and intellectuals.
• Local Beer Bar | Relax at one of Pyongyang’s local bars to wrap up an exciting day.

Overnight | Yanggakdo International Hotel, Pyongyang.

Historic Kaesong and the DMZ Tour

• Kaesong | Drive 160 km south the 'Reunification Highway' to  the historic capital of the Koryo Dynasty (918-1392) and today located near the Korean Demilitarized Zone. A 3-hour drive.
• Panmunjom Armistice Village and DMZ | The site of the signing of the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War and the demarcation line between north and south. On some days it is possible to visit the hut straddling the line, where negotiations between both sides once took place. Here we will be accompanied by military guides from the Korean People's Army.
• Kaesong Koryo Museum | Once the Songgyung Academy, a Confucian school, and now a museum on the Koryo Dynasty exhibiting historical objects, statues, pagodas, and porcelain from that era. A UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Kaesong Korean Stamp Exhibition Hall | Store selling stamps, postcards, local ginseng, souvenirs, art, and more! One of the best postcard collections in the country and friendly staff.
• Traditional Royal Korean Lunch (pangsanggi) | A meal made of 12 dishes served in brass bowls fit for the kings of old. The more dishes, the more distinguished the guest! Traditional Korean 'sweet meat soup' is an option here (5 EUR).
• Sariwon Folk Village and City View | Mock-up of a traditional Korean town which includes a history museum, food street, and pavilions. There is a small tavern selling Makkoli, traditional rice wine. Climb a nearby hill for a view of Sariwon City and the surrounding plains.
• Monument to the Three-Charters of the Reunification | Iconic arch over the Pyongyang-Kaesong Highway dedicated to joint meeting between Koreas, north and south. Also known as the ‘Arch of Reunification’.
• Duck Barbecue Restaurant | South Pyongyang’s famous grilled duck restaurant.

Overnight | Yanggakdo International Hotel, Pyongyang.

Departure Day

Departure Day from Pyongyang and Return to Beijing by flight or train.

Flight departure from Pyongyang on Air Koryo with an expected arrival at Beijing Capital Airport (PEK) Terminal 2 by midday.

OR

Train departure by local train to the Korean-Chinese border at 10:25 am, transfer in Dandong and onward travel to Beijing with scheduled arrival to Beijing Station on Wednesday, April 14th at 08:30 am. For this tour the default option is hard sleeper (six beds per berth).