Lisa Ling sneaks inside the Hermit Kingdom:

I have traveled to many places on many continents, but I never felt my personal freedom limited as much as it was during our time in North Korea. North Korea is usually off-limits to foreigners—especially to Americans.

In order to film the work of Dr. Ruit, a Nepalese eye surgeon, the only way that I could enter the secretive state was to go undercover posing as part of his medical team. Ruit’s goal is to heal patients in poor countries who have gone blind from cataracts.

My cameraman and I hoped that we would also get glimpses of real life in North Korea. It turned out to be one of the hardest assignments I had.

The government sent us six (!) minders who accompanied us all the way from Katmandu, Nepal to North Korea and back. In Pyongyang they took away our passports and cell phones. There wasn’t a moment when we could wander off and walk around unobserved. I had to stay within eyesight of the hotel, so I jogged in circles around the compound. This is what prison must feel like.

Despite the heavy escort, Lisa captured enough footage to piece together a full documentary for National Geographic, which includes some morbidly fascinating scenes.

Here’s a clip:

And part 2:

You can purchase a copy of Inside North Korea here.

Hotel Tango: GI Korea @ Milblogs

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