Influencer who ran marathon in North Korea explains why it was the 'craziest experience of his life'
An American man managed to make his way into North Korea despite an ongoing travel ban.
North Korea started welcoming tourists again for the first time in five years in early 2025, having closed its borders because of the pandemic.
However, just a few weeks later, the famously private country, run by Kim Jong-un, stopped welcoming international tourists once more.
According to Young Pioneer Tours, as of November 1, North Korea (DPRK) remains officially closed to international tourism, with the sole exception of Russian nationals who are currently permitted to visit under limited arrangements.
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It's unclear if or when the country will allow tourists back in.
However, even if North Korea were to welcome back tourists, those with an American passport cannot travel to the country, as a travel warning is currently in force.
"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," the Department of State says.
It does add, however, that 'special validations are granted only in very limited circumstances'.
Basically, the odds were against travel influencer Alex Page, but he worked out a way to get in.
Firstly, in 2024, he applied for dual citizenship as his father was born in Mexico. There are no travel warnings for Mexicans visiting North Korea, so he could use this passport.
Of course, North Korea isn't welcoming tourists — but they do allow amateur athletes into the country on the basis that they're taking part in a sporting event such as a marathon.
While he had a way of getting into North Korea, there was also the problem of finding a flight that went there.
"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," Alex explained to PEOPLE. "I needed a Chinese visa to go back from North Korea into China from there."
He added: "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?'"
But Alex's efforts weren't in vain, and the 23-year-old managed to make his way into North Korea to take part in the marathon.
He described the sporting event as the 'single craziest experience of my life'.
"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," he recalled of the marathon, which, according to 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 went on: "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 believes he was the only American to have taken part in the race.
Topics: North Korea, World News, Travel, News, TikTok, Sport
Niamh Shackleton