When you embark on a tour of North Korea, it is customary to bring small gifts for the guides, or other Koreans that you meet on the trip to show your appreciation for their hard work. A small gift or two, which is either unique or typical of where the tourist comes from, will be greeted with a warm smile and a friendly handshake.
The following are situations which present excellent gift giving opportunities:
Gifts for Korean Guides
The Korean guides really work hard during the trip and go out of their way to make the tour memorable for the visitors. A lot of the time when tourists give gifts, they are usually for the guides on their tour, as naturally during the tour they interact and develop a bond with them. Of course, when giving gifts, tourists need to consider the different gender of the guides. A carton of cigarettes, or a bottle of wine will instantly please a male guide, whereas chocolates or cosmetics will be warmly received by the females.
When presenting the gift, it’s sensible to use your common sense. It’s best not to give the gift upon the first meeting as no bond would have been established. Furthermore, on the final day of the tour things can be quite rushed as people leave the hotel and board the coach for the railway station. As the gifts are a way of expressing your appreciation for their efforts, it is better to give them to the guides on the penultimate day of the tour, or at least once you feel you have got to know them better. When giving a guide a gift, it is also best to wait for a private moment when there are not too many people around, just so that the guide does not feel any awkwardness in receiving the gift in front of others.
School visits
On occasions, the itinerary will take you to a middle school or even a kindergarten, where children will stand and sing for you or play some traditional Korean music with their instruments. This situation provides a great opportunity to hand over gifts such as stationery, colored pens, crayons or any gifts you have brought that are suitable for children (obviously not a carton of cigarettes procured at duty free in Beijing airport). I remember a time on a previous tour when a tourist gave some invisible felt tip pens to a group of middle school students. Seeing the amazement and joy on their faces was really uplifting, and you could see there and then the power of a small gift, that would have cost next to nothing for the tourist. This is particularly appreciated when outside Pyongyang, such as when visiting schools on the east coast of the country.
Mangyongdae School Childrens Palace
If the amazing School Children’s Palace is on your itinerary, then this is one of the best opportunities to give gifts. After the stunning performance, there is an opportunity to present suitable gifts for the kids such as candy, chocolate, felt pens, crayons, coloring books etc.
Guides at landmarks where tourists visit
It is always nice for tourists to present gifts to the people who take them around different landmarks in the country, for example USS Pueblo, DMZ or Pyongyang Film Studios. Again, depending on gender, small gifts can range from cosmetics & chocolate to a box of cigarettes etc. The first time I visited North Korea, I happened to have a couple of Cuban cigars in my bag. When visiting the Pyongyang Film Studios, I gave one as a gift to the studio guide, who was even more impressed when I told him that they had come all the way from Cuba. It was incredibly heart-warming to see the wide grin of appreciation and receive a friendly tap on the back.
Why should the tourists tip the guides?
No matter where you go in the world, it is customary to tip a tour guide. The KITC guides do a job that is considered well paid, and has good prospects in North Korea, however the guide is often not just responsible for their immediate but also their extended family. Therefore any tips that they are given from the tourists will often be passed to someone in their family who needs money the most, and will not always be kept by the tour guides themselves. These tips are incredibly valuable to the guides, and they rely on receiving them at the end of a tour.
For a group tour, we suggest that a minimum of 5 Euro per day is given to the guides by each tourist. Therefore on a 5 day tour, each tourist should really pass 25 Euro to the tour leader, who will then divide up the tips between the two tour guides and the driver. If any tourists feel that they wish to generously give more than the minimum 5 Euro per day, then this is fine. Furthermore, if a tourist gives more than 5 Euro per day, and wishes the extra to be given to the Korean guide who they have developed a closer bond with, then they should speak to the western tour leader who will make a note and divide up the tips according to the tourists’ requirement.
Note: If on a group tour which is accompanied by a western Taedong Travel guide, please do not give any tips for their service. Taedong Travel staff to do not accept personal tips, and ensure that all tips collected are divided up and given to the Korean guides.
The following article has hopefully given an insight into giving gifts in North Korea. A small gift in North Korea will be greeted with a big smile of appreciation, and will also be just as heart warming an experience for the giver of the gift. If you take a trip to North Korea, try it and see for yourself.
Last Tweets
Get In Touch: