A version of this photo essay was published in The Sunday Times (The Straits Times) on 18 Aug, 2013
BY HOE PEI SHAN
North Korea in 2013 pinned its hopes of boosting tourism on a Singaporean-owned and -managed vessel which operated the only -- and first-ever -- commercial cruise within North Korea. I found my way over the Chinese border into North Korea, and took an exclusive look at the Royale Star.
Groups of North Korean and Chinese passengers gather on the upper decks of The Royale Star to watch the sun set as it departs from DPRK's eastern Rajin Port on 26 July 2013
Giant speakers thump out club hits as a DJ bellows: “Everybody get on the dancefloor!”
It could have been any nightspot, save for some minor details.
The dance floor is a boarded-up swimming pool on a ship sailing in North Korean waters; the groovers are middle-aged men and women proudly wearing pins featuring Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il’s faces; and the world’s biggest dance hit, South Korean popstar Psy’s Gangnam Style, is conspicuously absent.
“We’re not allowed to play that one,” explains the DJ, Mr Danny Tay, a 46-year-old father-of-two who also happens to be a Singaporean and the owner of said ship.
The Mangyongbyong -- the original vessel chosen to run on the cruise route but replaced by the Royale Star following poor reviews -- being serviced at the Rajin port
Named the Royale Star, it is the sole vessel permitted to ply North Korea’s first-ever and only commercial cruise route.
The Royale Star and its Singaporean management were given the licence to operate the cruise route - running between the north-eastern Rajin port and the scenic south-eastern Mt Kumgang resort - in February, and the vessel has made three trips since.
It replaces the aging Mangyongbyong, the original cruise ship deployed at the route’s September 2011 opening.
Use of the Mangyongbyong was discontinued following scathing reviews of bathrooms with no running water and cabins lacking proper beds.
The Royale Star docked at Mount Kumgang on 29 July 2013
Formerly a gaming ship in Singapore waters, the 138m-long Royale Star is no top luxury liner, Mr Tay readily acknowledges, but it is easily an upgrade on its predecessor even with only the “bare minimum” of amenities on board.
The bathrooms are functioning, for starters, and all passenger cabins on the ship’s nine decks come with bunks, bringing total passenger capacity to 250, with room for 250 crew. There is also a karaoke lounge, duty-free shop, small casino, massage parlour, hair and a nail salon.
The Pyongyang government representative appointed to oversee operations on board the Royale Star, Mr Kim Sung Chan, told The Sunday Times that his government has been impressed by what Mr Tay has to offer.
Mr Kim onboard the Royale Star
“Customers seem happier with the Royale Star than with the ship before, so our government is pleased with its crew and Singaporean management,” said Mr Kim through a translator.
“This cruise is important to developing our tourism, and we want to give more people a taste of North Korea, from our culture to our food to our beautiful places like Mt Kumgang, which is a treasured region of our country,” he added.
People from all countries are welcome to take this cruise, said Mr Kim. When asked if he could describe the magnificence of Mt Kumgang, he deliberated before saying: "I have never gone elsewhere (outside North Korea), but I am told that Mt Kumgang has unrivaled natural beauty.”
Passengers from the Royale Star explore Mount Kumgang resort's mountainous landscapes during guided tours
The resort has been largely accessed by coach or car - it is about a seven-hour drive from the capital, Pyongyang - but Mr Kim said his government wanted to try offering alternative means to get there as “travelling by car may be tiring for some people”.
As the resort is near the south-eastern shore, it turned to the idea of a cruise, with high hopes of its potential in rejuvenating the Mt Kumgang resort. Originally a joint venture by the two Koreas, it was shut down in 2008 after the fatal shooting of a South Korean tourist by a Northern soldier.
Banners and government tourism officials welcome the Royale Star's foreign passengers at Mount Kumgang resort
“Ironical though it may sound, tourism is actually important for North Korea, the world's most isolated country,” said Dr Lee Sung-Yoon, a professor of Korean studies at Tufts University’s Fletcher School.
“The North Korean regime views foreign tourists as not only cash-paying tributaries, but also potential conveyors of positive images of its ‘uniquely unique’ state."
So how did one Singaporean and his modest vessel end up at the heart of this latest North Korean endeavour?
According to owner Mr Tay - a primary school dropout who entered the marine industry as a storeman, worked his way up and acquired the Royale Star in 2011 under his British Virgin Islands-registered company, Everis Capital Holdings - he learned of North Korea’s cruise route and approached the country’s officials in mid-2012 with the idea of using the Royale Star.
Mr Tay remains tight-lipped about the details of the discussions that ensued, but notes that the North Korean authorities “liked the capacity of the ship and the fact that we would hire local crew as well to help provide jobs”. Both sides then “sealed the deal” at the end of last year.
“It's been a dream to venture into North Korea since I was sent to repair a ship’s elevators in North Korean waters back in 1996,” said Mr Tay. “I don't speak the language but saw the opportunity and the untapped potential in cruises there.”
Female crew members of Royal Star cruise ship double as musicians (above) to entertain passengers, performing what they say are popular North Korean songs with Pyongyang-style dances as their passenger countrymen eagerly take pictures and cheer for encores. These performances are also rare opportunities for these girls to don short, loud, fitted dresses -- a far cry from the simple, near-identical earthen-coloured wear that the rest of the nation seems to have stocked up on
The cruise is being marketed as a unique way for foreigners to visit one of the world’s most intriguing countries, and several passengers on board the Royale Star during its latest trip at the end of last month told The Sunday Times that curiosity had indeed prompted their travels.
“This country is very mysterious because it’s so closed to the outside world, and I’ve always wanted to see what it is actually like,” said 54-year-old Jalan Besar nasi lemak hawker Mr Ng Chue Hiang, the lone Singaporean passenger on the ship. “I decided to give it a try as I don’t think there will be many chances in life to travel to North Korea.”
Most passengers so far have been from China, in part because of Rajin’s proximity to the Sino-Korean border as well as laws prohibiting gambling on the Chinese mainland.
Passengers from North Korea and China lounge about on the decks of the Royale Star as it sails from Rajin to Mount Kumgang
Currently, interested individuals have to approach the vessel’s management directly, or sign up personally at the Royale Star booth in Rajin’s port.
Mr Khoo Boo Liat, the managing director of the only authorised agent in Singapore for North Korean tours, Universal Travel Corporation, said he is eager to partner up with the Royale Star to offer tour packages to those here.
The five-day four-night RMB 4000 (S$823) cruise may be targeted at foreigners, but North Koreans, too, can take this sea voyage, said Mr Tay, pointing out that nearly half of both the crew and some 100 passengers on the latest trip were locals.
The Royale Star docked at Mt Kumgang as passengers set out for a day-long hike in the mountains
And that is what sets this cruise apart from other long-established tour packages to Pyongyang and other selected regions: North Koreans on board the Royale Star get a rare opportunity to mingle with foreigners, catching a glimpse of the outside world filled with smartphones, cocktail dresses, and Coca-Cola - otherwise banned in North Korea.
The cruise is still in its “trial stage”, says Mr Tay, but if plans to conduct two such trips to Mt Kumgang each month are realised - with the ship functioning as a “floating hotel and casino” at the Rajin port in between - the Royale Star could potentially introduce an unprecedented level of interaction between North Koreans and the rest of the world.
At least, that is what Mr Tay hopes.
"This cruise is a challenge, whether or not it will take off we will see, but it's a risk worth taking and it’s been a very exciting journey so far,” said Mr Tay. “How many people get to do what I do? It takes some guts."
LIFE ON THE DECKS
Three times a month, they are allowed to venture beyond the gantries of Rajin’s port to shop at a nearby market.
The rest of their days are spent roaming the decks of the ship -- guarded 24 hours by North Korean military personnel -- or at the sole establishment within the port, a small eatery and drinking hole called Seamen’s Bar.
And, of course, no internet access, phone signal, or even a post box for months on end. Any contact with the outside world is limited to the customers they greet and ferry aboard their vessel.
Life on board the Royale Star can be tough, say some crew members.
“I do the same things every day, I do work, I eat, I play games on my phone, and then I sleep,” said one. “We can’t go anywhere, we can’t call our families, we’re watched all the time. I’m here for the experience but I miss home and probably won’t stay here long.”
North Korean officers who oversee the ship's activities seen taking a breather on deck
About half of the near-200 ship-based crew are from North Korea -- mostly female waitresses and cleaners as young as 19, hand-picked by the regime -- for whom life on the ship is a luxury.
But for the other half -- who hail from some 10 different countries, most commonly Cambodia, China, Indonesia, and Ukraine -- the ship’s unique working conditions can prove tough, and certainly eye-opening.
Some of these were members from previous ship administrations -- the Royale Star turns 33 this year. Others are a mixture of fresh faces in their first job and mid-career switchers who just wanted a chance to see North Korea.
Most said that what keeps them going is the tight camaraderie they have developed as colleagues. This despite not even sharing a single language -- except, perhaps, a smattering of Singlish, as picked up from their Singaporean employers.
A North Korean waitress-singer-dancer shies away from the camera as I check out the all-day breakfast menu at the bar
The Royale Star may sail under the flag of St. Vincent & Grenadines, but it is in all likelihood the largest slice of Singaporean life to be found in North Korea. The ship’s bar-lounge serves half-boiled eggs with kaya toast and your choice of Milo, coffee or tea all day.
Customers can also order Tiger beer, an otherwise rare sight in North Korea.
Two of the top posts among the ship-based crew are held by Singaporeans: operations manager Mr Ong Swee Heng, 44, and supervisor Mr Aminuddin bin Ami, 53, an ex-Marine Parade GRC candidate from the Singapore Justice Party in the 1991 general elections -- just one among many storied backgrounds from the crew decks.
Mr Aminuddin bids a cheerful farewell as I snap one last shot of him and the ship before leaving Rajin
Both men bark orders in a mixture of Singlish and animated gestures as they keep the ship running round the clock -- a job which Mr Aminuddin says thankfully gives him no time to spare.
“The biggest danger in working on this sort of ship is having too much free time, so the trick is to keep busy, and look at the situation differently” he said. “Life on the ship is simple, there is no outside communication so you just do your stipulated job. I rather like it here.”
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