This was the single scariest travel moment of my life – on the border of North Korea & Russia. Sitting in that military compound for 3 hours, alone, without my phone or my friends was absolutely terrifying.

As many of you already know, I am fascinated by North Korea. I spent 4 days in Pyongyang in 2017 and I can even speak the Korean language (I lived in South Korea for 2 years). Not a day goes by where I don’t ponder about life in North Korea – the strangest and most isolated country in the world.

But Americans have been banned to visit North Korea since 2017 – a few months after I left. In fact, I think that I’m one of the last few Americans to step foot in the country.

So I wanted to attempt to go back while traveling in Siberia. And what happened to me is something that I’ve never experienced and I’ll never forget.

This is the full story of how I got detained on the North Korea / Russia border. The journey starts in the far Eastern city of Vladivostok.

Thank you so much to my local friend Natasha for joining me on this wild adventure. Follow her YouTube videos to learn more about Eastern Russia! https://www.youtube.com/c/natashasadventures

PS – This video was shot 4 weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine. I do NOT support this unprovoked war, and my thoughts go out to our friends in Ukraine. We love you.