Not many people would rate North Korea among the world’s best tourist destinations, but it appears the users of the world’s largest travel website do.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea may not receive the sheer number of reviews that a Sydney, New York or Paris may see (Sydney boasts more than 14,000 reviews to Pyongyang’s 179).

But what North Korea it lacks in quantity is makes up for in quality.

View photos North Korean leader Kim Jong Un celebrating a successful missile launch widely believed to be faked. Photo: Supplied. More

Attractions rarely record fewer than 4 out of 5 bubbles (TripAdvisor’s answer the the star system), according to the site’s users.

The Demilitarized Zone (the area where North Korean and South Korean soldiers have been facing off for decades) is the second best tourist attraction, according to TripAdvisor reviewers, scoring an impressive 4.5 ‘bubbles’.

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The lowest ranked attraction received 3.5 bubbles.

One notable exception, listed under shopping, is a foreign langue bookshop - it has achieved a 2 bubble rating.

One may be forgiven for thinking not all of the reviews on the country with notoriously restricted internet services are entirely legitimate. The regime has form.





One five star review on Kim Il Sung Square (Pyongyang’s third highest rated tourist attraction) came with a caveat.

“this place was compeling, (sic) i saw feces on thr ground,” wrote a traveller from Boston in the US.

Most reviewers do their best to put a positive spin on their experiences though.

A Youth Hotel with 2.5 bubbles is still recommended by contributors, one of whom overs the encouraging recommendation, “you should survive.”

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