Samjiyon

Samjiyon is a town in Ryanggang Province (Ryangkangto), in the far north of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and the principal gateway for visiting Mount Paektu and the surrounding sacred landscape. It sits on the elevated Paektu plateau amid coniferous forest and lakes, including the three small lakes after which it is named.

The town carries great symbolic importance because of its proximity to Mount Paektu, the mountain at the centre of North Korean revolutionary ideology. In recent years Samjiyon was extensively rebuilt as a national showcase project, with new apartment blocks, public buildings and monuments, and it is presented to visitors as a model town. For travellers, Samjiyon functions as the base for the Paektu region: it is where the airport is, where tour groups stay, and from which excursions to the mountain, Lake Chon and the area's waterfalls and revolutionary sites are launched.

Samjiyon's high, northern location makes it one of the coldest inhabited places in the country. The practical visiting season is the short summer, roughly late June to early September; winters are extremely cold and snowbound. The clear, cold air and big skies of the plateau are part of the town's character.

By Plane

Samjiyon Airport serves the town and is the usual point of arrival for the Paektu region, with chartered or scheduled flights from Pyongyang that spare visitors a very long overland journey. The airport is close to the town, with transfers arranged by the tour operator.

By Car / Road

Samjiyon is reached by road from Hyesan and other points in Ryanggang, in the tour vehicle accompanied by guides. Overland travel from Pyongyang is possible but very long and rarely undertaken by tour groups.

The town is compact and its showcase centre is walkable. For excursions to Mount Paektu, Lake Chon and the surrounding sites, movement is by the tour vehicle accompanied by guides. There is no public transport, taxi service or ride-hailing aimed at foreign visitors.

• Samjiyon town centre — the rebuilt model town, with new apartment blocks, public buildings, squares and monuments presented to visitors.
• Samji Lakes — the small lakes on the plateau for which the town is named.
• Samjiyon Grand Monument — a large monumental complex tied to the official Paektu revolutionary narrative, with statuary and reliefs.

Samjiyon is primarily a base for excursions: the ascent of Mount Paektu and its crater lake, visits to Rimyongsu Falls, and tours of the Paektu-area revolutionary monuments are all launched from here. In the town itself, visitors tour the rebuilt centre and its monuments and walk by the Samji Lakes. The plateau setting also offers forest scenery and, in winter, snow landscapes.

Meals for visiting groups are provided at the town's hotels and guesthouses and feature Korean staples — rice, kimchi, soups and noodle dishes — along with the potato-based dishes typical of the cold uplands of Ryanggang. There is no independent restaurant scene; dining is arranged through the tour.

Local North Korean beer and soju are usually served with meals, along with bottled water, tea and soft drinks. Tap water should not be drunk anywhere in the DPRK; stick to bottled or boiled water, supplied to tour groups.

• Mid-range / Upscale: Samjiyon has tour-group hotels built or renovated as part of the town's redevelopment, used by visitors to the Paektu region; the Begaebong (Pegaebong) Hotel has long served as the main tourist hotel for the area.
• Budget: There are no separately recommended budget guesthouses for foreign visitors; lodging is arranged through tour operators.

Shopping is limited to state-run shops in the town. Foreign visitors generally pay in foreign currency. Bargaining is not customary.

• Mount Paektu (about an hour by road) — the volcanic peak at the heart of the region.
• Lake Chon — the crater lake at the summit of Mount Paektu.
• Rimyongsu Falls (in the Paektu area) — a scenic waterfall that flows even in deep winter.
• Pegae Hill (in the Paektu area) — a commemorative site on the Paektu circuit.
• Hyesan (in the same province) — the provincial capital and a border city on the Yalu River.
• Pyongyang — the national capital, usually reached by the return charter flight.