Wrong Turn to North Korea: Kenyan Delegate’s Pyeongchang Trip Turns Into Pyongyang Ordeal
Kenyan man Daniel Olomae Ole Sapit reportedly found himself in one of the world’s most secretive countries after a travel mix up sent him to North Korea instead of South Korea.
Sapit was travelling from Kenya to Pyeongchang, South Korea, to attend a United Nations biodiversity conference when a reported booking error allegedly confused Pyeongchang with Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.
He reportedly only realized something was wrong as the aircraft approached its destination. The landscape looked completely different from what he expected, and upon landing, the reality quickly became clear.
He had arrived in Pyongyang without a North Korean visa and was reportedly detained and questioned by authorities.
Officials later established that his arrival was the result of a genuine travel mistake rather than an intentional attempt to enter North Korea. He was reportedly fined $500 and required to purchase a new ticket to Beijing.
Sapit was subsequently deported to China before continuing his journey to South Korea, where he eventually attended the conference.
The unusual incident reportedly made him the first Kenyan to set foot in North Korea, although the trip was never part of his original plans.
A simple confusion between Pyeongchang and Pyongyang reportedly turned what should have been a routine conference trip into an extraordinary international ordeal.
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