In 2012, North Korea’s Kim Jong Un dispatched thousands of soldiers into the mountains of the heavily armed Kangwon Province to carry out a bizarre mission: Build the country’s first luxury ski resort. They succeeded, sort of, and in February 2014, Bend resident and writer Tim Neville became one of the first westerners to ski the Masik Ryong resort. Join him on a dark but fascinating journey deep inside the Hermit Kingdom where skiing can offer a tiny taste of freedom.


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