Free Announcer Aika Kanda, “I Saw North Korea

An inexplicable country

In mid-April, I went on a two-day, one-night trip to South Korea. The purpose of this trip was to see North Korea with my own eyes. The year before last, a “Starbucks” opened at a South Korean observatory overlooking North Korea. It is only 1.5 km away from North Korea, a 20 minute walk if there was a road. I have wanted to visit there someday since I heard about it on the news.

For me, North Korea has been a puzzling presence since I was a child. Why don’t they abduct Japanese and return them to us? Why do they keep shooting missiles at us? Why can’t they even engage in dialogue? I wanted to set foot on North Korean soil to pursue the “why. I had always wanted to be a newscaster and journalist like Yuko Ando. However, after 23 years of waiting for a chance to work on a news program, I still haven’t felt any sign of it. Since I have yet to see any sign of it, I decided to visit the Starbucks to see North Korea on my own for the time being.

Since we needed to drive to the observatory, we signed up for a tour with a Japanese-speaking guide. Thirteen people gathered at the Starbucks. All of them were Japanese.

The tour took one and a half hours from Myeongdong. During the tour, the guide explained the history of Korea and North Korea. Having never studied world history, I was surprised and pained by the painful history.

The car stopped at the same time as the guide’s voice said, “We are almost there. The guide took everyone’s passports and went to the hut where there was a line. When we returned, the car started again and stopped in front of a large gate that appeared shortly after. Several military men in full gear were coming toward us. It was a checkpoint.

（I wondered, “Why such tight security just to go to Starbucks?) (Why such tight security just to go to Starbucks?) I wondered, but finally I realized. We were not just going to Starbucks, we were about to approach the military demarcation line. For South Korea, the area near the military demarcation line with North Korea is very sensitive, no matter where it is. I knew this, but this was the first time I felt it.

Then we arrived at the summit. There really was a Starbucks. The signage was a little smaller than usual, but the interior was the same Starbucks we are accustomed to seeing. The North Korean side had a large glass wall, and couches were lined up in that direction. The place was already full of tourists from various countries.

I bought a coffee and went outside. Below the observatory was a large, muddy beige river. In the middle of it was the military demarcation line. Beyond that was North Korea.

It was mostly woods as far as the eye could see, but directly in front of us was a small town, about 1/3 of which was a field, the roads were unpaved, and there were only about 15 white apartment-like buildings, about 5 stories high, scattered about.

A feeling not found in Japan

I looked inside the apartments with a permanent telescope, the first one, the second one …… (hmm?) I felt a strange sensation. Every room was pitch black, and I couldn’t see any furniture, people, or anything inside. Why is it a housing complex instead of a one-story house when there is so much land to begin with?

When we asked our guide, to our surprise, he told us that they were all fake buildings and that no one lived in them. There was no electricity or running water, just concrete walls. He told us that North Korea knows that they are being watched from the South Korean side, so they dared to build a fake town in that location, which is clearly visible from South Korea, in order to show off their standard of living.

We found one more person walking around. He was a man dressed all in black, with a white plastic bag hanging in his hand. He walked slowly and disappeared into the …… woods. As far as I could see, it was woods all the way to the end. Where did he come from and where is he going?　What business did he have in the fake town in the first place?　I felt an unfathomable fear because I did not understand.

I pondered this in the car on the way home. Japan is an island nation. It is because it is an island nation that it has many problems with its neighbors, and I have learned about them since I was a child. I have been envious of the “freedom” that Japan would enjoy if it were connected to its neighbors like the EU, where people can come and go as they please. However, what if these neighbors were to have a long-standing relationship of conflict, as is the case between South Korea and North Korea?　It must be unimaginably uneasy on a daily basis. When I think about it, an island nation suits me and is just right for me. I never thought I would go to see North Korea and feel the goodness of Japan. It was an unexpected trip that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Aika Kanda was born in 1980 in Kanagawa Prefecture. After graduating from Gakushuin University with a degree in mathematics, she joined NHK as an announcer in 2003, and left NHK in 2012 to become a freelance announcer. Since then, she has been active mainly in variety shows, and currently appears regularly as the main MC of the daytime TV program “Poka Poka” (Fuji Television Network).

Her first book, ” Where are you going on the road called Royal Road? is now on sale by popular demand!

From “FRIDAY” May 15 and 22, 2026