North Korea Trip For Alums Nixed

The Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) canceled a summer trip to North Korea last Thursday, citing low demand and problems with insurance and medical evacuation procedures.

But some alums suspect an opinion piece published last week in The New York Post caused the cancellation.

Typically closed off to foreigners, North Korea announced earlier this year that American citizens would be allowed to visit the country from Aug. 10 to Oct. 10 and attend the 2006 Arirang Mass Games, daily large-scale synchronized gymnastics performances.

HAA first offered alumni the 12-day, $6,360 trip in late April.

“While such an offering is not without controversies the confluence of events that made it possible has convinced us that it is something we should make available to our alumni,” stated an HAA e-mail to alums.

Deborah Orin ’68, the Post’s Washington, D.C. bureau chief, published an opinion piece last Monday titled “Harvard Loves A Thug” in which she concluded that “something is very wrong when Harvard—whose motto is “veritas,” Latin for “truth”—feels comfortable instructing its alums to bow down to evil thugs.”

A memo sent to alums seeking more information detailed North Korea’s “unique protocols” whereby guests are “expected to bow as a gesture of respect at the statue of Kim Il Sung, and at his mausoleum.”

Orin told The Crimson it was “shameful” for the University to consider on-campus military recruiters inappropriate, and “yet you’re going to tell people it’s okay to bow down to the most notorious human-rights abuser on the planet.”

The five individuals who had signed up for a look inside North Korea were informed of the cancellation last Thursday, and all five have enrolled with Princeton University’s alumni trip to North Korea.

Cancellations are standard, according to Sarah J. Friedell, director of media relations for the University’s Alumni Affairs and Development.

“We run about 75 trips a year through HAA, and it’s not uncommon to cancel 10 or 12 of those each year,” she said, adding that 11 trips were canceled last year. “In this case, it was a combination of low level of interest and getting some of the details together, things like insurance and ensuring medical evacuation abilities.”

Friedell said Orin’s column “had nothing to do with our canceling the trip” and that the organizers “were looking at things like head count before the piece came out.”

But Orin called the timing “bizarre,” adding that “it’s a little bit odd that three days after my story appears, they suddenly discover problems which they hadn’t noticed there before.”

Walter L. Keats ’67, president of Asia Pacific Travel, helped organize the tour package and was originally slated to accompany the travelers.

“Harvard is now kowtowing to this lady as opposed to bowing to Kim Jong Il—which is worse?” Keats asked, referring to the nation’s current leader.

Keats, who has visited North Korea three times, said that it is important to engage the people, rather than leave them isolated.

“None of us would claim that North Korea is a wonderful place to live,” he said.

Sun Joo Kim, associate professor of Korean history, was also asked to accompany the group.

“What I’ve heard from my contact at the travel office was that the decision was made because Harvard University is concerned that they may not be able to monitor the group,” she said, explaining that international calls are not easily made out of North Korea.

Kim said the cancellation was “understandable,” recalling a conference in North Korea that was canceled a few weeks before it was set to begin. “This happens all the time in regard to doing anything with North Korea.”

Princeton Journeys will still be proceeding with their alumni trip to North Korea. The tour spans the same dates, and uses the same tour operator, as the cancelled HAA trip originally did.

The tour’s 30 spots is now half full, said the executive manager of Princeton Journeys, Leslie J. Rowley.

“We definitely investigated insurance and evacuation, and the carrier we work with has told us that should the need arise, they’re confident that their services are still valid,” Rowley said. “The individuals taking this trip are being made aware of the risks.”

—Staff writer Lulu Zhou can be reached at luluzhou@fas.harvard.edu.