Pyongyang's Latest Fad: Sightseeing In Ultralight Airplanes

Until a few months ago, if you wanted a bird’s eye view of North Korea’s capital, there was basically only one option: a 150-meter (492-foot) -tall tower across the river from Kim Il Sung Square.

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Now, if you have the cash, you can climb into the back seat of an ultra light aircraft.

With the support of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who has vowed to give North Koreans more modern and “cultured” ways to spend their leisure time, and with foreign tourism companies looking to entice visitors with unique things to do besides visit war museums and political monuments, a Pyongyang flying club has started offering short flights over some of the capital’s major sights.

The tours, which began in late July, are operated by the Mirim flying club out of a fancy new facility on an old airfield adjacent to another of Kim’s signature modernization projects: a sprawling equestrian club and horse racetrack.

Officials say more than 4,000 North Koreans have gone up in the ultra light fleet since, along with “hundreds of foreigners” from 12 countries.