Archive | Gulag Road
Gulag Road:
Road of Bones, North Korea, the DMZ and South Korea
Riders: Gareth Morgan, Jo Morgan, Dave Wallace, Brendan Keogh, Tony Armstrong, Chris Stephens
Motorcycles: Suzuki DR650
Distance: 9,000km
Countries: Russia, North Korea, South Korea
Trip description:
Starting at Magadan in the Russian Far East, the city founded in 1929 as the centre of Stalin’s forced labour system, once we complete all three sections of this ride we will ultimately end up – 9 months of riding and 40,000 kms later – down in NZ. It’s a long ride that we’ll do in three stages, so Part One of The Long Drop will have us first traverse Stalin’s 2,00km Road of Bones west across the Siberian mountains to Yakutsk then southeast and around the border with China to Vladivostok before we ride into North Korea. Our mission is to ride the whole of the Korean Peninsula from Mt Paekdu in the north through the DMZ to Mt Halla on Cheju Island off the south of the South. For 4,000 years Korea was one society, for just 60 it’s been crudely separated. 25 million people in the North, 50 million in the South –our ride is to celebrate the Korea’s unifying Baekdudaegan mountain range and the long history of its people.
Blogs from the trip
The long difficult climb up to the summit of Mount Halla
The long difficult climb up to the summit of Mount Halla takes a toll on the adventurers as well as the Korean TV crews who are filming them every step of the way. It is a real physical challenge for the team and also such a high point in the trip for Gareth that his […]
Gareth and Jo update on South Korea journey
Gareth, Jo and the team are into their last few days of the South Korean leg of their adventure. The Korean Globe Riders Sunday warriors took the team for a motorcycle ride that Gareth won’t forget for a long time and is still shaken up by. The whole project has an enormous profile in Korea […]
The political aspirations of the US, China and others can be met with much less harm to Koreans
Gareth and Jo and the team are heading south out of Seoul to Mount Halla which will mark the end of their ride through the Korean peninsula. In both North and South ordinary folk have spoken to Gareth and Jo and told them of the distress their families feel as a result of the artificial […]
Jo Morgan’s take on North Korea
Having just succeeded in crossing the DMZ from North to South Korea, Jo Morgan gives us her personal take on what she experienced in the North. She talks about the food, the people and their personality, their culture and music as well as how Jo and her team interacted with the locals. It is easy […]
The West needs to rethink its ideas about Korea
Having passed successfully through the demilitarised zone Gareth explains to the world’s media why the West’s “beat-up” view of North Korea is completely wrong. Gareth and Jo and their group were free to set their own route through North Korea, witnessing at first hand the lives of ordinary North Koreans. What they found surprised them […]
Travelling through the DMZ in Korea on Motorbike
After 2 and a half weeks of not hearing anything from Gareth, Jo and the team we all wait anxiously for a sign they have made it across the DMZ into South Korea. Finally a very short message from Gareth’s cell phone at 10.21pm on the 29th of August: South side of the DMZ amidst […]
The Long Drop. Ep.22 – Next stop North Korea then Silence
Tuesday August 13th – Gareth tells us his plan for crossing into North Korea and what they can expect. Once across the border there will be no communication for two weeks just silence! Gareth is expected to arrive in South Korea on the 29th of August
The Long Drop Ep.21 – Visa Time in Nakhodka
This is a make or break day for the Adventurers. Gareth has a 3 hour trip ahead of him to get all their Visas issued before they can cross into North Korea. He is very much on edge as they get closer to the Consulate and what would happen if their request is declined! Tuesday […]
The Long Drop Ep.20 – Reunion of WBB Group
Jo creates havoc at Vladivostok’s airport with her crazy antics and the Russians are not amused at all! The rest of the team arrive off the plane to the usual wise cracks and Gareth is not going to get any sleep tonight as major anxiety creeps back into his mind. Monday August 12th – Tony and Brendan […]
