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1. Since first posting the North Korea stories in 2002, I've gotten a lot of requests asking for help getting into North Korea, and then other various hard-to-reach places. Unfortunately I cannot help anyone with this - each situation, country, time and person is unique. The best I can offer are the tips below:

• Your best bet for North Korea is to visit the NK travel experts at http://www.koryogroup.com (NO relation to my website, for their own safety/deniability ...).
• To get into Iraq simply hop online and book a flight to Baghdad, or head to your nearest military recruiter (they'll be happy to see you ...)
• To get into Iran, first head to your favorite search site and check the listings for 'tours to Iran' or something similar. Then choose what looks good - be forewarned however that for Americans the trip will be expensive and the visa process lengthy, allow at least 4-6 months. To help protect the agency I dealt with I do not release their information.

I lived, traveled and worked in Asia, mainly South Korea, from 1992 to 2007. During that time I was almost: blown up by Khmer Rouge landmines in Cambodia, shot by soldiers in Vietnam and South Korea, felled by a jungle fever in Borneo, stranded in Siberia, arrested in Tehran, and mortared in Baghdad.

Over the same period, I got an MA in Korean Studies from Korea's top university (Seoul National), worked as an Asia specialist for the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon, served with the U.S. Department of Defense in Baghdad, and worked as a writer, business owner, and English Professor in Seoul. For more info on life in Korea please head to my other website, 1stopKorea.com.

Currently, I attend the Graduate School of Foreign Service at Georgetown, while also working for a Korea-related research team at the university. Click here if you'd like to contact me. Thank you.