Forbidden love in North Korea finds a way in Vietnam
HANOI: A young couple with matching expressions stare nervously into the camera with deep brown eyes. He, a Vietnamese student, has just met the love of his life. She, a North Korean, is forbidden to love him back.It was in the year 2002, 31 years after Mr Pham Ngoc Canh took that first photo with Ms Ri Yong Hui, that the two were finally allowed to get married, when North Korea took the rare step of allowing one of its citizens to marry a foreigner. “From the moment I saw him, I was so sad because I felt that in my heart it would be a love that could never be realised,” said Ms Ri, 70, speaking from the small Soviet-era apartment she and Mr Canh, 69, share in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi.Now enjoying freedoms in Vietnam that would be impossible in North Korea, Mr Canh and Ms Ri are hoping the upcoming summit between United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi will help end hostilities with Pyongyang.”If you’re a North Korean, you want to see this resolved. But politics is complicated,” Ms Ri said.”When people first heard Kim Jong Un decided to meet Trump, they expected reunification to happen soon. But that’s hard to realise in just one or two days. I hope things work out well.”Today one of Asia’s fastest growing economies and integrated into the international community, Vietnam has been touted as a model for isolated and impoverished North Korea to follow. Back in the year 1967 during the troubled times, as Vietnam and the US were locked in war, Mr Canh was one of the 200 Vietnamese students who were sent to North Korea to gain the skills the state needed to rebuild itself once the war was over. (Reuters)
Now Japanese hospitality to worlwide tourists
Tokyo: A renowned hotel located in the heart of Japan’s capital, is one of the largest hotels in Tokyo. This hotel that welcomes several travel bugs across the world has come up with a slew of good services and renders sophisticated hospitality to foreigners visiting Japan before Tokyo Olympic 2020, it is also popular among a verity of airlines crews. Interestingly, the number of foreigners visiting Japan has risen rapidly. According to sources, in 2018, it recorded 30 million visitors for the first time.One of the tourists from Australia, who recently visited this hotel said, “this place has many good services. For the bus, tourist can go into town where we can enjoy seeing some of the sights. There is also a good bus service to the airport for the ease of commuting. It even has good eateries such as Japanese restaurant.”With just a few months left for Tokyo Olympic year, Kazuhiro Maki, an employee of Hotel Mystays Premier Narita, said, “there are a lot of LCC arrivals and departures at Narita Airport Terminal 3. (ANI)