After a long internal debate, I decided to proceed with sharing this video. It was shot 4 weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine. I am strongly against Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine and I do not support this war. Thoughts going out to all of our friends and loved ones in Ukraine 🇺🇦💛💙
Yeah, bit of a clickbait title. You did not get detained in North Korea at all. You just got interrogated for trying to enter a restricted area without a permit, which can happen anywhere. Also, you're well traveled enough to know that there was absolutely 0% chance that you could have crossed the border into North Korea, especially as an American. Not sure what you were thinking..
@@Journal_Haris The thumbnail of the video literally says “ Detained in North Korea"... He didn't try to “sneak in" either as mentioned in the title, just tried to visit the Russian border town. So everything about this is clickbait and misleading, anyone who use their brain can see that.
Word of advice drew. In Russia is very impolite to cut off someone mid sentence and noticed you did that often just wanted to point that out for your future troubles
yeah, he's just more interested in being on camera and what HE has to say. These people are only there to help create his videos, so it is normal that in all countries he does this, not just offending these russian people.
@@AutonomousPlayground Understand but sometimes It can affect your experience furthermore especially that this was not in Moscow in a very rural city where it tends to matter more about ethics
Big fan Drew but this was dumb and could’ve been easily avoided. The Russia-NK border is seriously one of the most dangerous on the face of the planet and trying to “sneak” in there is as negligent as it gets especially for such an experienced traveller like yourself. I love a good adventure too but there’s a big difference between seeking thrill and seeking danger
Yeah. You're never gonna actually sneak in and out unscathed. Only locals who know all the weak spots BUT Kim has MINED the shit outta the border to prevent defection. It's practically impossible to escape now. It's extremely dumb to even entertain this hair brained idea.
It’s quite remarkable how much more engaging Natasha’s coverage of this trip is. The videos are the same length, but hers is more present, and you get a much greater sense of the places they visited. Fewer drone shots tho…
Agreed. I’ve been watching her vids for a while; never heard of him. Maybe I’m just a jaded American but his overly-optimistic personality is sort of annoying, and sales-hungry. Natasha strikes me as the real deal - more honest and real.
Drew comes across as disingenuous and naive in a lot of his videos. Doesn't do his research on a country, and invites people to visit some of the more dangerous countries he's been in. Doesn't give very much detail about the country at all. Most of his video's end up the same. He just comes across like a simple-minded tourist with very little tact.
@@bumblethunder For someone who travels as much as he does he's very naive and sometimes gives bad advice. Nieve, such as when he was in Africa and didn't know that the particular country he visited didn't like tourists taking pictures of their children, due to the French doing the same years ago and taking their children. Then he was going on like he was the victim because some locals were angry towards him.
I don't think he was trying to sneak into NK. It was just his title. He was just going to visit the border town of Khasan and view North Korea from the Russian side. There is a river that separates the countries. If he only got that border pass, everything would have been fine.
With all due respect that wasn't a smart move dude, I'm happy you're safe but don't be that curious. better to be safe than sorry, We don't want you to be the next Otto Warmbier
@@Direwolf9818 They can just build something that makes it impossible to cross the bridge in case of any tensions. It would be great though since than people could actually travel to the US from Europe by car wich would still take a couple of days but fun for road trips😂
Man, that was risky 😳 so glad you've made it out okay! I was so hyped when I saw that you visited Vladivostok.. I'm from Vladivostok. The situation right now is devastating.. Praying for peace every day, and hoping that maybe, one day, you can visit Vladivostok again 😢 love your videos!
I think it’s harmful the way you describe north korea as if its this chill place that’s just a bit troubled, when in reality its probably the most corrupt and dangerous country on earth. And telling a north korean defector that you “love north korea” when he most likely had to risk his life to escape is honestly disrespectful. Drew I honestly respect you and your videos, but i had to put that out there.
While I agree with your assessment of North Korea, the man who identified himself as a North Korean was more likely than not someone who that govt has sent abroad to work -and is compelled to send the government almost ALL his earnings to keep his family from being imprisoned. And one can be sure that the entire staff of virtually any restaurant that promotes itself as 'North Korean' restaurant (instead of just a Korean one) also was sent abroad by that govt and has been compelled to send the govt almost all THEIR earnings. Few actual North Korean defectors openly call themselves North Koreans to strangers- especially living in towns so close to its border (and most do their best to put as much distance from North Korea as they can ASAP).
Such an unnecessary risk taken. I hope this doesn't inspire others with dreams of traveling like you in trying their own risky adventure... Glad you made it out safely.
If this is not a horrifying adventure Drew, I dont know what is! Glad you made it safe Drew. I always look forward for your videos. Thank you for sharing to us what we couldn't have or see in person in this lifetime. Looking forward for more adventures from you.
you could get shot doing the same thing in any country. they just warned him for breaking the law and let him appeal their actions in court in case if he found military people's actions wrong.
Drew obv knows more so I must just be naive or something, but wouldn't it be pretty messed up to be so positive about north Korea? Especially to n. Koreans who escaped.. like, even the intruige around the place is just morbid curiosity of a concentration camp.. always feels weird to treat it like a tourist destination
Talking positive about the country and its people is different than talking positive about the government. Because if we judge every country based on its government only than there wouldn’t be many left.
@@Milo19970 yeah I definitely get the separation of people and gov. Its possible in china or russia, but much harder with n. Korea because the people have literally nothing left. No identity or land, no culture of their own.. Drew knows better than I ever would, but I have heard defectors talk about the issues they have with people visiting as a tourist or having such fascination with a massive concentration camp
@@QuixEnd You can also look at it from the bright side. Drew probably gave a few family’s support for a few weeks just by him simply being there and spending money. If no people at all went to NK than these people would have even less to survive. As long as your country isn’t a political enemy i’d say its save to go there. There are many other countries in the world where the government will kill you if you cross a line and those do have open borders.
When you see a border control sign you follow. No matter which country citizen you are from or how many countries you visited before or how many times you did it before !
@@richardfoster736 whoever is breaking the border signs are signing up for 'illegal Immigrant' badge and treatment if got caught. Mr.Binsky tried to sneak towards North Korea (applause) by breaking Russian rules.
Drew, you should be careful. You do know that every country has it's own security and laws. You cant just take your car and enter another country. Geopolitics is real. You must be mature !
Same thing happened to me at the border between Russia and Estonia at Ivangorod. No foreign citizens can go to these zones by the border. It isn't some crazy problem though. I was there for three hours and sent on my way.
1:00 the hug and kiss was not weard at all. it was sweet. He seems to be a very affectionate man and saw you like a son or something like that. I wish that guy was my friend :)
It’s crazy watching this and no one at the time knew a war was about to break out. While you are on the wildest border ever….. makes you wonder if the civilians had any idea
It’s crazy man, a lot of the Russians don’t even know it’s going on still, they’re filtering the media and so lots don’t even know what their own country is doing
Hey Drew , please don't try something as stupid as this again! I understand your curiosity to go to unexplored and unknown places but laws of the land must be respected and followed!
He is an idiot. I would never let my curiosity put me in a dangerous situation. I love traveling but I’d never travel to communist countries nor countries known to violate basics human rights.
@@nhernandez925 rather naive i believe. It's not James Franco's The Inteview movie where people in NK dancin and laughing. 😒😐 Kid died there cause he stole a f poster..
@@borneocoolpad7833 one day Drew is going to do something stupid that will get him killed or inspire someone to do something stupid that will get them killed. It happened to three people from high on life RU-vidr channel. You are not invincible, you are mortal. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Simple as that.
Drew You need to start Running these kind of things in advance because your face is well-known and you have history of lying to get into countries like you did in Libya so this may work against in the future when trying to get in to a place keep this in mind
A person crossed the border illegally and got 8 years hard labour. That was really dumb of you . Probably lucky you got caught where u did or things could have gotten a lot worse for you
Drew, I have always been intrigued by your curiosity of travelling and exploration, however, this is by far one of the most naïve things I have seen in my entire life. Yes, you can be interested in a country, but you are well aware of regulations that abstain you from travelling to such detrimental regions of the world, and unlike many people, you have been to North Korea and have been able to perceive the horrific conditions and harsh laws there. You may have not known much about this particular destination, but if you knew it would be somewhere this dangerous and strict, you should have researched it.
I’ve been following since your Snapchat days. I liked how you captured places around the world. Glad you’re good and safe, but come on bro. As a ‘well seasoned traveler’ you should know you can’t just walts into a restricted border especially one with NK. You know Americans are banned, and you thought maybe they will let just you in if you ask politely?? Rest his soul, but they literally killed a guy cause he stole a poster. I know you went there and as you’ve said you have this huge fascination with it but what did you expect to happen? Idk if it’s your US passport privilege that’s going to your head as to why you’d think you’d actually get passed or not get questioned. But aside from that it’s how you hype up and over exaggerate your videos. You’ve been doing this for a while now and honestly I think it has a huge reason why your view count goes down. You talk about your view count not being as high as last year but honestly dude, it’s feel like you’ve lost your authenticity. And I don’t mean this in a ‘you’re a RU-vidr’ whatever, whatever kind of way, or bagging on you or hating. Just an observation of a viewer who has been watching you for years. Videos like this don’t seem authentic and I feel like they’re put up for clicks.
Thanks aroundtheworld for chiming in. I second your comments. Drew has become more production hype over time (in video commentary, click bait titles, scripted monologues read, edited and over polished videos) and his naivety kills me so much that I wonder if it is feigned for the purpose of engaging more people.
@@orangesnowflake3769 yea they sent him back to the states in a vegetable state. Once he died they did an autopsy there was clear proof that he was tortured.
@@rickdockery9620 This was filmed before the war but if you're talking about North Korea and its because Americans go there and people dont know much about the life in North Korea.
Ikr. How naive these guy is. Chasing for clout. It's NK for God Sake. Didnt American learned before. Still in recent memories when American kid went there and passed aways while detained in NK for a f poster. 🤔😐😒
3hours is a rule there btw. Not only there. Also in Finnish-Russian border. If you only try to bring too many cigarettes from Russia to Finland, Russian customs/border guards can play this exactly same game... You have to sign alot papers and wait 3hours.... They just want that you have trauma and you never try it again.
I would agree with the viewers who said this action was stupid. Yes, to even plan to sneak into North Korea will get you imprisoned. Do you remember many years back when two female journalists from California were caught by North Koreans on he Chinese side of the border taking photos? They were imprisoned while given bogus charges of illegal entry. What’s even more stupid was these journalists felt because they were American, they had some sort of right to be treated well. Well, if you get imprisoned in North Korea, don’t expect the President to set you free to a hero’s welcome. I’m not putting you down. Just telling you the reality.
I shook hands with a North Korean female defector in Seoul and Robert Park introduced me to this lady back in November 2009. I never forget that experience.
I was there in 2018 and we actually planned to go to the North Korean border. But we were unable to rent a car as for some reason, every rental car was out that time. Wow! Just realized it was a blessing in disguise. God knows what could have happened as we were a group of military officers of a US-allied country. 😂
Lmao. What a chad! North Koreans don't really care about NATO tho, if you're Swedish or Norwegian, you're good to go. If you're French or German, however, you might encounter some problems. Speaking from experience ofc.
Hey drew, glad all went well. Something similar happened to me in nov 2017 as i was crossing by bus from poland into Kaliningrad. With a US passport as well. At this time i have visited russia 2 times. They let everyone on the bus go i. Freely but i got also some how detained. They put me on a room with immigration and military officers. Ki d of sane as you. I had to write in a paper all my nfo. Just like u. The got me there 1.5-2 hours and then they let me go, but they didn’t give me all that paper work. On the wY back a few days later i was worried but nothing happened. After that i have been to russia again. All scary stories, but good ones at the end💪🏻💪🏻👊🏻👊🏻🤟🏻🤟🏻
My foster moms from North Korea she defected to the south got pregnant by an American soldier had his son and was given us citizenship I can speak north and south dialect I also am Irish American raised by all Koreans
Oh my gosh! My heart still hasn't returned to normal! That was SO scary! I can't believe you got that far! I'm American and was going to visit my friend in Canada. The border people (WA state into Vancouver, BC crossing) were convinced I was trying to move to Canada, just because I had 10 pieces of luggage - but a girls' gotta have shoes, right?!). My long story short, they held me up for six hours questioning me! I'm never ever going back! That's why I was so scared for you! If that's what Canada does to an American, I was really scared when they made you go into that bldg! Thank you for bringing us with you! We're SO happy you're still happy! God bless! Stay safe comrade Drewski!
Over a thousand NK defectors are currently unaccounted for. Some went back to NK. What happens after they come back to North Korea, they are probably sent to a prison camp never heard from again and regret going back. Nonetheless Some do go back.
@@sundinfamforlife4129 Don't just assume.. If you know its like that - prove it, otherwise its just spreading propaganda. Prison camps existed in Yugoslavia and SSSR but they weren't met for normal people but rather for betrayers of the country, for someone doing foreign agenda.
@@MKD331BC defecting from the country is the biggest betrayal in Kim Jun Uns eyes. I personally choose to believe the people that have escaped about the existence of these prison camps. Hell some are kidnapped back to North korea..by North korea...
Posting a video like this really shows your poor taste in judgement. Not only with the current situation in Ukraine but also with the widely known humanitarian issues involving North Korea. You foolishly went to that border check point knowing that you did not have the proper papers and your consequences for blatantly not following the rules could have been a lot worse. At least you got your clickbait video title.
Maybe the DPRK would be better if western nations such as the US didn’t bombard it with sanctions, but I guess you can’t expect much from the same bloodthirsty nation that tried to wipe it off the map not too long ago.
When I went to USA I was put in a room with other Aussie and Kiwis for hours but never would I say I was “detained” ! Poetic licence from Drew there . I think of people who have real problems at this time and not this example of first world you tuber problem
Crossing US borders is indeed unnecessarily stressful even for people, who should be allowed entering visa free. I wonder if its even as stressful for US citizens themselves.
@@disco.jellyfish I’m American and I remember when we were coming home from Mexico there was homeland Security agents with rifles at the airport. The agent at the desk was nice but it’s kinda stressful even when you are American.
Drew, the title of your video is very misleading! First of all, you had no intention of sneaking into North Korea because you know very well the consequences of doing something stupid like that! Second, you were detained by the Russian Border Officers and not the North Korean as your title seems to imply! I think it was meant as a click bait but why would someone with 3.22 M subscribers resort to something like that? You can do better!!
I am happy that you are safe after that situation on the border. What do you think, citizens of this part of Russia know about Russian aggression on Ukraine?
I agree, I think he flew too close to the sun this time. I admire him for always trying to show the positive sides of countries that are portrayed as bad countries, but North Korea is just a bad country. End of story. There is no other way to it. People there would rather die trying to escape than stay there. There’s no other side to North Korea. Drew’s strange obsession with north Korea is concerning
To be fair to Drew, even though it wasn’t the smartest idea, his goal wasn’t to sneak into North Korea but just to go to the Russian town on the border. And also, it wasn’t super clear that he needed the special permission.
Not to mention that both cities have excellent ports AND sit on active fault lines that have sprung earthquakes that nearly destroyed both cities in historic times!
I love you drew and I really appreciate your work .I feel immensely fortunate to know you in this media other mise it would boring . I live in a remote village in northern Kenya but I still fell as if I have seen the world.
Comment from China. Just an explanation. Vladivostok was originally a Chinese city named 海参崴. It was occupied by the Russians during the opium war when China was weak. The original people of Vladivostok was either killed or forced away from the city. That is the reason why this city is so European despite the fact that it locates in East Asia.
I'm confused. Drew said he spent three hours at border control with the Soviet military, but the Soviet Union ceased to exist past 1991. Perhaps he meant Russian?
Putting that phone alarm in your videos is cruel and unusual punishment for anybody with an iPhone 😂 Love your channel, this was very ill-advised, glad it all worked out!
“i am fascinated by north korea…let’s just forget all of the massive amounts of torture and human right’s abuse that goes on, because who cares i get to travel and make money…”
Drew I know you need content, but as a fan of your work please don’t be this reckless anymore. Think about that gorgeous woman you have back at home and how you really have become a goodwill ambassador through your travels. What a waste for it to all end with you being incarcerated in Siberia forever. Glad you are OK!
You all are acting like he ran through a field and jumped a fence. It was an honest mistake, he has no idea he would be singled out. Chill, you’re all trigged from a title…..
What a clickbait title 🙈😅 FYI and anybody else who's interested : the border zone in Russia is basically a strip of land 5 to 10 kms before the actual border. It's everywhere in Russia but each region has its own rules. All foreigners need a "border zone permit" (even locals sometimes in some areas), it's very easy to get it, you just need to apply by email in Russian to the FSB office of the region (Google translate can do the job) and pick it up 2 weeks/1 month later in the capital city of the area you applied for (here it would've been Vladivostok). Oh and this permit is free 🤷🏻♀️ 👌
And I'm sure Drew's guides told him this. The temptation for "adventure" was just too much. I hope we don't see dumb people trying to do what Drew couldn't. Instead of making a clickbait title, he could've made an interesting video educating people how to do this trip the legal way.
Glad you’re ok and were still able to have a great time in Russia! That’s nuts. Thanks for sharing it though and hopefully I can visit Russia one day 🇷🇺
awesome man, I went to Vladivostok in 2017 and was thinking about going to the border as well but I had only little time so I chose to go for a safari to see the Amur Tiger. great times
AHH!! Stuck on the border of 2 quite strict countries!! God's hand was certainly on you once again :) Glad I can 'travel' to these places vicariously thru you!!!!!
Thank you for all the video, sometimes you risk too much. Those houses in Khasan looks bigger and more wealthier than I was expecting for a border town of Russia and North Korea
yeah, that's not Khasan on his video by the way. It's a town which is larger and slightly further to the north. Don't know why he prteneded he made it there.
I stopped watching you when you gave a Venezuelan taxi man payment in useless money just to film his reaction. Most content creators would give him a nice tip and film the positive reaction which can be judged as just doing it for content but is much better than the adverse which you chose by getting a negative reaction for views. Saw this video and figured o well I guess he's still the same arrogant guy and decided to watch. After watching this video and reading the comments it's clear it's even more of an issue than I thought. You need a reality check. If you were actually complaining about lower views I'm sure many people feel the same about you as I do. My girlfriend introduced me to your videos and she used to really like your content but after multiple weird things you say and do that show a lack of situational awareness and understanding for how people feel caused her to stop watching too. Tldr: I think Drew is rude and arrogant and I'm glad it's not just me who sees it
I love Natasha. I learn so much about the country I was born in from watching her and her experiences. I pray for the people in my homeland who don’t have a choice in this war. I especially pray for the people In Ukraine and all of those directly impacted from Putin’s war.
Borders are guarded, and politics is a real thing. Countries have rules. There is ZERO reason to be near a border that is defended by people who think you are their worst enemy. Geez, your naïveté is astounding; you got lucky.
@@jaxxoceans3866 It's easy for you to say this but some Albanians live in poverty I have to say that 23.4 % of the population, so the migration it's the only choice.
Interesting video. Thanks for showing me this region and coast Drew. But your naivety (real or feigned) is incredible. 1) What did you think was going to happen if you went toward the North Korean border? That they would let you pass? The world is not full of open borders. 2) You really just looked at the map and realized that Russia touches North Korea on a small part of land? You didn't know this 10 years ago? 3) You decided in the spur of the moment on a trip to go see a border region 6 hours away and didn't decide to try this logistically inconvenient itinerary before you even left on the trip? Sounds like altered video narrative for a good story.
