Guys Manage To Get Into North Korea By Pretending They’re Pro Golfers

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Were led to believe that in the Hermit Kingdom of North Korea any and all visitors are constantly under the gaze of a beady Orwellian eye at all times.

So it comes as something as a surprise that two random blokes somehow managed to trick their way into one of the country’s top international tournament.

Morgan Ruig and Evan Shay, both 28, from Brisbane decided to cut their polo trip in Beijing short and enter into the annual championships in North Korea by email.

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The pair didn’t expect their jokey email to be accepted but somehow they were and the two decided to just go with it and take part in the contest, The Daily Mail reports.

They explained:

We just emailed them really. I don’t think they’re massive on the internet over there so I don’t think they had many opportunities to research.

Despite being pretty atrocious at golf the pair pretended to have a low handicap and even wore green blazers to pose as top players.

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Of course when they knocked a ball into a river the ruse was over and their caddy told them they’d brought great shame on their families.

The pair were well aware of the dangers of heading into the notorious isolationist country and admit to being nervous as they crossed the border.

Pyongyang golf course - Uri Travel

That said the pair admitted that the North Korean people were ‘very respectful’ although they were chaperoned around for the entire five-day trip as a condition of their travel.

The two-day tournament took place last month and was based at Pyongyang Golf complex, North Korea’s only golf course, close to Pyongyang the country’s capital.

Tom Percival

More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.

Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.

He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.