25-Year-Old Man Participates in Pyongyang International Marathon 10km Race
Entered North Korea as an Athlete Using Unknown Nationality
"The Craziest Experience... North Korea Was Different from What I Expected"
A man who participated in a marathon held in North Korea and visited all 195 countries in the world at the youngest age has become a hot topic.
On the 15th, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, "Cameron Morphed (25), an American citizen, completed the 10 km race at the Pyongyang International Marathon, marking the completion of his travels to every country in the world." The Pyongyang International Marathon was held for the first time in six years on the 6th to commemorate Kim Il-sung's birthday, and it is reported that he entered North Korea as an athlete, not as a tourist.
Morphed has been striving to set a record of traveling around the world, including North Korea. As a promising tennis player in his childhood, he developed an interest in traveling after ending his athletic career due to an elbow injury. After graduating from college, he decided to visit every country in the world.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, North Korea's borders were closed, and he was unable to pursue his record for a while. But North Korea allowed Russian tourists in January last year and permitted Western tourists to visit the Rason (Rajin-Sonbong) Economic Special Zone in February, raising his hopes.
However, at that time, North Korea suddenly notified travel agencies to cancel tours. In response, Morphed used his other nationality to register as an athlete for the Pyongyang International Marathon and entered North Korea. His other nationality has not been disclosed, and it is known that he also visited Palestine and Vatican City, which are not UN member states, in addition to North Korea.
After completing the Pyongyang International Marathon, Morphed said, "It was the craziest experience of my life," and "The adrenaline when entering a stadium with 50,000 spectators is incomparable to anything else." He added, "North Korea was my 195th and final country visited," and "By various standards, I am the youngest person to have traveled the entire world."
He said, "I finally achieved my dream through the marathon," and "I saw people riding the subway and crowded bowling alleys in North Korea." He continued, "It was very different from what I expected," and "I expected old buildings and malnourished people, but I saw none of that." However, he added that he did not see everything in North Korea.
In fact, the Guinness World Records lists American Lexie Alford, who visited all countries at the age of 21 in 2019, as the "youngest person to travel to all sovereign countries." Alford, an American citizen, was unable to visit North Korea but was recognized for visiting the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). However, the world traveler platform "Nomad Mania" does not recognize Alford's record and instead lists Morphed as the "youngest person to have visited all 193 UN member countries."
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