Name: Nick Bonner
From: Cheshire
Living in: Beijing

"Although I primarily work in North Korea, Beijing has provided the gateway for me to enter this fascinating and little-understood country, and as a place to live it has provided me with incredible opportunities."

Nick has now lived in Beijing for over 15 years, after he first visited an old friend to explore opportunities for studying Chinese design. Despite finding less of the traditional Chinese architecture that he was expecting, he stayed longer than expected. With two friends, he began running Beijing's first live music venue, which led to the eventual creation of Beijing's current Sanlitun bar district.

However, it is not his links with China that he is best known for. While lecturing in Landscape Architecture in 1993, he used Beijing as a base for his first visit to Pyongyang, and was struck by the beauty of the city and its fascinating architecture. Together with fellow Brit Josh Green they established Koryo Tours, specialising in arranging tours to North Korea. In recent years, he has been joined by two more fellow Brits Simon Cockerell and Hannah Barraclough allowing the company to expand tour content and destinations.

(Nick Bonner [on left] on location in North Korea)

When the company started in 1993, the UK had not yet established diplomatic relations with the DPRK. However, through developing a close relationship with the Korean authorities Nick began to take foreign groups departing from Beijing several times a year. He also indulged a growing passion with filmmaking and together with the BBC and VMS productions (UK) he produced three documentaries focusing on human interest stories in North Korea.  The first, 'The Game of Their Lives', was about the North Korea 1966 World Cup football team who created the greatest shock in World Cup history.  This was followed by 'A State of Mind' following two performers in the Mass Games the biggest choreographed performance in the world and, most recently with 'Crossing the Line', the story of an American who has been living in Pyongyang since defecting from the US Army in the 1960s.

It is however perhaps the cultural exchanges the team work on that are so rewarding- together with their Korean partners Koryo Tours have take in school groups, sports teams, films (including Mr Bean and Bend it like Beckham) for the Pyongyang Film Festival.  They are currently co-curating an exhibition of North Korean contemporary art for the Brisbane Modern Art Gallery.

Nick is currently in Beijing writing a script with his North Korean colleagues for a romantic comedy to be filmed in Pyongyang...with Korean cast and crew. Fortunately life in Beijing is a bit more normal.