Is North Korea off limits for Inaturalist? and is it worth the trouble of photographing species there?

Nature Talk
85

yes islands are amazing

86

sadly i only explored this area before i had inaturalist, i really got to get back. The amphibians!

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87

It isn’t hate, it’s not understanding what you are getting at. I understand, I think. Some of us focus on a place because it is considered closed or off limits. I think of Richard Feynman, author of Tuva or Bust. Tuva is one of those “countries” within Russia, which in Feynman’s time was part of the Soviet Union, and the restrictions on Americans going there was part of why Feynman was so fascinated with it – that, and its indigenous culture related to that of the historic Mongols (Genghis Khan and all that). Or the various Western adventurers who made their way into Tibet before the Chinese takeover, when Tibet’s official policy was to exclude all outsiders. The allure of the forbidden is strong, for a certain kind of personality.

Unlike the others, I’m not going to advise you to forget it, or to go somewhere else instead. What I will say is that the kind of information you need is not going to be found here; the folks posting here are mostly more interested in the nature they can access than in getting into places they can’t.

I hate to discourage you, but despite Feynman’s many efforts, he never did get to Tuva.

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88

so Russia as a whole is also a no go as well?

89

If you’re a US citizen i imagine so. Lots of Russian people on iNat though.

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90

even with the level 4 travel advisory, you can probably go to Russia as long as you understand and accept the situation there, and as long as you can get all the necessary visas and other paperwork and can find transportation into and out of the country.

that said, there are many other places that are easier to visit…

92

It was more so in Soviet times.

93

I’m going to close this thread. The original questions have been answered, there’s a lot of advice on the forum about how to increase one’s species count (eg https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/tips-and-methods-to-increase-your-species-count-how-to-find-new-things/38316/9) and it’s strayed into a geopolitical realm that I think is beyond this forum’s purview.

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