Former North Korean air force pilot Ryu Song Hyeon took the controls of a professional Boeing 737 flight simulator for the first time, media outlet Supercar Blondie reported. Ryu grew up in North Korea, where he became interested in aviation and joined the country's military air force. However, due to the poor condition of the North Korean air force, he never flew a real aircraft or used a flight simulator during his service.
Ryu said that during his childhood, the thought of piloting an aircraft felt practically unreal. Testing the Boeing 737 simulator was a special milestone for him. In the cockpit, a professional instructor explained the basic controls of a passenger airliner, including course, pitch, speed, and roll management.
Flight Simulation at Los Angeles Airport
The session moved to a landing approach at Los Angeles airport, where the instructor demonstrated how to deploy landing gear, set flaps, lower speed, and align the plane using the instrument landing system. The instructor also explained navigation instruments used when flying in low visibility. Emerging from clouds at an altitude of about 150 meters, Ryu spotted the runway and began his landing.
His first attempt did not go according to plan, and Ryu joked that he managed to destroy a plane worth hundreds of millions of dollars before completing a successful landing. He expressed surprise at how sensitive the controls were and how differently the aircraft responded to his movements. Ryu noted that his prior military training in North Korea helped him understand the instructions, though he joked that he should have listened more closely to his teachers at the time.
Ryu said he does not aspire to become a commercial airliner pilot, noting that in a real Boeing 737 he would rather sit in a business class seat. His current goal is to pilot a small aircraft and travel with his family to scenic islands with small airfields.
Student Exchange Experience in Pyongyang
In a separate report on life in North Korea, news agency UNIAN reported that Bulgarian student Todor Merdzhanov spent a month studying Korean language at Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang in 2013 through an exchange program. Merdzhanov said foreign students faced strict rules, including curfews, restricted movement, and separate classes that incorporated ideological texts.
Despite the restrictions, Merdzhanov formed friendships with North Korean youths who dreamed of traveling to an open world but lacked the opportunity. He recently visited the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, where he recalled with sadness the friends he will never see again.
