I stayed at a North Korean summer camp. We polished statues and played a game where we destroyed the White House.

First, we spent two days in Pyongyang, where we were constantly supervised.

We visited many places, including Kim Il Sung Square and the war museum where they displayed captured American vehicles as well as the USS Pueblo, the American ship that was seized by the North Koreans in the 1960s.

They kept pushing us into supermarkets so that we’d spend some money.

What was funny was that it was really easy to buy vodka and cigarettes.

Some kids in our group, as young as 12, bought North Korean rice vodka, brought it back to the camp, and got extremely drunk on the first couple of nights.

They tried to brainwash us in many ways. We played a computer game where your character, a hamster in a tank, had to destroy the White House.

One kid became so indoctrinated afterward that he joined the Communist Party in Russia and was always posting about North Korea.

For me, it didn’t work — the propaganda was too straightforward.

Also, I was too frustrated with the strict schedule to be brainwashed. For example, when I was sick, they wouldn’t let me skip early-morning exercise.

The food was also really bad. The only things I could eat were rice, wedges, and bread.

I lost about 11 pounds in 15 days, even though I was already skinny.

After leaving, I craved capitalist food so badly that I bought three Burger King burgers, two large fries, and a cola. It was impossible to eat all that, but I just wanted it so bad.

Despite the boring, miserable and overly controlled experience, I returned the next year. I don’t like confrontation, and the Communist Party officials had already signed me up, so I went again.

It was a stupid decision to return, and I don’t know why my parents let me go, but I’d totally do it again.

I can easily make friends just by talking about my experiences — people just want to hear about North Korea.