NEW YORK, NY –
Not many have visited North Korea for tourism. Even fewer Americans. After crossing into North Korean from China, Greek-American filmmaker Michael Angelo Zervos became the second American (and first Greek) tourist to visit the isolated country since it closed its borders early 2020 for reasons disclosed as COVID-related.
Since January 17, 2024, Zervos has been traveling at breakneck speed across the world in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record to be the fastest human to visit every country. So far, he has visited 160 countries in a little over a year and has been to every country in Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Europe is only a few countries away from completion. With North Korea behind him, he now sees a clear path for him to break the Guinness World Record held by American Taylor Demonbreun.
“DPRK represented a critical obstacle that was out of my hands to surmount. If tourism hadn’t opened, I wouldn’t have been able to break this record. Now, looking ahead to Latin America, very little stands in my way to visiting every country in the world.”
Zervos is doing more than just breaking a record. A filmmaker by career, he wanted to add a stronger sense of meaning to the journey. Across the world, in every country, he collects answers to just one question: What is the happiest moment of your life?
“The question is meant to elicit stories from people I meet and so far, I’ve gotten some pretty incredible ones,” Zervos said on a call. “Sometimes I meet people on the street, sometimes I’m introduced to them. I will occasionally reach out to people on social media to get an interview. Most people are very receptive to the project.”
To date, he has interviewed several thousands, with the youngest interviewee 11 and the oldest 101. He posts these stories daily on his social media.
“Even though I work in film, I decided to use social media this time around to tell the stories. I knew I wanted to connect people, particularly young people, with inspiring perspectives and this is how I reach them. I received messages from people all the time saying that one story from a far -flung land really hit them a certain way. It makes me feel like this is worth it.”
When asked if he’s tired of traveling after so long, he said “no way”.
“Every story I hear energizes me in a way that nothing else could. I can power through long flights, nights out, and a lack of sleep if there’s a good story on the other side. I do miss family and friends, but this journey will come to an end and I will see them again soon. For now, I have my eyes on the prize.”
He is expected to complete his record-breaking journey by summer of 2025.
To follow his journey, visit his IG @theprojectkosmos or his website www.project-kosmos.com
