North Korea – most isolated country in the world
By Village Mayor • Jul 28th, 2008 • Category: Amazing Places, Latest PostKey Facts
Location: Above South Korea
Capital: Pyongyang
Population: 23,301,725 (48th, 2007 est.)
GDP: Per capita: $1,900 (147th, 2007 est.)
14 Interesting Facts about North Korea
1. You can’t turn off the government radio installed in your home, only reduce the volume.
2. Idolatry in North Korea is such that it is second-nature for ordinary citizens to “rescue” portraits of Kim Il Sung before all else in the case of a house fire (there are even special bunkers for statues in case of war)
3. Many people don’t even know that man has walked on the moon.
4. There is no Internet, cell-phones have been banned.
5. A main cause for all problems are Americans. Mothers teach their children to sing songs about bad Americans, there are many postage stamps showing the death of “U.S imperialists”
6. A six-day work week, and another day of enforced “volunteer” work, ensures that the average citizen has virtually no free time.
7. The very first thing you do when you visit North Korea’s capital Pyongyang is visit and give a flower to a big statue of “Dear Leader”.
8. About 0.85% of the population are held in prison or detention camps.
9. Most traffic control is performed by female traffic directors (reportedly handpicked by Kim Jong-Il for their beauty), as the lights are switched off to save electricity.
10. Dogs are banned in Pyongyang to keep it clean.
11. Avarage wage in 2005 was 6$ (source: www.gluckman.com/NKFEER.html)
12. Visitors of North Korea are given special guides and can’t go anywhere without them.
13. North Koreans are used to often disappearing electricity and have many candles prepared.
14. North Korea has the fourth-largest military in the world, at an estimated 1.21 million armed personnel
Some call it “the Darkest Spot in the World”
Some call it “the Darkest Spot in the World”, “the Ghost City”, or “the Hermit Kingdom”. If you happen to visit North Korea’s capital Pyongyang at first you might think that it’s not as poor as the press writes, everybody is well-dressed and everything is extremely clean, even a bit too much. Only later you would get to learn more about the reality behind that big facade that they are showing to foreigners. Special well-dressed people hired to walk in the underground stations, looking happy and smiling all the time, special shops filled with fruits and other goodies, fake buildings near the wall with South Korea to show off to their southern brothers – this is how they want us to see them.
(This is the “Propaganda Village” seen from the South Korea’s side. It is propaganda, because nobody actualy lives here, it’s only facade buildings to show off to South Korean’s. You can also see there is the biggest flag in the world. The buildings around have huge broadcasting speakers that, every day for 6 to 12 hours pump out propaganda and messages praising how wonderful life is in the North Korea.)
(An article about North Korea can’t be without the picture of Kim Il Sung, the “Dear Leader”. This is a statue for him in all his beauty which stands 20 meters tall)
North Korea is now ruled by Kim Il Sung’s succesor Kim Jong-il a.k.a. the “Dear Leader”. And he’s not just a simple ruler, he is a god here. When a foreign doctor once came to North Korea to heal the blinded people from cataract, he must have been amazed by the fact that when he had healed those blind people, they didn’t come to thank him, but instead, they started praising the Dear leader like insane for getting their sight back. They were extremely happy that they could finally see the picture of their Dear leader. It is hard to tell whether they are so brain-washed or they are acting like that because of fear.
(One of the guides that are given to every North Korea visitor. She’s cute, must be selected from hundreds of candidates)
(A nice view of Pyongyang)
(Wide streets without any traffic is a common thing in North Korea. A road to nowhere?)
(This is how North Korea looks from the space – a dark spot of the world. It also shows what is the difference between communism and capitalism as South Korea is very well lit.“Except for my wife and family, that is my favorite photo,” once said Secretary Rumsfeld. Some people joke, that they must be the greenest, most eco-friendly country on the planet and every nation should follow their example. Oh and by the way, that one and only little white spot in North Korea is Pyongyang.)
(Must be a busy day for a traffic lady.)
(Typical buildings of Pyongyang and a HUGE amount of cars in one place, and almost all of them are old Mercedes. Notice that the streets is still empty.)
(Usual propaganda in North Korea – children killing U.S troops.)
(Just regular children, with their parents at the station. When photographer wanted to make a picture, the children saluted spontaneously. And the boy is dressed in a military uniform, probably ready to fight against U.S imperialists.)
(A game in a funfair – I believe it is shooting and I guess you win a statue of Dear Leader if you shoot right into U.S imperialist’s chest)
(This is how Pyongyang looks like when there is some kind of celebration, there are thousands of people, 99% this is a birthday of “Dear Leader”)
(Mass games or mass gymnastics are regularly performed only in North Korea, where they take place to celebrate national holidays such as the birthdays of rulers Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. There are tens of thousands of performers taking part in this highly regimented performance. The show looks really amazing, and the big picture in the background is not LED, LCD or PLASMA screen – it is made by thousands of schoolchildren changing cards in their hands, and the picture is even animated).
If you want to get a feel of what it’s like to live in North Korea you should definitely watch this movie:
Inside Undercover in North Korea
Pictures:
[yeogigeogi] [Matthijs Gall] [stephan] [Lex Luthor 1] [hungry_i] [ninjawil]
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November 7th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
The US has the highest incarceration rate in the world http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/law/research/icps/worldbrief/wpb_stats.php?area=all&category=wb_poptotal
And I really want to know why those kids are holding M & M’s.
November 2nd, 2009 at 6:45 am
What’s all that work going towards if they have nothing in North Korea? I think that some 95% of all buildings in North Korea are empty. They’re just there for show, so that they appear on satellite photographs and make DPRK look prosperous. I assume this because all the streets and parking lots are empty, so there must be no people in most of the buildings. There are also almost no photos of regions outside of the government-run tourist cities. I’m saying that the majority of “cities” that you can see from Google Earth are empty. They’re just for show, and were built with the effort of the workers (the population). I’m even certain that the population isn’t really 24 million but probably a fifth of that. Much of the population has died and the government lies about how large the population really is.
I think Kim Il-Sung used Orwell’s 1984 as a guide when he created the way of life of North Korea.
1. You can’t turn off the government radio installed in your home, only reduce the volume. ->That’s in 1984.
October 16th, 2009 at 8:24 am
#4: true, but do you know that California has 0.4% of its population in prison?
October 11th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
Seriously, the first thing I thought of was 1984.
September 25th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
North Korea is a terrible country and I might just commit suiced if I have to live in this SHIT. Americans are the best and that is why we are so jealous of them. AMERICANS 4 LYFE!
September 25th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
North Korea is pretty terrible and everyone should know about this.
September 9th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
lolz. i agree with steve’s comment!
WilliamWallace, you have a good point! ^^
in my opinion,
North Korea is creepy. ^^’
please tell me something positive about it!!
September 5th, 2009 at 9:38 am
The darkness and those empty streets are just … incredible.
September 5th, 2009 at 8:22 am
Seems like a good country to visit, any place that doesn’t have f*cking McDonalds and Starbucks on every street corner or sells piss water like Budweiser cant be all bad.
August 26th, 2009 at 10:36 am
@wtf2 The so called problem of North Korea is not communism; the problem is dictatorship.
yes you are right, communism, in this case, probably has little to do with their problems. It’s dictatorship.
@wtf2 Honestly, I don’t know much about North Korea, but I know a lot about biased agendas that are published as some form of definitiveness. Just read this: “Just regular children, with their parents at the station. When photographer wanted to make a picture, the children saluted spontaneously. And the boy is dressed in a military uniform, probably ready to fight against U.S imperialists.” … seriously?
Watch some documentaries about North Korea, and then question such statements. It’s not a joke. The children of North Korea are taught to hate, and fight Americans at a very young age.
I have watched at least 3 documentaries about North Korea + various reports, and they all say same things and support each other.
Try watching this: “Inside Undercover in North Korea”
Don’t remember the other 2. One was about a doctor who has traveled to cure the eyes of North Koreans (there were lots of blind people, who just needed very little help, and they could see again). And another was done by Mamontovas (Lithuanian singer)
August 26th, 2009 at 9:51 am
N Korea makes S Korea almost look good
August 26th, 2009 at 4:31 am
@ Village Major”You are free to tell whatever you really know (or think) about North Korea in the commentary section, and everyone who is interested in the topic will definitely read them, and will decide whom to believe.”
Right… but it seems ultimately that the author of this post is attempting to be the definitive voice of the current state of North Korea (anti-american, brainwashing, etc). It’s obviously beyond bias. The first part of my comment- about the author stating that the satellite imagery of lights shows the contrast of communism and capitalism- was highlighting this form of propaganda. Essentially, the author of this entry is saying that communism= baroness and that clearly, as this image shows, capitalism is better for society (they’ve got power). That’s an agenda, though I doubt I have to spell it out.
Also, you’re claiming that by approving my comment, you have falsified any claims of propaganda. As I said earlier, the tone of the author implies some sort of definitive voice on the negatives of not only North Korea, but of communism as well. The so called problem of North Korea is not communism; the problem is dictatorship.
This post is supportive of xenophobia among other terrible issues. There are so many misleading “probably” comments on the photos taken that it boggles my mind as to why this was published in the first place. While there is plenty “wrong” (whatever that may be) with North Korea, there is plenty wrong with the USA (which the author clearly neglects) as well. This post is an example of it. The author states that North Koreans are “brainwashed”; watch American popular news as well, this is brainwashing if we’re trying to find examples.
Honestly, I don’t know much about North Korea, but I know a lot about biased agendas that are published as some form of definitiveness. Just read this: “Just regular children, with their parents at the station. When photographer wanted to make a picture, the children saluted spontaneously. And the boy is dressed in a military uniform, probably ready to fight against U.S imperialists.” … seriously?
August 26th, 2009 at 2:27 am
@wtf2 if we wanted to spread propaganda we wouldn’t approve your comments.
You are free to tell whatever you really know (or think) about North Korea in the commentary section, and everyone who is interested in the topic will definitely read them, and will decide whom to believe.
Oh, and I want to thank everybody for commenting, and noticing our mistakes.
August 26th, 2009 at 1:23 am
Man has never landed on the moon. they are correct to not lie to their people. we get so much information probably %90 is bullshit. i bet they all have healthcare and sh*t i work 6 days a week and two jobs per day, my seventh day is spent working on getting things done that my government requires me to do and im american. i can not even go see a doctor without paying my entire wage to do so. God bless the righteous
August 25th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
It´s a beautiful place.
That girl is hot.
The traffic is nice.
The head of usa soldier is nice. (it reminds me usa soldiers killing children in iraq).
The MM´s with the comunist children is nice….
Do they let you smoke marijuana?
August 25th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
Hahaha Sounds like a wonderful place for vacation!
August 25th, 2009 at 10:20 am
” 8. About 0.85% of the population are held in prison or detention camps.”
This made me laugh. Despite the claim, there is no data available on prison population in N.Korea!
The USA has a highrt prisoner ratio than ANY country in the world – 701 per 100,000 (0.7%)
The UK ratio is 141 per 100K (just above average)
source: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/r234.pdf
August 25th, 2009 at 6:09 am
“It also shows what is the difference between communism and capitalism…” …. WTF?[x2]
Also, I’m glad someone with experience in North Korea revealed the propagandized elements of this blog post…
August 20th, 2009 at 9:21 am
yes it is one of very nice country. i like it very much
August 19th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
8. About 0.85% of the population are held in prison or detention camps
Lol, that’s still lower than in the United States (2.4%)
August 16th, 2009 at 7:57 am
Call me crazy…. but maybe that had to do with paying the electric bill?
August 16th, 2009 at 7:56 am
So… North Koreans are 100% censored, “forced” to listen to Gov. sponsored radio, and work 6 days out of the week. Do you really think they are happy??? Or even close to content??? They don’t know any better, and Dear Leader is a Sociopath who enslaved an entire country. If yo don’t see anything wrong with that, then you’re sick as well and should really have your moral compass re-aligned.
August 3rd, 2009 at 9:36 pm
“It also shows what is the difference between communism and capitalism…” …. WTF?
July 9th, 2009 at 8:01 am
Ah yes, above South Korea. How far down does one have to dig to get to South Korea. Such blatant misinformation and disinformation is so sad in this day and age.
April 17th, 2009 at 8:44 am
very nice korea.
April 10th, 2009 at 10:15 am
Some go missing, I agree. but it’s not to that a huge scale… It used to be bigger in tmes when there still were Japanese imigrants… now only few go to the camps. But are u suprised taht some of them do? There’s such a huge corruption, that the only way to make this amchine still go is to scare the cleriks in order to make them work. Look at the statistics – only 4 or 5 were executed in DPRK in 2007 or 2008 (I don’t remember), while in China numbers of executed go into thousands. You knwo why DPRK is shown as far more evil than countries like China? Cos it is cmpletely against USA so won’t cooperate to be American trade partner, therefore as a communist DPRK is useless for American and global ecnomy. That’s why the West wants to get public support in abolishing the communists state. Also USA may need people’s support in case it had to attack N. Korea, cos as we know . N. Korea is prety unstable in its foreign politics and may decide to atatck countries like USA or S. Korea any time……..
April 10th, 2009 at 2:44 am
Mayki, It’s worse than this. People go “missing” all the time there for the slightest sign of descent. Some end up in work camps to be starved to death or eventually executed.
The world would be better off without megalomaniac leaders like this.
March 24th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
I have to state that this ‘article’ is totally biased. It is written completely on the behalf of the Western countries and agianst DPRK. I cannot say I support the North Korean government in any way, as it opresses it’s people a lot indeed, but it’s not like children are always walking in war uniforms and people only think of killing the Americans. They have normal lifes as well. Of course, many of the things (like AGD staff in the shop) showed, are only to impress the foreigners, but we cannot exagurate. North Korea, just like all the countries, has it’s good and bad sites…. However, it is told to be the most evil, as is communist, which Western countries cannot accept….. We always have to be objective.
February 26th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
I was in Pyongyang and Kaesong in October 2008 and while some of what is here is true, some of it is exaggerated and used to shock. I am an American and a very experienced traveler – USSR four times, Mongolia, China (25 years ago) along with every country under communism in Eastern Europe. This is unlike the other communist societies. While it is one of the poorest places on earth, I found people to be honest, sincere and funny. While the minders were strict in the first few hours, we got them drunk and they began to trust us. By the end of the week we were cruising around hollering at the traffic girls and having a rip roaring time. They took us where we wanted to go. That is not what I thought would happen.
“Special well-dressed people hired to walk in the underground stations, looking happy and smiling all the time” – total crap. We delayed our bus and did not make the underground until rush hour and we saw real people, kids and the elderly. During the Mass games we could mingle and did. It was really fun.
Most of these stories are myths concocted by people knowing that you have not been there. We know nothing, therefore we project our deepest fears. There are so many myths about this society. Once you get on the ground you get a sense of things. I was sneaking off all the time to see what I was not supposed to. I can tell you plenty of nasty things but I must say I was impressed with their determination to be free of foreign influence – they have been oppressed by everyone. They emerged from slavery in 1945 and they are not going back. This is a KOREAN society and it manifests Korean ideals – so we tend to think of this as dictatorial communism at its worst. They genuinely love their country. They are more truthful than I expected. They would talk about everything – almost. The penal system was where they drew the line. Even the famine was discussed. They are on a 48 hour week but since there is not much to produce many factories I saw were at a complete standstill waiting for resources. Korean women do all the work is what they say there and judging from the number of men sitting around I would say the work week is not as long as is advertised. This is no paradise by any means but I have respect for their determination.
Some advice, don’t castigate what you do not know. Go – try to understand what is going on there. This is a complex issue not easily understood as our society and theirs is very far apart. Try looking at Flickr.com’s North Korean photos. Take a look at the society.
February 9th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
They are only happy as you say, because they don’t know any different. They are brainwashed into that world.
January 30th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
I would like to go and check it out.. Just to see what it is like..
I would just be scared (being American) of them not letting me leave
lolol
December 27th, 2008 at 9:27 am
Allah knows how glad I am to be living in Malaysia!
December 25th, 2008 at 6:20 am
is this possible today? are north koreans living in this generation? jst unbelivable…
November 11th, 2008 at 9:23 am
One thing we must admit that, North Korea has no parallel in discipline.
October 31st, 2008 at 1:01 am
Wow … 1984 anyone?
October 10th, 2008 at 12:50 am
Actually, North Korea does have the internet, but not in the same sense as we would think of it. Some Government officials have access to China’s censored version of the internet, but most people only have access to a national intranet which provides services such as email and instant messaging. It doesn’t really matter though, as very very few people in north korea have a computer. Also, the radios are wired to only receive government-controlled frequencies, and are subject to random inspections to check for tampering. Most people really are happy there, but it’s a creepy Pleasantville-type happy that happens when official media is the only media allowed, telling people that everything’s great and ok.