North Korea Photos (Photo Essay)
Pyongyang has no shortage of very impressive Stalinist architecture.
This article appears in Globerovers December 2017
At the top of the attractions list is to watch a few local TV stations! All North Korean television stations are propaganda machines, promoting the Worker’s Party position and demonising all things Western. The typical programming includes news (watch out for the famous lady Ri Chu–hee), revolutionary operas, patriotic music, marching bands, army choirs, documentaries about the Worker’s Party, military parades, locally produced movies, and lately a lot of footage showing Marshall Kim Jong-un and his very happy and satisfied interactions with his subjects. I did not notice any TV commercials for products or services. During the weather forecast you will see one Korean country going all the way down to Jeju Island off the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula.
A trip to North Korea is not complete without the sites they want you to see: the showpieces of the regime, the points of hero worship such as Kim Il-sung Square and the towering statues at Mansudae Grand Monument where we had to bow in front of the statues of the two dead leaders. It was no big deal at all, so we just did it. The Tower of Juche with its stunning views over Pyongyang, the Founding Party Monument, the captured American spy ship USS Pueblo at the War Museum … so many places they wanted to show us! We ran out of time and could not see the War Museum, but our minders then arranged with the museum to open one hour earlier to accommodate my friend and I, and two people to show us the museum. Their agenda was obvious. As we started with a 15 minutes long propaganda video about “how the American Imperialists started the war”, I asked if we could skip the video and see more of the museum, but were told we had to watch the video.
READ ALL ABOUT NORTH KOREA IN THE DECEMBER 2017 ISSUE OF GLOBEROVERS MAGAZINE
Here’s a list of the not to be missed attractions in Pyongyang:
Kim and Kim at Mansudae Grand Monument in front of Korean Revolution Museum, Pyongyang
Kim and Kim at Mansudae Grand Monument in front of Korean Revolution Museum, Pyongyang
The “snow falls dance” dancing women statues at Mansudae fountain-park, Pyongyang
Grand People’s Study House at Kim Il Sung Square, Pyongyang
Unidentified building, Pyongyang
Korean Art Gallery, Kim Il Sung Square, Pyongyang
Residential buildings at Mirae Scientists Street, Pyongyang
Central Train Station, Pyongyang
Ryugyong Hotel, Pyongyang
Arch of Triumph, Pyongyang
Korean War Museum, Pyongyang
Korean War Museum, Pyongyang
At the Korean War Museum, Pyongyang
Korean War Museum, Pyongyang
Monument to Party Founding, Pyongyang
Kim Il Sung Stadium, Pyongyang
Mass dance on National Day, the day of the founding of North Korea. The statement under the portraits translates to “Comrade Kim Il-Sung and Comrade Kim Jong-Il will be with us eternally”, Pyongyang
Monument to the Three-Point Charter for National Reunification at the end of the Tongil Expressway between Kaesong City and Pyongyang
Views from the Juche Tower along the Taedong River, Pyongyang, North Korea, DPRK
Views from Chongnyon Hotel (Youth Hotel), Pyongyang
Views from Chongnyon Hotel (Youth Hotel), Pyongyang
Unidentified building, Pyongyang
Next to Juche Tower along the Taedong River, Pyongyang
Village at Thongil restaurant, Kaesong City
Views from Chongnyon Hotel (Youth Hotel), Pyongyang
Unidentified building, Pyongyang, North Korea, DPRK
Mansudae Assembly Hall, Pyongyang, North Korea, DPRK
Next to Juche Tower along the Taedong River, Pyongyang
Mass dance on National Day, the day of the founding of North Korea. The statement under the portraits translates to “Comrade Kim Il-Sung and Comrade Kim Jong-Il will be with us eternally”, Pyongyang
Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), Panmunjom
Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), Panmunjom
Mass dance on National Day, the day of the founding of North Korea, Pyongyang
Mass dance on National Day, the day of the founding of North Korea, Pyongyang
Mass dance on National Day, the day of the founding of North Korea, Pyongyang
Metro Station. Pyongyang, North Korea, DPRK
Metro Station. Pyongyang, North Korea, DPRK
Metro Station. Pyongyang, North Korea, DPRK
Train station outside Pyongyang
Views from train on 6-hour ride from Dandong, China to Pyongyang
Views from train on 6-hour ride from Dandong, China to Pyongyang
Views from train on 6-hour ride from Dandong, China to Pyongyang