About a year ago we met Perm traveler Elnar Mansurov, who has been traveling to various parts of the world for several years. Now his notes have grown into a full-fledged travel project, mishka.travel. Today FURFUR publishes a report on a trip to North Korea, in which Elnar told how he went to the mausoleum of Kim Il Sung, met Korean girls and was almost mistaken for a spy.
We flew on the plane with Dennis Rodman, who, after staying with Kim Jong-un, decided to lead the DPRK basketball team. It’s kind of surreal: I’m flying on a new AN-124 to Pyongyang, the flight attendant brings a burger for lunch, and sitting not far from me is a big dark-skinned guy whom I remember from playing NBA on the Sega console.
Much that is written in the media about North Korea is not true. Even the information that comes to television and the leading media in Russia is greatly distorted. For example, according to some of them, on Independence Day, September 9, a military parade was held in Pyongyang, which was personally led by Kim Jong-un. In fact military equipment there were no people in the city that day, there are many holidays in this small country, and any military parade is a costly event, so on September 9 we had the labor army of the militia (this is something like an army in reserve) or the workers' and peasants' red guard of the DPRK. I felt like I was in the chronicles of a war film, as if I was seeing off North Korean soldiers to war. Hundreds of ZILs with people in uniform, girls with Kalashnikovs, nurses, a military band and one long black limousine with a portrait of the great leaders on the roof. Koreans cry, launch into the sky Balloons and throw artificial flowers to the militia. There are no real flowers in this country; at the airport we also saw how loved ones were greeted with artificial flowers.
In reports on visits to the DPRK you can read about the cult of personality, the ban on photography from bus windows and the complete absence of cars on the roads. Times change, most of the facts become myths, but the truth is that in Pyongyang we even stood in a small traffic jam. On the roads there are mainly Chinese-made cars, sometimes our UAZs and Prioras. In the villages you can find legendary trucks with a gas generator, they are heated with wood or coal. We met them several times on the way to Wonsan, but Koreans react quite jealously when you start photographing them.
Phones are no longer confiscated upon entry - on the contrary, you can buy a SIM card from a local operator and call home, although it is cheaper to call from a hotel.
It is still forbidden to photograph military personnel, military installations, working people, as well as those places that the guide will tell you about (for example, inside a mausoleum or some museum). Ordinary people You can take photographs, but the guides ask not to scare the North Koreans, but to ask permission to photograph them. I travel all over the world with a bear head, but I was forbidden to take photographs with it against the backdrop of the monument to two leaders. It is also prohibited to remove sculptures that imitate leaders or cut off parts of the bodies in the photograph. They may be asked to be removed. We still managed to secretly take photographs of the bear's head.
In the DPRK there is extreme collectivism and snitching, the system of denunciations works smoothly. Therefore, even if you run away from the hotel from the supervision of your guide, ordinary townspeople will immediately turn you in. Near the restaurant after lunch, I went to the tram stop, tried to get to know the locals, chat; the first thing they did was run away. And the next day the guide asked: “Elnar, why did you try to communicate with the Koreans? Realize that they rarely see tourists.” That is, information about this was already reported to her, and they had a friendly explanatory conversation with me.
It is still forbidden to photograph military personnel, military installations, working people,
as well as those places that the guide will tell you about (for example,
inside the mausoleum or
some museum).
Our bus driver was proud that in 25 years he had not been involved in a single accident. Probably because in the last 25 years there have been practically no cars on the roads, and the roads themselves are six- or eight-lane “concrete”. Nowadays you can see taxis on the streets of Pyongyang, and private riders on motorcycles are also starting to appear. It is quite possible that in ten years Pyongyang will not be a half-empty city, but will become an ordinary Asian noisy metropolis with all the exhaust fumes and motorcycle taxi drivers shouting and arguing with each other over the next client.
For me, the whole trip was a solid spy movie. And I must say, I was not disappointed. I sometimes record travel notes in the voice recorder on my phone, but once the guide, after our conversation with her, saw the microphone icon on the phone and suspected me of recording all our conversations. I expected that the special services would be of particular interest to me when leaving the country, so I hid the memory cards with photographs. But it worked out.
But Igor, a representative of the then unknown Ukrainian party “Udar,” was less fortunate. He loved to joke about signs and slogans, jokingly translating them in his own way; the Koreans did not appreciate the humor and suspected him of knowing Korean language. During a visit to the mausoleum, security officers caught Igor and interrogated him about “the real purpose of his visit to the DPRK.”
We were fascinated by one Korean girl, her name was Un Ha, she was a trainee guide in another tourist group. We asked our guide to organize a date with my single friend, jokes aside, but we managed to pull off the meeting. True, there were four of us on a date: in addition to the two of them, there were me and our guide. On another it is impossible. A friend took some French wine (I think you can imagine how much it costs in a closed country), I took a beer to enjoy watching what was happening. The Korean women drank only water, embarrassment grew, we discussed general topics about whether they were on the Internet, whether they were going to visit Russia again, whether they came across harmful tourists from our country. It looked like everything was like a pioneer camp and getting to know another detachment. After 20 minutes of boring monotonous conversation, our guide felt ill and went to her room, followed immediately by Un Ha.
That evening we invited our guide Dzo, who in his age most resembled a representative of the special services, to celebrate our departure, since our guide, Comrade Pak, was, by all accounts, really a guide, which was confirmed by her appearance in other reports. Our third guide, trainee Kim, was very young, his knowledge of the language was noticeably worse, so Dzo (we called him Jo or Tsoi) in our eyes was from the authorities. That evening our “spy games” continued. After we decided that we were all brothers and went to our room for whiskey, the fun began. It is believed that every hotel room is bugged, Zou turned up the volume on the TV to communicate with us frankly. He asked who was “good” and who was “bad” in our group, and said that Igor was clearly there for a reason. They talked about banned books, about the real state of affairs in Russia, and not about what their propaganda says. Exchanged with him banknotes as a souvenir, which, as it later turned out, went out of circulation.
We were fascinated by one Korean girl, her name was Un Ha, she was a trainee guide in another tourist group. We asked our guide to arrange a date with my single friend.
Workers who live without breaking laws and do their jobs well receive up to 1 thousand grams of rice, meat and eggs in return. They constantly report on TV that residents of other countries do not have all this and live much worse. Check it out to an ordinary person impossible, since only trusted individuals are allowed to communicate with foreigners.
Life in North Korea is about complete obedience. If a person keeps a radio in his house, listens to the music of foreign performers, or watches foreign TV channels (although this is practically impossible), he will be sent to hard labor or prison. The situation is worsened by the fact that repression is imposed not only on the offender, but also on his entire family. And the whole family ends up on the so-called black list. This is fraught with the fact that no one will be accepted into the university, there will be no work, and entry into the capital is also prohibited. For particularly serious crimes, a person is publicly executed.
There is one thing in such laws huge advantage: There is virtually no crime. The nation is growing healthy and strong, because from childhood everyone attends classes, is regularly examined by doctors and does not eat much. No woman has the right to pick up a cigarette.
North Korea's birth rate exceeds South Korea's. But these numbers will soon become equal, as the country’s government is pursuing a policy to reduce the number of children in families.
Decrease in life expectancy
As strange as it may sound, even though Koreans often do not have bad habits, their life expectancy is decreasing. Now he is 66 years old. This figure is constantly falling due to the fact that women and children suffer from the general situation in the country.
An expert on US international affairs said that the amount of food allocated per person is not enough to restore vital energy. Therefore, life expectancy in North Korea, especially for ordinary workers, is only falling.
The problem with this system is that some areas of the country simply do not receive it. This is due to the fact that the state has a basic rule - to notify the government of your intentions to visit any area.
The impact of the Korean War on the country's economic development
The war, or police operation, was carried out from 1950 to 1953. This confrontation is also called " Forgotten war", because about him for a long time was not mentioned in official publications.
In fact, this conflict was fueled by poor relations between the United States and its allies and China. The Northern Coalition consisted of the DPRK, the army) and the USSR. The latter two countries did not officially participate in the war, but actively supplied weapons and finance. The Southern Coalition consisted of the Republic of Korea, England and the United States of America. In addition to the listed countries, the UN was also on the side of the South.
The cause of the war was the desire of the president of both North and South Korea to unite the peninsula under his leadership. This belligerent mood radically changed life in North Korea; photographs from those times are indisputable evidence. All men were liable for military service and had to mandatory serve more than 10 years.
During preparations for the confrontation, the government of the Soviet Union feared the outbreak of the Third World War, which was their reason for not fulfilling some requests from North Korea. However, this did not affect the supply of weapons and military personnel. The DPRK gradually increased the power of its army.
The war began with the occupation of Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea. It ended with India making a proposal to create a peace treaty. But since the South refused to sign the document, Clark, a UN general, became its representative. A demilitarized zone was created. But an interesting fact remains that an agreement to end the war has not yet been signed.
Foreign policy
North Korea is very aggressive, but at the same time reasonable. Political scientists in other countries suspect that the leader of the state has experts who can advise right decisions and predict the consequences in a given situation. It is worth noting that North Korea is a nuclear state. On the one hand, this forces hostile countries to take it into account, on the other hand, maintaining such weapons is quite expensive; many European countries have long abandoned them.
Relations with developed countries and their influence on the economic development of North Korea
- Russia. After it broke up Soviet Union, relations with the Russian Federation have almost died out. Only during the reign of Vladimir Putin were cooperation agreements signed in many areas. In addition, in 2014, all debts of the north to the Russian Federation were written off. In some ways, this did little to make life easier for the North Koreans.
- USA. Relations with the United States are still quite tense. America to this day stands on the side of South Korea and supports it in every possible way, which helps the economy develop significantly. The same cannot be said about the northern part of the state. US representatives portray North Korea as an aggressor and often accuse them of provoking their southern neighbor and Japan. Some serious publications conducted investigations and wrote that the northern government was trying to kill the president of South Korea, shooting down planes, sinking airliners. This American attitude is not conducive economic development country, and this does not improve life in North Korea for ordinary people.
- Japan. Relations with this country are completely severed and could escalate into a full-fledged war at any time. Each state after Korean War imposed sanctions on each other. And the DPRK openly stated in 2009 that if Japanese planes flew into Korean territory, lethal fire would be opened.
- South Korea. Due to strained relations and desires to unite the peninsula, kidnappings, murders and attacks occur regularly. Shootings are often heard on the outskirts of countries, and they are also recorded on the land border. Several years ago, North Korea announced its decision to launch a nuclear attack against Seoul. However, this event was prevented. This is one of the main reasons why life in North Korea is dangerous and leads to the fact that young people try to leave at the first opportunity. permanent place residence in other countries.
Military life of men
In 2006, there were more than 1 million people in the army of the Democratic People's Republic. There were over 7,500,000 in reserve, and 6,500,000 people were members of the Red Guard. About 200,000 more work as security guards at military installations and in other similar positions. And this despite the fact that the country's population is no more than 23 million.
The contract with the ground military is for 5-12 years. A man has the right to choose where to serve: in the army, division, corps or brigade.
Service time in navy a little less: from 5 to 10 years. Thanks to the fact that the government spares no expense in developing its army, the people are fully equipped necessary devices, weapons and protective suits.
Unlike other countries, the state in question is investing in intelligence development, which significantly worsens the lives of people in North Korea.
Most of the military is concentrated in the area of the demilitarized zone. U people's army at its disposal more than 3 thousand main and 500 light tanks, 2 thousand armored personnel carriers, 3 thousand artillery barrels, 7 thousand mortars; V ground forces there are also approximately 11 thousand anti-aircraft installations. Such uniforms require a large investment Money, which could bring the country out of stagnation.
Life in North Korea (feedback from ordinary people confirms this) due to such a bellicose attitude does not make progress, or rather, it simply stands still. The indigenous people don’t even know that it is possible to exist in any other way. It’s not for nothing that the country’s rulers came up with a slogan, the essence of which is not to envy anyone and live only on your own. This policy helps in some way to maintain control over the common population.
What is life like in North Korea? Reviews from foreigners
Unfortunately, all people living in the country are prohibited from talking about how hard their lives are. However, tourists who have visited North Korea willingly share all their memories and impressions.
According to traveler reviews, entry into the country is only possible with the help of travel agencies. All the time, a person or group of people is under surveillance and moves around the city or region only with a guide. Radios, telephones, and any other gadgets are not allowed to be imported. This goes against the government's beliefs. You can only take photographs of what is permitted by the guide. In case of disobedience, the person is added to the blacklist and is prohibited from entering North Korea.
It is immediately clear to the naked eye that people live an average life. Poorly dressed, empty roads. Cars appear very rarely, which is why many children play on the roadway.
There are a lot of soldiers on the streets, who are also forbidden to photograph, especially if they are resting.
People travel on foot or on bicycles. Tourists are given free rides near the hotel. By the way, the corridors in the building resemble horror films. There have been no renovations for a long time, people appear here extremely rarely. In addition to bicycles, residents use bulls.
Both women and children work in the fields. Abandoned areas located on military bases are rich in small decoys that look like tanks.
Some buildings have escalators, which have only recently appeared. People are not yet used to them and have little understanding of how to use them.
Electricity in houses is provided for several hours. Trees and small monuments are whitewashed not with a brush, but with hands.
In the spring, people eat ordinary grass added to dishes, which can be quickly and unnoticeably picked from a neighboring lawn.
Economic spheres
The DPRK's economy is not well developed. Due to the fact that since 1960 the country has become closed and stopped publishing production statistics, all conclusions are given by independent experts and cannot be 100% reliable.
- Industry. North Korea (the everyday life of citizens depends on the level of development of the state in this area) is moving well in the direction of mining. In addition, there are oil refining plants on the territory.
- Mechanical engineering. The country produces machines that Russian Federation imports. However, the models are not modern; they were produced in the USSR several decades ago. Cars, SUVs, and trucks are produced here.
- Electronic sphere. After the DPRK imported several million more smartphones and ordinary cell phones in 2014 than in 2013, everyday life things have gotten better in North Korea. Over the past 5-7 years, companies have produced tablets, several smartphones and a special computer for working in factories.
- Agriculture. Due to the fact that the country lacks fertile land, Agriculture poorly developed. A large area of the country is occupied by mountains. The main crops planted are rice, soybeans, potatoes and corn. Unfortunately, few greens and vegetables are grown there that can be eaten raw. And this leads to deterioration in health and, as a result, reduces the life expectancy of ordinary Koreans. Livestock farming is dominated by poultry and pig farming. Due to the poor development of the country, the crops are harvested by hand.
Comparison of living standards of people in North and South Korea
The most closed country is North Korea. Life for ordinary people here is not the best. You can only get around the city by bicycle. Cars are an unprecedented luxury that an ordinary worker can hardly afford.
Anyone wishing to enter the capital must first obtain a pass. However, it's worth it. There are picturesque places, various monuments and monuments, and even the only metro in the whole country. Outside the city you can hitch a ride. Military personnel must always be given a ride - this is the law.
All residents of the DPRK must wear badges with state leaders. Also, citizens who have reached working age must get a job. But since there is often simply not enough space, local authorities come up with new activities, such as baling hay sheaves or cutting up old trees. Those who have retired also need to do something. As a rule, batches are allocated small area land, which the old people undertake to look after.
Everyone has long known that North Korea, where the life of ordinary people sometimes turns into hell, has cruel laws and follows in the footsteps of fierce communism. However, there is something with which this country attracts and beckons. These are parks, nature reserves and just very Beautiful places, which you can admire endlessly. What is “Dragon Mountain” worth, which is located 30 minutes drive from Pyongyang.
Life for women in North Korea is very difficult. Mostly men are involved in the army, they have practically no benefit for the family, so the weaker sex became more active and was able to prove that they could live in such conditions. Nowadays, women are the main breadwinners. They are the ones who work around the clock due to the somewhat inadequate laws of the DPRK, aimed only at protecting the state. If we compare modern life with any historical era, then we can say with confidence that Korea lives in 1950. The photo below is proof of this.
South Korea is a country of cinema, music, prosperity. The country's main problem is alcoholism. The state ranks 7th in the world in terms of drunkenness, but this does not prevent it from advancing, expanding its sphere of influence and becoming a powerful power. The Government of the Republic conducts its foreign policy in such a way that it has a good relationship with many European countries.
The people living in the country are kind, helpful, they always bow and smile at passersby. And this trait is especially evident in the service sector: in cafes, restaurants, cinemas. The buyer, or rather the person who pays the money, is treated like God. Under no circumstances should he wait long for his turn. Due to such rules, service in this country is distinguished by quality and speed.
Education is what makes South Korea different. He she top level. Poor academic performance, which entails failure at university, means expulsion from society.
The army is not as well developed as in the north, but everyone is required to serve here - from workers to pop stars. The consequences that await after attempts to evade service are reminded of the constantly flying North Korean planes in the sky. Men are drafted closer to the age of 30. As a rule, Koreans get married very late, often after demobilization.
Their apartments look sparse. Only those who work tirelessly can afford houses. The citizens themselves laugh at the apartments and other housing that is shown on TV and published in magazines, saying that this is just a fantasy.
North and South Korea, whose living standards vary greatly, unfortunately, do not even think about uniting with the world. Some kind of conflicts and risks of renewed war constantly arise, which greatly impacts ordinary citizens of the north and forces them to migrate to other countries.
Now let's talk about reverse side medals.
Every country has its own shortcomings. To insure yourself against severe disappointments, I propose to consider 10 disadvantages of life in Korea. Everything is subjective, of course, but personally it seems to me that the 10 minuses are as follows:
1.
Lack of a basic concept of etiquette and the concept of personal space
This applies to older people who consider it their business to tell you, despite the fact that you yourself may already have children, what and how to do, moreover, in an orderly tone, even if they don’t know you. They can start communicating with younger people with the phrase “Hey, you!” And some individuals can even openly fart, excuse me, in the subway (which happened to me twice), not to mention constant coughing on the street.
2.
TO Korean traditional holidays
There are two significant traditional holidays in Korea: Chuseok, the autumn harvest festival, and Seollal. New Year By lunar calendar. Since ancient times, these holidays have been considered very important, which bring together all relatives at one table in the house of the eldest relative, where they play games and have fun.
But now everything has completely changed due to the constant employment of Koreans and their inability to have fun, and also because of the difference in generations: the younger ones do not have the right (!) to ask anything from the elders. It's not decent and there are a lot of cockroaches. The following picture emerges (this is not only in the husband’s family, but in most Korean families): relatives who go to visit swear all the way that they have to go so far (usually this is another city, and often the relationship between relatives, to put it mildly, is “not very much,” but you have to go - it’s a tradition), and the relatives who receive guests swear that they need to cook a ton of food for the whole crowd. Then everyone meets with smiles on their faces, as if they were just waiting for this meeting.
Then they bow to the ancestors (men only), that is, they put out food, light fragrances and bow in memory of the deceased ancestors. After which they begin to eat. What does it all have to do with women bringing it, and the men sitting there looking so important. Then communication begins to be “squeezed out” on general topics discussed annually in order to maintain the conversation. After the topics have been exhausted, time begins to drag on, like, well, it’s inconvenient to leave right away, you need to create the appearance that everyone is interested)). You can watch TV. Hmm, in general, for an ordinary “Russian” person like me, all this tediousness is very difficult to survive, even if it’s for a few hours only 2 times a year! Brrrrr... Moreover, the most interesting thing is that Koreans are always proud and show off their “family values”. Yeah! It’s not like that!
A! Well, and most importantly, for these holidays they give MONEY, which is above all for a Korean and for the sake of which all the inconveniences for Koreans can be tolerated)) Because money is everything for a Korean!)
3. Inability to get close to people and be sincere
I think it’s already clear from point 2, but I’ll add a little. It's a bit of a shame that in most cases, Koreans become “friends” if it benefits them. And regarding sincerity, you will never know what they really think about you, since they always have a “mask” of politeness on their face.
4. Lack of New Year's atmosphere
This is my sore subject. Their Catholic Christmas is December 25th, on this day couples usually go on a date! Just like that. Well, sometimes a family can go out to a restaurant. Our New Year on December 31st in Korea practically passes without attention. No Christmas trees at home! The only thing is that quite a lot of people gather in the very center of the city to see the mayor or someone else ring the big iron bell at 12 at night. And if you are in another part of the city, then there is generally zero feeling that it is a new year. One day I just returned from a funeral on December 31 at 10 pm... but that's another story.
5. Worship of elders
Again this cult of age in Korea. Here, when meeting someone, the first thing they ask is how old you are in order to understand how to behave. If you are older, even by a year, then such respect and uti-paths; if you are younger, then frivolous, relaxed communication. The most interesting thing is that here even twins are distinguished by the elder and younger brother or sister!
6. Trying not to stand out from the crowd
Oh, God forbid, at lunch with employees of different ages you ordered noodles when everyone else ordered rice. Oh no no no! Now, of course, they won’t say anything (not like a few years ago), but they will look askance. Our company has 2 canteens, that is, 2 menus. We all go there together as a department. So, the youngest girl in our department is 20 years old. Usually everyone approaches the menu and “sort of chooses” (because anyway they usually eat whatever the boss prefers). Although, okay, I won’t exaggerate, our boss is quite loyal and can still listen to wishes junior employees. Not everyone is like that though. But the most interesting thing is that when they ask that girl, her answer is always the same: “oh, I don’t know how to make such a choice” and looks at the floor in embarrassment.
7. Talk about plastic surgery
Korea is simply a paradise for people with “defects”, as it is very developed plastic surgery and the prices are quite cheap for it. Let’s say, if a girl is not pretty, then she can ask her parents to give her a “nose operation” when she graduates from school, for example.
Recently there was the following situation in the elevator: two women were riding and a younger girl came in, whom they knew, but apparently had not seen for a long time. After the greeting came the question: oh, what did you do to your nose? you've changed so much. (it’s very cool to ask such a question in front of strangers in the elevator!). And the girl answers: no, I just changed my hairstyle!))))
Of course, I was torn. The most interesting thing is that the girl came out earlier, and these women started grinning and discussing, like: well, well, she did her hair..)))
8. No cheese
In principle, it is possible to find it, but you have to look for it and it is sooooo expensive((((no comments
9. Carrying babies like gypsies
It's just annoying! They wrap, or rather, tie the child to themselves from behind with a blanket!!! even a very small one! what's going on with the bones? I can't imagine.
10. Vacation
Korea has the smallest vacations in the world!
This is what life in Korea is like for me, with its downsides. Maybe you can survive them calmly and they won’t seem so scary to you :) Which disadvantage is most unacceptable to you?
About a year ago, we told the story of Perm traveler Elnar Mansurov, who has been traveling to various parts of the world for several years. Now his notes have grown into a full-fledged travel project mishka.travel. Today we present to your attention a report about a trip to North Korea, in which Elnar told how he went to the mausoleum of Kim Il Sung, met Korean girls and was almost mistaken for a spy.
(Total 12 photos)
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1. We flew on the plane with Dennis Rodman, who, after staying with Kim Jong-un, decided to lead the DPRK basketball team. It’s kind of surreal: I’m flying on a new AN-124 to Pyongyang, the flight attendant brings a burger for lunch, and sitting not far from me is a big dark-skinned guy whom I remember from playing NBA on the Sega console.
Much that is written in the media about North Korea is not true. Even the information that comes to television and the leading media in Russia is greatly distorted. For example, according to some of them, on Independence Day, September 9, a military parade was held in Pyongyang, which was personally led by Kim Jong-un. In fact, there was no military equipment in the city that day, there are many holidays in this small country, and any military parade is an expensive event, so on September 9 we had a labor army of militia (this is something like an army in reserve) or workers Peasant Red Guard of the DPRK. I felt like I was in the chronicles of a war film, as if I was seeing off North Korean soldiers to war. Hundreds of ZILs with people in uniform, girls with Kalashnikovs, nurses, a military band and one long black limousine with a portrait of the great leaders on the roof. Koreans cry, release balloons into the sky and throw artificial flowers to the militia. There are no real flowers in this country; at the airport we also saw how loved ones were greeted with artificial flowers.
2. In reports about visiting the DPRK you can read about the cult of personality, the ban on photography from bus windows and the complete absence of cars on the roads. Times change, most facts become myths, but the truth is that in Pyongyang we even stood in a small traffic jam. On the roads there are mainly Chinese-made cars, sometimes our UAZs and Prioras. In the villages you can find legendary trucks with a gas generator, they are heated with wood or coal. We met them several times on the way to Wonsan, but Koreans react quite jealously when you start photographing them.
Phones are no longer taken away upon entry - on the contrary, you can buy a SIM card from a local operator and call home, although it is cheaper to call from a hotel.
3. It is still forbidden to photograph military personnel, military installations, working people, as well as those places that the guide will tell you about (for example, inside a mausoleum or some museum). You can take pictures of ordinary people, but the guides ask you not to scare the North Koreans, but to ask permission to photograph them. I travel all over the world with a bear head, but I was forbidden to take photographs with it against the backdrop of the monument to two leaders. It is also prohibited to remove sculptures by parodying leaders or cutting off parts of the bodies in the photo. They may be asked to be removed. We managed to secretly take photographs of the bear's head.
In the DPRK there is extreme collectivism and snitching, the system of denunciations works smoothly. Therefore, even if you run away from the hotel from the supervision of your guide, ordinary townspeople will immediately turn you in. Near the restaurant after lunch, I went to the tram stop, tried to get to know the locals, chat; the first thing they did was run away. And the next day the guide asked: “Elnar, why did you try to communicate with the Koreans? Realize that they rarely see tourists.” That is, information about this was already reported to her, and they had a friendly explanatory conversation with me.
4. Our bus driver was proud that in 25 years he had not been involved in a single accident. Probably because in the last 25 years there have been practically no cars on the roads, and the roads themselves are six- or eight-lane “concrete”. Nowadays you can see taxis on the streets of Pyongyang, and private riders on motorcycles are also starting to appear. It is quite possible that in ten years Pyongyang will not be a half-empty city, but will become an ordinary Asian noisy metropolis with all the exhaust fumes and motorcycle taxi drivers shouting and arguing with each other over the next client.
For me the whole trip was a complete spy movie. And I must say, I was not disappointed. I sometimes record travel notes in the voice recorder on my phone, but once the guide, after our conversation with her, saw the microphone icon on the phone and suspected me of recording all our conversations. I expected that the special services would be of particular interest to me when leaving the country, so I hid the memory cards with photographs. But it worked out.
5. But Igor, a representative of the then unknown Ukrainian party “Udar”, was less fortunate. He loved to joke about signs and slogans, jokingly translating them in his own way; the Koreans did not appreciate the humor and suspected him of knowing the Korean language. During a visit to the mausoleum, security officers caught Igor and interrogated him about “the real purpose of his visit to the DPRK.”
6. We were fascinated by one Korean girl, her name was Un Ha, she was a trainee guide in another tourist group. We asked our guide to organize a date with my single friend, jokes aside, but we managed to pull off the meeting. True, there were four of us on the date: in addition to the two of them, there were me and our guide. On another it is impossible. A friend took some French wine (I think you can imagine how much it costs in a closed country), I took a beer to enjoy watching what was happening. The Korean women drank only water, embarrassment grew, we discussed general topics about whether they were on the Internet, whether they were going to visit Russia again, whether they came across harmful tourists from our country. It all looked like a pioneer camp and getting to know another detachment. After 20 minutes of boring monotonous conversation, our guide felt ill and went to her room, followed immediately by Un Ha.
That evening we called our guide Dzo, who in his age most resembled a representative of the special services, to celebrate our departure, since our guide, Comrade Pak, was, by all accounts, really a guide, which was confirmed by her appearance in other reports. Our third guide, trainee Kim, was very young, his knowledge of the language was noticeably worse, so Dzo (we called him Jo or Tsoi) in our eyes was from the authorities. That evening our “spy games” continued. After we decided that we were all brothers and went to our room for whiskey, the fun began. It is believed that every hotel room is bugged, Zou turned up the volume on the TV to communicate with us frankly. He asked who was “good” and who was “bad” in our group, and said that Igor was clearly there for a reason. They talked about banned books, about the real state of affairs in Russia, and not about what their propaganda says. We exchanged banknotes with him as souvenirs, which, as it later turned out, had gone out of circulation.
7. The desire to please tourists in order to break the negative background around the DPRK is palpable. The electricity in the hotel is not turned off, all day long available hot water. But punctures happen in the simplest little things. For example, a bag of black tea is not given for breakfast; it is only soaked in boiling water. Then two bags are put together and dipped to the next tourists, and when the tea stops brewing, ten used bags are poured with boiling water and brewed. Despite this, the tourists’ food was excellent, and I consider the beer and lemonades to be some of the best in the world.
The DPRK has excellent beer, the most common is Taedonggang, despite its price, all tourists like it. A light, refreshing lager without any extraneous flavors, perhaps this is what Zhigulevskoye was like in the USSR at first. There are many legends about their plant; supposedly they bought a brewery in England, dismantled it and transported it to Pyongyang. Tendogan beer is one of the few products that has even been advertised on state television. They say it can be found in South Korea, but hardly for 1 euro, as for tourists in North Korea itself.
8. In the DPRK, there is practically no dog meat in the diet of an ordinary local resident, although in December of this year a Korean was detained at the Perm airport for trying to smuggle eight kilograms of meat. Tourists eat dogs much more often; half of our group dared to try it. Dog meat is rich in easily digestible proteins and is considered healthy and tasty, and the whole table agreed with this when the soup was brought. While many people didn’t eat cold appetizers, the soup was simply a hit. In the DPRK, this soup is called tankogizhan or tankogikuk on the menu.
9. We were impressed by the gorgeous deserted beaches of the Sea of Japan (by the way, it is called the East Korean Sea, and nothing else, and the Yellow Sea is called the West Korean Sea). A fence with electrified barbed wire was built along the sea to prevent the insidious imperialists from Japan from landing on the Korean shore. It is clear that it was built so that our own people would not run away.
The Internet in the DPRK is an extremely privileged thing; for tourists it is intermittently available only in one place - at a hotel in the Diamond Mountains. The cost of one minute is one dollar.
10. There is a tradition in the mausoleum to honor the memory of the “great comrades” and show respect to them by bowing to them. They bow to the leader three times: to the floor, facing him, and twice more, coming from the side. It is very funny to watch American tourists bow to the North Korean leaders, because this is exactly what the leaders dreamed of. Tourist visas are given to Americans quietly; the country needs money from tourism.
Koreans carefully monitor the Internet, guides are sensitive to bad reviews about them and the country as a whole. I promised that I would tell only the truth. What cannot be taken away from Koreans is hospitality and naive simplicity.
11. The North Koreans are trying to show off any of their technological achievements, so we visited the factory where they produce mineral water(using Italian equipment), went to the city of Nampo to see a hydroelectric power station (built with the help of Soviet engineers).
From interesting facts: North Korea announced a change in the calendar, now the era is counted not from the birth of Christ, but from the birth of Kim Il Sung. The leader himself was ranked among the “eternal president,” whose spirit continues to rule the state from the mausoleum where his body is kept.
12. We promised our guides that we would not write anything bad, but would write only the truth. Before receiving the visa, we gave a signature that we undertake not to publish notes about the DPRK in the media. I'll be honest: the country is beautiful. Excellent nature: amazing Diamond Mountains, lakes and gorgeous beaches. Hospitable people. And most importantly, this is, perhaps, the last country from the past, the DPRK - a fragment and an echo cold war, which survived both the Berlin Wall and the USSR. At any moment, the communist dictatorial regime may collapse, and tourists will never see this historical monument. Have time.