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Hey guys! Here's a set of photos that a buddy of mine took when he went on vacation to Pyongyang (yes). I have blurred out faces for privacy reasons. As he is not an American, he was allowed into Pyongyang for the mass games, but then also got to travel around to Kaesong (an industrial area near the South Korean border) and also to a few other rural areas. Apparently, Americans are no longer allowed in, period. As is the case with every foreign visitor to NK, however, he did have a guide present at all times. I posted these on page 7 of the other Korean thread, but I realized that with 70+ pics, this post should probably be in its own thread. I'll provide his explanations of the photos.  Pyongyang Airport. The experience began boarding the flight in Beijing, on an old 80s soviet jet, acquired by North Korea.  Some Pyongyang appartments, near one of the Kim Il sung statues.  Arch of Triumph. "Bigger than the Paris one."  Arirang Stadium. Close-up photography on-site of the exterior was restricted due to the large number of military personnel present. You cannot take pics of military or poverty; that pretty much seemed to be the only photography rule- other than that they were pretty relaxed. On exit, customs go through everybody's cameras and delete such offensive photos. They are actually very friendly and show more interest in the quirky things you may possess or any stories you have to tell in your broken Korean  Our tour guide for the 6 days, Gil Hyun-ah. They don't like the probing questions imposed on western curious tourists so they dont answer personal questions. I was keen to find out what goes on in a north Korean's head. Managed to get to know a bit about her by simply not asking her any questions and allowing for natural conversation to take place. Unlike most North Koreans, this one was granted a degree of freedom; studied in Singapore, 25, likes Britney Spears. To be in her position (contact with Westerners), she has to be a trusted and devoted communist; her grandparents are high up in the ranks/close to the leader. She asked me about my life in south Korea, about what the media say about the north Korea. I tried to steer her away from the usual anti-American leads she kept going down by explaining to her the bigger picture through examples of the British Empire's acts of exploitation/conquering/slavery etc. etc. I was treated to a private impromtu singing performance of some western song from her, we spoke about England's dialects and she asked me why "some people in parts of England say 'apples and pears' and not 'staircase' " . I consequently cited exampled of cockney rhyming slang and nervously gave her my book Bill Bryson's Mother Toungue which she started to read with intrigue and was happy to take. North Koreans aren't allowed to take western publications. In fact I hadn't realised the book was with me; it's published in the USA, thus rendered illeagal to smuggle in- let alone give to anyone.  Some Revolutionary thing at some place. I basically never listened to any of the spiel that gets reeled off so never really took into account where I was or what I was looking at. It's all either brainwashed or anti-US fuelled speak. The tour's interest was visual.  A tour guide, somewhere on some steps in Pyongyang. Near the Juche Tower perhaps  Our hotel in Pyongyang. 47 stories high. The lift didn't show several floors, including 44 and 45. When we attempted to take the stair case from 26 floor upwards, we saw empty floors before the staircase hit a concrete wall.  (My friend) in front of a fountain.  An amusement park. the rollercoaster didn't work.  Juche tower  Juche tower plaques from foreign bodies  One of the many giant Great Leader Kim Il Sung statues dotted around the country. This one is in Pyongyang  Pyongyang has no advertising. The only thing you see is 50s art advertising the greatness of all things Korean/Revolutionary/Kimesque  Pyongyang Kim Il Sung memorial. I think this was the strangest experience in my life. It's a long story to convey the oddness and surreality of what we experienced. Everything we owned was temporarily confiscated, so no photos of the inside.  Trolley car. Being in Pyongyang was like walking into a city that time forgot. Imagine Back to The Future. Clothes, buildings, technology, art etc. stuck in the 50s. Strange and beautiful.  Pyongyang is very green.  Highway from Pyongyang to Kaesong. Empty.  Almost completely empty.  Pyongyang from above   Pyongyang traffic girls. They don't use traffic lights  The busiest the streets ever got in Pyongyang. It may have been Liberation day, but not sure. Cars in DPRK are either old soviet cars, or whatever they can get their hands on from Japan (right hand drive) or China (left)   Central Pyongyang, the arch of triumph is behind the camera. Empty roads.  Highway oasis on the road from Pyongyang to Kaesong. Empty. 50s style.  Pyongyang worker  Pyongyang  Propaganda  Tour guide, Gil Hyun-ah  Some monument, somewhere  Pyongyang. The water jets are similar to the ones in South Korea, but probably shoot a few feet higher.  Propaganda  Pyongyang  Apartments - these are in HIGH demand.  Propaganda  Pyongyang, Arirang stadium in the background  Pyongyang  Panmunjeom/DMZ. A giant signature of the Great Leader Kim Il Sung. Its measurements mirrored figures such as time and day of death  Panmunjeom Joint Security Area. That's the building in south Korea. To get to that building, you have to return to Beijing, catch a flight to south korea, and then drive up. $1000 dollars to cross those last 300 feet.   Panmunjeom Joint Security Area; the foreground line is the border, cross that, yer dead.   Inside the DMZ's hut thing on the border. That door exits into south Korea  Captured US "spy" sub USS Pueblo          The mass games! They were spectacular. The colored backdrop is made up of about 60,000 students who hold up different colored squares at predetermined times. Quite a feat.  We were taken to a Foreign Language Bookshop. This book on the right is basically a book about how the nasty evil american bastard imperialists....started....the... korean war. In DPRK, every reference to America/American is about how evil they are. They are to blame for all of Korea's (north and south) problems. I bought the newspaper on the left, which documents the North Korean account of Clinton's visit the week before, which saw Clinton "groveling" with apology on behalf of the two American criminals.  Food. It's a myth that the country has a food crisis. How can this be true with all this food in front of us?  A REVOLUTIONARY calendar. They sure love their comrades in NK!  Kaesong, near the SK border.  Kaesong, village near border. That road leads to a giant Great Leader statue. That evening as we were making our way to the hotel in our coach (we don't walk anywhere), we passed this and saw masses of people in various grouped uniforms, orderly making their way to the statue. We then entered two huge gates into our small "village" confined by walls, leaving us cut off from the real Kaesong and unable to interact or see the real place.  View from inside the giant gates looking out into the real Kaesong. That morning, I was the first up to wander around. From the other side of the wall I could hear revolutionary music and propaganda being blurted out to the masses- 5.30am.  Kaesong villagers.  The guide in Kaesong.  Duck. Apparently, it wasn't that great, but the beef was good. Also, the soju (rice liquor) and beer was also quite tasty.  Possibly the strangest photo here: two well-fed, well-clothed North Korean girls. Daddy must be friends with Dear Leader!  More pyongyang REVOLUTIONARY stuff  Science! They are proud of their technological feats and like to display this with art. The population fears a US-led nuclear attack.  The subway map. She explained the "journey finder" function, which involved pressing the buttons corresponding to departure and destination points. LED lights then show your (simple) route. The text reads "Where are you going?" Behold NK technological prowess!  The subway. Everywhere in Pyongyang uses low-powered lighting. A 40-watt bult often would light up our small dining room. I had to use photoshop to raise the brightness and contrast.  On the train out of Korea  On the USS Pueblo "spy" sub  Captured US imperialist submarine  Caputured US imperialist pig dog helicopter Christ, that took me FOREVER.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 03:24 |
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| # ? Nov 20, 2009 22:41 |
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Glad to see that comedy bit about there not being any color in that country isn't true. Actually a pretty beautiful place once you get past the nukes and hostility.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 03:31 |
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Great thread, always interesting to see what NK is like. From the feel of the pictures it's like a ghost town.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 03:32 |
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Where the hell IS everybody?  Whenever I see photos of NKorea everyone seems to have vanished.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 03:40 |
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That has to be the creepiest country ever.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 03:43 |
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JLea posted:Where the hell IS everybody? They don't want people around the tourists and they don't want tourists to see starving farmers.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 03:44 |
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Awesome thread, glad your friend and his camera made it back in one piece.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 03:45 |
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This was simply amazing, thank you for sharing.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 03:46 |
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I've always wondered whether or not it would be easy to pick up women in NK. Those two "well fed" girls in the picture for example. As a foreigner would you be some sort of notch on their belt? I guess what I'm asking is did you sleep with the enemy?
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 03:51 |
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"You stupid American pig! Slap my rear end you demon dog!" Oh yeah, I want some hot North Korean rear end. 
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 03:57 |
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Amazing. NK has always been a fascination of mine, and it's always interesting to see stuff like this. It's scary, though, how crazy they are about what kinds of pictures leave the country and what exactly you get to see. edit: what sort of process did he have to go through to get in? robodex fucked around with this message at Nov 08, 2009 around 04:14 |
| # ? Nov 08, 2009 04:01 |
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I especially like how two NK border guards stand and face each other at the line, while the third stares back into his own country, rather than watching the border. It seems their primary function is to prevent escape. Edit: That giant pig-thing is also one of the scariest images I've ever seen. Mediochre fucked around with this message at Nov 08, 2009 around 04:11 |
| # ? Nov 08, 2009 04:07 |
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jacert posted:I've always wondered whether or not it would be easy to pick up women in NK. Those two "well fed" girls in the picture for example. As a foreigner would you be some sort of notch on their belt? I guess what I'm asking is did you sleep with the enemy? I was wondering if everything was scripted and if those girls are supposed to play the specific role of "our girls are just like your girls! but BETTER "
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 04:13 |
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Mediochre posted:I especially like how two NK border guards stand and face each other at the line, while the third stares back into his own country, rather than watching the border. It seems their primary function is to prevent escape. I think this happened after one guard tried to run into South Korea to defect? So basically the two are supposed to keep each other from running while the other one catches everybody else. somewhat offtopic, I'm watching some Berlin Wall documentary right now and it's surprisingly similar to the DMZ.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 04:27 |
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jacert posted:I've always wondered whether or not it would be easy to pick up women in NK. Those two "well fed" girls in the picture for example. As a foreigner would you be some sort of notch on their belt? I guess what I'm asking is did you sleep with the enemy? From what I understand, contact between everyday North Koreans and foreigners is really frowned upon. Plus, foreigners are followed around by guides that do their best to prevent any unauthorized contact. So I would guess it would actually be a lot harder to pick up anyone there.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 04:35 |
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jacert posted:I've always wondered whether or not it would be easy to pick up women in NK. Those two "well fed" girls in the picture for example. As a foreigner would you be some sort of notch on their belt? I guess what I'm asking is did you sleep with the enemy? I'm pretty sure it would be nearly impossible to pick up a Korean girl, for a few reasons. First, Koreans (North and South) are notoriously conservative sexually. This has only begun to change within the last generation in South Korea. Single mothers are absolutely ABHORRED in Korean society - like, to a degree that is very difficult to explain. Secondly, if they've got nice clothes and full bellies, they are high up in the Communist party - which means that even if they DIDN"T believe everything KJI said, they would never dare to show it. Foreigners are considered to be nearly subhuman - sleeping with a foreigner would be like a ticket to the gulags. To get in, he booked a tour with some company (don't remember the name, I'll ask him) and then had to fly to China. Obviously, immigration between North and South Korea is completely forbidden. Anyway, after he got to China, the tour company booked a train to North Korea. I *think* he had to leave his passport behind in China, and they don't stamp it when you go into North Korea (if you're a Westerner, that is). I believe the total cost was around $3000 dollars.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 04:39 |
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http://www.koryogroup.com/ Was it possibly this tour company?
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 04:43 |
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Bi Barbarian posted:I'm pretty sure it would be nearly impossible to pick up a Korean girl, for a few reasons. First, Koreans (North and South) are notoriously conservative sexually. This has only begun to change within the last generation in South Korea. Single mothers are absolutely ABHORRED in Korean society - like, to a degree that is very difficult to explain.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 04:58 |
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This reminds me of that group who filmed their doings in NK with a small video camera, and had some depressing footage while they whispered mocking words while the guides had their backs turned. Also, your friend's guide is a fox god drat. edit: http://www.vbs.tv/watch/the-vice-gu...th-korea-1-of-3 the film
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 05:00 |
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The most interesting thing to me is the Quilmes beer. That's Argentina's go-to beer of choice, and pretty much the only thing I drank there. Apparently the Argentines are doing brisk beer businss in N. Korea. Awesome.
BranceMulliganPI fucked around with this message at Nov 08, 2009 around 05:09 |
| # ? Nov 08, 2009 05:07 |
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Are there more? This is fascinating.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 05:14 |
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Reading the first NK thread this morning lead to watching documentaries and reading up on other people's tours for the rest of today. It is really weird to see the same images show up time and time again. If nothing else the North Koreans are masters of putting on a show. Awesome pictures, Thank you for sharing.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 05:16 |
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BranceMulliganPI posted:The most interesting thing to me is the Quilmes beer. That's Argentina's go-to beer of choice, and pretty much the only thing I drank there. Apparently the Argentines are doing brisk beer businss in N. Korea. Awesome. Nah, I asked him about that, since Quilmes is my favorite beer. He said that it was on the train back to China, which means it was imported by China, not NK.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 05:18 |
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If I knew the itinerary while doing that, I totally would have had someone go to the DMZ in South Korea and take a picture of me on the other side.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 05:35 |
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Providing the political climate remains as is if not better, I'd definately like to visit the DPRK. I fear that Dear Leader might go hog wild when he realizes he's close to coming to the clearing at the end of the path and I definately don't want to be around for that. There're practically no rudimentary free markets and the place is 100% ethnically homogeneous, there's nowhere else like that in the world. What's the deal with 'No Americans' now? I find that their tourism restrictions change wildly, one day they're not allowing any journalists, then they are, then they aren't. There're a multitude of travel agencies offering services to the DPRK and since I'm not American I'd love to go, provided that when they check me out when I apply for my visa that they don't find out how many of them my Grandfather blew up in his awesome tank. I'd have a hard time going along with all the horseshit they put you through. I find it hard to believe that they really think all the tourists and journalists they put through the same motions (Demilitarized Zone, Kim Il Sung Memorial, Friendship place with all the gifts, USS Pueblo, the big dam, Mass Games) actually believe that everyone's doing fine. I've seen grizzly execution videos smuggled out, and I know everyone in the north of the country is (especially) starving. I'm afraid I'd have to let them know that nobody was falling for their act. But then I'd probably end up in a labor camp and my tour guide(s) would probably get shot. But really, where else in the world can you go where you stay in a massive hotel as it's only guest in a room that's bugged? Cheesemaster200 posted:If I knew the itinerary while doing that, I totally would have had someone go to the DMZ in South Korea and take a picture of me on the other side. I believe there're no pictures or pointing or staring or farting or doing anything when you're on the South Korean side of the DMZ. But apparently you can do whatever the gently caress you want when you're on the North. Silber fucked around with this message at Nov 08, 2009 around 05:46 |
| # ? Nov 08, 2009 05:42 |
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Wow. Fantastic pics. I was in sK for a year and only got as far north as the Blue buildings at Panmunjom. Always wondered what it would be like to tour the North.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 05:44 |
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Creepy as gently caress. The fact that it looks 'almost' normal makes it even more terrifying than the idea of a pack of wolves and bears storming me while I'm trying to take a poo poo in the woods. It's absolutely the last place on earth I would want to be abandoned.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 05:58 |
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It seems strange that North Korea keeps allowing westerners to go on these tours, when they invariably return to bash the country on the internet.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 06:26 |
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These are completely fascinating. I especially like that bit about the hotel having a bunch of fake floors. So typical of North Korea to pull something like that.Bi Barbarian posted:
I find this thought funny as hell.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 06:29 |
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Bi Barbarian posted:I think this was the strangest experience in my life. It's a long story to convey the oddness and surreality of what we experienced. Everything we owned was temporarily confiscated, so no photos of the inside. I would love to hear this long story. Also, the Mass Games are really loving weird. I mean, all of North Korea is weird, but those giant pig heads and hatching chicks are especially weird.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 06:38 |
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The USS Pueblo is a ship. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Pueblo_%28AGER-2%29 not a sub.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 06:54 |
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Zachsta posted:It seems strange that North Korea keeps allowing westerners to go on these tours, when they invariably return to bash the country on the internet. So long as the government gets their money, the tour organizers probably couldn't care less what tourists say about the country after they leave. The high-ranking officials in the country probably know that their countries isn't up the par of developed nations, or even many developing ones. I imagine just about everyone who's important in North Korea drinks the Kool-Aid, but they don't swallow. So long as they have their perks and privileges, they don't really give a poo poo. Let the outsiders in, let them pay their money, give them whatever minimal tour of the zoo will satisfy them, and then count the currency they paid.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 06:57 |
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North Korea qualified for the 2010 World Cup.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 06:57 |
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FuhrerHat posted:North Korea qualified for the 2010 World Cup. Yep, all the newspapers here (south korea) are saying, "THE EYES OF THE WORLD ARE ON THE KOREAS AS THEY COMPETE IN THE WORLD CUP!" Yeah, not so much, guys. Although it'll be interesting. I'll ask my friend about his experiences at the Kim Il Sung memorial.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 07:03 |
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Absolutely fascinating and creepy stuff. Thank you very much for sharing.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 07:06 |
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That vice guide to travel series was amazing. He seemed to get the same weird rear end tour you got. Far out. Thanks. Always good to see what is behind the crazy wall. Anyone read World War Z? I always thought that the ending was pretty bad rear end with regard to NK. Basically, NK is apparently empty. No contact, nothing. No one will go in because they don't KNOW if it is empty. They think everyone went underground, but they just don't know. Bad rear end idea and fits into the apparent psyche.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 07:09 |
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What an awesome thread! Great photos, very surreal at times.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 07:10 |
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To celebrate this thread I lazily converted these propaganda posters into wallpapers.    
WebDog fucked around with this message at Nov 08, 2009 around 07:42 |
| # ? Nov 08, 2009 07:34 |
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I would love to visit there. Something about everything being stuck in time, yet they move on otherwise is just amazing to me. A lot of those pictures look like a time warp that I want to actually visit. It has that retro-future feel Fallout has nearly. Surreal. It was also very green, for some reason I always thought it was more of a rocky wasteland.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 07:36 |
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How funny. I just finished reading Aquariums of Pyongyang, Kang Chol-hwan account of his life in North Korea - and the ten years he spent in a North Korean concentration camp. It was absolutely horrifying, and I have no desire to give any money to North Korea. That said, I'm fascinated by pictures of the country. It's amazing to think that, below the green exterior, there's poverty and starvation. I saw a bit of North Korea from the South Korean DMZ in Dorasan. The mountains are loving barren because the people in the rural areas on North Korea have resorted to eating grass and tree bark.
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| # ? Nov 08, 2009 08:05 |
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