North Korea Diary
Thursday, April 19th, 2007 Posted in Travel | 2 Comments »Saturday 14th April [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Where are the cars? Quiet streets greeted us in Pyongyang "][/caption] We flew into Pyongyang aboard a Air Koryo flight from Beijing. The customs officials dissected my bag with great enthusiasm but they only seemed ...
North Korea: Pyongyang Metro
Tuesday, April 17th, 2007 Posted in Travel | No Comments »The Pyongyang Metro is the deepest in the world at 120 metres and doubles as an bomb shelters in times of war. The design is said to be based on the Moscow metro system. I was immediately struck by the lack ...
North Korea: The Ryugyong Hotel
Tuesday, April 17th, 2007 Posted in Travel | No Comments »The Ryugyong Hotel is the tallest structure in North Korea. Construction started in 1987 but ended in 1992. Had it been completed it would have been the world's tallest hotel. It has 105 floors but as it is at present completely ...
North Korea: Victorious Fatherland Liberation Museum (Korean War Museum)
Tuesday, April 17th, 2007 Posted in Travel | No Comments »This museum focused on the Korean War. There were many captured American planes, jeeps and tanks inside as well as North Korean military vehicles. Huge Kim Il Sung mural at the entrance to the museum. Original army propaganda poster from the war. The ...
North Korea: Socialist Realism Artwork
Monday, April 16th, 2007 Posted in Travel | No Comments »I picked up some of these postcards in a stamp shop I visited in Pyongyang. All art in North Korea must adhere to socialist realism principles. The many posters and banners we saw in North Korea are designed to educate the ...
North Korea: Korean Demilitarised Zone (DMZ)
Monday, April 16th, 2007 Posted in Travel | No Comments »The gate to the North Korean side of the Korean Demilitarised Zone. The large concrete block above the entrance is an anti tank measure which can be dropped on to the road should the imperialists ever think they want to ...
North Korea: Mass Games
Sunday, April 15th, 2007 Posted in Travel | No Comments »This is probably one of the most amazing performances (of anything) that I have ever seen. I'm afraid my pictures just can't do it justice. The logistics of the whole event don't bear thinking about. Firstly the May Day Stadium itself ...
North Korea: Mansu Hill (Mansudae)
Sunday, April 15th, 2007 Posted in Travel | No Comments »This is a huge monument to Kim Il Sung at the top of a hill overlooking Pyongyang which can be seen from all over the city. Either side of the Kim Il Sung statue are two further statues. The first is ...
North Korea: Kim Il Sung Square
Sunday, April 15th, 2007 Posted in Travel | No Comments »On the birthday of Kim Il Sung it seemed the whole of Pyongyang had turned up in the square. Our guides told us that this dancing started early in the morning and continued all day. These photos don't show it very ...
North Korea: Pyongyang Traffic Ladies
Saturday, April 14th, 2007 Posted in Travel | No Comments »Due to the shortages of electricity in Pyongyang the North Koreans use "traffic ladies" to direct traffic at busy crossroads and prevent huge pile ups. We were told that only the prettiest North Korean women are chosen to become traffic ladies. ...
