Mysterious North Korea trip—experience different customs and customs

The mysterious life in North Korea always arouses people's curiosity, leading everyone to enter North Korea life and experience the different customs and customs there!

1. The capital of North Korea is Pyongyang, which is the political and cultural center of North Korea, a gathering place for foreigners from around the world, and the business card of North Korea’s external propaganda.

Kaesong in North Korea is a famous industrial city with an industrial park built here. Some foreign-related business factories, including cooperative business with South Korea, are also located here.

2. Hamhung City is the second largest city in North Korea, second only to Pyongyang. It is the base of North Korea's chemical industry, machinery industry and textile industry, and is known as the "Industrial City".

The famous Hungnam Chemical Plant is located in Hamhung, where the only bronze statue of a foreign leader in North Korea - Premier Zhou Enlai - is cast. Premier Zhou's image is deeply rooted in the hearts of North Koreans, and many local people often come to pay their respects and lay flowers.

Hamhung also has a long coastline in North Korea. The Matian tourist area attracts many domestic and foreign tourists. The bathing beach is fascinating. In summer, the seaside beach gathers an endless stream of tourists.

3. North Korea also has its own highway, which was built earlier than in China. It’s just that the current situation is no longer what it used to be. The roads are bumpy and uneven. Pedestrians and bicycles can go on the road at will, and North Korean ox carts can also go on the highway.

Due to the age of the construction, it has not been improved. Their argument is that the cost of using asphalt is too high, and urban road repairs need to be completed first.

When I was working in North Korea, I drove from Pyongyang to Kaesong on the highway. When the vehicle speed exceeds 40 mph, sitting in the car will feel extremely bumpy.

Recently, North Korea is drawing up tenders to build a new expressway from Wonsan to Hamhung, aiming to improve road conditions in North Korea.

4. Propaganda slogans with various contents can be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys of major cities in North Korea, as well as small squares with promotional portraits of leaders.

You can always see many posters and slogans with unclear contents in prominent places in cities and rural areas here. Most of the translated contents are slogans such as "Work hard! Build a strong country."

When you walk into North Korea, you feel like you have stepped back in time. You will be immersed in their atmosphere of nationwide mobilization to focus on production, and you will always feel that you have seen it all before!

5. Local men in North Korea are generally thin, and they are still keen to wear military uniforms and Mao suits. As the times progressed, suits and jackets appeared one after another.

Most North Korean girls are fair-skinned, beautiful, and have good temperament. They wear professional attire and skirts and lead North Korean fashion while walking on the streets of Pyongyang.

Local people walking on the streets here will wear various North Korean leader badges on their chests, which is obviously different from outsiders.

If outsiders want to wear commemorative medals, they usually need to make outstanding contributions before they can be awarded the medal. Here, commemorative medals are not allowed to be sold and can only be owned by outsiders as gifts.

6. Women in North Korea are called "skirts" and they look particularly happy when they are called "pants". Men here are called "pants".

On the streets of Pyongyang, women are required to wear skirts when going out, and they are required to be knee-length skirts. According to legend, their country’s leaders praised: Women will look beautiful wearing pants, and pants are only for men to wear in the cold winter. Skirts are also required during the twelfth lunar month.

With the changes in recent years, North Korean people have gradually changed their minds and slowly accepted women wearing pants.

"Jeans series" is not accepted by local people here. Denim series clothing is not produced in North Korea, and people do not accept wearing denim series clothing. Claiming that the "denim series" is a capitalist thing, unanimously boycotted it.

7. Smartphones have now appeared on the streets of Pyongyang. North Korea is also producing smart phones. There are three brands of mobile phones including "Arirang", which can be seen everywhere in Pyongyang's subways and buses. People looking down at their smartphones can see that they can play stand-alone games on their phones.

The mobile phones here are equivalent to North Korea's huge regional network. They cannot contact the outside world and cannot receive international news. They can only communicate with each other internally.

When I was working in North Korea, the mobile phone number I used was an international number. The 3G network here is already common, but I couldn’t communicate with their mobile phones.

The cost is quite high, it costs 1,200 RMB to open an account, and 600 RMB per month without calling.

8. Household appliances have been widely used in ordinary households in North Korea. In department stores in Pyongyang, you can often see locals coming to purchase various high-end home appliances.

TV in Pyongyang can only receive three TV channels including Pyongyang TV, which broadcast war films all year round and mostly promote news about North Korea.

The Chinese spy film "Insidious" was introduced to North Korea for broadcast and is very popular among local people in North Korea. Many young people in North Korea are fans of Chinese actors. When working in North Korea, my translator sometimes liked to watch Chinese videos and songs on my mobile phone.

9. With the opening-up policy in recent years, there have been more and more cars of various brands on the streets of Pyongyang, North Korea. Most of the brands of vehicles come from China, and some are Japanese brands.

Taxis that look very similar to domestic taxis are already everywhere in the streets, but locals rarely take them, and most of them are used by outsiders.

There are still restrictions on private cars in Pyongyang, and you need to apply for approval before you can own a private car. Most of them are distributed by the state to local people who have made outstanding contributions.

Bicycles in North Korea are still popular among the people. Spending more than 600 yuan to buy a bicycle and ride it to and from get off work is still a pursuit of many families.

10. There are also buses with two "big pigtails" on the streets of North Korea, which are divided into trolleybuses and trams. It carries North Korean people commuting to and from get off work. Outsiders are not allowed to ride. Locals only need to spend the equivalent of 5 cents in RMB to travel anywhere in Pyongyang.

Pyongyang also has the deepest subway station in the world. The subway here was originally built with our assistance, and now it has become the building they are most proud of.

Public employees who work in their units will receive bus tickets and subway tickets every month to commute to and from work for free.

11. North Korea has three free policies, which results in generally low wages here. The monthly salary of the most popular professional drivers, tour guides and translators here is equivalent to five to six hundred yuan.

Although their monthly wages are very small and their actual consumption level is not high, they are still able to live comfortably. However, if you want to buy high-end home appliances and smartphones, a family usually needs to save money and save money.

For our ex-pats, consumption in Pyongyang was surprisingly high. Accommodation costs four to five hundred yuan per night. For meals, you need to go to a foreign-related restaurant, which costs close to one hundred yuan per person.

12. Nowadays, North Korean girls are gradually choosing to fall in love freely. In Pyongyang universities, although love is not allowed, there are still many subtle feelings in the spare time, but they cannot be blatantly disclosed. love affair.

In the new era, North Korean girls will give priority to high-quality men who have served in the military, went to college, and joined the party. However, there are many boys and girls in North Korea. North Korean girls need to be better in order to make their own choices. .

Although North Korean girls are as beautiful as flowers, outsiders cannot have free love with them, and they somewhat reject outsiders. Only foreigners who have made outstanding contributions in North Korea (investing more than several million) can obtain approval from their country to live in North Korea, fall in love, and get married.

13. There are many sports equipment and exclusive sports places in the streets and alleys of Pyongyang. There is also a special volleyball and basketball court at the entrance of the community. You can often see locals playing volleyball in full swing inside after get off work, with many people watching.

There are also many table tennis tables placed in public places in Pyongyang. In their spare time, you can often see local men, women and children picking up rackets and playing a few games.

When I was working in Pyongyang, I was fortunate enough to experience playing table tennis with the locals. My seemingly good skills were no match for them.

14. North Korean girls will put on exquisite makeup before going out. In recent years, the cosmetics used by North Korean girls have been sought after by many tourists.

The most famous cosmetics in North Korea are Chunxiang brand, and various Chunxiang brand cosmetics are displayed in the cabinets of some foreign-related stores.

Female tourists who have traveled to North Korea will choose to bring back several sets of local cosmetics containing ginseng powder.

As a result, all countries later turned to North Korean cosmetics factories and wanted to cooperate with them in production.

15. Nowadays, when traveling to North Korea, local policies are gradually liberalized. Tourists can bring mobile phones and cameras when entering the country. Photos can be taken there on appropriate occasions.

There are many restrictions and taboos on just taking photos. For example, if there is an image of their leader in the background, the whole body needs to be photographed. Soldiers will not accept tourists taking photos. Many places with bad environments will restrict taking photos.

When tourists leave the country in North Korea, a dedicated person will check the mobile phone camera to see if the photos in the memory are in compliance with the regulations. Any illegal photos will be deleted on the spot.

16. Rich in North Korea, the Moranbong Band, a representative of North Korea’s youth and fashion, has attracted world attention since its establishment.

This is a group of North Korean girls from Kim Won Kyun University of Music. Their outstanding talents, one-of-a-kind looks, rocking dance postures, and brisk rhythms have been sought after by the North Korean people. "Arirang", "Study" and "Li Fener" are all their masterpieces.

They have become North Korea’s most beautiful brands on the international stage.

17. On the streets of Pyongyang, North Korea, there is a beautiful scenery that belongs here - the North Korean female traffic police.

Each of them has been screened at all levels, selected from a hundred, and trained for employment. On the streets of Pyongyang, holding a traffic baton in hand, they performed standard movements towards the passing vehicles. They all looked heroic and heroic, leaving a deep impression on tourists who had been to North Korea.

At present, North Korea is still in isolation to prevent the epidemic and maintains a record of zero infection cases. I believe that in the near future, tourism routes will be opened again. I hope that I will have the opportunity to go to North Korea again, look for the familiar scenes, and look forward to being able to reunite with old friends again.