North Korea shares its southern border, obviously, with South Korea, and nuzzles up against China in the north and Russia in the far north-east. The country is slightly smaller in area than England, and just a few thousand square kilometres larger than its southern cousin. It faces Japan to the south and east across the Sea of Japan (known as the East Sea in Korea). North Korea is estimated to be 80% uninhabitable mountains, compared to a mere 70% in the south.
When the Japanese were running the place they were no keen environmentalists, and used the whole peninsula as their own private timber mill and mine, especially once WWII kicked on. But much of North Korea's sheer inaccessibility saved it, and the northern and eastern regions of the country are mostly rugged mountains with dense forests, not well suited to agriculture or lending itself easily to exploitation. The Korean War and allied bombing in the 1950s took a huge toll, but much of the country is still shrouded in dense forests, with vast mineral wealth lying untapped below the surface. Estuaries and marshes teem with migratory birds and other wildlife, and if you manage to get out in the back blocks you may manage to see black bear or deer.
The weather is similar to South Korea's, only colder and drier in winter. Most of the rain falls from July to September, but autumn is drier with crisp, bright days and cool nights. The winters are long, frigid and noticeably lacking in ski resorts, making travel questionable at best. Summers are generally hot and sticky with lots of rain.
According to the Koreans, the first of their kin was born in 2333 BC. Less aesthetically-minded scientists believe Korea was first inhabited around 30,000 BC, when tribes from central and northern Asia stumbled on the peninsula. Under constant pressure from China, these tribes banded together to found a kingdom in the 1st century AD. By 700 AD the Silla Kingdom of Korea was hitting its cultural stride, littering the country with palaces, pagodas and pleasure gardens and influencing the development of Japan's culture. But in the early 13th century the Mongols reached Korea and gave it their usual scorched-earth treatment. When the Mongol Empire collapsed, the Choson Dynasty took over and a Korean script was developed.
In 1592 Japan invaded, followed by China - the Koreans were routed and the Chinese Manchu Dynasty moved in. Turning its back on the mean and nasty world, Korea closed its doors to outside influence until the early 20th century, when Japan annexed the peninsula. The Japanese, who hung on until the end of WWII, were harsh masters, and anti-Japanese sentiment is still strong in both North and South Korea. Much of the guerilla warfare conducted against the occupying Japanese took place in the northern provinces and Manchuria, and northerners are still proud of having carried a disproportionate burden in the struggle against Japan.
After the war, the USA occupied the south of the peninsula, while the USSR took over the north. Stalin sent Kim Il-sung (the 'Great Leader'), a young Korean officer from a specially trained unit of the Red Army, to take charge of communising the north, and he steadily ascended to the head of a separate government of North Korea, in defiance of a United Nations plan for nationwide elections. Elections were held only in the south, and when the South declared its independence, the North invaded. The ensuing war lasted until 1953 (or is still continuing, if you consider the South never signed the armistice and count MASH re-runs).
By the time the war ended, two million people had died and the North was virtually flattened after almost continual bombing by the US Air Force - far heavier than either Japan or Germany had endured during WWII. The peninsula was officially divided just north of the 38th Parallel, and Kim Il-sung shoved the North down the Soviet-style path, complete with Soviet-style purges, Soviet-style gulags and even a Soviet-style Kim personality cult. But the North Korean economy also developed more rapidly than the south in the early years, thanks to the new Juche (self-reliance) ideology that Kim created and installed. North Korea developed heavy industry on the foundations the Japanese had laid, and made leaps ahead in the social arena, and North Koreans were offered some of their first schools, clinics, food reserves, labour rights and recreation facilities they had ever had. Life improved markedly if you weren't a class enemy.
Relations between the two Koreas have remained consistently icy for more than 50 years. 'Negotiations' have largely been exercises in rhetoric, and over the years tempers have flared to near boiling point. The disintegration of the Communist bloc left the North with few friends, as old comrades like Russia and China left to establish ties with the wealthier South. During the early 1990s, the International Atomic Energy Agency declared that North Korea was developing a nuclear weapons capability, and the North Koreans have consistently denied access to international inspectors.
In 1994 Kim Il-sung surprised everyone by announcing that he would freeze North Korea's nuclear program and would meet with South Korea's president Kim Young-sam for summit talks. The summit never happened, as Kim Il-sung died on 8 July. His son, Kim Jong-il (the 'Dear Leader') took over the reins of power and ushered in a new period of even more uncertainty.
Little is known about Kim Jong-il. He is apparently very introverted and spends much of his time watching foreign videos. He has not visited any other country since his father's death, nor has he met any foreign head of state. While there is speculation that he is in poor health or otherwise handicapped, the economy sinks by an average of 5% a year, food and energy shortages grow ever more severe and the nation lacks consistent leadership. Several years of poor harvests have created acute food shortages and the flow of refugees out of the country has increased.
Kim Il-sung promoted traditional Korean arts and culture vigorously, though his motives for doing so are debatable. He was a fierce nationalist who was convinced of the superiority of Korean culture: North Koreans were told that they were ethnically superior, that their country was the best in the world and Kim Il-sung was the greatest man who ever lived. What that all means is that if you have an interest in traditional Korean arts, North Korea is the place to see them. You can view exhibitions of traditional or modern pottery, sculpture, painting and architecture on request, and your guide will take you to films or the theatre for a reasonable charge.
Traditional music is similar to that of Japan and China, with an emphasis on strings. The two main forms are the stately chongak and the folksier minsogak. Among the folk dances are drum dances (sungmu - a hectic, lively dance where the participants wear drums around their necks), mask dances (t'alchum) and solo dances (salpuri - these are usually improvised). Korea is also strong in the visual arts. Traditional painting has Chinese calligraphic elements, with the brush line being the most important feature. Most traditional sculpture is Buddhist.
Traditional Korean society was based on the tenets of Confucianism, a system of ethics developed in China around 500 BC. Confucianism is big on devotion and respect - for parents, family, friends and those in positions of authority. Confucius also emphasised justice, peace, education, reform and humanitarianism. All traditional religion in North Korea, however, is regarded as an expression of 'feudal mentality', an obsolete force opposing political revolution, social liberation, economic development and independence. Some important Buddhist temples and shrines still exist, mostly in rural or mountainous areas. And most of them function only as tourist drawcards or museums. Showcase Christian churches have also been exhibited to foreign visitors in the past in an effort to claim that North Koreans enjoy religious freedom, but they may well be just that: showcases.
Despite reports of severe food shortages, foreign visitors with US dollars can eat very well. Your guide orders your food, so if you have any special requests, such as vegetarian meals, you need to make them known in advance. Meat, fish and poultry is normal, although North Koreans tend to assume you will want western food, so you'll have to specify if you want to eat local food. Try the local insam-ju (Korean vodka infused with ginseng root) which is probably the best of the hard liquors, or the very passable Korean beer.
Money & Costs
Currency: North Korean won (W)
It's going to be an expensive trip. Not counting transport to and from North Korea, you'll have to spend between US$100 a day if you're in a large group, to US$250 a day if you're travelling alone. Foreigners must exchange money at hotels. When you get your visa you are usually also given a currency declaration form, and you must fill in another when you leave. The only currencies you can exchange easily are the Deutschmark, French franc, British pound, US dollar and Japanese yen.
P'yongyang is a superb example of the regime's determination to project its image of progress, discipline and the well being of its citizens. Don't expect a bustling Asian capital alive with street hawkers and televisions being carried on the backs of bicycles. Don't even expect bicycles. It is said that only those with the proper 'class background' and proven records of unswerving loyalty to the country's leaders are even allowed to live there, and until recently people with disabilities, the very old, animals, street vendors and even pregnant women were just never seen there.
The city is built around the banks of the Taedong River. The most amazing thing about the river is the two mid-river fountains that rise to a height of 150m, reputedly the highest in the world. Your first day out in the city will undoubtedly be a guided tour by car. One of the main monuments is the Tower of the Juche Idea, a 170m (557ft) high needle on the east bank of the Taedong. You will also surely be taken to see the Arch of Triumph, which marks the spot where Kim Il-sung made his rallying speech after the Japanese were routed. You'll be reminded that it is fully three metres taller than its counterpart in Paris.
The Kim Il-sung Stadium is one of the world's largest, and the Chollima Statue, a bronze Pegasus representing the high-speed progress of the North's reconstruction, are both worth a look. There is a generous handful of museums and monuments to Kim Il-sung and the Revolution, but you may wish to see more traditional sights, such as two of the old city gates, the Chilsong and Taedong Gates. The State Circus, run by the People's Army, is housed in a large circular building, and upon entering you'll probably be treated to the spectacle of the whole audience turning their heads as one to stare at the foreigners. You should also definitely visit a metro station if you get the opportunity, if only to gawk at the extravagance with which they were built. They are adorned with bronze sculptures, murals, mosaics and chandeliers, and the pillars, steps, corridors and platforms are marble.
Kaesong today has around 200,000 residents, but 800 years ago the population was close to four times that, when the city was capital of the Koryo Dynasty. It was then a sumptuously wealthy and sophisticated metropolis, crowded with Buddhist aristocrats. Centuries of neglect and three major wars that left the city in rubble each time tarnished this picture a little, but there are a few relics of former times and a couple of good museums. The Songgyungwan Neo-Confucian College was built in 992 and then rebuilt after the Japanese invasion of 1592. It hosts the Koryo Museum, with pottery and other Buddhist relics, and Confucian ceremonies are re-enacted there sometimes.
Kaesong is a modern city with wide streets, but the town is of little interest apart from the old quarter, where traditional tile-roofed houses are sandwiched between the river and the main road. Also in town is the Sonjuk Bridge, built in 1216, and the Songin Monument, honouring the Neo-Confucian hero Chong Mong-ju. Just out of town is the Tomb of King Kongmin, the 31st Koryo king, who reigned between 1352 and 1374, and his queen. The tomb is richly decorated with traditional granite facing and statues. Kaesong is close to the border with South Korea, about 125km (77mi) south of P'yongyang.
The alternative means of getting into North Korea is via train from Beijing. You can also leave North Korea in the far north-east by crossing into Russia, and then take the Trans-Siberian to Moscow.
Facts at a Glance
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Economic Profile
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Facts for the
Traveller
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Off the Beaten Track
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