North Korea - Entering ´The Dark´: May 2012

Monday 21 May 2012

Why North Korea is called 'The Dark'

A satellite map showing light reflectivity over the Korean Peninsular illustrates nicely why North Korea has been named 'The Dark’. Electricity shortages are everyday occurrences in North Korea, especially in the countryside, however, Pyongyang has been given privileged status. The time I visited North Korea was during the April 14th - 100th Year Kim Il Sung birthday celebrations, and special effort was given to supply sufficient amounts of electricity to Pyongyang.

Salellite picture of North and South Korea

Street in Pyongyang

Buildings lit up at night in Pyongyang

Power plant in the centre of Pyongyang

Its all very quiet

One thing that you notice about North Korea is the silence, its quiet. I first noticed this when I stepped out of the airport building.

Few cars were seen on the road between the airport to our hotel.

Street on the way from the airport to the Hotel. They all have their lights on in daylight - same as Norway!

Tuesday 15 May 2012

We drove passed an artificial lake in the centre of Pyongyang in the early evening. The light was fading giving an orange colour to the photo. The large, and as yet unfinished hotel in the background dominates the Pyongyang skyline.

The lake scene looks peaceful with men fishing.

A lake scene, central Pyongyang

Fisherman

The Arc de Triomphe - North Korean style

It was advertised as the Arc de Triomphe, and were told it was bigger than the one in France. It was built to commemorate the Korean resistance to Japan from 1925 to 1945.

Link to Wikipedia - Arc de Triumph history