The DPRK, or the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, is the most closed country in the world. News from its territory seep into the outside world extremely rarely, which is due to the completely closed nature of this state. That is why different facts about life in the DPRK are so interesting – it is really difficult to learn anything about this country.
The motto of the state: “A powerful flourishing power”. Yes, in “modesty” the leaders of North Korea can not refuse.
North Koreans call their homeland “The country of morning freshness” (“Joseon”).
Residents of North Korea can vote in elections from 17 years. Elections are held every 5 years, and there are always only one candidate in the ballots.
One of the three main political parties of the DPRK is called the Party of Young Friends of the Religion of the Heavenly Way.
Women in the DPRK have been banned from cycling since 1996, since the skirt must always cover their knees, and women can not wear trousers.
North Koreans are required to register their TVs in the competent authorities. To view 3 channels are available, so that there is no temptation to look at something else – the TV controls are sealed, and the frequency settings are blocked.
Internet access for most residents is closed. The country has its own network “Kwangmyon”, which contains only articles on scientific and technical topics that have been censored.
Government radio can not be turned off, even in your own home. Maximum – you can reduce the sound of the radio. There are special detachments that track down those who listen to forbidden radio programs. The punishment for this misdemeanor is the death penalty.
The DPRK spends about 30% of its budget on maintaining military power, while in the mid-1990s hundreds of thousands of North Koreans died of hunger.
The first president of North Korea, Kim Il Sung, as stated in his official biography, was born on a volcano under a double rainbow, and at that moment a new star broke out in the sky. It is believed that the founder of the DPRK was a “god-like gift of heaven”, and learned to walk at three weeks of age.
Residents of the capital of the state, Pyongyang, are forbidden to have dogs.
North Koreans can wear only short hairstyles, with only 28 types approved by the country’s leadership.
If a relative or friend from another country gives a car to a North Korean, he must pass the same car to the state.
Instead of Christmas in the DPRK on December 24 celebrate the birthday of the mother of Kim Jong Il, the previous North Korean leader. The replacement of Valentine’s Day is the birthday of the general, which falls on February 16.
The chronology in the DPRK comes from the birth of Kim Il Sung, not Jesus Christ.
In North Korea, there are still public executions.
North Korea occupies the penultimate place in the world index of press freedom. Worse things are only in African Eritrea (see the facts about Eritrea).
Foreign tourists in Pyongyang can only be traveled on a route approved by the government, accompanied by a guide and a special services officer.
At night, in order to save energy, the supply of electricity to the homes of the North Koreans is turned off, only the illumination of the monuments of state leaders is working.
In case of fire, the first of the burning premises should be taken out of portraits of the leaders of the DPRK.
North Koreans convicted of various crimes are serving their sentence with the whole family. If during this time children are born, the next two generations are doomed to spend their whole life in prison.
In North Korea, a six-day workweek, and the rest of the day they are engaged in “volunteer” work for the benefit of the motherland, so there is virtually no weekend there.
In the DPRK, the cultivation, distribution and use of marijuana is allowed, the Ministry of Health even recommends smoking this plant. Taking any other drugs is prohibited on pain of death.
North Korea is a country with almost one hundred percent literacy of the population. The secret of success is simple – literacy determines the ability to correctly write the leader’s name.
The annual cost of the late leader of the DPRK Kim Jong Il for imported cognac was 800 times the average annual income in the country.
