{"id":1610,"date":"2024-08-25T16:47:39","date_gmt":"2024-08-25T13:47:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/discoversphere.co.in\/?p=1610"},"modified":"2024-08-25T16:47:39","modified_gmt":"2024-08-25T13:47:39","slug":"rare-photos-of-life-in-north-korea-you-probably-havent-seen-before","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jollypulse.co.nz\/index.php\/2024\/08\/25\/rare-photos-of-life-in-north-korea-you-probably-havent-seen-before\/","title":{"rendered":"Rare Photos of Life in North Korea You Probably Haven\u2019t seen Before"},"content":{"rendered":"

In government sanctioned propaganda, the people of North Korea appear happy, smiling and well fed. The people are often shown in spotless factories and laboratories, patriotic and fulfilled, but the following pictures will give you a glimpse of what their life is really like and it is nothing like what we are led to believe.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A photographer used a hidden camera to shoot random people on their way to work. These people are not only unsmiling but seem bitter and angry about their lives and place in the world. These candid shots deliver a truth that is quite different than claims made by the North Korean regime.<\/p>\n

Empty grocery stores<\/h3>\n

Due to international trade sanctions, draught and corruption, North Korea is suffering from famine and the people are forced to live off food rations from the government. The government projects an image of providing their citizens with all that they need, but as this photo, which was secretly taken in a grocery store shows, that is not always the case.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This supermarket in Pyongyang, which is for above average income families (although not for leadership) is full of empty shelves and offers meager choices. Shoppers can choose mainly between leeks, apples and turnips. Sounds delicious\u2026<\/p>\n

Welcome to North Korea!<\/h3>\n

North Korea is known as the Hermit Kingdom, due to the fact that it is so isolated and closed off. What we do know, is that much of the country\u2019s resources are funneled into its own defense. This country is known for jealously guarding the secrecy surrounding the lives of its citizens military. All Korean men must serve at least two years in the military and women may volunteer.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

North Korea is also known for illegal nuclear testing, with an estimation of 60 nuclear weapons already in their arsenal. Another thing North Korea is famous for is concentration camps. There are many prison labor colonies that are cut off from the outside world and house roughly 150,000 people. But are they as secure as they seem? A brave photojournalist who was visiting the country took secret pictures of everyday life. This act could have cost him his freedom and gotten sentenced to a concentration camp as a spy.<\/p>\n

Hunger everywhere<\/h3>\n

North Korea is a starving country, with most of the population severely malnourished. The people survive on rats and squirrels and anything else they can get their hands on. In order to fix this problem, and feed the masses, the government is trying to increase the land available for farming.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, these efforts have been mostly unsuccessful due to outdated farming techniques which are roughly 300 years old! Therefore, people all over the country are emaciated and weak. North Koreans who manage to make it to China are immediately spotted and are well known for being very thin and with an enormous appetite and willingness to eat anything.<\/p>\n

Empty trains<\/h3>\n

Empty trains run on time Foreigners who visit the Hermit Kingdom are heavily monitored, with only 4,000 to 6,000 western tourists being allowed access per year. They are taken on regulated, closely guarded tours, where taking photographs without permission could get them in serious trouble, thrown into jail or worse.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This picture of an empty train station was taken at great peril to the photographer\u2019s life. The lives of North Korean citizens are monitored closely, and they are not allowed to travel. The only way to leave your town or village is with the regime\u2019s express written permission. The train in this picture is mainly for tourists and is also used a propaganda tool by North Korea\u2019s leaders to show the country\u2019s modern and convenient transportation.<\/p>\n

Rows of identical houses<\/h3>\n

Architecture in North Korea in general and in Pyongyang, in particular, is characterized by uniform gray cement, as used by the old Soviet Union. Since the country is technically, if not practically, a communist state, the message from the regime is that everyone is equal and therefore living arrangements should be equal as well.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The reality is, that due to insufficient technical expertise and international sanctions, many of the buildings are not safe to inhabit and many others are empty and unused.<\/p>\n

Taxis everywhere<\/h3>\n

North Korea has been flooded by taxis in recent years, but they are limited to the capital city of Pyongyang. Although most of the country\u2019s residents live in poverty, the North Korean elite, some of which are even multi-millionaires, seem to be keeping this vast amount of cabs occupied and profitable. All the taxis in North Korea are part of state-run businesses and the competition is fierce.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Taxi driving has become so lucrative that workers who want to become drivers must sometimes bribe their way into the business. All this probably means that you shouldn\u2019t count on catching an Uber in Pyongyang, there is very little chance you could get one.<\/p>\n

No beach access<\/h3>\n

This picture shows North Korea\u2019s beautiful coastal road, with miles of beautiful views, coastlines and lovely beaches. However, upon taking a closer look, you can see a fence all along the coastal road.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The fence is blocking access to the beach and is fully electrified. In a country that cannot afford to provide all its inhabitants with electricity, those resources are being used for an electrified fence which surrounds the country and keeps people in. Making sure the citizens can never leave.<\/p>\n

Street walking<\/h3>\n

In a country as big as North Korea it is important to have good roads so that people and goods can get from one place to another. Luckily, the North Koreans don\u2019t have to worry about traffic. It is very rare for people to have their own car and the roads are often empty. So much so, that in Pyongyang and other cities around the country, you can see people walking in the street.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Wide boulevards meant for car traffic have become pedestrian walkways because the people know there will never be any cars driving down them.<\/p>\n

All for show<\/h3>\n

The North Korean tour guides love to show off the capital city of Pyongyang to visitors. The city looks modern and new and is full of shiny high-rise buildings that could fit in anywhere in the world, including Japan, China and even European capitals! Unfortunately, these buildings are mostly just for show.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Many of them are unfinished inside or empty and unused. Even the finished buildings do not have electricity. I\u2019m sure it\u2019s not easy getting to the top floors of those towers without a working elevator.<\/p>\n

Eyes and ears everywhere<\/h3>\n

Just like in the famous book 1984 by Geroge Orwell, everything that is said or done by the people of North Korea is monitored by the government. No place in the country is free from surveillance.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hidden cameras and microphones are placed everywhere from people\u2019s homes, work, parks and squares and even inside public transportation and cars! Just like in this picture, one can often see North Korean military watchtowers overlooking towns and villages, making sure that everyone is in line.<\/p>\n

Central Government Building<\/h3>\n

This photo of the Central Government Building in Pyongyang reveals many interesting things about the country. First of all, it provides a glance of normal government bureaucrats walking around and going about their daily lives.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Secondly, the roads are clearly empty of cars and the people are walking on them freely with no fear that they will face oncoming traffic. Thirdly, it is an act of bravery by the photographer as taking a picture of this building is a dangerous offense. One that can lead to arrest for espionage and possible execution.<\/p>\n

The propaganda machine<\/h3>\n

Imagine you only had one channel on television and one station on the radio and all they had on was the president talking all day long. Between his speeches you could enjoy patriotic country music videos and propagandist history shows.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Not only is that the only thing on, but you aren\u2019t even allowed to turn it off. This is the reality in North Korea. You are legally required to keep the television and radio in your home or business on at all times. If you do not keep your television or radio on in order to at least listen to the propaganda you can be incarcerated, or even worse.<\/p>\n

Empty places<\/h3>\n

The country of North Korea is filled with towns and cities. Unfortunately, not all these towns and cities are populated \u2013 at least not all of the time.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In order to trick foreign satellites and spy planes and make empty cities look prosperous and alive, the Hermit Kingdom\u2019s regime will periodically call on the entire population of a town to uproot and move to a different location. These shifts make it seem to observers from above that all is well in the pariah state.<\/p>\n

The eternal president<\/h3>\n

One of the craziest things about North Korea is that they consider their leaders to be divine and therefore their religion is actually their leaders. In fact, the eternal president of the republic is a man named Kim Il Sung, who has been dead for almost 25 years! Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un, the son and grandson of the \u201cdear leader\u201d Kim Il Sung are the country\u2019s prophets.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

That is why the people in the picture are bowing to these giant statues \u2013 they are actually praying to them!<\/p>\n

Rock farming<\/h3>\n

This picture was taken secretly from a passing bus and shows a man trying to plow his field with a steer and without modern farming tools.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, when you look at the ground, it seems like there are more rocks than soil. This is not ideal for planting crops. Hopefully, the poor man will be able to plant some seeds that will help feed his family. Otherwise the leaders in Pyongyong may need to start working on a cookbook for rocks.<\/p>\n

Fishing for food<\/h3>\n

Many men come to the Taedong River to try their luck at fishing for their supper. It may seem like this is a shot of rural life in an impoverished village, but it is actually from the North Korean Capital Pyongyang.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The whole of North Korea is suffering from malnutrition and fresh fish and meat are almost impossible to find in supermarkets. Therefore, these men need to fish in the city\u2019s river in order to secure the protein necessary for them and their families.<\/p>\n

Computers with no electricity<\/h3>\n

To show off how modern their lives are, the North Korean government has their tour guides take visitors to an \u201caverage\u201d North Korean family to show off the fact that they can afford computers and are connected to a special, North Korea only intranet!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Although the screen didn\u2019t work because there was no electricity when this photo was taken, the actress, or North Korean citizen, was still typing on the keyboard.<\/p>\n

A real street<\/h3>\n

This picture was taken during a tour of the North Korean border town of Kaesong, located on the border with South Korea. The tour guide focused on the nicer area of the town near the hotel and gave assurances that the rest of the town looked the same.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The photographer succeeded in sneaking a few shots of the rampant poverty which is rampant in all areas of North Korea outside the capital city of Pyongyang.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In government sanctioned propaganda, the people of North Korea appear happy, smiling and well fed. The people are often shown in spotless factories and laboratories, patriotic and fulfilled, but the following pictures will give you a glimpse of what their life is really like and it is nothing like what we are led to believe. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jollypulse.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1610"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jollypulse.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jollypulse.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jollypulse.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jollypulse.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1610"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jollypulse.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1632,"href":"https:\/\/jollypulse.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1610\/revisions\/1632"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jollypulse.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jollypulse.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jollypulse.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jollypulse.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}