Pyongyang
Most tourists to North Korea are kept on very tight leashes and see essentially the same things. It's the only place in the world where everyone's pictures are almost exactly the same as everyone else's. Still, I have decided to post several photographs here because North Korea is still a very rare travel destination, and I assume most of these pictures will be new to the viewer. The pictures below are a combination from four separate trips to North Korea in 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013.
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Since North Korea adamantly refuses to stamp the passports of American imperialist aggressors, taking a picture of my North Korea visa was the closest I could come to proving I was actually there.
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Let the journey begin! Right from the start, the oddness was apparent. The inflight safety video spent the first few moments detailing the greatness of the country and its leaders. Only after that was dispensed with did we finally get to anything related to safety.
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On one of my flights to Pyongyang, I sat directly across from an Air Koryo flight attendant in her jumpseat. The flight attendants will not let you photograph them, so this picture was snapped from my lap without the luxury of being able to look through the camera's viewfinder. Have to say I like the way it came out anyway.
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At last, arrival in Pyongyang. The Great Leader smiles down at us from the top of the terminal building.
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My attempt at a fancy art shot -- notice the backlit "Pyongyang" shadow on the tarmac from the lettering above the airport terminal building. Pictured is one of Air Koryo's Ilyushin Il-62M jets. The two engines on each side of the tail are its main distinguishing feature, the only commercial aircraft of this type used in the world.
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Closeup of the Ilyushin engines.
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The drive from the airport. It doesn't take long for the Great Leader to make another appearance.
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And another...
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Stopping to pay our respects at the Mansudae Grand Monument, built in 1972 to celebrate the 60th birthday of the Great Leader Kim Il Sung. It's 60 feet tall and towers over everything else in the area. In the interest of full disclosure, I have to confess that some of those flowers at his feet were left by members in our group. We were told in advance it was not required, but that to not do so might be considered disrespectful. Lining up and bowing before the statue was required, however. Our small group was made up entirely of Americans who either currently live or used to live in Asia and are used to such things, so we executed perfect 90 degree bows in unison that won the respect of our guides.
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More fine statuary, this just to the right of the colossal Kim Il Sung statue.
I waited for the people to walk in the foreground just to add a sense of scale.
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In 2012 as part of the massive countrywide celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Kim Il Sung's birth, the Mansudae Grand Monument got an extensive facelift. Kim Il Sung's body was left intact but the head was replaced by a much older, happier, bespectacled visage. Frankly, I thought it looked like a clown and immediately began missing the dignified air that the old statue projected. Another obvious change was the addition of a colossal statue of the recently-deceased Dear Leader Kim Jong Il, now forever standing and grinning by his father's side.
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It was amazing to see how quickly the Dear Leader's portraits and statues went up after his death in December 2011. Where once figures of the Great Leader were displayed alone, now everything was seen in pairs.
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Long an eyesore on the Pyongyang skyline, the partially-constructed hulk of the pyramid shaped Ryugyong Hotel stained the cityscape for decades when money ran out and it was left in a state of half completion in 1992. But by 2012 the exterior was finally covered with enough glass in time for it to look pretty for the big holiday celebrations celebrating the centenary of the Great Leader's birth. The interior is said to still be years away from completion. Still, it does present an impressive vision, even if it's not yet actually used for anything.
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From several feet away, I decide to try some discreet zoom photography of one of the Kim Il Sung badges that everyone in the country wears.
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May Day Stadium, the largest stadium in the world with the capacity to seat 150,000 people. Completed in 1989, its 16 arches look to resemble either an open parachute or a flower blossom. It's really an amazing piece of architecture. Site of the Arirang Mass Games.
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Kumsusan Memorial Palace, the Mausoleum of Kim Il Sung. It seems everyone in North Korea comes here to be photographed in groups.
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Closeup of the Great Leader's portrait hanging on the Mausoleum. He certainly looks much better here than inside, where he lies in state.
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We went to the Mausoleum on Liberation Day, the national holiday commemorating independence from Japan. School groups were out in force.
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On to the Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery, the North Korean equivalent of Arlington. A very moving place.
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Giant lifelike bronze statues of fallen heroes, so real that I was half expecting them to blink.
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One of my favorite shots from the trip. These two kids were fixated on this grave marker for as long as I watched them. A relative, perhaps?
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The cemetery is on top of a hill with fantastic views of the city below. At least the souls buried there were given one of the nicest spots in the city as their final resting place. It is said that Kim Il Sung picked this spot for the cemetery because he could see the hill from his office window. He wanted to be able to look out and see the martyrs in the distance to always remind him of the sacrifices they made.
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War being the theme for today, next it was time to visit the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum. North Koreans are taught that the US started the war and is the only thing preventing Korea from being reunited today. Needless to say, we had to stifle the urge to offer contrarian points of view, especially during this introductory history lesson in which we were taught that the North "did not do a real retreat, but rather a strategic retreat" in the face of the massive American military landing at Incheon.
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As expected, most of the exhibits in the museum are intensely anti American. Here's a shot of tons of weaponry confiscated from Americans as well as the endless field of graves that we brought upon ourselves by being foolish enough to try to fight against the mighty Korean people.
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A trampled American flag in front of caches of captured weapons, all in front of a giant mural of Americans surrendering.
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One of the weirder exhibition rooms featured what's left of the actual wreckage of planes shot down.
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You can just see the American colors on the side of what's left of this aircraft.
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Several rows of intact captured tanks are also on display.
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What we considered to be the highlight of the museum: a giant 360-degree diorama of the Korean War (showing the North winning, of course). The artwork has incredible exquisite detail. Lots of proud waving DPRK flags and dead Americans. If you looked close enough, you could see weak Americans surrendering at every opportunity. Villagers in the background scroll messages and hoist photos of the Great Leader in triumph.
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Descending into the bowels of the earth for a ride on the Pyongyang Metro, one of the deepest in the world. Tourists are almost always only permitted to ride between the same two stations, leading to massive conspiracy theories about the other stations being nonexistent or else in such states of disrepair that it would be an embarrassment to let us see them. We were lucky enough to be able to take an extended ride on our second trip to Pyongyang so I can attest to the fact that more than two stations exist, though the others are not nearly as grand as what most tourists are permitted to see.
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Surprise! Not. A large mural of -- who else -- Kim Il Sung adorns the wall at the far end of the platform.
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Closeup shot of the mural. The metro stations most tourists get to see are indeed quite impressive. Patriotic paintings adorn the walls and gaudy chandeliers hanging from the ceilings. But because this metro riding venture is the same for all tourists, it does have an artificial feel about it. Several internet blogs tout the theory that the local people who ride the train cars are just actors that go back and forth just to give tourists the impression the trains are actually used for something productive.
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Locals catch up on the latest news while waiting for the next train.
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Emerging from the metro at our pre-approved stop. Notice how clean everything is!
The red signs says, "Glory to Kim Jong Eun."
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Pyongyang also has an extensive citywide electric tram system. The trains were always packed with people.
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Random photographs of random political murals on random streets.
"Let us shine with glory in the coming year through a full scale offensive for the cause of prosperity of the motherland!"
"Let us take the cause of the Juche revolution through to completion!"
"March on to the future according to the great leader's grand economic construction plan!"
"Onward to new victories following the leadership of the party!"
"Let us become warrior's shields of the leadership of the revolution as guerilla forces for the protection of Pyongyang."
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"Fun fairs" give the citizens of Pyongyang a chance to do something fun. The Taesongsan Fun Fair was the first amusement park built in the country, in the 1970s. During my visit I got to witness traditional Korean dance performances and off-duty soldiers honing their shooting skills.
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The newest park, the Kaeson Fun Fair, features some surprisingly modern rollercoasters and other rides, but I was more interested in checking out the newly-opened hamburger restaurant. On my last visit to Pyongyang, foreigners weren't allowed inside. This time, we could enter and order food just like the locals. I'm happy to report that the hamburger had a nice snappy zesty taste to it.
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The most (unintentionally) hilarious stop on our Pyongyang tour, a visit to a science museum that was supposed to strike awe and fear into our hearts as we marveled at North Korea's technological prowess. It didn't work. Ironically, our group felt much less threatened by North Korea after visiting the place. (the slogan on the sign reads, "Long live the Great Leader Comrade Kim Jong Il!")
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Massive Kim Il Sung Square, the Pyongyang version of Tiananmen. The building in the top photograph used to be known for gigantic portraits of Marx and Lenin hanging from either side. In 2012 those were removed "because we don't need them anymore," according to one of my minders.
The left vertical banner reads, "Greatest respect to Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung!" The right vertical banner says, "Fight as one for Kim Jong Eun!"
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Juche Tower, officially known as the Tower of the Juche (Self Reliance) Idea. Completed in 1982 to celebrate Kim Il Sung's 70th Birthday. It rises to a height of 560 feet (170m) and contains 25,550 blocks, one for each day of Kim Il Sung's life (yes, 365 x 70 = 25550. Nothing is left to chance in this country!).
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At the base of the Juche Tower, a beautiful statue showing the manual worker (hammer), farmer (sickle), and writer/intellectual (fountain pen) that form the symbol of the Korean Workers Party.
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A parking lot across from the Juche Tower next to a bus that reads "My country is the best in the world."
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August 28, the day we visited the Juche Tower, was National Youth Day. We were lucky enough to be treated to "mass dances" at prominent spots around the city as people celebrated. Some in our group were convinced that the whole thing was just a fake orchestrated show for us, but I like to think that the dancing was a genuine event and would have happened whether we were there or not.
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Before long, it was time for us to head off to the monument to the Korean Workers Party. Pyongyang has a seemingly endless supply of gigantic monuments, but I never tired of seeing and photographing them. Notice more mass dance performers. Real? Or a show just for us?
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Multi-story flower festival celebrating (what else?) the rare and unique Kimilsungia and Kimjonilia flowers arranged in some fantastical patriotic displays. This was also an effective demonstration of the fact that North Korea has no fire codes when it comes to crowd control. Moving through the exhibit hall meant slowly pushing and shoving people aside.
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Leaving Pyongyang. I love the complete and utter randomness of the flights on the departure board, which aren't in any sort of numeric or chronological order.
