Plus size speed dating in Phyongsong North Korea
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Gifts from Western countries are less numerous, of course, and for the most part hardly any better.
More plates from Austria , yet more plates from France … and then there are the gifts from the USA — rekindling a spark of interest in the Western visitor. The latter is probably the bluntest indication of something less than true admiration. But all gifts, no matter what they are and who they're from, are all treated with the utmost socialist equality here.
DPRK (North Korea)
Special rooms contain the biggest gifts of them all, by size at least: the armoured limos that Stalin gave the Great Leader and the special train carriage Kim Il Sung used to travel up and down the country in unlike his recluse son. In a particularly solemn manner our group was instructed to enter the next room in rows of four again, and bow before the Great Leader — like at the Kim Mausoleum. Only this time it isn't a Kim-filled glass coffin, nor a bronze or marble statue, but: a life-size wax figure, in a suit, looking like something straight out of Madame Tussauds, surrounded by the most kitschy artificial scenery ….
After having completed the tour of gift-halls to Great Kim the First, there's another leg to go through: the counterpart built for Dear Kim the Second. Overall it is a similar experience, but with a noticeable difference: here there is less useless tack and more "practical" stuff, such as cameras or huge plasma TVs esp. South Korean models, dating from a time when relations between the two halves relaxed a bit. These electronic gifts would never have been used, though — every single gift has always gone straight into the collection, no matter what it is. You have to wonder what the poor North Korean visitors make of these displays of riches, which they themselves can hardly even dream of, just being dumped here ….
At the end of the tour, groups are ushered onto a huge pagoda-ed balcony, where you can have a coffee and enjoy the view — which is of indeed beautiful mountain scenery. Myohyang is also considered to be one of North Korea's best hiking areas … and sometimes tours include a bit of that as well.
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Location: about miles km north of Pyongyang , North Korea. Google maps locator: [ No photography, no hats, and you have to put felt covers over your shoes which are provided at the entrance so as not to soil the floors of the holy caverns.
How sweet. In this case, the opening up is no different from the withdrawal of a country's troops, is it not? Park Bo-young and An-Hyo-seop showed off a breathtaking story that caused viewers to breathe, introducing a bold and ….. By Seth Pevey Photo from koreanmovie. According to reports from defectors, the eateries are operated through a network of local middlemen who are required to remit a certain amount every year to the coffers in Pyongyang. For example, attending various scholarly and other conferences that address issues on the Korean Peninsula is one means for obtaining information.
Try to be on your best behaviour — for the North Koreans, this is serious, no matter how hard it may be to believe. This was probably the place where I personally found it hardest to keep a straight face … but, as elsewhere in North Korea, bursting out into laughter wouldn't go down well at all …. They could stare because you are just a foreigner or because you are plus-size.
10 days in North Korea – why it’s okay to visit the DPRK
Oh, gosh! Shopping in Korea with curves is not a thing. Korea has the cutest clothes and I love Koreans style, but where is my size!?
So, if you are planning to visit for a while, make sure to bring all the clothes you need. Public transportation in Korea is very cheap and reliable! I enjoy taking public transportation here more than I did in California. If you have more to love on the sides and on the bottom, squeezing in those small seats in between people on the subway and the bus might not happen for you. The show is also another fascinating piece of propaganda.
After the performance we start the journey south towards Kaesong. On the way we stop to admire the Arch of Reunification at the start of the Pyongyang-Kaesong Highway, also known as the Reunification Highway. The arch, built in , commemorates proposals made by Kim Il-sung for the reunification of North and South Korea, and features two women in Korean national dress, one representing the North the other the South.
Together they hold a globe featuring a map of the Korean Peninsula. It becomes apparent that the regime constantly talks up the desire to reunify Korea though it seems far from being a real objective. With the benefit of an outside eye, it feels as though the division of Korea is used as a tool by the regime to stoke up a feeling of injustice and victimisation amongst the North Korean people.
Immediately after the Arch of Reunification, Pyongyang stops dead. The city is replaced by an endless patchwork of near empty mustard-yellow fields. The journey along the highway reveals a different side to North Korea. To the untrained eye the fields we pass on the bumpy highway all appear pretty barren. The surface of the four lane highway is dreadful, reminiscent of a neglected airport runway.
Virtually free of any other vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians are by far the main source of traffic. Occasionally a group of workers line the side of the road, either sweeping away leaves or filling in some of the huge cracks in the road in vain. It takes close to three hours to drive the kilometres between here and the city of Kaesong, just short of the Korean border. There are four checkpoints to pass on the way, a reminder of the restrictions on the freedom of movement in North Korea. Every checkpoint is manned by a young solider, each one barely out of their teens, with a rifle strapped across his back.
On occasion it looked as though a few of the soldiers seemed afraid of the responsibility of their position.
Ours is the only vehicle on the enormous six lane road that leads into the city from the highway. Two illuminated bronze statues of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il stand over the city centre. With almost no street lighting anywhere the rest of the city is in near total darkness. As we reach our room, a bright red sign in a golden frame hangs above the door. Our guide translates the sign for us; Kim Il-sung stayed in the very same room in July Though most commonly known for its proximity to the Korean border and the DMZ, Kaesong has a long and rich history.
Before Seoul, Kaesong was the capital of Korea for almost years. During the Korean War, the United States planned to keep Kaesong in South Korea and though still badly damaged, the area avoided the worst of the bombing campaigns. The tombs are just a few miles apart from each other along a dusty mountain road to the east of Kaesong. The tomb of King Kongmin stands at the top of a steep hill surrounded by beautifully manicured grounds.
Next to the tomb of King Kongmin is the tomb of his wife, Queen Noguk. Granite statues of warriors, officials, tigers and sheep watch over the tombs. Both tombs date from the 14 th century and are remarkably well preserved, though the precious relics housed inside the tombs were looted by the Japanese sometime in the early 20 th century.
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Back along the mountain road towards Kaesong is the solitary tomb of King Wanggon. The statues here look noticeably smoother and less aged than at the tomb of King Kongmin, and stand at the end of a path marked by a traditional Korean gate. Visiting the Demilitarised Zone from the northern side of the Korean border is a highlight of any visit to North Korea. We drive back along the highway, past Kaesong, until we reach the approach to the entrance of the DMZ, a large gate painted in army camouflage green. In front of us are four busloads of Chinese tourists.
A unit of elite military officers flank the vehicles, and though the atmosphere is still pretty calm, it feels a little more serious. Now inside the DMZ our first stop is the gift shop. Everything from hand printed posters, ginseng soap and even cans of Coca-Cola are for sale.
Here he gives an incredibly fast synopsis of the division of the Korean Peninsula. He speaks so quickly that our guide can barely keep up with him to translate. Predictably, the North Korean take on the Korean War and the subsequent creation of the DMZ is entirely different to that taught elsewhere. The general gist is that the DPRK were and continue to be blameless victims of American imperialist aggression. The agreements signed by both sides in remain on display on one side of the room.
Our guide points out the United Nations flag that still stands on one of the tables. She says that the Americans were so ashamed of their defeat in the Korean War that they preferred to hide behind the flag of the United Nations, rather than use their own.
As we wait to reboard our buses, the North Korean army officer leading the tour wanders over to us. He clearly knows our guides from their repeated visits to the DMZ. With a firm handshake and a broad smile he welcomes us to the DMZ. He then jumps in our small van for the short drive towards the JSA. We park up alongside the Chinese tourists at the rear of Panmon Hall , the main building on the north side of the JSA. A group of tourists stand on the viewing platform at the top of Peace Hall on the southern side of the border. Despite the tourists on the south side, there are no South Korean officers present on the opposite side of the border.
The sight of tourists across the divide causes quite a stir; our two guides can barely contain their excitement, and the army officers around us are clearly surprised. By the time we reach the viewing area on the top floor of Panmon Hall the tourists over the way have been ushered back inside. Our new friend the North Korean army officer returns and asks if we hope to see a unified Korea. He declares that the unification of Korea is the dream of all Korean people and one that Kim Jong-un is working hard to achieve.
On a list of surreal moments during this whole trip to North Korea, eating chicken in the DMZ is one of the most bizarre. We drive for around an hour through some of the most remote parts of the North Korean countryside to reach our next stop, the Concrete Wall. Sadly taking photos out the window is not allowed. There is a constant flow of people on bicycle and on foot, all noticeably smartly dressed. As the only vehicle on the road this far into the countryside, we attract a lot of suspicious glances. On more than one occasion a group of young children bow as our vehicle drives past.
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The obvious conclusion to jump to is that only people with power and authority usually drive this deep into the countryside. Occasionally an ox trudges through a field pulling a plough, but most farm work is done by hand. People work in small groups or on their own, often knee deep and bare foot in muddy rice fields. Young army recruits also seem to be tasked with carrying out agricultural work. A number of times we drive pass cyclists with a dead pig tied to the back their bicycle.
Toddlers play in the mud as their parents work in the fields. On a few occasions we pass women hand washing clothes in rivers and streams alongside the road. The officer proceeds to give a short lecture about the Concrete Wall , a ten foot tall physical divide supposedly built by the Americans within the southern section of the DMZ. Several pairs of powerful antique binoculars are set up for us to peer through. What is visible are a number of army checkpoints on both sides of the border, displaying their respective flags, as well as army officers and vehicles patrolling the southern side.
Otherwise the whole area seems oddly peaceful, just like any normal unspoilt rural landscape. We drive back through the countryside and return to the outskirts of Kaesong. With a typically North Korean approach to historical accuracy, our guide points to one display that confidently declares that Koreans invented gunpowder. We return to the centre of Kaesong and end the day with a short stroll in the late afternoon sun towards our restaurant. We wander along a main road lined with traditional hanok houses, clearly one of the areas of Kaesong that came through the war relatively unscathed.
The next day we make the return trip from Kaesong to Pyongyang.