20 Secret Facts About Mysterious North Korea
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, better known simply as North Korea, is one of the most closed and isolated states of our time. You can’t just get into the country, even as a tourist, as well as leave its borders. Self-isolation of the DPRK is of unprecedented interest to the entire international community. North Korea is also known for its hereditary "monarchist" dictatorship and the national communist doctrine called Juche.
(Total 20 photos)
1. According to the official chronology of the DPRK, now it is not 2015, but the 104th. The Juche calendar dates back to the birth year of Kim Il Sung. (Matt Paish/CC BY 2.0)
2. North Korea is home to the largest sports arena in the world, May Day Stadium, which seats 150,000 people. (stephan/CC BY-SA 2.0)
3. In North Korea, marijuana is legal and is not even classified as a drug. (Dank Depot/CC BY 2.0)
4. For 20 years, the Ryugyong in Pyongyang was considered the tallest hotel in the world. The height of the 105-storey hotel is 330 m. Despite the fact that the construction of the building began in 1987, it has not yet been put into operation. (Roman Harak/CC BY-SA 2.0)
5. North Korea has 51 "social categories" - the population of the country is ranked by "loyalty to the regime." (Roman Harak/CC BY-SA 2.0)
6. In North Korea, only military and government officials are allowed to own their own vehicle. (Benjamin Jakabek/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
7. North Korea has its own operating system called Red Star OS. (Matt Paish/CC BY 2.0)
8. North Korea is the only country in the world that currently has a captured US Navy ship. (Bjørn Christian Tørrissen)
9. Over the past 60 years, more than 23,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea, only two have followed in the opposite direction. (Marcelo Druck/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
10. North Korea is no longer a communist country. Since 2009, the state policy has been officially referred to as "Juche". (Benjamin Jakabek/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
11. It is illegal to wear jeans in North Korea. (Roman Harak/CC BY-SA 2.0)
12. North Koreans can only choose their hairstyle from 28 officially approved ones. (Roman Harak/CC BY-SA 2.0)
13. In the 1950s, North Korea built the "splendid" village of Kijeongdong near the Demilitarized Zone to lure South Korean citizens. "City of propaganda" turned out to be nothing more than a props. (Marcella/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
14. The founder of the North Korean state, Kim Il Sung, was born on the day the Titanic sank (April 15, 1912). (Chris Ford/CC BY-NC 2.0)
15. In 2012, North Korean archaeologists announced that they had “discovered” the tomb of a unicorn that was ridden by King Tongmung, the founder of the Goguryeo dynasty and state, two thousand years ago. (Éole Wind/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
16. In 1962, six American soldiers defected to North Korea; defectors live there to this day. (Matt Paish/CC BY 2.0)
17. Keeping a Bible, watching South Korean films and distributing pornography is punishable by death in North Korea. There is an organization that parachutes the Bible into North Korea. (Chris Yarzab/CC BY 2.0)
18. Elections are held in North Korea every five years. However, only one candidate is listed on the ballots. (John Pavelka/CC BY 2.0)
19. North Korea uses fax to send threats to South Korea. (Mikhail Noel/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
20. North Koreans watched the 2014 FIFA World Cup with a 24-hour delay. (George/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)