A country that is so deeply rooted in history is a place that all of us want to visit at some point during our lives. North Korea, the other name for Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is situated in East Asia and its capital is Pyongyang. South Korea, which has been separated from North Korea by the Demilitarized zone, is a country formed post the World War II. The closest neighbour to North Korea is Japan and China.
This is a country that grew tremendously post the World war and has not stopped in its efforts. It continues to dazzle the visitors with their culture and local traditions. Among the various things to see, here is a list of five things one should not miss while travelling in this part of the world.
Take a plane from the capital city of Pyongyang to reach Paekdusan, which is a place of great spiritual and religious significance. Paekdu, which is the highest mountain in North Korea, is also where the volcano with the largest crater lies. Called as Chonji, or Lake of Heaven, this crater is surrounded by various lakes. This place is very sacred to the locals, merely because it is here that the Son of Lord of heaven is said to have landed and where the first Korean Kingdom started.
Panmunjeom is a war related sight, this place is very popular with tourists who are keen on seeing the place where the war took place and which resulted in split in Korea. Panmunjeom is a place where anyone visiting Korea will be taken to, even though it is a sad place, which talks of all the lives lost during the war and how American imperialism affected Korea.
The pristine water falls, and the clear skies around the mountain ranges surrounding Myohyang make the visit worth the time. Myohyangsan, literally translates to mountain of mysterious Fragrance is filled with scenery and sights like nowhere else in the world. The main focus of this trip would be to visit the two shrines, one of which is a treasure chest of gifts given to Kim II Sung, and other is that of Kim Jong II. One can also walk around the beautiful mountains, and unwind.
Going along the Diamond mountains, otherwise referred to locally as the Kumgangsan, one can make their way to Koryong falls. Quite a walk awaits people who wish to get to the falls, so be prepared for a long trek up the hills, and this can prove quite challenging for some, if they are not physically fit. But the sights along the way are breath taking and truly a once in a lifetime experience.
Nampo is a place that has become the industrial center in North Korea is worth a visit to see how the industries function. The amount of hard work and labour that goes into the businesses is what helps the economy grow fast and flourishes with time.
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Music
Apart from the instruments used, traditional Korean music is characterized by improvisation and the lack of breaks between movements. A pansori performance can last for over eight hours during which a single singer performs continuously.
Rather than contrasting different speeds as it is common in Western music, most traditional Korean music begins with the slowest movement and then accelerates as the performance continues.
Korean court music, called jeongak, is closely related to the literate upper-class, and has a strong intellectual emphasis. Jeongak is played at a very slow pace, with single beats taking as long as three seconds. The beat matches the speed of breathing rather than the heartbeat as in most Western music, and feels static and meditative.
The tone of Jeongak is soft and tranquil because the traditional instruments are made of non-metallic materials. String instruments have strings made of silk rather than wire. Almost all wind instruments are made of bamboo.
Pungmul is Korea's folk music and is full of expressions and emotions. This kind of traditional music is closely related to the lives of common people. As with the Jeongak, improvisation is common in Minsogak.
Traditional Korean musical instruments can be divided into wind, string, and percussion types. Wind instruments include the piri (cylindrical oboe), taepyeongso (metal-bell shawm), daegeumsaenghwang (mouth organ) and the hun (ocarina). Traditional string instruments include zithers such as the gayageum, geomungo, and ajaeng, and the haegeum, a two-stringed fiddle.
A great number of traditional percussion instruments are used including the kkwaenggwari (hand-held gong), the jing (hanging gong), buk (barrel drum), janggu, (hourglass drum), bak (clapper), and pyeonjong (bell chimes or stone chimes), as well as the eo (tiger-shaped scraper) and the chuk (wooden box).
Dance
As with music, there is a distinction between court dances and folk dances. Common court dances are jeongjaemu performed at banquets, and ilmu, performed at Confucian rituals. Jeongjaemu is divided into native dances (hyangak jeongjae) and forms imported from China (dangak jeongjae). Ilmu are divided into civil dance (munmu) and military dance (mumu).
Religious dances include all the performances at shamanistic rites (gut). Secular dances include both group dances and individual performances.
Traditional choreography of court dances is reflected in many contemporary productions.
Homes
Sites of residence are traditionally selected using geomancy. It is believed that any topographical configuration generates invisible forces of good or ill (gi). The negative and positive energies (yin and yang) must be brought into balance.
A house should be built against a hill and face south to receive as much sunlight as possible. This orientation is still preferred in modern Korea. Geomancy also influences the shape of the building, the direction it faces and the material it is built of.
Traditional Korean houses can be structured into an inner wing (anchae) and an outer wing (sarangchae). The individual layout largely depends on the region and the wealth of the family. Whereas aristocrats used the outer wing for receptions, poorer people kept cattle in the sarangchae. The wealthier a family, the larger the house. However, it was forbidden to any family except for the king to have a residence of more than 99 kan. A kan is the distance between two pillars used in traditional houses.
The inner wing normally consisted of a living room, a kitchen and a wooden-floored central hall. More rooms may be attached to this. Poorer farmers would not have any outer wing. Floor heating (ondol) has been used in Korea for centuries. The main building materials are wood, clay, tile, stone, and thatch. Because wood and clay were the most common materials used in the past not many old buildings have survived into present times. Japan's kidnapping of an entire city known for its castle building skills built Japan's most famous castles and palaces, an act which the Japanese government has formally accepted and apologized for.
Garden
The principles of temple gardens and private gardens are the same. They generally resemble gardens in China, and the Japanese in turn adopted a similar garden layout from Korea. Part of the reason is because gardening in East Asia is heavily influenced by Taoism. Taoism emphasizes nature and mystery, paying great attention to the details of the layout. In contrast to Japanese and Chinese gardens which fill a garden with man made elements, traditional Korean gardens avoid artificialities, trying to make a garden more natural than nature.
The lotus pond is an important feature in the Korean garden. If there is a natural stream, often a pavilion is built next to it, allowing the pleasure of watching the water. Terraced flower beds are a common feature in traditional Korean gardens.
The Poseokjeong site near Gyeongju was built in the Silla period. It highlights the importance of water in traditional Korean gardens. The garden of Poseokjeong features an abalone-shaped watercourse. During the last days of the Silla kingdom, the king's guests would sit along the watercourse and chat while wine cups were floated during banquets.
Cuisine
Rice is the staple food of Korea. Having been an almost exclusively agricultural country until recently, the essential recipes in Korea are shaped by this experience. The main crops in Korea are rice, barley, and beans, but many supplementary crops are used. Fish and other seafood are also important because Korea is a peninsula.
Fermented recipes were also developed in early times. These include pickled fish and pickled vegetables. This kind of food provides essential proteins and vitamins during the winter.
A number of menus have been developed. These can be divided into ceremonial foods and ritual foods. Ceremonial foods are used when a child reaches 100 days, at the first birthday, at a wedding ceremony, and the sixtieth birthday. Ritual foods are used at funerals, at ancestral rites, shaman's offerings and as temple food.
Temple food is distinguished as it does not use the common five strong-flavoured ingredients of Korean cuisine (garlic, spring onion, wild rocambole, leek, and ginger), nor meat.
For ceremonies and rituals rice cakes are vital. The colouring of the food and the ingredients of the recipes are matched with a balance of yin and yang.
Today, surasang (traditional court cuisine) is available to the whole population. In the past vegetable dishes were essential, but meat consumption has increased. Traditional dishes include ssambap, bulgogi, sinseollo, kimchi, bibimbap, and gujeolpan.
Beliefs
The original religion of the Korean people was Shamanism, which though not as widespread as in ancient times, still survives to this day. Female shamans or mudang are often called upon to enlist the help of various spirits to achieve various means.
Buddhism and Confucianism were later introduced to Korea through cultural exchanges with China. Buddhism was the official religion of the Goryeo dynasty, and many privileges were given to Buddhist monks during this period. However, the Joseon period saw the suppression of Buddhism, where Buddhist monks and temples were banned
from the cities and confined to the countryside. In its place a strict from of Confucianism, which some see as even more strict that what had ever been adopted by the Chinese, became the official philosophy.
Even today, Confucianism still plays a major role Korean society, and respect for elders is still a major part of Korean family life. Throughout Korean history and culture, regardless of separation; the influence of traditional beliefs of Korean Shamanism, Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism have remained an underlying religion of the Korean people as well as a vital aspect of their culture, all these traditions coexisted peacefully for hundred years to today despite of stronger Westernization from Christian missionary conversions in the South or the pressure from Communism's atheist government in the North.
Kumsusan Memorial Palace
The final resting place of Kim il-Sung is only open on Fridays and Sundays. Sunday's will no doubt be busy with locals paying their respects to Kim il-Sung on their one and only day off. It is customary to dress in formal clothes, being a shirt and tie for men, or a respective dress for women.
After waiting in line, standing in rows that are 4-wide, your group will be escorted inside. Bags and cameras will be required to be deposited at the counter prior to entry.
There are hundreds of meters of moving walkways that navigate through the enormous compound that is now a mausoleum. Once in the room of the glass display with Kim's body, groups of four will advance one at a time.
It is custom that people bow at Kim's feet. Then move to the left (Kim's right), and bow again. Then walk around his head (no bow here), and bow one last time along Kim's left side.
Once outside of the building, you may take your camera and take photos.
The Ryugyong Hotel : unfinished "Hotel of Doom"
The tallest structure in P'yongyang has sat unfinished and dormant for nearly 20 years. The pyramid-shaped hotel, which would have rivaled any hotel in any major city, has been left as a shell for all to see. The 105 story building has sat dormant with rusting tower crane stuck in position since the Soviet Union disbanded in 1992, because they were the ecomonic benafactor for constrution.
Back in 1988, Seoul hosted the Olympic Games. P'yongyang believed that in good faith since they are also "Korea", that the South would have placed some of the events in P'yongyang's venues. This hotel was initiated to host the world for the Games. But once the government learned that the Games would not be shared, the project was put on hold.
To this day, the tower crane remains in position as it was 20 years ago. There are no windows, no utilities, no lights, nothing... It is a ghost structure. For that reason, it sometimes is called the "Ghost Hotel", or the "Hotel of Doom".
Grand People's Study House
This is a library for everybody. This is at least what they say. The rooms were packed with students, reading in old books, studying the Juche Ideology or simply study their major. As we have been in winter time and there is no heating, all students were wrapped in tons of clothes and it was still very freezing in there. They do have some books from abroad and they are supposed to have "every book that has been published in the 90's worldwide". To prove, they showed us some german books, which were published around the 50's and 60's and even those have never been seen from the students.
The building itself looks very beautiful from the outside. It is held in a traditional korean style with green roof.
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There is a vast cult of personality around Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il and much of North Korea's literature, popular music, theater, and film glorify the two men.
A popular event in North Korea is the Mass Games. The most recent and largest Mass Games was called "Arirang". It was performed six nights a week for two months, and involved over 100,000 performers. Attendees to this event in recent years report that the anti-West sentiments have been toned down compared to previous performances. The Mass Games involve performances of dance, gymnastic, and choreographic routines which celebrate the history of North Korea and the Workers' Party Revolution. The Mass Games are held in Pyongyang at various venues (varying according to the scale of the Games in a particular year) including the May Day Stadium.
Culture is officially protected by the North Korean government. Large buildings committed to culture have been built, such as the People's Palace of Culture or the Grand People's Palace of Studies, both in Pyongyang. Outside the capital, there's a major theatre in Hamhung and in every city there are State-run theatres and stadiums.
Korean culture came under attack during the Japanese rule from 1910-1945. Japan enforced a cultural assimilation policy. Koreans were forced to learn and speak Japanese, adopt the Japanese family name system and Shinto religion, and forbidden to write or speak the Korean language in schools, businesses, or public places. In addition, the Japanese altered or destroyed various Korean monuments including Gyeongbok Palace and documents which portrayed the Japanese in a negative light were revised.
In July 2004, the Complex of Goguryeo Tombs became the first site in the country to be included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.
In February 2008, The New York Philharmonic Orchestra became the first US musical group ever to perform in North Korea, albeit for a handpicked "invited audience".
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We are offering you another wonderful weekend opportunity for you to see the beauty and history of Jeju Do. We will be full-time tourists, visiting a folk village and seeing the beautiful spring flowers that will be in full bloom and so much more.
After our arrival we will head to Seonyeo and Namuggun, a place where we can see replicas of city and country life from the 1960s and 70s as well as daily tools and utensils in use at that time. Outside, there is a gorgeous garden displaying many species of plants and flowers.
After a bit of history, we will head to a horse stable where we will all have the chance to enjoy trekking and feel the wind in our faces.
Following the horse riding we will have delicious black pork BBQ (famous in Jeju Do) for lunch. Then head to Udo (Cow Island).
After a quick 15 minute ferry ride to Udo, we can witness some of the most beautiful scenery in Jeju, such as the superb views that over look Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak) and the whole of Jeju Island. We will hike up to the lighthouse and then down to the beaches to look at the Haenyeo (women divers) that are known for their great physical stamina.
They dive without scuba gear for abalone, conch and a myriad of other marine products, staying underwater for up to 2 minutes at a time, and reaching depths of 20 metres. Our final tourist stop for the day will be one of Korea’s folk villages, where we can see first hand what Jeju and other parts of Korea were like several hundred years ago. Many of the buildings have been relocated from other parts of South Korea, fully intact. Some are 200-300 years old.
At night we will be the only people staying in a beautiful hotel by the sea. Here you will have the chance to relax with you new AK friends and talk about the wonderful sites and experiences of the day. On Sunday we will start with a trip to Halla Botanical Gardens, to check out what Jeju has to offer us in plant species. Due to its temperate climate Jeju can boast a variety of flora from all over the world, both rare and common species that doesn’t grow in other parts of Korea.
Our second stop will be Mt. Songak where you can get a view of Marado Island; the southernmost island in South Korea. The island is remarkably flat. We may also get to see some lava tubes. Lunch will (haemultang), a seafood stew. After which we will visit a tea farm and see how tea is grown, harvested and prepared to make tea. We may even get to sample some green tea.
Next on the list we will be watching a Chinese acrobatic and motorbike show, where we will see stunning acrobatic performances, plus motorbike tricks. Our final stop before heading to the airport is Hallim Park. Not only does it offer everything for a botanical enthusiast but it also has a 500m walk through a lava tube cave Hyeopchaegul).
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Traffic has been increasing on the once-empty streets of this extraordinary capital. That said, little else has changed in Pyongyang (‘flat land’) over the last couple of decades. The city remains an eerie, unchanging place of wide streets, endless grey and white Soviet-style blocks, vast monuments to the party and an all-female team of fetishistically-clad traffic wardens manually directing traffic with domineering zeal.
In the best possible tradition of Minsk and Ashgabat, Pyongyang rose from the ashes of destruction and as such was a tabula rasa for the Kim dictatorship to impose its worldview on. Mysterious and grey, Pyongyang is definitely one of the world’s strangest capitals, often wrapped in a thick mist and dominated by the immeasurably sinister and humungous pyramid of the unfinished Ryugyong Hotel.
Every visit focuses heavily on Pyongyang –this is after all a city built to impress with a population of approved, privileged citizens and a slew of awe-inspiring sights your guides are happy to show you. It’s worth trying to get to know the city during your trip, as this is one of the few places you’ll have a chance to get to know in North Korea.
The guides will be falling over themselves to show you a succession of monuments, towers, statues, and buildings that apotheosise the Juche idea and propagate the achievements of the Kim regime. These include the Tower of the Juche Idea, the Chollima Statue and the Mansudae Grand Monument, a vast rendering of the Great Leader in bronze, to which every visitor is expected to pay floral homage.
While these are all impressive, if surreal, the real delights of Pyongyang are to be had in the quieter moments when you can get glimpses of everyday life. If possible, suggest walking between sights rather than driving, which the guides prefer. A gentle stroll on Pyongyang’s relatively relaxed Moran Hill, for example, will reveal that the locals have picnics, play music and idle away sunny afternoons. Despite the best attempts of the Korean Workers’ Party, there is a semblance of normality surviving in the capital. You just have to look hard for it.
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North Korea still is one of the most reclusive countries of the world. Although there is a slight opening and some selected koreans are now allowed to visit their families in the south for a short day stay, visiting the country is still a highly organised operation for limited numbers of group tourists. Since access to North Korea is mainly via China, most visits are tacked on to China tours.
As you can see by this night satellite view of North Korea, in comparison to South Korea it's a happening place after dark.
More than 23 millions inhabitants live in this country. In comparisson, North Korea is slightly smaller than England and around 2000 square kilometers larger than South Korea. Most of its 120.540 sqkm territory is demilitarized zone, where you are not allowed to enter. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is situated on the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. It shares borders in the south with the demilitarized zone (separating it from the Republic of Korea, see South Korea), in the east with Japan (by sea), in the north with China and in the west with the Yellow Sea.
Following World War II, Korea was split into a northern, communist half and a southern, Western-oriented half. Kim Chong Il has ruled North Korea since his father and the country's founder, president Kim Il Sung, died in 1994. After decades of mismanagement, the North relies heavily on international food aid to feed its population. Most of the land, particularly on the north and east regions, consists mostly of rugged mountains, separated by deep, narrow valleys. Only a small area is cultivable or exploitable. The eastern coast is rocky and steep with mountains rising from the water, the western coast is characterized by coastal plains. The average climate is temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer. It is very similar to that of South Korea, but colder and drier in the winter. Rainy season is from July to September, but autumn is cooler. Winters are long and frigid while summers are hot, rainy and humid. The best time of the year to visit North Korea is during the months of May, June, September and October.
Redefining the term rogue state through its isolationism, controversial nuclear weapons programme and missile testing, North Korea is probably the most mysterious country in the world today and one almost entirely untouched by tourism. Off the beaten path seems too slight a term for a nation that admits fewer than 2000 Westerners a year, and whose overwhelming attraction is its isolation and backwardness. The capital, Pyongyang, has a few sites worth visiting and Paekdusan is considered one of the most stunning sights in North Korea.
Here the Kim dynasty, which began life as a Soviet-sponsored communist government in the 1950s, has evolved into a hereditary dictatorship owing far more to Confucianism than Marxism. The founder of the state, Kim Il Sung, may have died in 1994, but he is still the president of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (the name locals prefer for their country). His son, a man who has only ever uttered one sentence in public (it was ‘Long Live the Victorious Korean People’s Army’ at a rally in Pyongyang in the early 1990s), continues to rule like a medieval monarch, an unknown quantity with nuclear weapons and a huge army at his beck and call, giving sleepless nights to governments in Seoul, Tokyo and Washington.
A trip to North Korea is strictly on its government’s terms, and it’s essential to accept that you’ll have no independence during your trip – you’ll be accompanied by two government-approved local guides at all times and only hear a very one-sided view of history throughout the trip. Those who can accept these terms will have a fascinating trip into another rather unsettling world. Simply to see a country where the Cold War is still being fought, where mobile phones and the internet are unknown, and where total obedience to the state is universally unquestioned is, for many, reason enough to visit.
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