North Korea, or the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, is fascinated by its unusualness. Everything in North Korea is controlled by the state, including the population’s topics of conversation. For example, no one is allowed to talk about the (non-existent) length of the country’s subversive leader Kim Jong Il. The idolatry of Kim Jong Il and his late father Kim Il Sung permeates everything, and even if you should not be too loud in your comments about the appointed leader, you can always have fun in silence.

See travel to North Korea

Population: 25 mill.

Capital: Pyongyang

Language: Korean

the late Kim Il-Sung is president for all time to come? His two successors have held – and carry – the title of Secretary-General of the Korean Workers’ Party.

North Korea’s tallest building is the Ryugyong Hotel, which is 105 stories high? Construction has been underway since 1987 and even though it is now complete, it has not opened yet.

Geography of North Korea

North Korea borders China to the north and South Korea to the south. North and South Korea were divided in 1945, after both had belonged to Japan for several years. The country is intersected by mountain ranges that are particularly high on the northeast coast and form narrow, deep valleys. The highest peak is over 2700 meters high, and the mountain slopes are covered with scattered deciduous and coniferous forest. Part of the country is agricultural land where rice and maize are grown in agricultural collectives.

North Korean history

Both culturally and politically, the Korean Peninsula has always been closely linked to China. Initially, the Korean language was written in Chinese characters and the country has been under Chinese rule on several occasions. During the first centuries of our era, Korea consisted of a series of smaller, conflicting empires, with strong Chinese interference. Finally, the Kingdom of Herring, which then ruled over all of Korea, won: However, in recognition of the sovereignty of the Chinese emperor. The herring kingdom was later replaced by the Koryor kingdom, which was regularly attacked by Mongols and Japanese. After this, the Yi dynasty arose, which lasted until 1910; even that under Chinese rule. When the Yi dynasty collapsed, Japan took over China’s ruling position. Visit sportsqna.com for isolated North Korea.

Japan’s rule in Korea lasted until 1945, when Stalin sent a Korean officer, Kim Il Sung, to occupy North Korea. In the same year, South Korea was occupied by the United States. The UN tried to reunite the two countries, but after a couple of years, both leaders declared a state. In 1950, North Korea forcibly tried to bring about a reunification between the two Korean states, something that developed into the Korean War. The bloody war ended in a draw in 1953 and since then the neutral area between the two countries has been the scene of many clashes. However, the two arch-enemies came closer in 2000, when South Korean President Roh Moo-Ryun met Kim Jong Il for the first time, and in October 2007, the two countries agreed on an agreement designed to create peace and cooperation. However, North Korea is not as close friends with other parts of the world. The United States in particular is not particularly fond of the small communist state. In 2002, George W. Bush mentioned North Korea as one of three countries on the “axis of evil” (the others were Iran and Iraq).

North Korea’s leader

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Il rules the country unilaterally. However, the title of president belongs only to his father Kim Il Sung, who was appointed eternal president four years after his death. Both father and son are worshiped as idols, and the population is fed with exaggerated stories bordering on the ridiculous. It is claimed that Kim Jong Il was born on the sacred mountain Paekdu, which at the same moment was marked by a double rainbow and a new star in the sky. Since this spectacular birth, Kim Jong is considered to have become such a talented golfer that he always makes holes-in-one on three of four holes.

Traveling in North Korea

A trip to Korea is never a lonely excursion. No individual travel is allowed, and all traveling groups are accompanied everywhere by state-appointed guides. If you can live with this constant control, there are good opportunities for an exciting and different holiday in North Korea. The demilitarized zone between North and South Korea is a distinctive experience with an extremely tense atmosphere and a maze of underground tunnels. The guide will certainly tell about the destruction of the Korean War and capitalist South Korea as a result of American imperialism. A visit to the strange zone provides a good opportunity to see things from a different perspective. North Korea’s well-ordered capital Pyongyang is at horseback distances from the chaotic charm of the rest of Asia. The city is beautifully situated along a river with two high waterfalls, and is filled with propaganda that can make the reader think, as well as draw on the smiley face. The mountain area Myohang is beautiful with a large amount of flowers and hiking trails you almost have for yourself. In the area is a museum with the International Friendship Exhibition. Here, the country’s gifts to eternal president Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il are on display. Kim Il Sung has, among other things, received a limousine from Stalin and a train carriage equipped with an impressive arsenal of weapons from foreman Mao.

A fixed point on many trips to North Korea is Paekduberget on the border with China. Paekdu is an extinct volcano with a beautiful and icy crater lake. The place has a mysterious significance for the Koreans, as according to legend it was here that the founder of the first Korean kingdom descended from heaven. In one way or another, the area has also gained a reputation for being a center for the fight against capitalists, and many of the site’s trees are adorned with revolutionary slogans. Many of the inscriptions come from the 1920s, but look as if they were carved only a few days ago in the bark of the trees by young communists with revolutionary dreams.

Climate and weather North Korea

Here you get information about the climate and weather in North Korea. See, among other things, temperatures for Pyongyang.

The climate is temperate and the monsoon’s warm winds provide the country with mild summers, while the winters can mean snow, cold and severe frost. It rains a lot in the summer and the high summer can be relatively hot and humid, if you are not in the mountains or by the beach. Spring, on the other hand, is beautiful with flowering cherry trees, and autumn still offers balmy weather with blue skies and golden brown leaves.