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Photos from Inside North Korea (2014)

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Re: Photos from Inside North Korea (2014)

#32
post #27

Related: A YouTube channel [0] dedicated to videos of "everyday life" in North Korea, from an Indonesian expat living there. Couple of random examples: * Walking around Pyongyang in the winter. [1] * Going to a computer store in Pyongyang. [2] [0] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzvCf_q10UZkUJE0lOav0ag [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If2ZkXz_1U8 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtDWYzwwuUs

Whoa. At 2:59 on [2] ( https://youtu.be/FtDWYzwwuUs?t=179 ), it looks like that camera is 100,000 won? Thats $111 according to google. Any idea what's up with that? Am I interpreting the price wrong?

This video also caught my attention. The camera looks like a Canon EOS 600D and its priced at about 100,000 Korean Won. According to the XE Currency Converter, that is about USD765 [1] compared to USD400 at Amazon [2]. Looks like capitalism is alive and well in the heartland of Juche-ism.

[1]- http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=100000&F...

[2]- https://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-18-55mm-3-5-5-6-discontinued-...

Re: Photos from Inside North Korea (2014)

#33

I had already read a couple of blogposts relating travels in North Korea, but this is the first one that made it feel like a gleeful adventure. The corn fields, the countryside cities, the small picnic and barbecue parties with food and soju... It reminds me of good times that I had in South Korea. Of course, it always has to be considered that it's also NK's propaganda machine/tourism industry in action, but some of…

There is an element of adventure to these pictures. Some of his pictures are clearly illegal, disallowed, or uncomfortable in the North Korean context. There are examples of these especially in the second instalment [1]. Having spent some time in small-town Russia, I could almost taste the soulless architecture. The sense of adventure is further heightened when watching vlogs from Jaka Parker (noted elsewhere here), including this one video of him travelling almost 200km outside of Pyongyang along North Korea’s major highway [2]. There are remarkably few cars on the road and at several points, it felt like B-roll footage from a movie set a-la The Walking Dead: the desertion in the roads of this nuclear power is simply astonishing.

On a related note, several tour companies across Africa offer overland tours including a 73-day journey across 10 countries in Eastern and Southern African countries [3] and a terrifying 27-day trip across the western edges of the Sahara Desert [4, 5, 6].

[1] 100 Photos Inside North Korea – Part 2 (http://www.earthnutshell.com/100-photos-from-north-korea-par...)

[2] 100kms outside Pyongyang - North Korea (https://youtu.be/zCjpxZDTyqs)

[3] Nairobi to Cape Town Overland Tours (https://www.absoluteafrica.com/The-Absolute-Safari/AS71)

[4] (http://www.overlandingwestafrica.com/trip-overview-availabil...)

[5] Mauritania 2013. Exploring West Africa by expedition truck (https://www.flickr.com/photos/128667255@N04/sets/72157649867...)

[6] Overland West Africa - MAURITANIA - 2013-2014 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRHiAXjyHTk)

Re: Photos from Inside North Korea (2014)

#34
post #27

Related: A YouTube channel [0] dedicated to videos of "everyday life" in North Korea, from an Indonesian expat living there. Couple of random examples: * Walking around Pyongyang in the winter. [1] * Going to a computer store in Pyongyang. [2] [0] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzvCf_q10UZkUJE0lOav0ag [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If2ZkXz_1U8 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtDWYzwwuUs

Whoa. At 2:59 on [2] ( https://youtu.be/FtDWYzwwuUs?t=179 ), it looks like that camera is 100,000 won? Thats $111 according to google. Any idea what's up with that? Am I interpreting the price wrong?

It might be for the elite, or it might be literal window dressing; they did build an amusement park that appears to be largely for show after all.

Re: Photos from Inside North Korea (2014)

#35

Related: A YouTube channel [0] dedicated to videos of "everyday life" in North Korea, from an Indonesian expat living there. Couple of random examples: * Walking around Pyongyang in the winter. [1] * Going to a computer store in Pyongyang. [2] [0] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzvCf_q10UZkUJE0lOav0ag [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If2ZkXz_1U8 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtDWYzwwuUs

Thanks for sharing these. They're fascinating.

In the winter video, a few things jump out at me:

- The environment seems depressingly spartan and utilitarian. Everything is drab. And yet this it he capital city.

- Virtually no one is walking with anyone else. There are a few exceptions, but it looks as if conversation is essentially absent when out and about.

- In a manner, it's boggling to consider where all of these people are coming from and going to. With no commerce, every building looks like it might as well be an apartment building. The feeling I get is like watching the rote movement you would see in a computer simulation of a city. A lot of movement, but with what purpose?

- Even though there is only very minimal traffic, it seems like crosswalks are not common, so the Youtuber keeps using pedestrian underpasses.

Re: Photos from Inside North Korea (2014)

#36

This documentary has real footage from inside north Korea, not the usual 'north Korea show' you usually see everywhere. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csI1EoMOXXk Secret footage shot by an activist inside north korea. eg: markets inside a north korean town https://youtu.be/csI1EoMOXXk?t=1366 dead bodies of people who tried to escape in the yalu river https://youtu.be/csI1EoMOXXk?t=1145

As an African (hardship implied), this hit hard- indescribably heartbreaking.

Re: Photos from Inside North Korea (2014)

#37

It strikes me how expensive these visits must be for NK. It seems that every tourist gets a dedicated guide, while someone (or multiple people) is probably also monitoring them remotely. Then, consider the little details like that empty restaurant they cleared for the sake of a tourist. In terms of manpower it's probably a factor > 1 relative to the number of visitors. Imagine every visitor to the US was escorted by…

North Korea tours are also very expensive, about 1300 € for 3 nights (http://www.koryogroup.com/tours/dprk-north-korea/group#itine...)

Re: Photos from Inside North Korea (2014)

#38
post #33

I had already read a couple of blogposts relating travels in North Korea, but this is the first one that made it feel like a gleeful adventure. The corn fields, the countryside cities, the small picnic and barbecue parties with food and soju... It reminds me of good times that I had in South Korea. Of course, it always has to be considered that it's also NK's propaganda machine/tourism industry in action, but some of…

There is an element of adventure to these pictures. Some of his pictures are clearly illegal, disallowed, or uncomfortable in the North Korean context. There are examples of these especially in the second instalment [1]. Having spent some time in small-town Russia, I could almost taste the soulless architecture. The sense of adventure is further heightened when watching vlogs from Jaka Parker (noted elsewhere here),…

Those overland tours are surprisingly affordable.

Re: Photos from Inside North Korea (2014)

#39
post #35

Related: A YouTube channel [0] dedicated to videos of "everyday life" in North Korea, from an Indonesian expat living there. Couple of random examples: * Walking around Pyongyang in the winter. [1] * Going to a computer store in Pyongyang. [2] [0] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzvCf_q10UZkUJE0lOav0ag [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If2ZkXz_1U8 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtDWYzwwuUs

Thanks for sharing these. They're fascinating. In the winter video, a few things jump out at me: - The environment seems depressingly spartan and utilitarian. Everything is drab. And yet this it he capital city. - Virtually no one is walking with anyone else. There are a few exceptions, but it looks as if conversation is essentially absent when out and about. - In a manner, it's boggling to consider where all of thes…

> Virtually no one is walking with anyone else.

They're walking for transportation. Consider that in the US most cars on the road have only one occupant.

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