The Tower of Juche Ideology was built in 1982 to commemorate the 70th birthday of President Kim Il Sung and sits prominently by the Taedong River. I was told by the local guide that the tower was built with 25,550 granite blocks, each representing a day in President Kim Il Sung’s life up until his […]
Constructed in 1986 and completely renovated in 2010, the Hyangsan Hotel is a North Korean rated 6-star hotel. Internationally, that would be a 5-star equivalent.
While traveling across the countryside, I was able to observe locals panning for gold in one of the rivers. They were swirling pans and using sluice boxes to prospect for the precious metal. That piqued my interest and the following year, I finally got to see a North Korean gold bullion coin minted from the Central Bank of the DPRK.
An increasing number of such dams now have hydroelectric generators installed that produce sufficient electricity for neighboring towns throughout spring to autumn.
The Hungnam Fertilizer Complex’s primary function is the production of superphosphate, ammonium sulfate, and ammonium nitrate fertilizers. 흥남비료연합기업소의 주요 역할은 과인산석회비료, 유안비료 그리고 질산암모늄비료를 생산하는 것이다.
Samhung Station (삼흥역) is situated along the Hyoksin line (혁신선) in Pyongyang. Because it is in-between the Kim Il Sung University and the University of Foreign Studies, many of North Korea’s best and brightest students use this station.
The Golden Triangle Bank is the primary bank of the Rason Special Economic Zone. Exchanges rates here are at local market exchange rates of 8,000KPW/US$1 instead of the usual 100KPW/US$1. The exchange rates here are also much better than in Pyongyang. Because Rason is a ‘Special Economic Zone’, you’ll find Chinese and Russians businessmen making […]
Changjon Street represented the beginning of a wave of “modernization projects” that would see multiple new-towns like Mirae Scientists Street (미래과학자거리) and Ryomyong New Town (려명거리신도시) sprout up across Pyongyang.
Opened on 1 May 1989, the Rungrado May Day Stadium has a total floor space of over 207,000 m² and a seating capacity of 114 000. It’s officially the stadium with the largest seating capacity in the world.
This is Wonsan Kalma beach in 2013 before the area was redeveloped as part of the Wonsan Kalma Resort. When I first visited this place, I was only told there were some big plans for renovations “very soon”. No additional details were given at that time. It wasn’t until 2015 that I heard about the […]
