Category: inside-north-korea

Vehicle License Plates of North Korea

Through my travels around North Korea, I’ve observed several different types of vehicle license plates. The Korean prefix before the numbers all represent the province which the vehicle comes from. Naturally, the prefix you’ll see the most often is “평양” because it stands for Pyongyang and that’s the area with the largest automobile numbers. The license plates are differentiated by color with each color representing a different category.
제가 북한을 두루 여행하는 동안 관찰한 여러종류의 차량번호판에 대해 이야기해보겠습니다. 숫자 앞에 있는 조선어는 그 차량이 등록된 지역을 말합니다. 번호판에 ‘평양’이라는 글자를 가장 많이 볼수 있는데요, 그 이유는 평양이 가장 많은 차량이 등록된 곳이기 때문에 그렇습니다. 차량 번호판은 색상으로도 구분할수 있고, 각각의 색상으로 차량의 범주를 알수 있습니다.

by DPRK 360

Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum

The Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum was first built in Central Pyongyang in August 1953. It was moved to its present-day location next to the Potong River in April 1963 and underwent major renovations in 2013.

by DPRK 360

Kaesong Old Town

The Kaesong Old Town survived the Japanese occupation and was also spared destruction during the Korean War. This entire area with old Korean style buildings date back from the Joseon period and are a unique cultural heritage to North Korea. 개성 한옥마을은 일제강점기를 견뎌내었을 뿐 아니라 한국전쟁의 포화로부터도 살아남은 곳입니다. 이곳 전체는 조선시대에 세워진 한옥들로 구성되어 있는 독특한 북한의 문화유산입니다.

by DPRK 360

Juche Tower

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 […]

by DPRK 360

Hyangsan Hotel

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.

by DPRK 360

North Korean Gold

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.

by DPRK 360

North Korean Hydroelectric Dams

An increasing number of such dams now have hydroelectric generators installed that produce sufficient electricity for neighboring towns throughout spring to autumn.

by DPRK 360

Hungnam Fertilizer Complex

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.

by DPRK 360

Samhung Station

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.

by DPRK 360

Golden Triangle Bank

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 […]

by DPRK 360