Pyongyang’s elite
By Karthus Lee Just being able to live in North Korea’s capital Pyongyang is a privilege and they keep it that way. A North Korean cannot just move, or even visit, Pyongyang without permission. And leaving Pyongyang requires a travel certificate. If someone from Pyongyang marries outside the city, the city resident has to leave, according to a Chinese media report. As tourists, we were allowed no interaction with locals outside of the...
North Korea’s retro-modern transportation
By Joyce Wong and Thomas Chan Transportation in North Korea is both retro and modern. Most flights into North Korea are on state-owned carrier Air Koryo, with Air China also flying into Pyongyang a few times a week. Air Koryo scored one star out of five on Skytrax, an airline ranking website that looks at a number of criteria including cabin staff service, cabin seating, and onboard catering. The planes are Russian-made Tupolev...
The reason for the dark
By Joey Hung Sunrise to sunset: Natural light dictates the schedule of life in North Korea. Astronauts recently took a photo of the area from 200 miles up. North Korea, sandwiched between China and South Korea, looks like a black hole or a dark ocean between the two brightly lit countries North Korea has an energy shortage. Image courtesy of the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson...
North Korea’s showcase city
By Joanna Wong Isolated from the modern world, North Korea has transformed its capital Pyongyang into a spotless and green showcase city. The road from the airport into Pyongyang is lined with tidy light-coloured apartments, their balconies filled with flowers. The street is wide and clean with trees lined up neatly. There is not a scrap of rubbish in sight. Flowering trees, such as cherry and magnolia trees, with mostly white, pink...
