Pyongyang City
The huge pyramid in the distance is the as yet unfinished Ryugyong Hotel. Started in 1987 and halted in 1992 due to lack funds and resources, it is a something of an embarrassment to the people of Pyongyang.
Ryugyong Hotel
Party Foundation Monument
In stark contrast to the city's apartment blocks, Pyongyang's monuments are all well built, immaculately kept and illuminated. The Party Foundation Monument shows the Hammer, Sickle and Paintbrush symbolizing the Worker, Peasant and Intellectual.
A view across the river
This photo was taken at the bottom of another monument (the Tower of Juche Idea), looking across the river to Kim Il Sung Square. I'd love to know what these two were talking about.
Kaesong
We stayed in the small town of Kaesong on the evening before Party Foundation Day, a national holiday. To celebrate this important event, the citizens of Kaesong were trooping up to the statue of Kim Il Sung which overlooks the town to pay their respects to the Great Leader. Our group did the same and on the way down we were allowed to take two photos, one up the hill and one down.
Needless to say, the sight of 20 or so foreigners taking part in this event drew quite a lot of attention and, even though people were on their best behaviour, we managed to get a few smiles and waves from the adults. The children in Kaesong, as in every part of the country we visited, were fascinated by us and all waved enthusiastically and shouted hellos.
Kaesong By Night
We walked to our hotel from the statue and the sun had set by the time we got back. I think we had lights in our rooms at the time (although the power went off during the evening) but the rest of the town was in darkness, the only light coming from the towering figure of himself on the hill.
Dinner at Kaesong
In contrast to most North Koreans, we always had more than enough food. Our dinner at Kaesong was very good, particularly the dog soup (the large bowl on the right) which most of us, including myself, really enjoyed. My conscience won't let me have it again, though.
3 comments:
Dog soup? Prince Phillip once said "If it has four legs and is not a chair, has wings and is not an aeroplane, or swims and is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it." and maybe the same is true for Korea?
That hotel must be not worth completing now it has been left to the elements for 15 years.
We hear a lot about North Korea having no food and the people starving. From what you saw, is this realistic? I mean, regular people walking around the streets, did they seem starving?
Nobody we saw had an ounce of fat on them. The people in the cities seemed to have a much higher standard of living than the peasants in the countryside, who make up 60% of the population according to our guide. There were definitely crops being grown and we didn't see any evidence of famine (not that we'd be taken anywhere near any such areas if they did exist) but we often caught sight of people scratching around next to roadsides, presumably looking for something to eat.
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