1. 10 years of Mandatory Military Service
Did you know that North Korea people served 10years of military service? Since 1993, North Korea military had coined ‘10-year-military service rule’.
In the North, people start their military service at the age of 17 and it ends around 27! Later, the term was extended even further and they had to serve until they become 30. I bet all the people who served their military people will cry out loud watching the movie ‘Old boy’ and ‘The Shawshank Redemption’
2. Young people in North Korea watch k-dramas
Wait. Wasn’t North Korea government shutting down all the internet and media from other countries?
Yes, that’s true. But there are brokers who deliver the USBs or Memory disks who goes back and forth between China and North Korea.
In the interview of the North Korean immigrant, she said the newest series of k-drama is delivered to Pyongyang, the capital.
North Korea still has strict laws controlling the media, but young generations in North Korea shares the USBs with their friends and families. And they loved it!
k-dramas are already covertly popular to young generations in North Korea, and they are changing the culture of the young North Koreans.
3. Women From the North Uses Cosmetics From the South
K-beauty is also popular in North Korea. Women in North Korea says ‘Women should save money on food and use fine cosmetics.’
South Korean makeup products were used in NK since 2000, 6.15 summit conference between the north and south. The products in South Korea started to enter the North Korean market.
Thanks for the K-drama and K-pop’s covert success in the North, South Korean beauty and fashion is currently in high demand among the affluent, young generations.
Even the price of the skincare products from the South is at least 3 times higher than the ones from the North, still, many women prefer them because of its high quality and suitability for the skin of Asians.
4. Seol-ju Lee, the first lady of the North leads the fashion of the country.
North Korea was notorious for its strict regulation abou the clothes people wear. Few decades ago, people wearing short skirts or jeans would be caught by the watchers and they would have to submit their clothes.
Seol-ju Lee, was the first first-lady who started to show in public with vivid and morel iberal kind of fashion. She wore vibrant colors of skirt and tops with high heals.
Her styles always become a center of attention, and now, there is a saying called ‘What Lee Seol-ju wears become a fashion.’
While she’s living a life of the nation number one celebrity as well as the first lady, She is brought up in a commoner’s house and studied vocal music in the national arts university.
5.Annual Run-way Fashion show in the North
North Korea has their own fashion show called ‘Chosun Clothing’ every year. In North Korea, as a result of communism, people used to wear clothes with simple patterns and monotonous colors until the late 70's.
Chinese fashion critic claimed the styles in the fashion show resembles the Chinese formal wear in the 1960’s.
The clothings in the ‘Chosun Clothing’ is very different from the mainstream traditional Korean garments. Another peculiar thing about this fashion show is the smile. All the models on the show are smiling, which is hard to see in the modern western runway fashion show.
6. Blessed with natural resources
North Korea has about 220 kinds of underground resources, and 43 of them even have high economic value. The nation is estimated to have 6 bill tons of magnesite and 2 mill tons of graphite, 2000 tons of gold.
Despite its rich natural resources, North Korea has not yet developed all their mines. Because of the difficulty in mining because of lack of infrastructure and technology, the mining in the North stopped around 2000, while there are still lots of resources left underneath.
Many North Korean experts expect that the total economic value of these resources will be 2.2 trillion dollars, which is big enough to offset the cost needed for the unification of the North and South.
7. North Korea makes pretty good Animations
North Korea’s number one animation firm, SEK(Scientific Educational Korea) Studio, has already made more than 250 number of foreign animation series. SEK runs 11 studios inside, and 9 of them receives outsourcing.
While the nation is pretty much closed to the outer influxes, I guess the animation business sector is the exception for that. SEK also did some cooperation with South korea, and made the famous animation ‘The Little Penguin, Pororo’.
The animation made a major success in Korea, and the penguin was nicknamed ‘president Po’, the president of all children. lol
8. Hot springs and Mineral water
Many people may have already knew about the massive underground resources in the North. However, there are even more you should know!
North Korea has 36 regions with hot springs and 39 areas famous for mineral waters. These hot springs and mineral waters contains chemicals that are useful for our body.
Some are known for a cure to some illnesses, and North korea is currently utilizing their mineral waters for medical purposes.
Among all hot springs, 60 of them has high water temperature about 50 celsius, and there are 50 mineral springs with 10 celsius or water spring.
9. The Travel Ban
Traveling to another district is strictly constrained in North Korea. People who are planning to travel have to get a certificate from the checkpoint. However, the permission needs a good reason, and traveling for tourism is not the case.
Sadly, many experts think this is the reason why the citizens in the North had difficulties to form a public opinion. This travel ban was originally made to supervise the production and the manpower in each district,
10. 3 types of North Koreans you meet in other countries
Despite the strict travel ban, including to other countries, still, it’s possible for you to meet some people from the North. And they are usually the people with special jobs!
<1> People work for Trade and Relations
Business trip is almost inevitable for people working for trades and relations! North Korean people working for trades also travel a lot and sometimes they live outside of the countries in some cases.
For the freedom of traveling abroad, many North Korean people dreams to work in the field of trading business. Plus, they have a chance to earn money in dollars or yuan, which are deemed as more stable currencies with wider usage in the public market in the North.
<2> Artists and Performers
Artists and performers are also the second type of people who you will meet. They travel out side of the country to get better education, and some North Korean Arts institutions or circuses do a show on tour.
Sometimes, you’ll see some North Korean restaurants with danders or singers. Some of them can be defectors from the North, but some of them are working for the North Korean government!
<3> High-level government official and their families
High-level government officials can also travel abroad, and their offsprings sometimes study abroad too.
North Korean leader Kim Jung Un and his brother Kim Jong-chul also studied abroad in Switzerland when he was young.
North Korea has a very strict regulations on their education system, so these cases are very rare and only limited to the most prestigious ranks and the ones who are trusted from the government.
If you’re want to know more about North Korea, you should check out the links below!
