North Korea Has An Obsession With a Mystical Horse
Korean communism ❤s the chollima
The national animal of North Korea is the qianlima or chollima. If you have never heard of this creature before, that is because it is a mythical animal from ancient Chinese lore. The chollima literally means the thousand li horse. It was an animal that could effortlessly run a thousand li in a single day. The li is also known as the Chinese mile and it equates to one half kilometer today. Therefore, the chollima could run 500km in one shot. Impressive.
The animal was so swift, powerful and majestic that no average mortal could ever hope to ride it. It was faster than the wind, had the stamina of many horses and looked good to boot. This is the figure that North Korea has chosen to be its international and national symbol.
And why not? Aiming to model yourself after something that is faster and works harder than everything else is a very communist thing to do.
A widespread symbol
The chollima is a symbol in North Korea that goes beyond simply being the national animal. It is ubiquitous. There are numerous things in North…
