officially called the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a single party (political...) state created in 1948 with the support of USSR while the south got the support of the USA. an attempt to invade the south led to the Korean war in 1950 which was also the first armed confrontation of the cold war. actually North and South Korea have never signed a formal peace treaty so technically they are still at war. In 2002 the US labeled North Korea part of an 'axis of evil' together with Iran and Iraq mainly because of its nuclear ambitions (you can guess what the girl in the poster is dreaming of...). the North Korean economy is completely nationalized, which means that food rations, housing, health care, and education is offered from the state for free. taxes has been abolished since 1974! (so maybe it is the Capital of Paradise...) however your monthly salary will probably be around 47$. the media in DPRK is one of the most strictly controlled in the world. the information is tightly controlled both into and out of the country. tourist must be accompanied by one or two tour guides (some nice trip diary can be found in the blog The forbidden railway: Vienna - Pyongyang). your cell phone will be sealed at the entry (even if technically there is no reception anyway). only news that favours the regime is permitted, while news that covers the economic and political problems in the country, or criticisms of the regime from abroad, is not allowed. the media upholds the personality cult of Kim Jong-il, regularly reporting on his daily activities. Both North and South Korea signed the June 15th North-South Joint Deceleration (2000) in which both sides made promises to seek out a peaceful reunification but there are still many steps ahead.
Monday, November 9, 2009
East - West, North - South
officially called the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a single party (political...) state created in 1948 with the support of USSR while the south got the support of the USA. an attempt to invade the south led to the Korean war in 1950 which was also the first armed confrontation of the cold war. actually North and South Korea have never signed a formal peace treaty so technically they are still at war. In 2002 the US labeled North Korea part of an 'axis of evil' together with Iran and Iraq mainly because of its nuclear ambitions (you can guess what the girl in the poster is dreaming of...). the North Korean economy is completely nationalized, which means that food rations, housing, health care, and education is offered from the state for free. taxes has been abolished since 1974! (so maybe it is the Capital of Paradise...) however your monthly salary will probably be around 47$. the media in DPRK is one of the most strictly controlled in the world. the information is tightly controlled both into and out of the country. tourist must be accompanied by one or two tour guides (some nice trip diary can be found in the blog The forbidden railway: Vienna - Pyongyang). your cell phone will be sealed at the entry (even if technically there is no reception anyway). only news that favours the regime is permitted, while news that covers the economic and political problems in the country, or criticisms of the regime from abroad, is not allowed. the media upholds the personality cult of Kim Jong-il, regularly reporting on his daily activities. Both North and South Korea signed the June 15th North-South Joint Deceleration (2000) in which both sides made promises to seek out a peaceful reunification but there are still many steps ahead.
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