Due to international trade sanctions, draught and corruption, North Korea is suffering from famine and the people are forced to live off food rations from the government. The government projects an image of providing their citizens with all that they need, but as this photo, which was secretly taken in a grocery store shows, that is not always the case.
This supermarket in Pyongyang, which is for above average income families (although not for leadership) is full of empty shelves and offers meager choices. Shoppers can choose mainly between leeks, apples and turnips. Sounds delicious…
Welcome to North Korea!
North Korea is known as the Hermit Kingdom, due to the fact that it is so isolated and closed off. What we do know, is that much of the country’s resources are funneled into its own defense. This country is known for jealously guarding the secrecy surrounding the lives of its citizens military. All Korean men must serve at least two years in the military and women may volunteer.
North Korea is also known for illegal nuclear testing, with an estimation of 60 nuclear weapons already in their arsenal. Another thing North Korea is famous for is concentration camps. There are many prison labor colonies that are cut off from the outside world and house roughly 150,000 people. But are they as secure as they seem? A brave photojournalist who was visiting the country took secret pictures of everyday life. This act could have cost him his freedom and gotten sentenced to a concentration camp as a spy.
Hunger everywhere
North Korea is a starving country, with most of the population severely malnourished. The people survive on rats and squirrels and anything else they can get their hands on. In order to fix this problem, and feed the masses, the government is trying to increase the land available for farming.
Unfortunately, these efforts have been mostly unsuccessful due to outdated farming techniques which are roughly 300 years old! Therefore, people all over the country are emaciated and weak. North Koreans who manage to make it to China are immediately spotted and are well known for being very thin and with an enormous appetite and willingness to eat anything.
Empty trains
Empty trains run on time Foreigners who visit the Hermit Kingdom are heavily monitored, with only 4,000 to 6,000 western tourists being allowed access per year. They are taken on regulated, closely guarded tours, where taking photographs without permission could get them in serious trouble, thrown into jail or worse.
This picture of an empty train station was taken at great peril to the photographer’s life. The lives of North Korean citizens are monitored closely, and they are not allowed to travel. The only way to leave your town or village is with the regime’s express written permission. The train in this picture is mainly for tourists and is also used a propaganda tool by North Korea’s leaders to show the country’s modern and convenient transportation.
Rows of identical houses
Architecture in North Korea in general and in Pyongyang, in particular, is characterized by uniform gray cement, as used by the old Soviet Union. Since the country is technically, if not practically, a communist state, the message from the regime is that everyone is equal and therefore living arrangements should be equal as well.
The reality is, that due to insufficient technical expertise and international sanctions, many of the buildings are not safe to inhabit and many others are empty and unused.