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NORTH KOREA
Location - North East Asia; Capital - Pyongyang; Population - 24 million; Currency - North Korean Won MORE NORTH KOREA
September 9th 2009 marked National Day and the 61st anniversary of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. A mass dance in Pyongyang was part of the celebrations.
Kim Il Sung on the 1000 Won note
It's all about timing and I got this one spot on. A child mimics the Kims, providing us foreigners some on-the-spot guidance beneath the Workers' Party of Korea monument - Pyongyang
The Workers' Party of Korea monument, or Monument to Party Founding, is made up of a hammer and sickle with an artist's brush between them - Pyongyang
The three sculptures represent the workers, peasants and intellectuals of the nation - Pyongyang
The Workers' Party of Korea monument was unveiled in 1995 - Pyongyang
Carvings on the monument's circular interior - Pyongyang
Hundreds of North Koreans perform a mass dance beneath the monument to mark National Day - Pyongyang
Women in national dress and men in shirt & tie perform several dances to music blaring through a van's loudspeakers - Pyongyang
My YouTube video here
And we also get involved. Luckily I don't have a photo to hand - Pyongyang
The '9.9' sign refers to the date, 9th September, rather than my Strictly Come Dancing rating - Pyongyang
Maybe there's thousands of participants rather than hundreds - mass dance evening, Pyongyang
Mass dance evening on National Day, Pyongyang
The sun sets on the mass dance, Pyongyang
The Workers' Party of Korea monument at sunset, Pyongyang
A familiar painting in a Pyongyang souvenir shop - the Kims at Mt Paekdu
It may seem a small thing but I think we were very fortunate to be able to walk through Pyongyang in the late evening, with many monuments lit up and fountains in full flow for National Day - Pyongyang
Pyongyang ice rink
More flags on the occasion of National Day, Pyongyang
People's Palace of Culture, Pyongyang
People's Palace of Culture, Pyongyang
Stretching neck muscles at the base of Yanggakdo Hotel, Pyongyang
From the hotel, National Day was the first time I'd seen the bridges and the People's Palace of Culture (left) lit up - Pyongyang
Tower of the Juche Idea, Pyongyang
The May Day stadium, Tower of the Juche Idea and Taedong River bridges on National Day, Pyongyang
The tour group's mobile phones are wrapped in brown paper, officially stamped and then sealed. Open at your peril! Pyongyang
This was the only advert I saw, outside Pyongyang train station.
I've seen an online video of Taedonggang beer but didn't come across it in North Korea. Ushers Brewery - from Trowbridge to Pyongyang.
A poster outside the train station, Pyongyang
Website and content Copyright © 2008-2012 Mark Wilkinson. All rights reserved.
LINKS
www.koreakonsult.com - Korea Konsult is a Swedish based company that I booked my tour with. For me it offered the best itinerary and was flexible enough to cater for travelling by train to Pyongyang. The group size, at 23, was rather large however (but a great bunch of people!)
www.koryogroup.com - Koryo Tours is the market leader
www.nkeconwatch.com - plenty of independent news stories and analysis of North Korea
www.kcckp.net - news portal on behalf of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (ie. North Korea)
www.kcna.co.jp - news from the 'Korean Central News Agency'
www.nk-news.net/extras/insult_generator.php - definitely not an official DPRK site - the Random Insult Generator
Other tour agencies -
www.explorenorthkorea.com - USA/Dandong, China
www.geoex.com - USA
http://koningaap.nl - Netherlands
www.nordkoreareisen.de - Germany
www.northkorea1on1.com - USA
www.north-korea-travel.com - Hong Kong
www.regent-holidays.co.uk - UK
www.universaltravel.com.sg - Singapore
www.vnc.nl - Netherlands
www.youngpioneertours.com - China
I am not responsible for the content of external websites.
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