North Korea - The Land of Whispers

A postcard from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ( North Korea ) 🇰🇵 

North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , is a country in East Asia constituting the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, with Pyongyang the capital and the largest city in the country. To the north and northwest, the country is bordered by China and by Russia along the Amnok (known as the Yalu in Chinese) and Tumen rivers and to the south it is bordered by South Korea, with the heavily fortified Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two. Nevertheless, North Korea, like its southern counterpart, claims to be the legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands.

In 1910, Korea was annexed by Imperial Japan. After the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II in 1945, Korea was divided into two zones, with the north occupied by the Soviet Union and the south occupied by the United States. Negotiations on reunification failed, and in 1948, separate governments were formed: the socialist Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north, and the capitalist Republic of Korea in the south. An invasion initiated by North Korea led to the Korean War (1950–1953). The Korean Armistice Agreement brought about a ceasefire, but no peace treaty was signed.

North Korea officially describes itself as a "self-reliant" socialist state, and formally holds elections. The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), led by a member of the ruling family, holds power in the state and leads the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland of which all political officers are required to be members. The means of production are owned by the state through state-run enterprises and collectivized farms. Most services such as healthcare, education, housing and food production are subsidized or state-funded.

 It is the country with the highest number of military and paramilitary personnel, with a total of 9,495,000 active, reserve and paramilitary personnel, or approximately 37% of its population. Its active duty army of 1.21 million is the fourth largest in the world, after China, the United States and India; consisting of 4.8% of its population. It possesses nuclear weapons.

[ North Korea, officially the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea), has been called the land of whispers for a long time and it’s because people just don’t say things in public. In other words, nobody says anything out in the open. They kind of whisper to each other and then quickly walk away. Not only is it one of the most secretive countries on earth, it’s also one of the most isolated.

There are a strict set of rules that visitors must follow once they are in the DPRK. Pictures and videos of the local people are not allowed, for instance. If a newspaper contains a picture of the political leaders, one is not allowed to fold that newspaper in half or crumble it. Another rule is that when photographing monuments and statues, they have to be shot from a lower angle and the entire structure has to be included in the shot. ] 

Thanks Mei Mei for this precious postcard from the land of Whispers 🤫!!