preface
The world is so big, those scenery that you have never seen are far more vast than you imagined, those who see from the book, what others hear from the mouth, are not as real as your feet on that land, it is better to see than to hear, break through the preset pride and prejudice, in order to feel the fun of travel! For North Korea, few people have set foot here, but only if they have been there have a say!
Travel, is not only a kind of enjoyment, but also a kind of learning, its significance is: to experience different processes, in-depth understanding of a country's history and culture, customs, and finally choose to see, learn the knowledge concept, customs and culture to share with people who do not have the opportunity to travel, North Korea tourism, very hot, travel to North Korea has become the wish of many people, friends who have been to North Korea have sighed:
At this stage, there are too many articles on the Internet about "North Korean tourism", whether you have been there or not, it is difficult to distinguish the real from the fake! For decades, North Korea has been in a closed state, only have the right to speak, the more mysterious the more want to find out, many people pay attention to North Korea, just want to wait for the resumption of North Korean tourist routes, the group to North Korea to satisfy their curiosity, indeed, the elderly want to come to North Korea to re-walk their youth, and once again feel the unique social atmosphere of the seventies and eighties, and young people want to come to North Korea to explore the unknown and mysterious, I have signed up for North Korea's tour groups in Dandong many times, and met too many people and things about North Korea, friends said I was really boldBut I traveled to North Korea only to satisfy curiosity, not to prove how bold I am!
Take the train to North Korea
At present, to travel to North Korea, the North Korean side only accepts group registration, the inviting unit is generally an international travel agency or a youth travel agency, individuals can not carry out self-driving tours or personal free travel, different means of transportation, different travel duration, prices are different, generally Sinuiju 1-day tour, Pyongyang 4-5 days tour, Kaesong 1-2 day tour, sign up to travel to North Korea, the means of transportation can choose a train or plane, but you must know that by plane to North Korea, only Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang and other places have direct flights to Pyongyang, Previously, Korean Air Korea operated flights from Beijing to Pyongyang on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and Shenyang-Pyongyang on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The first time to North Korea, it is recommended to take the K27 or K28 train, starting from Beijing, passing through Tianjin, Hebei, Liaoning, entering North Korea from Dandong, at the railway station security check in Sinuiju, the capital of North Pyongan Province, North Korea, before entering North Korea, all procedures are handled by a travel agency, tourists only need to provide basic information such as passports, ID cards, photos, fees, etc., the next thing you need to do is to obey the command, be cautious in words and deeds, should not bring, should not say, should not do, comply with the relevant regulations, it is worth mentioning: Visa is a separate paper attached to the passport, come to Dandong in advance, you can also taste barbecue, strawberries and yellow clams, train tickets, visas are travel agencies to help agents, entry visas are generally valid for six months, from the date of issuance, the stay period is calculated from the date of entry into North Korea, must enter and exit within the validity period of the visa!
Visitors should note that there are some items that are forbidden to be carried before entering the court, such as:
Korean and English magazines and newspapers, breast enlargement magazines, single-lens reflex cameras with lenses of more than 200mm, jeans, electronic devices with GPS function, etc., can not carry more than 20,000 yuan or 5,000 US dollars before entering the DPRK, mobile phones can be carried, but there is no signal, the regulations are from July 1, 2013, foreigners carrying mobile phones into the DPRK, need to fill out the customs declaration form, enter the immigration inspection can be presented, these entry requirements, every tourist needs to comply!
Chinese's feelings for North Korea are particularly special, geographically close, close to people, not only because of the history of the "majestic and high-spirited, across the Yalu River" turbulent years, but also because now the border people of the two countries because of the Yalu River to maintain the nourishment of "a strip of water", a river apart, the separation is only distance, and Changbai Mountain is a link connecting the friendship between China and North Korea, a few years ago, North Korean tourism was very hot, many people want to come to North Korea to personally feel the customs and people here!
Before leaving North Korea, like everyone else, I had the same impression of North Korea as traditional, closed, and backward, and even thought that the life of North Koreans was still in a state of poor meals, four walls, lack of food and clothing, and the living conditions of North Koreans who came to North Korea to see with my own eyes simply subverted my cognition, and it was difficult to distinguish between true and false information on the Internet.
Take the train to North Korea, the day of departure at the Dandong railway station gathered, the tourists are very excited, all kinds of photos to commemorate, although the next few days will be in no network and "isolated" like a state, but then think about it, life can have a few beats, come to North Korea can satisfy curiosity to the greatest extent, my tour group is the same as most people, are mainly middle-aged and elderly sunset red tour group, including many veterans, the train is at 10 o'clock in the morning on time, you can see some large bags in the waiting room, The unsmiling passengers, and even saw a few boxes of instant noodles in their luggage, they wore badges on their chests, looking like they were not allowed to enter, and later learned that these people may be North Korean businessmen or students who have returned to China, and these people are riding in different carriages with Chinese passengers, and there is no opportunity to communicate throughout the whole process!
The train departed on time, the green train slowly passed the Yalu River Bridge, separated by a river, different scenery, Dandong and the opposite side of Sinuiju are like two living conditions, Dandong is a modern city, you can see high-rise buildings, busy traffic, bright lights, but Sinuiju is a solemn state, some people say: night falls, the scenery on both sides of the strait is very different, Dandong is brightly lit, Sinuiju is dark, perhaps, Sinuiju is so dark for energy saving!
In less than 10 minutes, our train arrived at the railway station in Sinuiju, the capital of North Pyongan Province, North Korea, where passengers were asked to stay on the train and wait for inspection and were not allowed to get off the train.
The first group of staff got on the bus and took away the passport, visa and arrival card, it is necessary to pay attention to: the customs declaration should be filled in truthfully, such as electronic watches, computers, tablets, mobile phone models, USB flash drives and other electronic devices, so as to check when leaving the country, if the declaration is not displayed, it will cause unnecessary trouble; The second group of staff got on the bus to manually unpack and check the luggage, which was less efficient and more time-consuming, but the other party was very aware of the various applications in the mobile phone, and if you wanted to improve the efficiency of manual inspection, you could try to give the other party some snacks, cigarettes, chocolates, stockings, etc., after all, their inspection was mainly aimed at returning North Koreans, and it was still relatively lenient for Chinese tourists!
Stopped at Sinuiju Railway Station for about 2 hours, passengers were asked to get off the train and change to another train, each tourist was given a cold box lunch and mineral water, around 12 o'clock, the train started slowly again, officially headed towards Pyongyang, along the way, sure enough, I saw the natural style of the North Korean countryside, three thousand miles of splendid rivers and mountains really deserve its name, although the average speed of the train is only 50 miles per hour, but still can not stop the excitement of the tourists, driving Laosuo, laughing children, laundry women, busy fields, fence courtyard walls, White walls and black tiles, curling smoke, and local atmosphere, this scene is very much like the appearance in memory, no wonder some people say: North Korea's today, as if it is our yesterday!
Rural economic conditions in North Korea
When I took the train to North Korea, I found a strange phenomenon when I passed through the North Korean countryside along the way, that is, almost all the North Korean farmers I saw were emaciated, with yellow faces and thin muscles, as if they were in a state of malnutrition. The real external performance broke the lie that "North Koreans are beautiful with thinness" said by the North Korean tour guide!
In fact, North Korea is still implementing the "unified purchase and sales" method under the planned economic model to this day, the North Korean people can get materials for free, but it is a quantitative quota, according to different identities and strata will be allocated different materials, the more remote rural areas, the less types and quantities of materials are distributed, because high-quality materials will give priority to Pyongyang and elite talents, so the lack of materials in North Korea's rural areas is not groundless!
Because the DPRK implements a strict household registration management system, the rural and urban areas are managed separately, and the peasants are not allowed to go to the cities at will, and the citizens are not allowed to go to the countryside at will; under this relatively strict movement restriction, many North Korean peasants have never gone far in their lives, and at best they are active in several villages near their villages, and the checkpoints set up along the way make it difficult for people to walk an inch, and they are not allowed to go to the city without a letter of introduction, so when they see foreign tourists passing by by train, they are very excited and stop to look at each other. Kids chase and run!
The economic conditions in the rural areas of the DPRK are almost the same, and it is impossible to obtain income by going out to work and the free economy, so the grain can only be obtained under the collective labor system and by the division of work, at best, it is to grow some additional vegetables and grain in the self-reserved land or raise some poultry and livestock, and when they are mature, they will be exchanged for other living materials in the market. Instead, see if there are any household appliances in this home, such as: color TV, DVD player, washing machine, electric bicycle, etc., it is already a good economic condition to have one of them!
In order to subsidize the family, some North Korean women will come to the village to set up stalls to sell some small commodities such as cigarettes, alcohol, sugar, tea, snacks and drinks.
Against this backdrop, is there a phenomenon of spontaneous entrepreneurship in rural North Korea? The answer is yes. Despite the limited resources, farmers are still trying to explore new ways of economic development, through their own efforts, independent entrepreneurship, in rural areas, farmers in the farmland to grow crops, raise poultry, and even open small shops in the local area to meet the living needs of the surrounding people, this spontaneous way of entrepreneurship not only helps them increase their income, but also provides a new impetus for the development of the rural economy, although these spontaneous entrepreneurs face many difficulties, but they always maintain a positive attitude and enterprising spirit, As long as perseverance, you can find your own entrepreneurial path, the phenomenon of spontaneous entrepreneurship in the rural areas of North Korea is not only the efforts made by farmers to improve their living conditions, but also the manifestation of their positive face to life, these people look for opportunities in the difficult situation, with their wisdom and courage to write a new chapter in the development of the rural economy.
North Korea's rural areas are implemented in the collective labor system, men work in the field every day to earn work, spring planting and autumn harvest, cleaning up garbage, carrying goods, cleaning, repairing buildings, etc., can get work, an average of 1-2 points per day, the average monthly income is only 100-200 yuan, every November by the distribution of food, because it is collective labor, in the long run, there is no gap between the rich and the poor in the North Korean countryside, so that some people say: North Korean countryside is a good place to remember the bittersweet and suitable for weight loss! Indeed, if you want to jump into the comfortable life circle of North Korea, you might as well see if you have the courage to live in North Korea for a long time!
Dietary conditions in rural North Korea
North Korea is a traditional agricultural production country, the area suitable for cultivation in North Korea is about 1.9 million hectares, dry land occupies about 70%, paddy fields occupy about 30%, but according to North Korea's population of 25 million, per capita is less than one acre of land, the annual food gap is huge, in order to solve the problem of eating all people in North Korea, North Korea has to rely on foreign aid, foreign procurement and other channels to solve the food problem!
North Korean rural implementation of material distribution, but the material is limited, people's appetite is unlimited, pork per capita per month distribution of less than a catty, beef is even rarer, it is difficult to achieve the freedom to eat meat, in order to eat enough meat, North Korean farmers will find a way to raise poultry, river fishing, hunting in the mountains, even, in winter, will be restless fishing on the ice, just to drink a sip of hot fish soup, in addition, there are many families with dogs in North Korean villages, not only to take care of the home, but also to eat meat, North Korean dog meat with kimchi is very delicious!
North Korea's rural areas are proud of labor and ashamed of enjoyment, everyone has a job to do, North Korea has no homeless people and beggars, the countryside mainly grows corn, rice, soybeans and the like, and vegetables are mostly cabbage and potatoes, but when passing through the North Korean countryside by train, it is found that the growth of these crops is not very good, some people say that this is because of the lack of pesticides and fertilizers in the North Korean countryside, and there are more days to eat from the sky, and North Korea has no shortage of farmers, what is lacking is farming machinery, pesticides, and fertilizers, in order to get more food, The North Koreans have also come up with some methods, such as encouraging the manufacture of farm fertilizer, reclaiming mountainous land, and so on, but in the face of reality, the DPRK is forced by foreign blockades and sanctions, unable to rely on imports to obtain enough food and fertilizer, nor can it export fish to earn foreign exchange, lacks production facilities and machinery, irrigation and natural disaster resistance are also weak, drought in spring, floods in summer, typhoons in autumn, agricultural production is easily reduced, agricultural science and technology can not be developed, and the yield of rice per mu is only 400-600 catties.
Recreational life in rural North Korea
In the rural areas of North Korea, the rhythm of life of the peasants is plain and orderly, the men work in the fields every day to earn work, the women are at home to do housework, poor but happy, the sun rises and the day is resting, living a traditional farming life, after a day of hard work and returning home, families with conditions will buy televisions, DVD players, the most is black and white televisions, few people can afford to buy color televisions, North Koreans are very fond of watching Chinese television or watching the news at night, just imagine: a black and white television is the channel for North Korean farmers to understand the outside world, This is also their greatest spiritual sustenance!
There are fewer entertainment activities in the North Korean countryside, almost equal to nothing, in the summer, the North Korean countryside will also hold an open-air movie performance from time to time, this time is the most lively, everyone will move a bench to the square to find a good position after dinner, waiting for the screen movie to play, under the big banyan tree, open-air movies, a little spark, crowded, black paint, very nostalgic, in this economic condition, the phenomenon of power outages often occur in the North Korean countryside, the wooden poles are seriously aged, and many families will prepare candles in advance, lit up with candles, very cozy!
In summer, the river water in rural North Korea is clear, rural children like to go to the river to bathe and cool down, laugh and play, rural women like to come to the river to wash and wash, occasionally take a bath in some remote places, North Koreans like the coolness brought by the river very much, but in fact: few families in North Korea can afford to buy a washing machine, most people take dirty clothes to the river to wash, in winter can only fetch water home to wash, interestingly: some North Koreans will feel that Chinese do not pay attention to hygiene, Because I can't see any Chinese coming to the river to bathe!
However, the summer in North Korea is hot and short, and the rivers become warm and pleasant in the summer, and people flock to the river to swim to cool off, and in rural areas, houses are often far away from the river, so it is not convenient to bathe in the river in winter, and at the same time, the river water may become too cold in the winter, which is not good for human health, but the farmers in North Korea are well aware of the benefits of swimming. They don't give up on the water because of the weather, and they usually start planning to bathe and play in the river before the summer season arrives.
In terms of education, rural education in the DPRK has improved significantly over the past few decades, especially in terms of infrastructure development and teacher training, however, rural education in the DPRK still has some shortcomings compared to rural education in developed countries.
For example, educational resources in rural areas are relatively scarce, there is still a certain gap between the quality of education and urban areas, rural students still face certain challenges in the opportunity to go on to higher education, and there are relatively few opportunities to enter senior schools, in addition, parents in rural areas need to pay more attention to education, and some rural families are unable to afford their children's education in terms of economic conditions and time. In terms of policy, rural families are encouraged to cultivate children's interest in learning.
Write at the end
Travel to North Korea, what you see and hear along the way makes people feel emotional, everyone has a different view of North Korea in their eyes, the same scenic spot introduction, route arrangement, and can not see the complete North Korea, because it is not comprehensive enough, so you can not jump to conclusions, for North Korea, only wishes, I hope that the living conditions of North Koreans are getting better and better!
If you have the opportunity to come to North Korea, I hope you don't show shock, curiosity on the surface, North Koreans can't get in touch with the outside world, their minds are simple and beautiful, and they must give each other the greatest respect!
What do you think about such a North Korea?
Thank you for reading, I hope this article can be helpful to you, and when North Korea tourism resumes, welcome everyone to North Korea to experience the customs here!