30 facts about China
China is the most populous country with the longest-living civilization in the world. It is the home of many inventions and a treasure trove of folk m ...
This country, distant to us and difficult to access as a tourist, holds many secrets. The way power is exercised there and what daily life is like for citizens may seem unreal. This is not to say that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea does not function, according to its representatives, it is doing very well and is the most wonderful place to live that one can only dream of. What is the actual state of affairs? We will try to give a little insight into the history and present of this country.
It is located on the Korean Peninsula and the official name of the country is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The city's history is very old, dating back to 1222 BC. According to legend, the city was built on the site of a previous ancient metropolis - Asadal. The first mention of Pyongyang comes from Chinese records made in 108 BC.
More than 3.25 million people live here, which is 12% of the country's population. Other major North Korean cities are Kaesŏng, Sinŭiju, Wŏnsan and Hamhŭng.
After Japan's surrender, Korea was divided into 2 areas, separated at the 38th parallel north. The north was occupied by the Soviet Union and the south by the United States.
Thus, in September 1948, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was established.
However, it is ruled by a totalitarian system in which the real head of state is North Korean Supreme Leader and Secretary-General Kim Jong Un. Legislative and executive power is vested in the Supreme People's Assembly, which is composed of 687 people elected every 5 years.
The Juche is based on four pillars: self-reliance in ideology, independence in politics, economic self-reliance, and self-defense of the country. Created by Kim Ir Sen, the doctrine was adopted only in North Korea and failed to win the hearts of other nations. Among those interested was Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, who introduced elements of it while in power. Sadly, Ceaușescu died (not of natural causes) and the JCU exists only within North Korean borders.
In the DPRK, Kim Ir Sen serves as the eternal president.
As much as 80% of North Korea's land is mountains and highlands.
This calendar was introduced in 1997 in honor of Kim Ir Sen. Year 1 is the year of his birth or 1912 in the Gregorian calendar.
In this zone, there was a shift of half an hour backward relative to South Korean time. The Korean government's brilliant idea must have backfired, however, because less than three years later, watches were moved forward again by half an hour, and the same time zone applies in both Koreas.
The peak is located in the East Manchurian Mountains on the border between the DPRK and China and is 2744 meters above sea level. At its summit is a volcanic crater in which the water that forms Heavenly Lake floods. The last eruption of the volcano took place in 1903 and so during the Korean Empire.
Its length is 439 kilometers, flowing from north to south, passing through Pyongyang and flowing into the West Korean Gulf.
The founder was Kim Ir Sen, who led the country from 1946 to 1994. After Kim Ir Sen's death, his son Kim Jong Il took power. Currently, power is held by Kim Jong Un, who took over as North Korea's Supreme Leader on December 17, 2011.
They may not be fully alive, but they show vital functions.
Over 1.28 million soldiers are in active service and almost 6.5 million are reserve and paramilitary troops. This means that 5.04% of citizens are active soldiers. Taking into account only the number of people associated with the army, the DPRK with 25 million people has almost twice as many people as China with 1.4 billion people.
Each of them is, of course, under the complete supervision of the authorities. The last one, launched in August 2015, was the Cheyug TV sports channel. At this stage, the authorities plan to increase the programming offer by 50%, to 6 stations.
Kwangmyong, as it is called, is actually an intranet, i.e. a network cut off from global resources. According to estimates, the electronic network of Koreans may contain about 5000 websites. Several members of the state elite are authorized to use the global Internet resources in the country.
Way to go!
Even though North Korea has been a member of the UN since 1991, it still does not maintain diplomatic relations with France, Estonia, Japan, Israel, or Iraq.
This country is accused of having the worst human rights record in the world. A 2014 UN report claims that "the gravity, scale, and nature of violations of the rights of citizens of the North Korean Republic are unparalleled anywhere in the modern world."
