30 Mind Blowing Facts About North Korea

North Korea is a dictatorship with limited resources, but the people live in extreme poverty and are constantly isolated from the rest of the world. The Kim Dynasty has established a government without the assistance of the US or the UN. Their government has figured out how to be self-sufficient. North Korea has had a turbulent history. Under Japanese rule, the country endured centuries of war. Japan governed them until the end of World War II. It is also one of the world’s most literate countries. So take a look at these 30 facts about North Korea that will baffle you.

1. The country’s official name is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ( DPRK or DPR Korea).
2. North Korea shares a common border with three countries; Russia along the Tumen River, China along the Amnok River, and South Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
3. North Korea is an atheist state and is mostly irreligious. However, the main religions are shamanism and chondoism. Buddhism and Christianity are also practiced in small communities.
4. The country has 28 state-sanctioned haircuts for men. The women have 18 haircuts, out of which some are for married, and some are for the unmarried ones. The married ladies should have the short ones while the longer and curlier ones are defined for the single ladies.
5. North Korea has 20-30 nuclear weapons and sufficient fissile material for additional 30-60 nuclear weapons. The possession of the weapons is not part of the NPT( Non-proliferation of nuclear weapons). India and Pakistan are also out of this treaty but possess nuclear arsenal.
6. Currently, there are only four television channels broadcasted in the country.
7. There are no taxes in north Korea, making it the only country on the planet which is tax-free. However, the government collects revenue from its citizens in the form of hidden taxation through various sales taxes.
8. A person or company who is not from north korea can not invest or buy a property in the country.
9. According to the constitution, the country is a democratic republic, but in reality, it has a dictatorship.
10. The country has no official national animal. However, the mythological winged horse chollima is believed as their national symbol.
11. North Korea’s calendar started on the birth year of the country’s founder (Kim Il-sung) birth date. They use an official Juche calendar, of which the first year is 1912.
12. The country has the longest compulsory military service for both men and women on the planet. Men should serve in the army for a minimum of twelve years, whereas women should serve for at least seven years.
13. The government of North Korea has banned its citizen from naming their child with their leader Kim Jong-un’s name.
14. The country usually goes dark at night due to shortage of power supply.
15. People from different parts of the world are allowed to visit the country. But only South Koreans, individuals with united states passports, and journalists are routinely denied from visiting.
16. People visiting the country must pay to the locals in their own national currency.
17. North Korea’s biggest exports are tungsten ore ($30.9 million), refined petroleum ($27.3 million), ferroalloys ($25.3 million), electricity ($20.4 million), and molybdenum ore ($13.7 million), with the majority exported to China ($131 million), Senegal ($26.9 million), Nigeria ($14 million), Poland ($9.58 million), and the Netherlands ($7.8 million).
18. North Korea’s top imports include soybean oil ($48.8 million), rubber tires ($44.3 million), packaged medicines ($41.3 million), light rubberized knitted fabric ($34 million), and rice ($33.2 million), with the majority coming from China ($894 million), Zimbabwe ($2.8 million), the Netherlands ($2.41 million), India ($1.74 million), and Colombia ($1.63 million).
19. The election in the country held’s with only one candidate.
20. In North Korea, it is illegal to wear blue jeans, and the citizens of the country are only allowed to wear black jeans.
21. Internet and wifi are banned in the country, and only the political elites have full access to the worldwide web.
22. It’s very tough for a North Korean citizen to buy a car as the prices are sky-high. Even a bicycle is not very much affordable to the people and has license plates on it.
23. A citizen of North Korea can not call abroad with their local sim cards and is only allowed to call within the country.
24. The people of the country are not allowed to buy an international ticket, and thus foreign travel is completely prohibited.
25. The people of the country are not allowed to buy an international ticket, and thus foreign travel is completely prohibited.
26. Paektu Mountain is the highest mountain peak in the country, with an elevation of 2,744 m (9,003 ft). The country is the most mountainous in the peninsula, with over 80% of the total land is mountainous.
27. Since the year 1953, over 1 lakh to 3 lakh people have fled the country to Russia and China. In the year 2017, there were about 31,093 defectors registered with the unification ministry in South Korea; 71% of those were females.
28. In the year 2019, there were three political parties in North Korea the WPK, the Korean social democratic party, and the chondoist change party.
29. There are seven major rivers in the country, out of which yalu is the biggest river, which has a total length of 491 miles and is also being shared with China.
30. Kim Jong-il is only 5′ 2″ tall. He wears four-inch lifts in his shoes to compensate for his short stature.