Copy of a year in north korea
Published on Nov 19, 2015
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When I was first introduced to the idea of spending an entire year in North Korea, I was purely hesitant. Now that I have experienced the country, where I stayed as an exchange student, I'm extremely eager to share my interesting visit with everyone.
Photo by (stephan)
North Korea, (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), or just simply know as Korea to the residents, is a country located north of the Korean Peninsula ran by its supreme leader, Kim Jong-un. Surely enough, you're probably thinking: who would be crazy enough to even visit North Korea, never mind stay there for a year. That's exactly what I thought, but it turns out there's more to the country than what you see on the news.
Photo by Gabriel Prehn Britto
North Korea, which is nearly the same size of Virginia, has a vast population of 24,851,627. Its popular cities include Kaesong, Haeju, and its capital and the place I stayed at, Pyongyang. Many citizens of these cities shared the same ethnicity, so diversity was rare between residents.
Photo by yeowatzup
While in North Korea, I also learned of the nation's beliefs, including the Juche idea. Juche, which literally translates into "self-reliance", is based on the philosophical principle that the leader (Kim Jung-Il) is the master, and decides everything.
During my stay in North Korea, I had the chance to take in the warm, welcoming auras of the people there. My exchange family was nothing but kindhearted and selfless. Typically, strangers didn't converse on the streets out of the blue, but if a conversation did start, the accepted greeting would be to bow, depending on the person, and saying hello in Korean ("Annyeong-hasimnikka.")
Photo by Taekwonweirdo
Bowing down to statues of their leaders is also a pretty big deal, especially to the Mansudae Grand Monument, which are statues commemorating Kim Il Sung and his son, located in Pyongyang. Every single time anyone passes these tributes to the leaders, it is considered extremely rude, or even illegal, not to bow down to them.
During the first few weeks while staying with my exchange family, the sudden routine change seemed alien to me. My exchange siblings and I had to wake up extremely early and change into ridiculous school uniforms, then walk to the local school, which is called secondary school for 10 through 16 year olds.
Photo by Gabriel Prehn Britto
