In a Nutshell: I was part of the first ever group of foreigners given access to all stations across both lines of the Pyongyang Metro. This may sound mundane, but the restricted Pyongyang Metro is surely among the most mysterious yet beautiful transit systems on earth. Each of its sixteen stations are unique yet ultra-nationalistic in theme, showcasing North Korea’s revolutionary history, goals and achievements to impressionable commuters through a series of mosaics, murals and monuments. It’s a lavish underground museum long shrouded by foreign conspiracy theory. Sensationalism aside, here is my journey in over sixty photos of the beating heart of Pyongyang, the Pyongyang Metro.
About: I’m Elliott. I’m the tour director at North Korea tour operator Uri Tours. I travel a lot myself, sometimes to the unusual, weird and wacky. Earth Nutshell is where I share my experiences. Interested in visiting North Korea for yourself? Shoot me an email at [email protected].
To set the scene, here’s a small video snippet descending to the platforms with the sound of revolutionary anthems booming from antique loudspeakers central to the escalator…
Bonus:
Want to visit North Korea for yourself? I can help. I’m the tour director at Uri Tours, a North Korea tour operator. For inquiries you can contact me directly at [email protected].
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Elliott, what you convey and show is amazing. Your pictures and the context you offer are outstanding. I also like many of the comments here – it’s not a black or white situation. There are many factors in each culture like the one in North Korea which may seem odd to outsiders (especially the West). Some of the previous comments about “sudden democracy” and the Western world’s lack of understanding of how to deal with the Middle East seem spot on.
One question: how did you take the pictures? Did you take them openly with a camera or secretly with your phone?
Thanks Oliver, your comments are too kind, I appreciate it.
It’s a very complex situation over there. Our knee-jerk reactions towards human rights abuse send us in a hell-bent spiral towards achieving liberation, however, the result of liberation from a political, economic and logistical point of view is mind-numbingly complex on the Korean Peninsula — it will become an unavoidable humanitarian crisis. I am not saying liberation wouldn’t be best for the people. Or that there isn’t already a humanitarian crisis. Oppression to the level of the DPRK regime should never be tolerated on this earth, but all I’m just saying it’s not clearcut nor easy. Many gloss over this fact. How about even beyond this, the re-integration of those in North Korea with the modern world — considering cultural differences and language barrier between even the North and South Korea? It will be unfathomable and as prior mentioned, attempts at ‘sudden democracy’ in the past are something we should learn from.
The photos I took were on a small pocket-sized camera, a Sony RX-100. It’s likely the most versatile, feature-full compact digital camera on the market (it’s expensive, though, like $1000). However, it was perfect for the job in North Korea. I wanted to avoid lugging a giant DSLR around and I was glad I did, because many of these photos were taken with a low-profile I wouldn’t achieve with a DSLR. It would have been nice to have a 200mm+ focal length to capture some things in the distance though. Oh, and I did take some snaps with my phone when a camera just wasn’t appropriate. 🙂
Were you told at any point not to take photos? Did you ever worry about your safety and security while there? The photos seem to belie the conception of Americans that NK is a country of starving people. Your thoughts?
Hi Brian. Yes, many times. We were told to ask permission from the guides for each photo. In reality, this doesn’t happen so sometimes you’ll inadvertently take photos you aren’t allowed to. If the guides catch you, they will simply tell you to delete the photo. If you ignore and show outward disrespect to the request, things could escalate. There are a lot of rules so they give you some leeway, it isn’t as draconian as you are imagining. Here are some of the rules: No photos of military, certain murals cannot be photographed, incomplete buildings cannot be photographed, leaders must be photographed in their entirety, poor people cannot be photographed, rich people cannot be photographed…and the list of other unenforceable restrictions go on.
Guides have the power to delete photos. To give you an idea, I took a photo inside the Draft Beer Hall, I didn’t know it wasn’t allowed, my guide didn’t notice but one of the Pyongyang residents drinking a beer did and approached the guide upset and told them. I got taken aside, given a stern talking to and had to prove I hadn’t taken a photo of him. I hadn’t, the photo was of the room itself, but a number of photos were still deleted and everything went back to normal, no hard feelings, honest mistake.
As for that common conception: Poverty is commonplace throughout North Korea, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Tours into North Korea try their best to hide this. In Pyongyang, for the most part, they can. Beyond Pyongyang, it’s nigh impossible. If you haven’t seen my compilation of 100 Photos Inside North Korea, there are some there that give a better indication (by no means exhaustive) as to how the majority live. http://www.earthnutshell.com/100-photos-from-north-korea-part1/
This was very interesting. What perhaps struck me the most was the clothing. I was amazed that each citizen appeared well dressed (as for NK) and tidy. I was, at the beginning, ready to accuse you of using propaganda photos with actors (as was mentioned). Was everyone dressed fairly well? Were these passengers considered middle-class (by NK standards) so they were dressed nicely and riding the subway to jobs? Were there any citizens in tattered clothing?
Again, quite interesting.
Those NK citizens you saw are are the elite with permission to live and work in the city.
Movement of people between towns and cites are strictly controlled.
Yes citizens in PY city are not shabbly dressed, in fact some can be considered rich but
you can see them in western style cafes and fastfoods restaurants.
Was there done that with 2 lovely NK ladies, our @guides@
As Paul replied, Pyongyang is vastly different to the rest of North Korea. It’s a playground for the elite and privileged, dressing well is within their means, so they do so and many exhibit watches or other signs of affluence. It’s worth remembering the Pyongyang Metro primarily services central Pyongyang, essentially the CBD of the city — the people here are are the most well to do in the entirety of North Korea. How they are dressed is not fake, nor choreographed or scripted, it’s a product of their lifestyles. The vast majority of North Korean locals (maybe those that can’t dress as well!) can’t even get into Pyongyang, as provincial access is tightly controlled and Pyongyang is a special city requiring certain ID marks for entry and residence.
Outside of Pyongyang is very different, certainly there are those in tattered clothing, but for the most part, people still dress well overall if possible. Any small towns/cities, the dress is very respectable, the further you head out into the countryside where most roles encompass tending to the land, this changes as it does the world over.
Wow – absolutely awesome! I’ve only been allowed to do the 2-station and 5-station tours and incredibly jealous that you got to not only see it all, but share it with us through these incredible pics. Thanks!
Great article!
Yes, it’s an amazing gallery, congratulations to the author. A few comments.
1. Tags on schoolchildren on a school trip. You really can’t fathom what they are for? Come to England and see the same here. Hint: children sometimes get lost.
2. Windows XP. No need to bitch about their use when the majority of Western ATM machines are running on Windows 2000 🙂
Cheers!
Fascinating! Thanks for the virtual journey. One of the few unbiased articles out there that portrays the people, who are just like you and me, instead of the political ideology of a fraction of people favored by the mainstream media.
It’s interesting to see how the people on the escalator next to you all stared you down: “who is this foreigner in our metro system?”
Awesome article.
A wonderful article and pictures, thank you so much. I lived in Seoul for 5 years, military and ESL teacher, and it was thrilling to see the views of North Koreans. It is typical of elder Korean men to stand with hands folded behind their backs. Also, Korean weddings are considered serious business, my wife would smile in none of our pictures, she says it would be inappropriate.
How did you get permission to visit North Korea? And was there any other traveler with you?