#3: Life

As some further background, here is a summary of some facts of life and other interesting (to me anyways) points that I picked up during my talks with our guides.  Some of these will be discussed in more detail in later posts.  One thing you find right away in N. Korea though is that nothing is ever as it seems and you can ask 3 people the same direct, seemingly simple question and get 3 drastically different answers.  The below statements represent my best understanding of things given this fact:

-The capital of N. Korea is Pyongyang

-There are approximately 600,000 mobile phones in N. Korea (almost all in Pyongyang presumably).  The network was setup by an Egyptian company and phones are able to make and receive calls on within N. Korea.  No calling out or being able to call in from other countries.

-The government provides a monthly rice ration based on the number of people in your household.  On public holidays and special occasions, the government may also provide additional rations of veggies, meat or liquor.  This is all done via a coupon system where the coupons can then be redeemed at your district market.

-Any other food you wish to by can be bought by cash at the local government owned market.  Theoretically, private markets selling other goods do not exist as the government is able to provide the people with all their needs.  This however is not true at all.  But they like to promote this to the outside world and thus photos of small private markets (usually a woman on the street selling things out of a plastic box) are strictly forbidden.

-Housing is provided by the government.  In the capital city of Pyongyang, once you are married you and your new spouse decide if you want to move into your own place or if you wish to live with your husbands family.  Apartments are then assigned by the government based on your age, size of family and of course political standing.  Tenants pay personally for electricity.

-It is not required to be a communist party member, but is considered a great honor and greatly increases your standing in the community and your prospects for success.  It is unclear how you join.  I was told anyone can join (by a well connected party member) and I was also told only the elite family members can join (by an un-connected, non-party member).

-N. Koreans are generally required to wear a red lapel pin of Kim Il Sung over their hearts at all times (unless working in a factory of a field).  Kim Il Sung is literally taught to be a god.  Pins are given to all children when they turn 14 and come in different shapes (circle, flag shape, rectangle)

-Every living room, office, school room, etc is required to have a picture of both Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il hanging up.  These must be cleaned daily by a special cloth that is not allowed to clean anything else so as to keep it from spoiling the Kim pics.

-Men serve a compulsory 3 year military service beginning at age 17.  Women can join if they wish.

-Once your military service is complete, you either go to University or to work in the factories/fields based on government administered testing.  The government "suggests" which factory or field you will work at and if you decline, they will politely educate you as to why, for the good of the party, you should accept their suggestion.

-At some point, school children are given a competency exam which the government uses to decide what they will study and grow up to be.

-Our well connected party guide told me anyone is allowed to buy a car.  Local made car starts at about $20,000 USD.  You must pay in cash as there are no loans, putting this out of reach of 99.9% of N. Koreans.  However, I was told by another source that only elite government officials can have a car, which is given to them by the regime.  We saw every kind of car imaginable from Ford, Toyota, Mercedes, BMW, Chevy, etc, etc, etc.

-The normal fashion is fairly bland.  Cloth shoes, simple clothes.  Not many jeans.  A lot of mean wear the typical "Kim Suit" (see below).  You do occasionally see people wearing Adidas, etc.  Many of the guides will have some western clothes or even an iPod.  But these are not bought in N. Korea.  They are given as gifts from foreigners.

-Pyongyanites are not allowed to freely go out to the countryside and the countrysiders are not freely able to enter Pyongyang.  A special pass is needed to come and go from the city.  Every road in and out of the city has a guarded checkpoint where the passes are checked.  So in the future, when you hear of a N. Korean telling you that there are no starving people in N. Korea, chances are that he/she is from Pyongyang and really doesn't know!  There is no outside information other than what the government tells you.

-Each tourist hotel in Pyongyang (and you are only allowed to stay in certain hotels) has its own microbrewery and they make really good beers!

-There is not internet.  There is an intranet that is only information that censors deem appropriate.

-Since Kim Jong Il's recently alleged stroke, news reports no longer show video of him.  Only still pictures are shown as it is easier to control what is seen and how he is seen.