The reason I wanted to do my project on North Korea is because I feel like everyone just sees North Korea as a very dangerous country. I understand that the president, Kim Jong-Un, has made very serious threats to the United States, but I try to see the good in everyone. A 487 square foot zone separates North and South Korea. Some of North Korea’s land is shared with China and Russia. Mountains cover %80 of North Korea. These mountains are covered with forests that are very important sources of valuable materials. North Korea’s highest mountain is the Paektu, which is 9,003 above the ground, and is on the border of China. A fourth of North Korean people live in the central mountain region.
Ethnic Koreans make up almost the entire population of North Korea. Only a small minority have Chinese descent. Korean is the language spoken in North Korea, although some scholars say it is the same language is Japanese, Korean is very different from any other language. 17.47 million people lived in North Korea in 1980, and now the population is 25.37 million. Only 3.2 million people have mobile phones. The founder of North Korea, Kim II-Sung, made a law called juche, which cut off North Korea from the rest of the world. 150,000 to 200,000 people in North Korea live in prison camps. North Korean people only have 28 choices of haircuts that they can have. Unmarried women have to have short hair, but married women have more choices on what haircut they can have. Most North Korean people only know current events as they are described by state propaganda, because televisions that are legal there are state-controlled.
North Korea has a lot of current events, as you probably know. Right now, North and South Korea are trying to make peace with America, since North Korea made threats to start nuclear war with the United States. On April 26, 2018, Kim Jong-Un stepped on South Korean soil for the first time ever to meet with Moon Jae-In, the leader of South Korea.
North Korea claims to have a democratic government, but it is based on socialist ideals. North Korea has some crazy laws that only exist there. Only %55 of people in America voted in the 2016 election, but in North Korea it is illegal not to vote, and everyone has to vote for the same person. If you are caught with a Bible in North Korea you will be imprisoned of killed. The people of North Korea, cannot own cars or drive cars, only government officials are aloud to drive. Basketball has different rules than it does in the United States, the difference mainly at how points are awarded. Accordions are big things in North Korea, as in the 1990s, all teachers had to learn how to play it. North Korean people cannot wear jeans, and their professions are chosen by the government. Women can’t wear pants, show their belly buttons, or ride bikes, so they have to walk everywhere, since cars are prohibited. The government controls North Koreans’ lives heavily, even where they live. Peoples’ homes are chosen by status and relationship with the state. In North Korea, it’s 107, not 2018, the year is based on Kim II-Sung’s date of birth, April 15, 1912. The thing is, only %50 of people believe in these laws.
North Korea has some cool things as well, not just bad stuff. North Korea holds the biggest stadium, The Rungnado May Day stadium has more than 150,000 seats. They also created their own version of “Godzilla”, called “Pulgasari”. North Korea holds the biggest flag pole that holds, you guessed it, the North Korean flag.
All the North Korean leaders names started with “Kim”. The leader right now, Kim Jong- Un, is in his early thirties, but his birth year is unknown. The country has “elections” every five years, and ballots are handed out with only one option. When he was younger he went to a boarding school in Switzerland, but under a fake name. Kim is now addicted to Swiss cheese, and that is the reason for his chubbiness. He is leader of the country, but he is also military leader, with no military experience himself. He also had surgeries to resemble his father more.
The capital of North Korea is Pyongyang. It is on the Taedong River, and is roughly 30 miles from the Yellow Sea. Even though most of North Korea is mountainous, Pyongyang is flat. If you wanted to live in North Korea, Pyongyang would be the best place to live, but you have to get government permission to live there. Pyongyang has some other historic names, Kisong, Hwansong, Rakrang, Sodo, and many more. Korean mythology says that the city was founded in 1122 BC.