h1The North Koreans seemed to be deliberately ignoring the foreigners, only the children stared./h1The North Koreans seemed to be deliberately ignoring the foreigners, only the children stared. So far the image of North Korea corresponds to the clichés. However, travelers who have spent a long time in North Korea or even lived there emphasize that the life of North Koreans is not completely outside of the norm known to us. The residents go to the movies, they ski, drink Coke, study or have a regular job. Out of the norm is not the life of North Koreans, but the regime under which they live. And that is also evident in everyday life./p © APA / AFP / Kim Won-Jin Public newspaper stands: This is where the people are informed about the meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un pAlready knew? This is dictator Kim’s secret ski paradise /ph2A country in transition/h2p At the moment the country is changing a lot, as former residents and travelers describe. Much is being modernized. “North Korea is a changing country, it is moving from isolation to fast food, smartphones and plastic surgery”, the Australian student Alek Sigley told the British newspaper “The Guardian” in March 2019. The 29-year-old – he speaks fluent Korean – studied for several months at the University in Pyongyang. And again and again gave insights into everyday life in the capital. At the end of June 2019, the student felt that the ruler’s iron fist still hovers over everything. He was arrested on espionage charges and released a week later.!–more– In the meantime he has left the country. The communication of the Australian with the US website “” NK News “” may not have pleased the regime. The portal regularly publishes stories from people who have lived or are currently living in North Korea./ppSigley wrote on Twitter that he regretted not being able to complete his master’s degree at “” Kim Il Sung University “”. He will miss his friends in Pyongyang and the city itself very much. What he has left are his impressions of the country: A new class of society is currently developing in North Korea that is defined by consumption. According to the Australian, this is happening due to the increasing liberalization of certain economic sectors. In everyday life, a visit to a restaurant is therefore normal, fast food chains based on the American model are just as much in demand as sushi or replicas of Chinese restaurants. You can shop there – thanks to the importation – almost all Western brands, from Adidas to Haribo gummy bears to Dove shower gel. Domestic productions would also gain in quality, as Sigley describes. Notebook paper now shines in white instead of gray. The Internet is still taboo, but the regime is letting the technology expand so that internal networks are getting better and better. So-called smartphone zombies can also be found in the Pyongyang subway.a href=”https://123helpme.me/”123 online/a/ppIn the video: Quirky laws that apply in Singapore /p © Video: News.at h2All in honor of the Kim family/h2pRegardless of which story one follows: The everyday life of North Koreans is strongly shaped by the admiration of the family of Kim Jong-un. The word “” Democratic “” in “” Democratic People’s Republic of Korea “” exists only on paper. US author Travis Jeppesen visited the capital Pyongyang in the summer of 2016 as a student (by the way through Alek Sigley’s travel agency “” Tongil Tours “”). He told the “New York Post” “that he was woken up every morning at 5:00 am by loud music from the public speakers to the instrumental version of the song” Where Are You, Dear General? “, A song in honor of Kim Il-sung. /ppMost women on the street would wear skirts, although jeans are allowed in some positions. In every residential unit there was an official regime spy who passed on all actions of the residents to the government. Every now and then an eye was turned a blind eye. For example, an elderly woman rented out her room as an “hourly hotel” to supplement her income. On the other hand, one day he observed an ice cream seller suddenly being forcibly led away by two large police officers in front of his eyes. /ppThe book by Travis Jeppesen “” See You Again in Pyongyang “” can be found here. */ppBritish “” Monty Python “” actor Michael Palin also spent some time in North Korea. The actor and travel journalist shot a documentary there for the British broadcaster “Channel 5”. Palin himself reported on numerous regulations that they had to observe when filming. For example, the statues of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il could only be included in their entirety. In between, the crew was not allowed to film. Any rubbish on the street or residents who only wore an undershirt on the top were also not allowed into the picture. They were constantly accompanied and monitored by the military. When asked if he had a Bible with him, he replied “” No “”. He was very, very careful during the entire shoot. /pp”” Michael Palin in North Korea “”. Here you can see an excerpt from the documentary. /pp/ppApart from the strict regime policy, everyday life partly resembles Western customs. On the US website “NK News” “(North Korea News), North Koreans who now live abroad have revealed how one can imagine daily life in the isolated country:/ph2North Koreans and the alcohol/h2pNorth Koreans drink a lot and hard alcohol, according to a local. “” There are not many bars, but alcohol can be drunk in restaurants, at the market or in factories (which make alcoholic beverages; editor’s note) to be drunk at home, “says a North Korean. In his hometown there was only one restaurant that sold alcohol and that went very well. There are two kinds of alcohol in North Korea: number one, the alcohol for ruler Kim Jong-un, and number two, the alcohol for everyone else./ppThe number one alcohol is not publicly available, but you can get it through good relationships. It is “” made from potatoes and has the “” best taste. In the past only domestic alcohol was allowed to be sold, but now imported alcohols are also on the market. In general, the alcohol in North Korea is high percentage. Although prohibited, many North Koreans distill their own schnapps in order to sell it in local markets. The authorities are powerless against it./ph2Military enthusiasm/h2pIn-hua Kim, writer on “” NK News “” was born in North Korea in the 1960s. Her husband was a soldier for years. She says that life isn’t that hard when you’re in the military. Clothing and food would be given to soldiers and their families by the state, so soldiers would try to avoid being discharged from military service./ppAnother North Korean reports: Most soldiers serve in North Korea for ten years. Female soldiers serve an average of seven years. The special unit, the bodyguards of ruler Kim Jong-un, have to serve 13 years. “This military service is compulsory in North Korea. Most men go to the military after they graduate from high school,” “says the ex-citizen. Those who complete a scientific or technical degree only have to join the military for three years – a relic from the time of Kim Jong-il, who wanted to promote these sciences./ph2High heels and women who smoke/h2pNorth Korea has been running an anti-smoking campaign for some time. “” Many North Koreans smoke, “writes Je Son Lee, a North Korean who left the country in 2012. After 2005, young women who smoke in public were frowned upon, but that has changed. However, traditionally there are differences between the sexes when it comes to smoking. Smoking is recognized among men, women would rather do it within their own four walls. In general, smoking is respected in older people, but it is considered improper if younger people smoke before older people. This is not the case with alcohol, drinking alcohol is generally accepted by society – regardless of age or gender. /ppAnd North Korean women at least dress as modern as Western women when it comes to footwear. A North Korean woman says that wearing high heels is not uncommon; women already wore such shoes in the 1960s and 70s. /ppDespite all the normality of everyday life, one thing is a fact: In North Korea the human rights situation is still questionable. According to the Amnesty International Report of 2017/2018, up to 120,000 people were still detained in the four known prison camps for political prisoners, where they were tortured and otherwise ill-treated and had to do forced labor. “” Some of the Violations of human rights were tied to crimes against humanity. Foreign nationals were also arrested and held for long periods. So anyone traveling to this country should be aware of this./ppThe links marked with an asterisk (*) are so-called affiliate links. If you click on an affiliate link and shop via this link, we receive a commission from the online shop or provider concerned. The price does not change for you. /pRead news for 1 month now for free! * * The test ends automatically. More on this â–¶Win true wireless earphones from JBL now! (E-media.at) New access (yachtrevue.at) 8 reasons why it’s great to be single (lustaufsleben.at) Salmon shrimp burger with wasabi mayonnaise and honey cucumber (gusto .at) In the new trend: Shock-Down – how long can the economy withstand lockdowns? (trend.at) The 35 best family series for laughing and feeling good (tv-media.at) E-Scooter in Vienna: All providers and Prices 2020 in comparison (autorevue.at) pNot much is seeping through the isolated country, but North Korea is not a complete mystery. The country’s borders have opened up to travelers not only since the meeting between US President Trump and North Korea’s ruler Kim Jong-un. Tourists, journalists and interested parties from the USA and all over the world visit the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” again and again. North Koreans who have left the country also provide valuable insights. What they say about the country and its inhabitants gives an impression of the everyday life of the people there./ppPeople bow “” in choreographed waves “”, described “” The New York Times “” reporter Gardiner Harris 2018 his impressions of the visit to the Mansudae monument. The bronze statues of the state’s founder Kim Il-sung and his son Kim Jong-il (the father of the current ruler) tower on Mansu Hill in North Korea’s capital Pyongyang. In the summer of 2018, Harris and other journalists in the entourage of the US delegation got their first impressions of Pyongyang. They traveled to the isolated country in the course of the meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un./ppAlso interesting: Summit in Singagpur – What Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un negotiated /p © APA / AFP / Kim Won Jin Crowds bow before the statues of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il h2Just don’t attract attention/h2pTheir cars were almost the only ones on the drive from the empty airport to the center of Pyongyang and the US guests were not allowed to take a step unaccompanied – often in the form of soldiers. The North Koreans seemed to be deliberately ignoring the foreigners, only the children stared. So far the image of North Korea corresponds to the clichés. However, travelers who have spent a long time in North Korea or even lived there emphasize that the life of North Koreans is not completely outside of the norm known to us. The residents go to the movies, they ski, drink Coke, study or have a regular job. Out of the norm is not the life of North Koreans, but the regime under which they live. And that is also evident in everyday life./p © APA / AFP / Kim Won-Jin Public newspaper stands: This is where the people are informed about the meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un pAlready knew? This is dictator Kim’s secret ski paradise /ph2A country in transition/h2p At the moment the country is changing a lot, as former residents and travelers describe. Much is being modernized. “North Korea is a changing country, it is moving from isolation to fast food, smartphones and plastic surgery”, the Australian student Alek Sigley told the British newspaper “The Guardian” in March 2019. The 29-year-old – he speaks fluent Korean – studied for several months at the University in Pyongyang. And again and again gave insights into everyday life in the capital. At the end of June 2019, the student felt that the ruler’s iron fist still hovers over everything. He was arrested on espionage charges and released a week later. In the meantime he has left the country. The communication of the Australian with the US website “” NK News “” may not have pleased the regime. The portal regularly publishes stories from people who have lived or are currently living in North Korea./ppSigley wrote on Twitter that he regretted not being able to complete his master’s degree at “” Kim Il Sung University “”. He will miss his friends in Pyongyang and the city itself very much. What he has left are his impressions of the country: A new class of society is currently developing in North Korea that is defined by consumption. According to the Australian, this is happening due to the increasing liberalization of certain economic sectors. In everyday life, a visit to a restaurant is therefore normal, fast food chains based on the American model are just as much in demand as sushi or replicas of Chinese restaurants. You can shop there – thanks to the importation – almost all Western brands, from Adidas to Haribo gummy bears to Dove shower gel. Domestic productions would also gain in quality, as Sigley describes. Notebook paper now shines in white instead of gray. The Internet is still taboo, but the regime is letting the technology expand so that internal networks are getting better and better. So-called smartphone zombies can also be found in the Pyongyang subway./ppIn the video: Quirky laws that apply in Singapore /p © Video: News.at h2All in honor of the Kim family/h2pRegardless of which story one follows: The everyday life of North Koreans is strongly shaped by the admiration of the family of Kim Jong-un. The word “” Democratic “” in “” Democratic People’s Republic of Korea “” exists only on paper. US author Travis Jeppesen visited the capital Pyongyang in the summer of 2016 as a student (by the way through Alek Sigley’s travel agency “” Tongil Tours “”). He told the “New York Post” “that he was woken up every morning at 5:00 am by loud music from the public speakers to the instrumental version of the song” Where Are You, Dear General? “, A song in honor of Kim Il-sung. /p