The Top 10 Unknown Facts About North Korea

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Considering that North Korea is known as the “hermit kingdom”, not a lot is really known about the nation. The few things that are known tend to be propaganda coming from North Korea itself, visitors to the country that go on state sponsored trips, or North Koreans who have managed to escape the system. Therefore, we present you with the top 10 facts about North Korea that you might not have known at that may help reshape how you view the country.

#10. North Korea has one of the largest standing militaries in the world

According to CIA data, North Korea is estimated to have a population of around 25 million people. This ranks it around the 51st largest country based on population in the world. However, one of the most interesting facts about North Korea is that despite its small size, North Korea actually has one of the largest standing armies in the world. In fact, it has approximately 1,190,000 activity duty troops. This is about 4.7% of the total population of North Korea!^[1]Business Insider – 7 surprising things you didn’t know about North Korea To give you an idea of how big this is, China has a military size of about 2.3 million troops. However, this is only around 0.18% of China’s population.

#9. North Korea has no taxes

One of the most interesting facts about North Korea is that it is one of the few countries in the world where the citizens of the country do not have to pay any taxes. For a country that is not really free, this is quite amazing. For example, countries like Russia and the USA have tax rates of up to 35% and 39.6% respectively.^[2]Bright Side – 13 Unexpected Fact About North Korea That You Had No Idea About

In fact, taxes were completely abolished in 1974 as they were considered part of the “old world”. The only individuals and organizations that are not exempt to this are ones that make money outside of North Korea.

#8. Less than 3% of roads in North Korea are paved

There are about 15,878.5 miles of roads in North Korea.^[3]Independent – 15 fascinating fact about North Korea This is enough roads to circle Pluto about 3.5 times. However, one of the most interesting facts about North Korea is only around a little less than 450 miles of paved road in the entire country. This is only enough road to go between Cleveland and New York!

#7. North Korea has the world’s largest stadium

One of the most interesting facts about North Korea is that despite the poor infrastructure in the country, they still have the largest stadium in terms of seating capacity in the world! The Rungrado 1st of May Stadium (also called the May Day Stadium) has a capacity of 150,000 people.^[4]Popular Mechanics -20 of the World’s Most Impressive Stadiums It is not only the largest stadium in the world, it dwarfs second place by a large margin! The second largest stadium in the world based on seating capacity is Ann Arbor’s Michigan Stadium which only can hold 107,600 people.

The North Korean stadium occasionally holds sporting events. However, the main purpose of the stadium is to hold the annual Arirang Festival each August and September which celebrates North Korean achievements, culture, and history.

#6. North Korea has its own time zone: Pyongyang Time

North Korea likes to march by the beat of its own drum. In fact, one of the most interesting facts about North Korea is that on August 15, 2015, in order to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Korean liberation from Japan, they created their own time zone called Pyongyang time, named after the capital of the North Korea.^[5]BBC – North Korea changes its time zone to match South This time zone is 30 minutes behind both Japan and North Korea.

#5. Drugs are largely unregulated and common

Despite North Korea being quite a oppressive country where the freedoms and rights of its people are very limited, one of the most interesting facts about North Korea is that drugs are actually quite common. In fact, they are mostly unregulated by the country. According to a report by UPI, an estimated 30% of North Korans use drugs.

For example, marijuana, known locally as yeoksam, is grown in such large quantities in North Korea that people smuggle it across the border to sell in China. In addition, other drugs are quite common as well including crystal meth. However, meth is actually not usually used for recreational purposes like other western countries. Rather, many North Koreans use it as a appetite suppressant so that they can work long hours in the trades, factories, and farms on the small diets due to famine in the country.^[6]UPI – More than 30 percent of North Koreans use meth, opium

#4. The head of North Korea is a dead man.

North Korea has one of the most interesting and unique forms of government in the world called a necrocracy. This is because Kim Il-sung has the posthumous title of Eternal Leader of the DPRK. This brings us to one of the most interesting facts about North Korea. While the current leader Kim Jong-un is the Chairman of the Workers’ Party, Supreme Commander of the Army, and Supreme leader of the DPRK, he is in fact not the president of the country.^[7]Asia News – Necrocracy in Pyongyang, Kim Jong-il becomes ‘grand marshal’ However, in all reality, he does not need this title as he already holds all the power.

#3. North Korea holds political elections every five years

You might think that North Korea is a dictatorial state with no freedom of choice through elections. However, this is false…kind of. In fact, one of the most interesting facts about North Korea is that its citizens actually go to vote every 5 years.^[8]The Economist – How North Korea’s elections work However, when they receive their ballots there is only one name for them to vote. It is for the Supreme People’s Assembly deputy from their district. They can only vote for the person or against them. However, if they vote against the candidate, the government notes their identities. In addition, the government sees voting against the candidate as an act of treason!

#2. On average North Koreans born after the Korean War are about 2 inches shorter than South Koreans

According to a USA Today report from 2013, “Analysis of escapees from North Korea shows that those born after the Korean War in the late 1950s were on average about 2 inches shorter than South Koreans”.^[9]BBC – Are North Koreans really three inches shorter than South Koreans? This is most likely due to the divergence of diets between the two countries at this point. South Korea developed much more as a country economically and was able to adequately feed its population. However, North Korea stagnated economically and even experienced periods of great feminine. As such, the people in North Korea did not get to eat as much and the average height of its citizens suffered.

#1. North Korean propaganda village

One of the most interesting facts about North Korea is that in the 1950s they built the propaganda village of Kijong-dong on its southern border with South Korea. They did this to show the privileges and luxuries of living in the North compared to the south. Every day and on schedule, lights would appear in the same buildings, women would wash the windows, and soldiers would patrol the streets.^[10]The Telegraph – 20 incredible things you didn’t know about North Korea This was especially amazing because at the time, both the North and South had difficulty providing electricity to rural areas of their countries.

However, when technology later developed enough, the south could easily see that the whole village was just a facade. In fact, the buildings were just empty shells with not inner walls, ceilings, or even floors.