DPRK is a democratic republic with socialistic form of government. The State Council of DPRK is the supreme organ of state power. The capital city is Pyongyang. The official leader of the country and the chairman of the State Council is Kim Jong-un. The post of President was abolished and Kim Il-sung was announced the “eternal President” of the Republic.
The official state ideology of North Korea is Juche (this is a cult of personality and it brings into consideration the independence of the masses).
The official language in DPRK, as well as in the South Korea, is the Korean language. The language of North Korea is spoken all over the peninsula. We recommend you remember some useful Korean phrases, for example “Hello – Anyoung haseyo” and “Thank you – Gamsahamnida”. The Koreans like when foreigners try to say something in Korean. Some other useful words and phrases you will find in our phrase book on this site.
North Korean currency is won, however foreigners can pay only with Euro, dollars, and Chinese yuan. What currency you should take to North Korea? It is better to have Euro banknotes in small denomination and coins. The locals are very responsible and they always give you change. If they do not have any change, they will bring it to your hotel room later. Foreigners are not given national currency but you can try and ask your guide or the hotel staff to exchange the money. There is no bank system in the country, so you can pay only with cash, credit cards are not accepted.
North Korea (officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) is situated in East Asia and occupies the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. It shares land borders with three countries: China on the north; Russia on the north-east; the Republic of Korea on the south.
To the west, it is washed by the Yellow Sea and Korea Strait and to the east, by the Sea of Japan. Interestingly, on the maps published in North Korea, these seas have different names – West sea of Korea and East sea of Korea. Today North Korea and South Korea are divided by a 4 km wide demilitarized zone. Unlike the citizens of the South Korea, we can have an excursion inside this zone and visit houses for inter-Korean negotiations.
Climate in North Korea is moderate with monsoon winds. The weather changes a lot in different seasons – it is comfortably warm in summer and cold in winter. From May to October, daytime temperature can be as high as
27°С, at night and in the morning – about 15°С. It is not necessary to wear warm clothes for mountain excursions, a T-shirt and light pants or jeans will be a good choice. In cold season, continental climate from mountain region of Asia brings clear, cold, and dry weather with temperature as low as – 14°С (in the mountain regions the temperature can be as low as minus 18°С).
North Korea is a monoethnic (consists of a single ethnic group) state with only a few Japanese and Chinese. As of the beginning 2017 the population of the country is 25.406.611 people and migration gain is equal to zero. There are 12.467.424 men and 12.939.187 women living in North Korea. No foreigner can acquire North Korean citizenship. The majority of people prefer to travel by bicycles (just like in Amsterdam). In general, people in North Korea are nice and have a positive attitude to foreigners. They really believe that their country is great and successful in all spheres
Today tourism in North Korea has been given a green light. Our company was the first to become eligible to arrange tours to North Korea. Foreign tourists are largely attracted by amazingly beautiful natural sights and neo-Stalinist atmosphere in the capital city Pyongyang. In North Korea, there is the first-class skiing resort (10 trails of various difficulty with ski lifts) and a stunningly beautiful sea (they say, it is cleaner than in Philippines). Tourists can stay in one of the four hotels: Yanggakdo Hotel, Koryo Hotel, Pothonggang Hotel, Youth Hotel.
January, 1 – New Year;
January-February – Great Full Moon;
February, 16 – Kim Jong-un’s Birthday;
April, 15 – Kim Il-sung’s Birthday;
April, 25 – Day of Creation of Korean People’s Army;
May, 1 – International Worker’s Day;
July, 27 – The Day of Victory in the Great;
August, 15 – Fatherland Liberation War (Choguk haebang chŏnjaeng );
August-October – Чусок (Хангави);
September, 9 – День Независимости, День образования КНДР;
October, 10 – День создания Трудовой партии Кореи;
December, 27 – День Конституции.
* Arranging a tour during a festive season, you can participate in cultural-mass events as part of national celebrations.
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