Name: 26 Surprising Facts About: North Korea
Uploaded: 2017-01-20T15:26:54.000Z
Duration: 11 min 25 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

North Korea is officially the most corrupt country in the World. The Corruption Perceptions

Index ranks every country in the world from 0 to 100, based on how corrupt it is, with

a score of 0 being very corrupt and 100 meaning very clean. Every year North Korea ties with

Somalia for last place. Let's uncover the most disturbing facts about the World's favourite hermit kingdom.

North Korea, or more officially known as the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, has

the fourth largest army in the world, with 1.2 million active members, not far behind

America with it's military of 1.4 million.

There are 28 state approved haircuts in North Korea. Women are allowed to choose from one

of 18 styles. Married women are instructed to choose shorter styles, whilst single ladies

are permitted to let loose with a longer style. Men on the other hand are allowed to choose

from 10 state approved hair cuts, all of which are short. All North Korean men are prohibited

from growing their hair longer than 5 centimetres.

North Korea has an impressive 100% literacy rate. Literacy is defined as individuals aged

There are 25,554 kilometres of roads in North Korea, but only 724 km are paved, that's a

The Korean Demilitarised Zone, or DMZ. Is a strip of land 250 kilometres long that separates

South Korea from North Korea. It was setup as a neutral zone where the two countries

can safely discuss matters, at the end of Korean War in 1953. Despite its name, it is

the most heavily militarised border in the world. Soldiers guarding the DMZ are ordered

to shoot anyone trying to sneak in our out of the country. Making China the most popular

escape route for North Koreans. 80% of defectors are women.

But an unlikely good has come out of such a heavily militarised border, the Korean DMZ

strip is home to some of the most critically endangered species of animals and plants on

Earth. Whom have found an unlikely haven, protected from any human contact. Extremely

rare species such as the Korean Tiger, the elusive Amur leopard and Asiatic black bear

have all found a home here amongst the landmines and listening posts. Ecologists have identified

some 2,900 plant species, 70 types of mammals and 320 kinds of birds within this narrow

strip of land. The South Korea government has campaigned to UNESCO numerous times to

turn the DMZ into a nature reserve to protect the endangered animals, but every time North

Korea has declined to make such an agreement.

In the 50s, North Korea built Kijong-Dong on North Korea's side of the DMZ, so it was

easily visible from South Korea. Which North Korea claimed was the perfect city, the city

supposedly contained a childcare centre, kindergarten, primary and secondary schools, and a hospital.

The idea was to make the city appear so attractive that it enticed South Koreans to defect to

North Korea. However, after observation from the South Korean side of the DMZ, it became

obvious that the city is actually completely uninhabited, and has remained so ever since

it was built. It has since come to be known as 'Propaganda Village'. In the 1980s the

South Korean government built a 98 metre tall flagpole on the south side of the DMZ, close

to the border. The North Korean government responded by building an ever taller one in

Kijong-Dong, in what some have called the "flagpole war". At the time it was the second

In the last 60 years, over 23,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea. Whereas only

two South Koreans have gone north of the border.

North Korea has its own operating system called Red Star OS, a fork of linux. Most of the

software on there, such as the web browser, text editor and firewall are custom programs

In 1974, Kim Il-Sung took 1,000 Volvo sedans from Sweden to North Korea and never paid

In 2013 current North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un executed his uncle along with five of his

aides by locking them in a cage and feeding them to a starving pack of 120 dogs. But what

had Kim's uncle done to deserve such a horrific demise? Kim accused his uncle of mismanaging

the economy, corruption, womanising and taking drugs.

Marijuana is completely legal in North Korea and is not even classified as a drug. It is

North Korea is the only nation on Earth to currently have a US Navy ship captured.

It isn't 2015 in North Korea, it is the year 104. Counted after the birth of Kim Jong Un's

grandfather, and founder of the DPRK, Kim Il-Sung.

North Korea is home to the world's largest stadium. The impressive May Day Stadium seats

150,000 people. It is home to the annual Arirang games, which is one of the most spectacular

displays of coordination and choreography on Earth.

The Ryugyong Hotel in North Korea is a 105 story building that for 20 years held the

title of the world's tallest hotel. Construction began in 1987, but was halted before it was

finished in 1992, as North Korea entered a period of economic crisis following the fall

of the Soviet Union. The monstrosity now towers over Pyongyang and stands completely empty.

The only people allowed to own vehicles in North Korea are the military and government

officials. Transport in general is tightly controlled, North Korean citizens are generally

restricted from travelling anywhere at all, even inside their own country.

North Korea's space agency is called "NADA", which in Spanish means "nothing". It stands

for National Aerospace Development Administration. The program only has a 20% success rate.

Wearing jeans is illegal in North Korea because denim symbolises the DPRK's enemy, the United

Every 5 years North Korea holds a general election, in which the ballots paper lists

In 2012 North Korea officially announced that it had discovered a unicorn lair. The DPRK's

official news agency released a statement claiming they had found a cave 200 metres

from Pyongyang City, with a rectangular rock in front of it with the words "Unicorn Lair"

conveniently carved into it. They believe the unicorn was rode by an ancient Korean

North Korea is dotted with prison labor camps. Where prisoners are reportedly subjected to

horrific inhumane treatment. Prisoners of these concentration camps suffer a level of

slavery, torture and experimentation comparable with the holocaust. Although North Korea denies

the existence of such camps, insider sources claim there are 16 such camps, home to 200,000

prisoners. North Korea also has a three generations of punishment law. This means that anyone

sent to a prison camp is sent along with their entire family, regardless if they were involved

in the crime or not. Also any family members born whilst in prison will live their entire

lives there, as well as any children they may have whilst in prison.

North Koreans are subject to a six day work week, as well as a seventh day of supposed

"volunteer" work, which is also strictly enforced. Meaning North Koreans have virtually no free

Official records show that Kim Jong il learnt to walk at the age of three weeks, and was

talking at eight weeks. Whilst studying at Kim il Sung university, he reportedly wrote

1,500 books over a period of three years, along with six full operas. According to his

official biography, all of his operas are "better than any in the history of music."

It is also written in Kim Jong il's biography that he was born under a double rainbow, and

to mark his birth there was a new star and a swallow in the sky. It is also written that

he could control the weather and make it rain on command, depending on his mood. In fact,

the list of questionable claims and feats of prowess surrounding the former North Korean

leader are endless. School children are required to learn everything about their current leader

as well as his two predecessors. Even if the so called facts may be a bit on the fabricated