The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, known as North Korea, is known for its Stalinistic dictatorship, severe human rights violations, extensive prison camp system, and food shortages. But within the country, which is the home to "some of the world's most brutalized people," according to Human Rights Watch, the capital's subway system contrasts the rest of the country with the elaborate murals of happy workers. The Pyongyang Metro is one of the most fascinating undergrounds in the world with its design, its operations, and of course, its secrets.
Only until recently has North Korea opened up to foreign tourists. And even so, tourists must take a tour and are usually restricted from exploring on their own. Recently, a few United States and South Korean citizens have been allowed to enter, whom were previously barred from obtaining a visa. North Korea boasts about the beauty of the subway system and therefore includes the Metro on tour itineraries.
Tourists are usually only allowed to see two stations of the subway system, of course, probably the most beautiful stations of the system. A BBC correspondent who snuck out of the guarded hotel, though, found the city's "antiquated public transport system, with old East German trains, complete with their original German graffiti."
It is unclear and uncertain how much information published by the North Korean government about Pyongyang's tube system is true. There are little available maps of the system and those published are inconsistent with each other. There are two lines, but sources speculate the existence of several concealed government-only subway tunnels, since the metro company bought twice the minimum number of rail cars needed to operate the subway from the Changchun Car Company of China.
Unlike traditional subway systems, Pyongyang's subway station names do not correspond to the streets and landmarks on the surface. Names like Kwangbok, or in English, liberation, and Hwangumbol, golden fields, subtly mirror the propaganda images presented in the murals of the station.
With the current energy crisis in North Korea, the current operation of the subway is speculated to be with limited hours, poor lighting, and sometimes power outages. Yet, because of the lack of information (and unreliability of news) provided by the DPRK, there remains uncertainty on what actually happens outside of the two showcase stations.
A great resource about the Pyongyang Metro written by Simon Bone is available on the web. The website features scans of books regarding the capital's subway system published by the North Korean government as well as information about the rolling stock, history, service information, and lots of photos.
Photo Flickr / ninjawil.
