[imText1]Chinese internet users have been paying great attention to North Korea after the pictures of North Korea were posted on Chinese websites.
In order to introduce the opinions of Chinese people about North Korea, the DailyNK wrote the article “How N. Korea looks to Chinese people” by referring to opinions of Chinese internet users and to pictures posted on Chinese websites early this week.
Most Chinese internet users who saw the pictures of North Korea showed their opinions on websites saying, “Only North Korean people suffer a lot. North Korea should reform and liberalize itself following China and South Korea. Let’s root out the dictatorship of Kim fatso and realize democratization of North Korea.”
Most of the opinions sympathized with North Korean people suffering from starvation and condemned Kim Jong Il and other government leaders refusing reformation and liberalization.
This time, the DailyNK publicized the pictures taken in and around the Tumen river and the Yalu river, following Chinese tourists’ travel sketches in Pyongyang last time.
The pictures are posted by Chinese tourists who came back from Pyongyang via Haesan on Inminilbo internet newspaper(人民網), ‘Wangyi(網易)’, a big portal site and ‘Today North Korea (今日北朝鲜), a North Korea specialized site. Now these pictures are spreading to a number of portal sites, hundreds of blogs and cafes.
From the beginning, tourist agencies did not allow tourists to bring cameras equipped with long range telephoto lenses into North Korea. This situation was known to other Chinese tourists through tourists’ memorandum. Some tourists were cracked down for taking pictures without permission.
The following is a travel sketch faithfully translated Chinese into English.
The youth live on the upper floors and the old on the lower floors of apartments
The North Korean guide leading us was a little over 30. He had lived in a 19-floor apartment building in Haesan city of Yanggang province which he said was assigned by the North Korean government. In North Korea, apartment assignments are done by a principle of the government. The principle is that the youth live on the upper floors and the old live on the lower floors of apartments
Because the elevators of apartments are often blacked out, the government made the youth live on the upper floors for health training and the old on the lower floors.
[imText2]For this reason, old people rarely live on the upper floors of apartments in North Korea. The favorite floor of the people is the 3rd floor.
A guide said that if somebody contributes to the country, the government provides a house for free. North Korean people cannot imagine themselves purchasing their own homes. However, it is not certain that the assigned houses can be sold and bought.
[imText3]North Korea requires people to be obligatorily educated from elementary school to university. The wages of workers are not high. The guide who led us said his salary was 5,000 won ($1.67)). The exchange rate of North Korea won is 1:17 against the Yuan, yet in black markets the rate is more than 1:40.
At the official exchange rate, North Korean won is about 300 Yuan and 12 Yuan in black markets. Government officials’ salaries are 4,000 won ($1.33). It is too low.
[imText4](In Principle), food, medicine, education and houses are provided for by the government. However, these days the government does not assign properly, so the life of the North Korean people is terrible.
[imText5]According to the guide, 1 kg of meat per month and 500g of food a day are rationed to each house. Food is not rice, but corn. ‘Night life is never possible. Many Chinese people also indulge in pleasures in China, yet it is not serious.
[imText6][imText7][imText8][imText9][imText10][imText11]Electronic rail cars run in Pyongyang. The electronic rail cars run every 15 minutes during rush hour, and usually every 30 minutes. Because North Korea does not have oil, unlike China, it cannot serve buses. So it serves electronic rail cars instead.
In North Korea, 17 is the right age for marriage according to law. These days North Korea encourages people to have many children. Women who have 3 children are given a privilege where the work time is only 6 hours. Women who have triplets are awarded a gold ring and silver knife by the government.
Women who have 5 children are awarded the title ‘Hero’. When they deliver the 5th baby, they are hospitalized for a month for free and are taken care of by a nurse for 6 months.
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