Mt Chilbo
One of North Korea's scenic mountain ranges and one of the only areas of the country where it's allowed to take pictures from the bus (because there's nothing to see on the drive, of course), Mt Chilbo lies along the eastern coast in a particularly scenic part of the country.
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A few pictures on the drive from Chongjin to the Mt Chilbo region as the surrounding landscape quickly changes from cityscape to rural. North Korean guides are usually aggressively sensitive about picture taking in rural areas because it makes their country look poor. While that may be true in some cases, it ignores the fact that North Korea has some really beautiful countrysides and idyllic farming villages. No doubt one of the things they are most interested in hiding from the outside world is the fact that there is so little mechanization in the countryside; almost all farm labor is done painstakingly by hand. There are always propaganda signs and red flags in the rice fields to keep people in the proper revolutionary mindset.
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Massive mosaic mural at the entrance to Mt Chilbo national park.
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Some of the scenery Mt Chilbo is famous for. We had two full days in the area, the first gorgeous with stunning views, the second mostly fogged over for a completely different impression of the area. I have to say it's much more captivating under blue skies.
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"Sea Chilbo," where the hills of Mt Chilbo run into the Japan Sea
(or, as they call it in the DPRK, "the East Sea of Korea").
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Sea Chilbo is the only area in North Korea that allows foreigners to homestay with actual Korean families. But the welcome mat isn't rolled out for everybody; Americans are made to spend the night in the Outer Chilbo Hotel in a completely isolated part of the park. But honestly the Americans aren't missing much. The village in question is a complete fabrication for tourists anyway, situated as it is almost next door to a real village that photographs were absolutely and strictly forbidden of. The one village where photography was freely allowed was clearly the only village in the area constructed just for that purpose. The homes here were clearly in better condition than almost anywhere else in the country.
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Part of the experience of seeing this allegedly genuine village is being able to tour the insides of some of the houses. Everything is perfectly placed inside, of course, including the requisite walls of devotion to the country's leaders.
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It got to the point where nothing we were seeing was being believed. There was no doubt that it was a pretty place, and the Korean families who live there must be considered lucky. But compared to everything else seen in the countryside on the drive in and out, it looked nothing like the rest of North Korea. Everything seemed staged for us, including this seemingly innocent streetside conversation among two local women. As we walked down the street, someone joked "cue the bicycle rider" and out of nowhere, the woman on the left appeared. Walking the other direction was the beautifully-clothed women on the right carrying her baby on her back. After we passed and they were some distance behind us, everyone in our group had noticed they both went back the same ways they had come, which seemed odd if it was truly a coincidental meeting on the street. We began even suspecting that seemingly innocent village scenes were being completely orchestrated for us. North Korea has a way of playing with your mind at times.
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Just up the road from our approved village stop and under maximum zoom lens, a local guy gawks gawks at us from what appears to be a section of electrified barbed wire along the road. What seemed most odd was that these sections of electrified fence would appear and disappear seemingly at random in this area and didn't appear to be connected to anything.
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A fork in the road. This massive Kim Jong Il mural really stood out not only because it wasn't overtly political but because it's one of the few examples where the Dear Leader appears on one of these giant propaganda masterpieces without his father by his side.
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Next stop was the region's Kaesim Buddhist temple complex. In what was unfortunately typical, first the guides went in and attempted to clear the place of local people before the foreigners were allowed to enter. We always felt bad when this happened because we were conscious of interrupting locals just out enjoying their day. Here's a shot of a truckload of them being made to scurry off before we arrive. They seemed friendly. Too bad they had to leave as I think it would have been much more interesting to have had the chance to interact with them.
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Kaesim Buddhist temple at Mt Chilbo.
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Second day in the Chilbo Mountains, but mostly a washout with low clouds and fog.
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A crowd of locals pose for a photo in front of a completely whitewashed background.
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Our guide attempts to salvage something of the day by showing us what the view would have looked like if we had had clear weather!
Not sure if this helped or hurt...
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Hiking in the mountains under character-covered rocks.
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Lady hauls a bunch of branches and twigs past a roadside sign that says to keep smiling no matter how tough life gets.
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One of the seemingly countless "revolutionary sites" that dot the North Korean countryside. Here at Jipsam, it is said that North Korean founder Kim Il Sung asked everyone to share what they had with others. Fisherman should share fish. Farmers should share produce. And thus socialism was born.
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Village just inland from Jipsam along North Korea's east coast.
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Serenading waitress at Kyongsong guesthouse.
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Kyongsong Revolutionary Site, and our breathless guide describing how Kim Il Sung once stayed here.
