North Hamgyong & Chongjin
Since most of the area was closed to outsiders until very recently, North Hamgyong Province remains a one of the least visited parts of one of the least visited countries in the world. Bragging rights definitely accrue to the fortunate few who have made the journey this far out in person.
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One of the rarest views in the world, North Korea as seen from the bridge over the Tumen River from China. The Chinese immigration and customs officials seemed shocked to see us and weren't at all convinced North Korea wouldn't be sending us right back. Notice the complete lack of pedestrian and vehicular traffic as we crossed over to North Korea at Namyang on the far end.
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The pride of the region, the Wangjaesan Grand Monument. Built in 1975, this monument commemorates the Wangjaesan Conference held in 1933 when Kim Il Sung attempted to expand the anti-Japanese struggle within Korean territory. We incurred the immediate wrath of our guide by photographing the monument from angles other than the pre-approved frontal shot, but I include some side shots here because I think it looks just as striking from the side. After getting back on the bus, our guide methodically deleted all photographs he didn't approve of. My side shots were saved only because I was sitting in the back of the bus and had time to make backups before it was my turn to hand my camera over for inspection.
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Closeup of the Kim Il Sung / Kim Jong Il pin sported by our local guide at the Wangjaesan Grand Monument.
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Looking down slope from the Wangjaesan Grand Monument at a landscape of rice fields. Again, no cars or motorized transport of any kind.
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Bas relief sculpture in front of the Wangjaesan Revolutionary Museum. Since the proprietors were such jerks about not letting us photograph anything inside (indeed, they demanded to delete pictures from our cameras taken before we had even arrived at the museum), I shall reciprocate that sentiment by not showing anything of the actual exterior of the museum here.
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The Hoeryong Hotel at night with its gigantic lobby mural of the Great & Dear Leaders lit up and visible from outside.
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Hoeryong city limits.
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Statue of Kim Jong Suk -- national heroine, wife of Kim Il Sung, mother of Kim Jong Il -- occupies a prominent position in the center of Hoeryong. Below that, a few hurried shots of Hoeryong itself. Our guides were never very comfortable having us shoot pictures in the direction of the city, and we weren't given many opportunities to do so.
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Our colorfully-dressed Hoeryong local guide leads us from the Kim Jong Suk statue to her native birth house.
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Kim Jong Suk birth house, where she was born and spent the early years of her life.
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Hillside exhortation to imitate the deeds of Kim Jong Suk and copy her revolutionary spirit.
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Hoeryong Revolutionary Museum.
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A couple shots from inside the Hoeryong Revolutionary Museum. In one of the great inconsistencies of North Korea, we were allowed to freely photograph inside here but were forbidden from taking pictures inside the revolutionary museums in Wangjaesan and Rason. Indeed, as noted above, the manager of the Wangjaesan Revolutionary Museum not only forbade photography inside, but also wanted to delete our pictures taken elsewhere as well. Being free to photograph the halls of the Hoeryong Revolutionary Museum was a noticeable and welcome contrast.
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A visit to Kim Ki Song High School, dedicated to the memory of Kim Il Sung's wife's younger brother.
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Eager English students at Kim Ki Song High School in Hoeryong.
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Inside Kim Ki Song High School in Hoeryong. This is what they're teaching children in North Korea; I'll try not to be too offended that the first person being speared in this mural is an American soldier (you can see that "US" is written on his helmet).
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Giant roadside "sun portraits" of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, Hoeryong. All major North Korean cities have these.
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What do you do when your bus breaks down in the middle of nowhere and you've got several hours to kill? Our quick-thinking guide used the opportunity to teach us the lyrics of the most popular song in North Korea at the moment: Kim Jong Un Jang Gun Moksumuro Sasuharira (We Will Defend Kim Jong Un With Our Lives), the lyrics of which his wife lovingly transcribed for us by hand.
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Statue of Kim Il Sung, Chongjin City.
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Our local guide in Chongjin. Best dressed woman in the city exhibiting the classic "this is something important so pay attention" gesture.
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Closeup of our Chongjin local guide's Kim Il Sung & Kim Jong Il pin.
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A few shots from central Chongjin city.
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Our guide was gushing with joy at showing us the brand new North Hamgyong Provincial E-Library. We too were excited at first, until we realized this entire room was just for show and served no legitimate purpose. There are no actual computers attached to any of these monitors.
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Local girl inside the North Hamgyong Provincial E-Library. At least this room had actual working computers in it.
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This room in the North Hamgyong Provincial E-Library had actual hardcopy books in English.
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A nice quiet idyllic picture of someone quietly studying in the North Hamgyong Provincial E-Library in Chongjin. Or so I thought. In what was becoming an alarmingly frequent and altogether annoying occurence, I was harshly scolded by my guide for even thinking of taking this picture because it shows the Kim Il Sung statue outside from a side view. For whatever reason, photography of the Leaders' statues from the side is always prohibited. Oops, too late, I had already pressed the shutter release.
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We were treated to a performance by the children of Chongjin Kindergarten. There is always a certain creepy vibe seeing very young kids with way too much make up and plastic smiles that never waver. But there's no denying that this is a very talented bunch.
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Looking towards the Chongjin waterfront from my balcony at the Gomalsan Guesthouse.
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A couple random roadside views as we drive out of Chongjin City.
