6 Surprising Things You Didn't Know About North Korea - 5
Published 3 Jan 2018, 16:28 GMT
A train pulls into Puhung Station. One of the most lavishly decorated stops, Puhung was one of only two metro stations foreign visitors were allowed into before 2010.
Photograph by Elliott DaviesA train attendant stands in front of a mural that commemorates Korea’s independence from Japan in 1945.
Photograph by Elliott DaviesPortraits of father and son Supreme Leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il hang in every train carriage, while patriotic tunes are piped in through a speaker system.
Photograph by Elliott DaviesIn Tongil Station (meaning "unification station"), all the decorations depict the hope for reunification of the Korean peninsula.
Photograph by Elliott DaviesPyongyang Metro is one of the world’s deepest subway systems. The escalator ride down to the train platforms takes four minutes.
Photograph by Elliott DaviesA mural in Yonggwang Station shows Kim Jong Il, Supreme Leader from 1994-2011, standing in front of Mount Paektu, where the state media claims he was born. Soviet historic records, though, show thathe was born in Russia.
Photograph by Elliott DaviesA mural in Tongil Station depicts the nation’s dream of the future. Kim Il Sung, the Supreme Leader who led the country in independence from Japan, is the sun, gazing out over joyful North and South Koreans being reunited under the North Korean flag.
Photograph by Elliott DaviesDavies says that while he rode the metro with other tourists, “Commuters were nothing but polite, offering up seats to the elderly and even to us as foreigners. I’m unsure whether this was normality, or just for us.”
Photograph by Elliott DaviesKwangbok Station features low lighting, possibly to show off this striking statue of Kim Il Sung. “It was quite creepy if I’m honest,” Davies says.
Photograph by Elliott DaviesTrain platforms feature framed copies of the state-run newspaper. Commuters catch up on the news while waiting for their trains.
Photograph by Elliott DaviesThe murals in the Pyongyang Metro are jubilant and patriotic. In this one, Kim Il Sung greets a worshipping crowd of North Koreans under fireworks and spotlights.
Photograph by Elliott Davies“Nobody ran, pushed, laughed, or smiled in the Pyongyang Metro,” Davies says. “There was no chatter.” And forget playing Candy Crush—only about 10 percent of North Koreans owned cell phones as of 2014.
Photograph by Elliott Davies“Golden Soil” Station features murals of fruits and vegetables. “Things that are completely normal to us,” Davies says, “but to all of the people in North Korea it represents self-sustainability for the nation. They make a big deal out of it.”
Photograph by Elliott Davies