North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un, 36, may be in a critical condition after undergoing cardiovascular surgery and the US official are seeking details into the matter. The CNN had earlier reported that he may be in grave danger. Let’s face it, North Korea is an inherently interesting place. It’s one of the few places on Earth we can’t just load up Google and start digitally walking its streets. We can’t even talk to its citizens for the most part, so how the Hell do we know what’s going on there!? Well, we don’t know everything, but there’s some things we know for sure. Here’s 10 unusual facts about North Korea!
Interesting Facts about the North Koria
- It may be the 21st century for the rest of the world but for people in North Korea, it’s still the 106th Juche year. The North Korean Juche calendar begins from April 15, 1912, the date of birth of its founder Kim Il-Sung.
- Parents have to provide desks & chairs for their kids
- Kim Jong Il, son of the country’s founder, has been said by state media to have managed amazing feats: He scored a perfect 300 the first time he went bowling and sank 11 holes-in-one the first time he played golf.
- Kim Jong Un ordered all male citizens to copy his haircut.
- They don’t follow the same timeline as Western countries
- More than half of South Korea is cloaked in forest
- Rollerblading is hugely popular, especially in Pyongyang
- The North Korean army is estimated to have more than 1.2 million soldiers
- Only military and government officials can own motor vehicles.
- It’s the only country in the world that has a US Navy Ship captured
- He may be the youngest world leader, but no one is sure of his actual age. Some say he was born in either 1982, 1983 or 1984
- Members of the Moranbong Band, were specially hand-picked by the Kim to form North Korea’s first-ever all-female band. The quintet made their debut in 2012
- Children have to work during their school day
- People are not allowed to wear jeans as it is considered a symbol of capitalism. Women wearing skirts must cover the knees. Wearing bikinis is a strict no-no.
- Mothers are not allowed to give birth if anyone is around and must go into labour alone. They are not allowed to meet their family or even husband for a week after giving birth. If triplets are born, they are given to the state as there are reportedly concerns over low birth rate in North Korea. They are returned on reaching four years of age.
- North Korea covers 55% of the Korean Peninsula’s land area.
- Women are a fully integrated part of the country’s workforce and military
- Paektusan is the tallest mountain at 2744 meters
- North Korea is home to the world’s largest stadium
- Kim Jong Il is said to have scored a perfect 300 score the first time he went bowling, and the first time he played golf he managed to do 11 hole-in-ones.
- The Demilitarized Zone between South and North Korea runs for about 240 kilometers.
- The elder brother to current leader Kim Jong Un, Kim Jong Nam, was passed over to become the heir apparent leader after being arrested in Tokyo in 2001 for traveling to Disneyland on a forged passport.
- North Korea holds political elections every five years
- North Korea has a network of informants who monitor and report to the authorities fellow citizens they suspect of criminal or subversive behavior. Unauthorized access to non-state radio or TV broadcasts is severely punished.
- North Korea exists in its own time zone
- School-going children are required to get their own desks and chairs, others are forced to do labourious tasks for the government.
- As of the 2020 census, North Korea has a population of 25,779,000.
- North Korea covers a land area of 47,399 square miles.
- The largest stadium in the world is in North Korea and it can seat 150,000 people.