Pyongyang Traffic Girl Autograph
Friend and fellow Young Pioneer Tours guide, Chris White, had an epic encounter with a Pyongyang Traffic Girl last week in the DPRK:
Pics from Young Pioneer Tour’s Facebook page – give the page a like and suggest to your friends for your chance to win our yearly free DPRK trip giveaway contest!
Pyongyang Traffic Girl
Pyongyang traffic girl at the intersection near the foreign language bookshop – photo by Joseph A Ferris III
Pyongyang Traffic Girl
I’m going to let you in on a little secret – I really like the traffic girls of Pyongyang.
When we asked our North Korean guides if the traffic girls are aware of their world wide fame we were told they do but don’t really like the notoriety. Some of the girls fear the fame will go to their heads and distract them from their job of keeping the streets of Pyongyang safe.
Photo by Joseph A Ferris III
Pyongyang Traffic Girl Of The Month
I recently discovered that two of my pictures have the honor of being selected as the Pyongyang Traffic Girl Of The Month for May and June 2012 over at PyongyangTrafficGirls.com – it’s a fun little site that honors some of my favorite girls, check it out while my picture for June is still profiled up on their main page!
June 2012 Traffic Girl of the Month.
May 2012 Traffic Girl of the Month – photos by Joseph A Ferris III
And while messing around at PyongyangTrafficGirls.com I came across this absolutely precious kindergarten musical traffic safety skit.
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Sneaking a Cell Call
Cell phones are all the rage in Pyongyang, North Korea this year (we hardly saw any during our Aug. 2011 trip) – here a traffic girl sneaks a call from behind a tree – photo by Joseph A Ferris III
Return of the Pyongyang Traffic Girls – Picture Post
Brought back from their Sept. 2010 retirement, these April 2012 photos posted below show Pyongyang traffic girls performing their classic signal direction routine – photos by Joseph A Ferris III
This is the follow-up picture post with those promised photos posted below!
Remaining photos show the Pyongyang traffic girls performing their normal post retirement duties: cross walk safety overloading and manual light phasing – all from April 2012.
Pyongyang Traffic Girls Return!
Pyongyang Traffic Girl – photo by Joseph A Ferris III
To our delight, the traffic girls of Pyongyang were brought out of retirement to help deal with the massive traffic congestion, and perhaps to add a little more color to the city for ‘Eternal President’ Kim Il Sung’s 100th year birthday celebrations.
On my first visit (summer 2011) we had been saddened to learn that the girls had been replaced by a modern traffic light system. They could still be seen on occasion, running roadside signal lamp switches, working road construction sights, or directing traffic during the frequent power outages, but we missed their famous directing routines performed at the main city intersections. I’m happy to report that this April they were back directing traffic throughout Pyongyang, and although I have no idea how long this will last, I got some great pics during this special opportunity and will be sure to have a follow-up post sharing the best of them!
Traffic Girl Style
A peek at the details of the Pyongyang traffic girl uniform.
More Pyongyang traffic girl photos below – all from our 20 min. escorted walk in Pyongyang.
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Pyongyang Traffic Girls Fall From the Sky
Thanks for my first 1,000 hits! Above is a satire clip of the Pyongyang traffic girls.
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Traffic Girls of Pyongyang, North Korea
Just a tiny hint of a smile…………before being told “no more pictures!”
It’s sad to say but I can confirm the rumors – electric traffic lights have been recently installed in Pyongyang, and with this bold step into advanced technology, regrettably the era of the famous Pyongyang traffic girls is coming to an end. Legions of cute traffic girls have been retired; who will man the intersections of desolate streets? Who will perform a robotic dance of traffic instruction while ignoring the fact there is no traffic to actually instruct? Is this march of progress a worthy substitute for cute girls with pouty expressions and sexy uniforms?
But all is not lost! Some of the traffic girls have been retained to render emergency services during frequent power outages. Others can still be seen directing traffic at construction sites, manning cross walks at busy areas, and some manually control traffic lights near the tourist hotels.
American in North Korea 