Pyongyang Cell Phone Revolution
Woman in revolutionary outfit on a cell phone at Mansu Hill, Pyongyang – Photo by Joseph A Ferris III
Little North Korean Soldiers
North Koreans love to dress their children in mock military uniforms – below are pictures of boys in uniform proudly posing for my camera at the Pyongyang Rungna Dolphinarium fun fair.
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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USS Pueblo Guide
Our lovely guide shares a laugh and smile during our return visit to the US spy ship Pueblo.
This wasn’t our first time meeting this guide – Jordan, Josh, and I remembered her from last year (and she confessed to remembering us too), she was our guide during our 2011 visit to the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum. It was with her that we shared one of our favorite interactions of last year’s trip:
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Guns, Girls, and Beer – the Pyongyang Gun Range 2012
Last week I wrote about my return to the Pyongyang gun range and how I shot my own breakfast, today I am presenting a simple photo post showing the remaining pictures from that visit – the ones that don’t involve me killing something! You can find my post about my original 2011 visit to the gun range here.
Lovely Pyongyang gun range attendants.
I bought our North Korean guide Ms. Han a round of shots, she wasn’t the best marksman but I was thrilled that she at least gave it a try.
The Pyongyang gun range bar – my favorite bar is the world!
Bagging Your Own Breakfast – The Pyongyang Gun Range Pheasant Shoot
Dubbing the experience guns, girls, and beer, last summer’s visit to the Pyongyang gun range was one of my favorite experiences of the trip. Having had so much fun there last year I made it a point to include another visit when I wrote out the custom itinerary for my 2012 return to the DPRK – most standard North Korean tourist itineraries don’t include the gun range.
Our visit was approved but this year the girls were prepared for us and remembered our tricks – no photos hugging the girls, beer in one hand and rifle in the other, while in the shooting area! But that was OK, we had other tricks up our sleeves! At 5 euros a round visitors are allowed to take a shots at live birds in a pen at the far end of the gun range. Nobody tried during last years visit, the pen was only stocked with one skinny chicken, but this year the pen was well stocked with plump pheasants, and to temp us further a North Korean man shot and bagged one before our eyes. I wasn’t the first in our group to bag a pheasant, one of the guys hit one on his first shot and made a gift of the bird to our bus driver – the driver was thrilled. After getting a few drinks in me I purchased a 5 euro round for my lucky shot into the pheasant pen, then a 2nd, and a third round – eventually I bagged one!
North Korean gun range attendant with my pheasant.
Me and my pheasant at the Pyongyang gun range.
So you got drunk and shot a pheasant at Pyongyang gun range – now what? Bring the dead bird to the dining hall of your Pyongyang hotel restaurant, pull it out in front of a bunch of horrified western tourists while they eat their dinners, and pass it over to a North Korean waitress – she wont even bat an eye but only ask for instructions on how you want your bird soup prepared for the next morning’s breakfast. Photo above – my pheasant being dished out for breakfast.
Me and my prize at the Pyongyang gun range.
Me and my pheasant at the Pyongyang gun range.
A North Korean man returning with his prize.
Walking out with the gun range attendant to get my bird.
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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
A Load of Firewood in the North Korean Countryside
A rare photo from the North Korean countryside – on the road between Wonsan and Pyongyang, a troop of soldiers return to base with a truck load of firewood. I love some of the small details I captured here: the girl in the back holding a branch with flower blossoms, a smile on the man in front, and girls curiously checking out the tourist bus as it passes.
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Soldier With Flowers
A North Korean soldier with flowers passes by as we sightsee at the southern entrance to the Nampo West Sea Barrage – just another example of the humanity of the North Korean people rarely shown by the mainstream western media – photo by Joseph A Ferris III
Read more about this experience and many more like it at Joshua’s Spodek’s Blog.
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!
Tour of the US Spy Ship Pueblo
Still actively commissioned today, the USNS Pueblo currently remains the only captured ship in the US fleet. The incident occurred Jan. 23, 1968, but on this day in 2011 our guide was one of the North Korean sailors who boarded and helped capture the Pueblo. Attractive young ladies in military uniforms usually give this tour but our western guide informed us that we were lucky to have this man as our guide – he normally only gives tours to dignitaries and foreign leaders.
I knew about the Pueblo incident before coming to the DPRK. I’m a Chief Mate of a US Navy ship (on long tern charter to UCSD), I know my history, and I did plenty of research pre-trip – so I was pretty amazed to learn that many people in my group were not even aware that North Korea holds a captured US ship. But these guys were quick learners, and at the end of the trip many remarked that the visit to the Pueblo and interacting with our guide was the highlight of their trip.
Young North Korean sailor on duty.
Small arms damage clearly marked out on interior bulkheads.
Our North Korean Pueblo guide and myself – what a smile!
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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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American in North Korea 