Some Interesting Facts About North Korea

Public Holidays

With religion effectively banned by the government, North Korea has no public holidays of a religious nature. Public holidays are all national festivals, most of them celebrating the freedom movement of the country or aimed towards glorifying the Communist Party leadership, more specifically, Kim Il-Sung and his son, Kim Jong-Il. The public holidays include:

Date 2005 Occasion
January 1 New Year's Day  
February 16 - 17 Kim Jong-II's Birthday
April 15 Kim II-Sung's Birthday
April 25 Foundation of the People's Army
May 1 International Worker's Day
July 27 Victory Day (Korean War Armistice)
August 15 Liberation Day
September 9 DPRK Foundation Day
October 10 Foundation of the Worker's Party
December 27 Constitution Day

Weights & Measures

Metric, that means all liquid measures are in litres; all solids in kilograms and all distance is measured in kilometers.

Electricity

110 / 220 volts, 60 Hz. Electrical appliances that are not compatible will need an adaptor and a multi-pin plug is a handy thing to carry along with one.

Tipping

As a foreign tourist, you probably won’t end up needing to do much tipping, as hotel meals and the like are always part of the package and few people expect a tip on that. However, tour guides and bus drivers (or car drivers, if you’re part of a 2 or 3-member group) would definitely expect a tip of around US$ 5 – 10 (5 for a driver, 10 for a guide), at the end of the tour. In many cases, monetary tips are not really necessary, but gifts, such as chocolates, cigarettes, or fruit (all of which are rather scarce) are really appreciated. It might be a good idea to carry some along with you to distribute in the way of thanks- you’ll find that they’re most gratefully accepted.

English Language Media

With North Korea’s insular government, it’s hardly surprising that there are very few publications in the English language, and whatever there are, are mainly mouthpieces for the government. For what they’re worth, you could have a look at the Korean Review (completely political) and the Pyongyang Review, which is more inclined to be cultural. Other than these, you won’t find much in English, and whatever there is, is heavily censored. Television and radio are almost totally in Korean; don’t look for English programs on either.