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For decades, North Korea has operated more like a national cult than a country. Dictator Kim Il Sung, known as the Great Leader, who was succeeded by his son Kim Jong Il (the "Dear Leader"), created one of the most isolated and eccentric cultures in the world. The few visitors allowed into the country are usually struck by how clean, how controlled and how eerily quiet it is. It's like a country held in suspended animation.

North Korea has been governed by Kim Il Sung's credo of self-reliance—the Juche Idea. Always an elusive goal (North Korea's existence has relied heavily on the largesse of other Communist and post-Communist countries), the collapse of its donor base has led to a series of hardships and setbacks that undermine its defiant isolation. Its economy has been in free fall, and its agriculture in crisis, aggravated by floods followed by drought. For much of the mid-1990s, the country was on the brink of mass starvation, but it seems the worst of the famine that may have killed more than 2 million people is over.

North Korea is the least-visited country in the world, with around 1,500 Westerners traveling there annually. Any sort of independent tourism is impossible as all visitors must have Korean guides with them at all times and have their itineraries predetermined. Even prior to its present miseries, only the most curious and adventurous travelers wanted to experience the bleak, gray culture perpetuated by the Great Leader and his son, which stands in surreal contrast to the country's rugged natural beauty.

Geography

History

The nation of Korea came into existence on a peninsula attached to mainland China in AD 668, and though much of its development since then has been closely intertwined with China's, there is also much about Korean life that is unique. The culture evolved, undisturbed for the most part, through a series of kingdoms and dynasties.

The 20th century, however, has not been kind to Korea. Japan unseated the emperor and occupied the nation from 1910 until the end of World War II, and the Japanese proved to be harsh overlords. The postwar joy that followed liberation proved to be short lived.

Following Japan's defeat, the U.S. agreed it would administer Korea south of the 38th parallel, and the Soviets would have control north of the line. (The division was supposed to be temporary.) Elections were scheduled by the United Nations in all of Korea, but the South, citing examples of fraudulent elections in Eastern Europe, refused to participate unless the North would allow U.N. observers to supervise its elections. The North refused, held unsupervised elections, and Kim Il Sung assumed control.

Tensions rose as the North began to import heavy artillery from the Soviet Union. In June 1950, the North attacked the South, quickly took control of Seoul and found little effective resistance as it marched south. The U.S.-led U.N. forces counterattacked and pushed the North Koreans back into their territory—so far north, in fact, that a nervous Mao sent literally millions of Chinese "volunteers" into Korea to rebuff the counterattack.

Both sides sat down to discuss peace just nine months after fighting started, but each side stalled the talks whenever it seemed that it had a military advantage. Much of the remainder of the three-year fight consisted of pushing back and forth across the 38th parallel, with neither side seeing any real gain.

A cease-fire was finally achieved—along the 38th parallel—but no real peace accord was signed. A nonaggression pact was signed in December 1991, and peace talks have moved forward despite a number of disputes between North and South. Following Kim Il Sung's death in 1994, his son Kim Jong Il attempted to consolidate power, but no one truly understands how decisions are made.

Kim Jong Il died in December 2011 and was succeeded by his third son, Kim Jong-un.

In 2000, North and South Korea held a historic summit signaling there might be more to reconciliation than just political posturing. The election of moderate President Roh Moo Hyun in South Korea has meant that relations between the two Koreas have improved somewhat, even though they technically remain in a state of war. Road and rail links (not open to the public) have resumed across the DMZ, and the construction of the Kaesong industrial park, largely funded by South Korean-giant Hyundai, has been seen as a positive step toward some kind of economic relationship between the two Koreas.

However, since the 2000 summit, North Korea's relations with its neighbors and the U.S. have decayed considerably after its clandestine nuclear program was revealed. The situation remains tense despite the efforts of six-party talks in Beijing, which have yet to yield any meaningful results. Apart from the always-bombastic DPRK press though, few are predicting the outbreak of hostilities.

Snapshot

North Korea's chief attractions include spectacular mountain scenery, Buddhist pagodas, mind-boggling sculpture and architecture, Panmunjeon, observation of a totalitarian state, bird-watching and history.

North Korea offers a destination more appropriate for flexible and curious travelers, especially those interested in Asian societies or the functioning of a totalitarian state. Those who become upset when they encounter delays, itinerary changes and less-than-deluxe accommodations should not consider North Korea. Travelers who are offended easily when they're lectured to about the sins of their country—or who will be less than amused when they hear a version of history that has little basis in fact—will also want to give it a pass.

Potpourri

A limited number of letters were exchanged between private citizens in North and South Korea in March 2001. The postal delivery was the first of its kind in more than 50 years.

North Korea was suspected of being behind an elaborate counterfeiting operation, with a secret plant located in downtown Pyongyang. Nearly perfect US$100 bills were traced back to the plant.

The DMZ, the most heavily defended border in the world, is the world's most well-protected wildlife refuge: Three rare species of crane winter at the springs and streams within the 375-sq-mi/970-sq-km no-man's-land.

By law, every North Korean household must have two Kim portraits on its walls. One of Kim Il Sung, "The Great Leader," and one of Kim Jong Il, "The Dear Leader."

The Korean language is remotely related to Hungarian and Finnish, among others.

When you're visiting Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Stadium, ask to walk through the adjacent Kaesong Youth Park. In its midst, surrounded by noisy children's rides, is the city's oldest Buddhist temple. Other Buddhist temples you'll be shown are showcases designed to demonstrate the state's tolerance for religion; however, the intentional placement of an amusement park around this place of refuge is a more accurate indication of the state's true feelings on the subject.

Because a third of Korea's families are divided between North and South, it's politically expedient for the leadership of both sides to claim a desire for reunification. The North Korean viewpoint, in fact, is that Korea is one nation, with the U.S. occupying the southern half.

Recently, North Korea has cracked down on men wearing their hair long (although their version of "long" would be best described as "shaggy" elsewhere). The reason provided for these mandatory haircuts is that long hair is anti-communist and "uses up too much nutrition."

All North Korean adults must wear a badge over their hearts of the face of either Kim Il Sung or Kim Jong Il (or both). The different styles, sizes and colors of these badges are thought to denote the social position of the wearer (your guide will deny this). It's not possible under any circumstances to buy these badges from the North Koreans. They may be offended by any attempt to do so.

The Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea are known locally as the East Sea and the West Sea.