North Koreans have to live by many rules and breaking even one of them means being sent to a prison or a work camp, currently holding roughly 200,000 prisoners. However, you are not the only one being held accountable for your crimes under North Korea’s “three generations of punishment rule.”
If a person with a family breaks the law, it is common for their entire family to be punished with them. Meaning both grandparents, the parents and the children of the offender are sent away too. Any other children born in the camps must also stay there for life.
Checking things out
Soldiers are a normal part of the landscape in North Korea and it is not uncommon to see them everywhere and in all aspects of life. In this photo, there are five officers checking up on something with a pair of binoculars. All things that happen in the country are strictly monitored.
Due to military security, the photographer would have probably gotten in a lot of trouble if he was caught taking this picture!
No way out
There is no government sanctioned way of leaving North Korea and those caught trying to escape are severally punished. They only way to get out is to defect and that costs $8,000 and that only gets you into China. In realistic terms, $8,00 is an impossible sum of money to the majority of North Koreans to acquire.
The fact is, it is almost impossible to leave the corrupt country.
Busy buses
The only form of public transportation available to North Koreans are buses and they are a common way for people to commute to work and home. Car ownership is almost non-existent, therefore even busy, full and slow buses are a good option. Even on the bus, a permit is still required to move between cities and towns.
If you can manage to catch the bus, I’m sure it beats walking or biking.
The Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge
This beautiful bridge is called The Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge and it connects Dandong, China with the city of Sinuiju, North Korea.
This bridge is one of the only ways to get and out of North Korea and pedestrians are not allowed to use it. For visitors, it is pretty much the last brightly colored lights they will see before entering the Hermit Kingdom.