North Korea (DPRK) -
Province and villages. Part I. (Translated by Natalia)
Some people want to see the village :-)
OK, here it is! (in two parts).
At first we'll watch it all from car window and from the roadside, and in
second part - from closer distance.
Here we asked the driver to stop the car and I took some pictures. This
village doesn't look very well-being, there're some more decent. Also
it's not so characteristic: buildings stands irregularly.
"Obelisk" on a background - is a feature, necessary for all settlements.
Usually the neutral, simple slogan is written there (a challenge to work
and learn better and so on).
Machines typical for village - GAZ (probably made in Northern Korea,
not in Russia) and a lorry - with gas generator.
This car works with firewood, but I have to underline, that it's NOT
a steam machine, but GAS-generator (Usual internal combustion engine,
just re-made). It's not gasoline, of course, so the max speed is about
20-30 km per hour.
The firewood (at the right) are prepared for lorry. They're put by
portions into the can (is seen in the back of a lorry) and slowly burn
there.
We've seen such machines about five times in general.
The roofs are usually made of tiles or something like that.
Two basic kinds of pets (from those who lets out to graze, of course).
This is a goat, and at the right - probably the ox. Conditionally, we
can say that it carries out functions of cow and horse at the same time.
Serious animal…
That's how they plough the ground with the help of an ox.
Correlation
of "tractor" è "plough+ox" in Russia is more declined in favor of a
tractor.
And this is the more typical Northern Korea village.
Houses are
identical, located by uniform group, usually in parallel or straight
lines.
If mountains prevents, then houses locates by few groups on both
sides of the mountain.
The train.
Although our TV likes to show the steam locomotives that goes here :,
we've seen only
electric trains or diesel locomotives.
The roads, as a rule, are single-track - it's real.
The one more curious moment - about cellular communication. It exists
(not less than GSM), but for foreigners it does not operate (no
roaming). More of that, the girls told us that it's forbidden to take
the mobile phone into the country (on border it will be taken from you,
on departure it'll be given back). But I have taken phone without
questions, and have written about it to declarations, and on the way
back the frontier-guard has seen it.
Certainly, it was not possible to
speak by phone, but I knew the one curious thing: everywhere we've been
(quite a big area) - the network of cellular communication also was
everywhere, stably half of a scale (I shall remind - here's a hilly
country). Though I did not see any base stations. Maybe, they mask them
as mountains? :-)
Not long ago I heard in Russian TV news, that mobile phones were
taken away from Northern Korea people. Hah! They should've thought what
they invent! How could any Korean have cellular phone, when for the sum
which there's a mobile phone costs, here it's possible to live about a
year? : Abundantly clear, that this service at the moment is only for
militarians and officials of a decent level. And there's no point to
take mobile phones from them (it's easier to turn off the base
stations).
A notice: the houses in russian villages are usually decorated,
decorations on the wicket-gates, fences, carved window-frames and so on.
Although, the house can be leaned-over :
I didn't see anything like that in Korea. I mean, village houses are not
decorated at all.
I've been told later, that south-korean villages
look the same way as northern.
About a heating.
In Korea (and maybe, in the East in general) the
traditional way of heating in the houses is not the same as in Russia.
They don't install ovens. Near the house there is something like a hole
where coal or fire wood is pawned. The warmed air goes through under the
floor and heats the house. Probably, it is connected with tradition to
sit on a floor. This system is still used. Not only in villages, but
also in guide's cabin near any distant sightseeing.
What is not clear for me in this system - and how about an
intoxication, a smoke and other?
Probably, the cement factory.
And this is the modern settlement.
The structure is similar, but houses already more thorough. Moreover,
want to admit, that in Russia such houses appears when the village grows
to larger settlement. Here it is not like that. By it's size, it's still
a village, just the houses are modern.
Under a polyethylene film - the
rice grows
The raising of buildings (if they're from 3 to 5-8 floors) - is the
separately interesting subject.
They look like panel, but often they
are not. Usually such houses build of small blocks-bricks, and then get
plastered. Elevating cranes and any other machines are not used. They
just build'em up; here and there a cradle with goose-foot and that's
all. Although, the process goes very fast
The rice is growing.
On a background - the aerials possibly serving
the airport (not faraway).
