Tag Archives: North Korea

Bizarre Old North Korean Stamps Celebrating Regal Excess

On my way out of Deshengmen Tower -- where you'll find a strange collection of ramshackle museums crammed in together -- I noticed the most remarkable thing for sale: old North Korean stamps, celebrating European regal excess! There was the Versailles stamp, which reeks of excessive opulence... Franz Joseph I hot on the chase... And of ...

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Sweet Movies and Wild Books

American Imperialist Bastards in a North Korean Comic Book

I don't speak a word of Korean. I wish I did, if only so I could read this North Korean comic that's been sitting on my bookshelf for years. I'm only assuming these chaps are Meejay Nom, or American Imperialist Bastards. (Okay, I guess I know one word in Korean.) What do you ...

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Andy Deemer / 2 Comments

Strange Tourism

The Pyongyang Metro

North Koreans are proud of their metro. And so they should be. It's one of the deepest, it's breathtakingly gorgeous, and we were only allowed to ride one stop. (Although I've heard tourists can now ride the entire length.) Here are some pages from a great 2004 picture-book I bought in the ...

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Andy Deemer / 4 Comments

Strange Tourism

A Vomit Bag from North Korea

I loved the streamlined 1950s design, like a classic car. This was the look of everything on the Air Koryo flight. This trip was about two weeks after Michelle and I started dating. (I guess you know some gal is okay, if she'll agree to go to North Korea on your first date.)

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Consumerism

North Korean Stamps

Two different directions. (I think these were sent to me by the awesome David & Michelle F, who we met in a tepid Pyongyang BBQ joint.)

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Strange Tourism

Our Favorite Kim Jong Il Stories…

I'm very happy, and a little sad, but I know Kim Jong L'il will do a fine job furthering his father's legacy of madness. In the meantime, here's some of my favorite AO Kim Jong Il pieces: - Did you know Kim Jong Il was already a master equestrian marksman at the age of five? - At birth, ...

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Our Weird Projects, Strange Tourism

Mad Costumes Across Asia

As regular readers know, we at AsiaObscura love costumes. We've captured some incredible cosplay adventures here, here, here, here and even here. But it goes deeper. Almost every tourist hotspot across north-east Asia has a rack of costumes, a dramatic backdrop or two, and a whole boatload of awesomeness to dive into. Be ...

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Strange Tourism

Plan Your Next Holiday in the Glorious DPRK

North Korea isn't all doom, gloom, and Kim Jong-il. Sure, there's vile propaganda, rumors of grim brainwashing, concentration camps and endless misery. But there's more!

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Historical Wonders, Offbeat Museums

America started the war, and lost it, too.

"Look at that soldier," said a burly Dongbei redneck, shoving past me to get a better look at the painting. "He's on fire. He's a real man." His sweaty pal leaned in, and laughed. The torched soldier was still letting loose a volley of bullets from his machine gun, mowing down a row of terrified ...

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Andy Deemer / 1 Comment

Our Weird Projects, Shameless Promotion

French press for “Pyongyang Too”

When Woo and I handed our tribute, Pyongyang Too, to graphic traveleur & comic master Guy Delisle, he seemed taken aback, confused, perplexed. "Thank you," he muttered, unsure of what he was even looking at. (Barbara Demick--author of the DPRK expose/awesomeromance Nothing to Envy--tried to buy it.) Clearly, he later had a chance to ...

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Other Obscura

Happy 99th Birthday, Kim Il-sung!

Okay, I know he's been dead for a long time -- 17 years -- but since he's still the official (eternal!) president of North Korea. And he'd be 100 99 today! So here are a handful of cute dear great pictures of the "Great Leader" (수령) from our last trip to the DPRK.

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Sweet Movies and Wild Books

Film 101, with Guest Professor Kim Jong Il

(Happy Kim Il Sung's eternal birthday!)Sergei Eisenstein wrote extensively on film theory. As did Lloyd Kaufman. So, knowing what a film buff Kim Jong Il is, I was proud to see he'd already hopped on that bandwagon. I recently picked up his fascinating 1987 treatise on filmmaking techniques, "The Cinema and Directing." It's short at ...

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Andy Deemer / 2 Comments

Offbeat Museums

The Best Stamps from Beijing’s Incredible Stamp Museum (including 3-D North Korean stamps!)

Continuing on from yesterday's post, here are my six top favorite collections from Beijing's wonderful stamp and post museum.... Sorry for the spoiler above. But it's just... too weird. 6. Table Tennis What's there not to love about table tennis? Mao adored it, so did Deng Xiaoping and Zhou Enlai. Plus, there's always the ...

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Andy Deemer / 2 Comments

Uncategorized

If Amy Chua was mother to us all, maybe we could do this too…

The young kids in this video practiced for the entire year, or longer, to get the show right... and it's just remarkable. They're just six or seven years old, if I understood correctly. The whole effort, the Mass Games, is devoted to the Dear Leader (who turned 69 this week) and the Great Leader ...

Posted on February 19, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Historical Wonders

Kim Jong Il’s childhood thoughts of America

To celebrate the 69th birthday of Kim Jong Il, this entire week is jam packed with DPRKoolness. Today, we explore Kim Jong Il's feelings about America. Where do they come from? How did he feel as a kid? Find out, below... (At the age of six) Kim Jong Il harboured a bitter hatred for the class ...

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Historical Wonders

Kim Jong Il learns to ride horses and shoot guns!

In celebration of Kim Jong Il's 69th birthday, this week is flooded with DPRKoolness. Today, we learn that Kim Jong Il by the age of five is a master equestrian. But what about his marksmanship? Can he handle a gun? Find out, in these excerpts from his official biography, below! Young Kim, shortly before he became ...

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Andy Deemer / 2 Comments

Lost in Translation

Learn How to Speak North Korean

On our recent trip to Pyongyang, we picked up this incredible guide to speaking Korean -- clearly with a northern bent. While the first half is filled with standard small-talk favorites ("How do you do!", "I'm awfully sorry," "It really is heroic," and "It is Juche-oriented"), about halfway through, it gives up any sense of ...

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Andy Deemer / 4 Comments

Historical Wonders

The official story of Kim Jong Il’s birth…

Happy 69th birthday, Kim Jong Il! To celebrate this holy day, this entire week will be jam packed with DPRKoolness. First, the true story of the birth of the Dear Leader, Kim Jong Il. These wonderful snippets -- many of them truly endearing, some just funny -- are from volume one of Kim Jong Il's ...

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Andy Deemer / 3 Comments

Other Obscura

The Incredible Furniture of North Korea

We all knew the DPRK would be fastidious in their care for appearances. Their garish carpets and upholstery harked back to a bygone time (the 60s? even then it probably wasn't in fashion). What I didn't expect was how much they liked their symmetry. Also, although these set ups had their charm and air of welcome, ...

Posted on February 11, 2011 by The WooLand Hotel / Leave a comment

Uncategorized

North Korean traffic lights… um… robot ladies.

North Korea The DPRK doesn't have much money. Or electricity. In our hotel, the Yanggakdo, the upper floors had no electricity (save for the one with a handful of Americans/Europeans staying on it). The Koreans would get on and off the elevator, into a floor of darkness. Shops with customers were pitch dark. The ...

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Andy Deemer / 6 Comments

Lost in Translation

North Korea frightening customs declarations form

I still can't get over this incredible customs document we had to fill out to enter North Korea the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Already, our nerves were on edge... the ancient plane was filled with smoke, we'd heard references to "American imperialist bastards," and we were about to land in North Korea. But... no ...

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Our Weird Projects

Pyongyang Too: A Tribute to Guy Delisle

After Teen Wolf Too, Splash Too, and Karate Kid Too, here's the Pyongyang Too tribute WooLand and I did for our favorite comic book travelogue essayist, Guy Delisle, in North Korea last year. When we gave it to him, he seemed shocked. Weirded out a little. Barbara Demick leaned over and asked if she ...

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Andy Deemer / 3 Comments

Extraordinary Eats

Infiltrating North Korea, in Beijing

I've seen some crazy things in Beijing. This ancient traffic-filled futuristic city was a place of awesomeness until a few nights ago. A few nights ago, we went for North Korean. Someone made a joke, the old yawner about Ethiopian: "They have food?" Evidently. My mom refused to call in the ...

Posted on March 23, 2009 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

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