... and the flag of Worst Korea on the other side.pic.twitter.com/5WZSlSiqLF
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North Koreans heading home after a busy day working for the greater good.pic.twitter.com/oaRJ7WdSJm
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If you look carefully at the far wall of the train carriage you will notice the portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il always watching.pic.twitter.com/dTHor8TWzG
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Flaming Torchlight Station: surprisingly summer than Glory Station.pic.twitter.com/YFjO2nQNCk
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Upon emerging from the underground, we were then taken to a bizarre mini amusement park that was shockingly quite good.pic.twitter.com/DLelTEM2T4
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Though the rides were modern, we were still not allowed more than a few metres away from our ever-present tour guides, and we had to put our cameras away whenever a soldier walked by.pic.twitter.com/0nAheretUH
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People seemed to be having a genuinely good time. North Korea isn’t a simple black and white place, though as a tourist I was of course only given a highly chaperoned tour of what they wanted me to see.pic.twitter.com/00MEuhTAeK
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Some important buildings around Pyongyang: The Arch of Triumph.pic.twitter.com/K5x56d2OKk
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And at night. To the right you can see the still unfinished Ryugyong Hotel lit up. It is 105 stories high and listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the tallest unoccupied building in the world (the guides don’t tell you this).pic.twitter.com/7HVSFr8uHR
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Construction began in 1987 but hit a major roadblock when the Soviet Union collapsed and the DPRK has bigger problems than an unfinished hotel. Still, it has a certain dignity about it.pic.twitter.com/I54yaGTep4
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The Juche Tower. Juche is the state ideology of North Korea. It basically boils down to Korea itself being the religion of Korea.pic.twitter.com/M2G4aamZy1
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The Monument to the Founding of the Workers’ Party. In addition to the hammer and sickle, the Koreans also add in a calligraphy brush to the usual Communist sign. Our guide told us this was because “we have more intellectuals than the other socialist countries”!pic.twitter.com/0rwmZzWkcJ
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<<Intermission>> The North Korean film I watched on one of my three TV channels. The other channels were all basically images of Kim Jong Un and people applauding.pic.twitter.com/4uHq6BTDHL
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On the glorious Day of the Sun itself, we visited the Kumsusan Palace where the bodies of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il lie in state. This was a highly regulated day where we had to wear formal dress and few photos were allowed.pic.twitter.com/76Tn9li8hB
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The sun magically appeared and Pyongyang was sparkling. We were told to maintain a solemn air and arms were to be at our sides at all times. We couldn’t put them in our pockets or even fold them.pic.twitter.com/sHAXNqrVct
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Korean women heading to pay their respects. Inside the palace, all visitors (including us) have to bow three times to the bodies of the Great Leaders. No talking is allowed.pic.twitter.com/b6YJvmoD7u
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The front of the palace. These were once Kim Il Sung’s offices, now they are a temple to the Kims.pic.twitter.com/vNCWsHkwET
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People from all over North Korea come for the Day of the Sun. Kim Jong Il also has his own day in February: The Day of the Shining Star. Officially though, neither of them are dead. They both remain President and Chairman of North Korea for eternity.pic.twitter.com/g7arPkIfjl
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We were then taken to boring exhibitions of the Kimilsungia flower named after the eternal President. Here is a rare photo of him when young where you can see the close resemblance he has with his grandson.pic.twitter.com/VKDUHOzjq1
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Statues of the Kims where we were forced to purchase $5 flowers and lay them at their feet before bowing.pic.twitter.com/O4cHalQUD5
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Later, in one of the main squares, a mass dance “spontaneously” broke out in honour of the day.pic.twitter.com/HPdy86t7q3
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The sight of hundreds of people repeating identical dance movements was quite stirring. We even joined in.pic.twitter.com/HWgfjAhQo1
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As a reward for our good behaviour and patriotism, we were then allowed a trip to an amazing bar which wouldn’t have been out of place in any major western city.pic.twitter.com/n1UWfJFoXj
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The Day of the Sun was completed by a dinner on an old fashioned river boat which was delightfully kitsch inside. Even the uniforms of the waitresses were a joy.pic.twitter.com/CQYws1lIsT
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After dinner, the waitresses put on a little show for us.pic.twitter.com/5AHdVRNdfy
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