But you can visit Germany now and no one seems to make a big deal if you go there. What I am getting at is that Germany has been able to evolve into a pretty great place to live and visit, so why can't North Korea? I obviously don't have the background or family experience like you do, so it's more difficult for me to…

Now, that does not mean I disagree with you, only that they are you two separate topics...buildings and politics...

It is comparable, although for different circumstances. Again, don't care about politics, so the comparison in regards to buildings, books, villages, schools, etc is correct.

I agree, that might actually be real, but is it still the case? The only reason I say this is that when you speak about the US, they were obviously quite upset about having their country carpet bombed, with good reason or not, but they seem to not care about it as much these days. I think they have other worries and…

I am sorry if I offended you in any way. It was not my intention. Just giving my point of view through a lens.

Agreed. Not very useful...hopefully they will learn other skills to interact with the outside world, when they open up.

Could it also be that the person is also competent and gets the job done because they enjoy it?

Air China to and from Beijing daily. The problem is getting a visa. I you get it, the rest is easy, like visiting any other country.

Possibly. Imagine how many schools and roads would be in better shape if the money to maintain the Library of Congress went to them instead. I doubt that would ever be the case, but it is a direct comparison, wouldn't you think?

For some reason I did not see, nor got the feeling, that it was the case when I was in Pyongyang. Neither was it the case when I was out in the countryside. Everyone just went about their business, just as they would in any city or countryside around the world. In my opinion, this must not have been the case some…

Like most of these countries, education is very high on their list of priorities. So most probably all libraries are open to all students. There surely were many books and many people inside, more than most libraries I have seen in western countries, except maybe during exam periods, of course :-)

Relax. I went to the country to take pictures, like I do in all countries, with or without totalitarian regimes. I was expecting to visit a miserable place with miserable people like you mention, since I am obviously gullible, but instead I did not see any of that. I saw a beautiful country with delightful people. So…

Taking pictures, like most countries I visit...

No, just realistic. I don't my news from action movies :-)

Maybe in the past this must have been most probably been the case. If you visit libraries, you see whole sections of books written by (?) the Great Leader. But I also saw other books that were not the latest selections you find in the west, but quite recent. Some decent novels by decent writers. But no bibles. You…

I understand what you are getting at, but I disagree. First, no party will have me towing their line. I name it as I see it. Second, unlike what you mention, I went into shops and restaurants that normal Korean people went to since there were no real foreign restaurants to go to at the time except in the hotels. I…

Monk in a temple. Not unlike many other temples around the world, but it just felt different being the only temple in the country.

Out in the countryside where a small temple sat peacefully.

The Arirang Games. Notice the people in the seats in the background. They have books with colored pages and depending on what they wanted to paint as a whole, each person would use a color in their book in synch with everyone else and a massive portrait or painting would magically appear. i have no idea who their…

National monument on the river in the center of Pyongyang.