These cars are actually from West Berlin's BVG, wide body 'Baureihe D' cars, while North Korea also received narrow body GI and GII cars from East Berlin.You can tell by the faux wood paneling, the door handles, and of course the wider body, and the lack of running board extensions to make up for the narrower body in stations that were built for wide body cars. GI and GII cars look very boxy and a bit plastically from the inside - at least this how I remember them from my childhood.
This reminds me of some of the tourists that used to visit Cuba in the 1980s/1990s. Back then, tourists were carefully managed and only got to see Cuba by way of their resort complex. This have relaxed a lot since then, but things were pretty tight back then. Many of these tourists would return home and tell of Cuba being a great country and the Cubans they met (waiters and hotel workers) were wonderful.
While two stations is what most tourists will ever see, some groups have access to more. A number of foreign students and residents also have access to the entire system, effectively dismissing the rumors that the metro is a two-station-loop showcase.
The showcase stations are. The other stations are far more utilitarian, although compared to those of major subway networks around the world, they certainly do look good.
The shown Subway cars are used German ones. The model is called D-series, built from 1956 to 1965. And after the vehicles were deployed in timetable operation on Berlin's underground, they were decommissioned sold and shipped to North Korea in 1999. The exterior paint was yellow only back then.
No. It's a completely electric system and has always been. In fact, given the depth of the system there would be serious challenges in evacuating fumes. Not to mention that diesel is in even shorter supply than electricity.
Beautiful stations.I do remember from something I once saw on a documentary concerning the North Korean subways,they have piped in speeches by the late Kim Il Sung.
There are some people in that group of tourists, who are speaking Italian ("È più grande del necessario", or something like that they say...)... I dare say they are even from Rome or Central Italy...
Yes I am although I wouldn't say that everyone was looking at me. Koreans are always curious about foreigners, but if you want to find out what it really means to have people stare at you, then I suggest you ride the metro in Calcutta, India :)
Oh thats interesting, I'd love to see if the rumours about the 'hidden' trains and stations are still in their German colours and if the stations are all concrete.
Would love links if you have them. There's no recent evidence (within 5 years or so) of any other rolling stock being in service as far as I know. I've taken the subway several times and only ever saw the German trains. Of course, there may be other trains in circulation on the other line or at off hours and I wouldn't know.
fuck how long is the escalator ride seems to go forever! The trains look very old fashion compared to Sydney's modern double decker fleet,and dark too. Very handsome stations though.
Vago, ladrón, drogón, siempre intentando engañar, busca dinero facil. Asi es el latino. Una parte es la educacion, otra mas importante es la cultura que te dan tus padres. Aunque no hayas ido a la escuela, puedes trabajar aunque sea en el campo e intentar progresar. Pero si culturalmente te enseñan a no hacer nada y esperar recibir donaciones del gobierno, para asi seguir teniendo mas y mas hijos, que mal vamos.Por algo somos el continente con mas violencia y desigualdad. En Corea el que no trabaja no recibe nada, respetan las reglas porque sino hay castigo, hay poca delincuencia y creo que cuando salgan de esa dictadura, tendra muchisimo potencial para crecer mucho mas y mejor que latinoamerica.
The lights aren't out, they're just not on - an energy saving measure. (And as a note to those who believe that the riders are all actors - if the DPRK was so focused on putting on a show for foreigners, they'd probably turn those lights on when foreigners are filming!)
It seems as if this is shot with a hidden camera, and it doesn't seem like the tourists are necessarily being escorted around. Seems very unlikely/conspiratorial that these people would be actors.
HA! their metro system looks MUCH cleaner and safer than anywhere I've seen in the USA. So much for our media and governments trying to tell us just how disadvantaged the North Korean people are. They genuinely look happier than us in the west.
With all the negatives that is North Korea, I am surprised there is even a subway there; and a clean and elegant one at that! ...hmmm...not even Cuba has one.
Of course the subway looks nice. DPRK is a secretive country that does what it can to project a positive view of itself to foreigners. If you are a tourist, you HAVE to have a tour guide who will show you around set places. You will be under government surveillance and you will not be allowed to even badmouth the country in private. The tour guides will tell you how great their country is. A tourist is not allowed to interact with a normal person unless invited to do so, and those 'normal people' know that they are only allowed to say good things about their country, especially in front of tourists who are always under surveillance, or they will go to prison! What you see here is an image, nothing more. The average person in DPRK is starving while the elite spend the country's money - the money that the average person works hard for - on a life of luxury. Pyongyang, the capital, is only home to the privileged. I guarantee the rest of the country is not so impressive.
+Kate Shearman: Yes, I agree with you. I've seen satellite night images of NK vs SK, and one could clearly see that most all of NK is in the dark compared to their southern counterpart. But are you suggesting that every single one of the people seen walking around in this video are the privileged ones, who are able to both live and work in the capital city? Are you also suggesting that every one of these people (seen in this video) works for the government somehow, hence becoming "privileged"?
on point! i think that people tend to call 'racism' all kind of silly stuff today, but what we see towards n.koreans is pure racism. even msm calls their country 'the north', instead of dprk, or north.korea, thus implying that they are a less legitimate/astrayed part of s.korea.
Yes these trains are coming frım West Berlin (When Soviets are in the Berlin these sets are send to the North Korea When Soviets building a metro to North Korea)
These people Are Not Actors these Are Real people that take the subway Everyday tqq an idea how much this cost to ride Every Day one way in American money terms it's a half-penny just to go one way it's cheaper than the San Francisco BART Train if you take the San Francisco BART train in San Francisco Bay Area you're looking at $3 Dollars just To Go One Way on the San Francisco BART train I've lived in Pyongyang North Korea so I know what I'm talkin about I'm not talking about politics I'm talking about transportation when people go to and from work
Not such a bad metro! I would prefer that to the London underground. Its 100x cleaner, and the music is nice. Just get rid of the photos of the dictators, replace the giant statue of Kim Il Sung with something the people want there, and change the colour scheme of the trains!(And of course get rid of the government logo)
+Alexander “SneakeyAlexander” Gamer I actually kind of like the colour scheme of the trains. Has a nice retro feel to it, the polished wooden interior is also really nice. It seems like something that no other country would do because they need to move tons more people around which means more trains and no way in hell are they wasting money on polished wooden interiors for all of them.
I don't see people pooping on the tracks, garbage, performers, graffiti, homeless sleeping on the platform. This is what an NYC subway could be but never will.
hard to believe that such a poor country has the fanciest sub way stations I believe its the word deepest with I believe the longest escalator for the Washigton metro ha the longest escalator in the hemesfer the Wheaton station
I doubt they are actors but it's believed that every citizens living in Pyongyang works directly or undirectly for the government, so they probably have rules such as not giving a fuck about foreigners. Also if you saw a guy filming your country's subway, you probably wouldn't look at him much either.
Not really. In Finland we still use late 70s trains bought from the soviet union in many places. They're old but not old when it comes to public transport besides they still work
Rolling stock can last 50 years, if it's well maintained. Of course these trains are old. So are many trains in Paris. So is the historic trolley in San Francisco. So is Line 1 in Budapest, and so on. Whether it's a horrible country is a different question altogether, but judging by subway trains doesn't make much sense.
Humanity Beside Us In London, we just started removing trains made back in the 60s... The Metropolitan line is finished, but we still got the Circle and District lines to revamp!
what a nice metro :o
its so clean and the architecture is incredible. Its just like the one in Moscow :)
I'd love to find pictures of the other line. It's definitely not open to visitors, although there's indeed evidence that foreigners have had access.
remains me very much of riding the subway in East Berlin 1979 (GDR my native country ) ....old trains and no commercial but clean and save
North Korea buys its underground trains from the city of Berlin.
These cars are actually from West Berlin's BVG, wide body 'Baureihe D' cars, while North Korea also received narrow body GI and GII cars from East Berlin.You can tell by the faux wood paneling, the door handles, and of course the wider body, and the lack of running board extensions to make up for the narrower body in stations that were built for wide body cars. GI and GII cars look very boxy and a bit plastically from the inside - at least this how I remember them from my childhood.
将軍様に全てをお捧げするのだ
Very beautiful and VERY CLEAN METRO-STATION!
You gotta admit, Yonggwang station is beautiful
The art and architecture are so beautiful. I would love to see this subway system in person.
Thank You For Sharing This Beautiful Video Vlog
This reminds me of some of the tourists that used to visit Cuba in the 1980s/1990s. Back then, tourists were carefully managed and only got to see Cuba by way of their resort complex. This have relaxed a lot since then, but things were pretty tight back then. Many of these tourists would return home and tell of Cuba being a great country and the Cubans they met (waiters and hotel workers) were wonderful.
State radio is broadcast. It sure does air speeches from the leaders, but there is also music as well as other programming.
the train rolling stock is very classic and well maintained. i think i like this part of pyongyang
At least it's nicer than NYC.
While two stations is what most tourists will ever see, some groups have access to more. A number of foreign students and residents also have access to the entire system, effectively dismissing the rumors that the metro is a two-station-loop showcase.
The showcase stations are. The other stations are far more utilitarian, although compared to those of major subway networks around the world, they certainly do look good.
The shown Subway cars are used German ones. The model is called D-series, built from 1956 to 1965. And after the vehicles were deployed in timetable operation on Berlin's underground, they were decommissioned sold and shipped to North Korea in 1999.
The exterior paint was yellow only back then.
The stations look AMAZING!!!
No. It's a completely electric system and has always been. In fact, given the depth of the system there would be serious challenges in evacuating fumes. Not to mention that diesel is in even shorter supply than electricity.
Thank you for the Great video
Beautiful stations.I do remember from something I once saw on a documentary concerning the North Korean subways,they have piped in speeches by the late Kim Il Sung.
Even the tracks are clean. 1:23
It's like an antiquated version of the Beijing Subway lines 1 and 2.
There are some people in that group of tourists, who are speaking Italian ("È più grande del necessario", or something like that they say...)... I dare say they are even from Rome or Central Italy...
Keep up the Great work
cleaner and nicer than the subways in NYC!
they DO have a subway! : O No city in the Republic of Costa Rica has one
Yes I am although I wouldn't say that everyone was looking at me. Koreans are always curious about foreigners, but if you want to find out what it really means to have people stare at you, then I suggest you ride the metro in Calcutta, India :)
우리는순간의 장구함속에산다.
beautiful
Very nice looking. My people very happy.
I'll soon have a blog post about that. Many of these rumors are fascinating, but they're often based on pure, wild speculation...
Almost identical to the Moscow metro
Yeah, Russian/Soviet train cars i believe.
Not anymore. Moscow metro has very little decorations very dull. Only a view stops have some art and chandeliers
1:50 sounds almost like music from the pokemon games lol
Yeah Haha like when you're at the department store
I wish I could live there!
thank you for your video,read show more, very nice to see you do 5 stops
That is the creepiest music ever. Like you're playing Bioshock.
reminds me of prague metro but looks like deeper
The guy pushing to get on needed a slap and a lesson in subway etiquette.
Oh thats interesting, I'd love to see if the rumours about the 'hidden' trains and stations are still in their German colours and if the stations are all concrete.
Beautiful Stations.
So what's Glasgow's excuse?
Would love links if you have them. There's no recent evidence (within 5 years or so) of any other rolling stock being in service as far as I know. I've taken the subway several times and only ever saw the German trains. Of course, there may be other trains in circulation on the other line or at off hours and I wouldn't know.
Yes they have cleaned the cars. But they have not replaced the windows. Some people said you can also find some german words. Not just graffitti tags.
The subway stations look superior to most of the ones in Toronto
fuck how long is the escalator ride seems to go forever! The trains look very old fashion compared to Sydney's modern double decker fleet,and dark too. Very handsome stations though.
All North Korean metro riders shall thank to Chinese workers who risked their life construct this.
Wow, they allowed you to film this? 😮
that's the longest escalator i have ever seen
Some train in São Paulo, Brazil look this old, line blue to be more specific.
The final of the video is very finny )))
I thought tourists are only allowed to go between 2 stations?
Because the pyongyang subway trains is an old Berlin subway.
,wow,,, que educados y que limpio es
Brian narom Hay Pobreza económica, pero no pobreza cultural como en los países latinos. Eso hace una gran diferencia.
Vago, ladrón, drogón, siempre intentando engañar, busca dinero facil. Asi es el latino. Una parte es la educacion, otra mas importante es la cultura que te dan tus padres. Aunque no hayas ido a la escuela, puedes trabajar aunque sea en el campo e intentar progresar. Pero si culturalmente te enseñan a no hacer nada y esperar recibir donaciones del gobierno, para asi seguir teniendo mas y mas hijos, que mal vamos.Por algo somos el continente con mas violencia y desigualdad. En Corea el que no trabaja no recibe nada, respetan las reglas porque sino hay castigo, hay poca delincuencia y creo que cuando salgan de esa dictadura, tendra muchisimo potencial para crecer mucho mas y mejor que latinoamerica.
Is there any pickpocket inside the carriage especially when it going through the dark tunnel? Regarding with limited lights inside there.
There's nothing for these people to steal lmao. They don't even have money
Noah Gonzalez I mean the local people that probably steal the tourist's belonging.
+Firdaus Achmad
there's no tourists in NK...
Joseph K Did you even watch the video? If there's no tourist in NK, then who the hell that recorded the video?
***** I meant like practically no tourism. And besides, North Koreans do not interact with white people. much less steal from them.
I don't understand why they don't let you see the other three. They all seem like upscale stations, not little pieces of shit like people may think
It takes some serious nerve to record footage of a country in which one can face serious punishments for it.
Clean, but their rolling stock is antiquated... not that they'd bother replacing those lights.
The lights aren't out, they're just not on - an energy saving measure. (And as a note to those who believe that the riders are all actors - if the DPRK was so focused on putting on a show for foreigners, they'd probably turn those lights on when foreigners are filming!)
It seems as if this is shot with a hidden camera, and it doesn't seem like the tourists are necessarily being escorted around. Seems very unlikely/conspiratorial that these people would be actors.
u can't be serious...the whole city of Pyongyang is a freaking show...
SparenofIria It's so dark when the train is in the tunnel. :O
New york's is worse...
Compare to my local metro, this metro is crowd.
good thing about north korea is that metro is free. hospital is free. bus is free. clothes are given out for free. best country. lol
That music lol
HA! their metro system looks MUCH cleaner and safer than anywhere I've seen in the USA. So much for our media and governments trying to tell us just how disadvantaged the North Korean people are. They genuinely look happier than us in the west.
Very classic, the shine of socialism.
Can you record in North Korea or is it strictly prohibited?
You need to ask your tour guides
I get the sarcasm, but that's not actually correct. There is a fee for the metro, albeit a very small one.
Are you only allowed to record a few seconds? every scene is cut which makes it pretty annoying
What would happen if you get lost?
They were the original trains and have long been replaced by German trains.
Life can be quite nice when the government controls everything. But, the opposite is also possible, when big brother is watching.
How about the Chinese trains?
ils ont des stations a des airs de musee.
I see some savages in this video aren't giving space to the passengers getting off the train.
Because the Pyongyand underground using old DDR Berlin Underground trains
With all the negatives that is North Korea, I am surprised there is even a subway there; and a clean and elegant one at that! ...hmmm...not even Cuba has one.
Of course the subway looks nice. DPRK is a secretive country that does what it can to project a positive view of itself to foreigners. If you are a tourist, you HAVE to have a tour guide who will show you around set places. You will be under government surveillance and you will not be allowed to even badmouth the country in private. The tour guides will tell you how great their country is. A tourist is not allowed to interact with a normal person unless invited to do so, and those 'normal people' know that they are only allowed to say good things about their country, especially in front of tourists who are always under surveillance, or they will go to prison!
What you see here is an image, nothing more.
The average person in DPRK is starving while the elite spend the country's money - the money that the average person works hard for - on a life of luxury. Pyongyang, the capital, is only home to the privileged. I guarantee the rest of the country is not so impressive.
+Kate Shearman: Yes, I agree with you. I've seen satellite night images of NK vs SK, and one could clearly see that most all of NK is in the dark compared to their southern counterpart. But are you suggesting that every single one of the people seen walking around in this video are the privileged ones, who are able to both live and work in the capital city? Are you also suggesting that every one of these people (seen in this video) works for the government somehow, hence becoming "privileged"?
very bad light inside the train
I love yt comments in such videos. Plain stupid, racism, etc combined with the "wisdom" of wannebe truthers ... lovely
hahahahah!!!
on point! i think that people tend to call 'racism' all kind of silly stuff today, but what we see towards n.koreans is pure racism. even msm calls their country 'the north', instead of dprk, or north.korea, thus implying that they are a less legitimate/astrayed part of s.korea.
this is the old berlin u bahn, or?
Yes it is
Yes these trains are coming frım West Berlin (When Soviets are in the Berlin these sets are send to the North Korea When Soviets building a metro to North Korea)
These people Are Not Actors these Are Real people that take the subway Everyday tqq an idea how much this cost to ride Every Day one way in American money terms it's a half-penny just to go one way it's cheaper than the San Francisco BART Train if you take the San Francisco BART train in San Francisco Bay Area you're looking at $3 Dollars just To Go One Way on the San Francisco BART train I've lived in Pyongyang North Korea so I know what I'm talkin about I'm not talking about politics I'm talking about transportation when people go to and from work
Not such a bad metro! I would prefer that to the London underground. Its 100x cleaner, and the music is nice. Just get rid of the photos of the dictators, replace the giant statue of Kim Il Sung with something the people want there, and change the colour scheme of the trains!(And of course get rid of the government logo)
+Alexander “SneakeyAlexander” Gamer I actually kind of like the colour scheme of the trains. Has a nice retro feel to it, the polished wooden interior is also really nice. It seems like something that no other country would do because they need to move tons more people around which means more trains and no way in hell are they wasting money on polished wooden interiors for all of them.
Scratched Windows? 3:57-4:07
i think those trains are diesel
Y the doors not automatic
That's pretty typical on old trains. Even Paris had non-automatic doors on line 10 approximately 15 years ago. (That's 2000, not ancient history :))
***** The Doors are Automatic but when too many people go into the train the Sensor wont recognize the people and the Door must be manually closed.
+Humanity Beside Us as far as i can recall as they have had manual doors in vienna around 2008
너만보면설렐가...
yeah, compare that to those of nyc, london, toronto,... Hilarious
that's right
Soviet style!
So dark
I don't see people pooping on the tracks, garbage, performers, graffiti, homeless sleeping on the platform. This is what an NYC subway could be but never will.
将軍様
автор, как тебя не посадили за решетку за съёмку видео? даже у нас, в странах бывшего СССР за это могут ошрафовать... что уж говорить про Пхеньян...
That is how they waste Chinese donations.
The comunism is spetacular.
dprk people (4:08) has no morals
get off - first
then ride - last
hard to believe that such a poor country has the fanciest sub way stations I believe its the word deepest with I believe the longest escalator for the Washigton metro ha the longest escalator in the hemesfer the Wheaton station
"poor country" lmao
+Dante MG they are poor
they all actors for the foreign visits lol
If you really think they employ hundreds of people just for a few tourists... then the brainwashed one is you!
I doubt they are actors but it's believed that every citizens living in Pyongyang works directly or undirectly for the government, so they probably have rules such as not giving a fuck about foreigners. Also if you saw a guy filming your country's subway, you probably wouldn't look at him much either.
Horrible country-those trains are OLD!
Not really. In Finland we still use late 70s trains bought from the soviet union in many places. They're old but not old when it comes to public transport besides they still work
*****
Those are models from Berlin
Rolling stock can last 50 years, if it's well maintained. Of course these trains are old. So are many trains in Paris. So is the historic trolley in San Francisco. So is Line 1 in Budapest, and so on. Whether it's a horrible country is a different question altogether, but judging by subway trains doesn't make much sense.
Humanity Beside Us In London, we just started removing trains made back in the 60s... The Metropolitan line is finished, but we still got the Circle and District lines to revamp!
@misakijinki95 in Italy there aren't these metro anymore lol