朝鲜，这个与中国东南部接壤的国家，从独立至今都保持着一种神秘的姿态。这种神秘感源自于国家的自我封闭，鲜与其他国家外交和国际贸易。主要还是以自我发展为主，并且因为国家的限制，使得在通讯上也基本和外界处于中断的状态。其他国家几乎不了解朝鲜，朝鲜的民众也无从了解外面的世界。

North Korea, a country bordering southeastern China, has maintained a mysterious posture since its independence. This sense of mystery stems from the self isolation of the country, which rarely engages in diplomacy and international trade with other countries. The main focus is still on self-development, and due to national restrictions, communication with the outside world is basically interrupted. Other countries have little understanding of North Korea, and its people have no way of understanding the outside world.

这是2011年的一次旅行摄影。在此以前，朝鲜和个别的亚洲友好国家保持着旅游项目往来，但是旅行的行程有着严格的限制。在此次的旅行往返交通上，我为了体验跨越鸭绿江的感受选择了坐火车前往。从北京到丹东大概1天多的时间，然后在丹东换乘过境朝鲜的列车。在登上过境列车之前是不允许携带手机等通讯设备的，可以携带相机，但是在出境时会有朝鲜军方人员检查每个人拍摄的图片，如果有他们认为的不符合规定的照片，他们会要求删除才可放行。

This is a travel photo from 2011. Until then, the DPRK had maintained tourism programs with a few friendly Asian countries, but the itinerary of the trip was strictly limited. On this trip, I chose to travel by train in order to experience the feeling of crossing the Yalu River. It took about a day to get from Beijing to Dandong, where I changed to a train that crosses the North Korean border. Before boarding the train, you are not allowed to bring your cell phone or other communication devices, but you can bring your camera. However, when you leave the country, the North Korean military will check the pictures taken by each person, and if there are any pictures that they think are not in compliance with the regulations, they will ask to delete them before releasing them.

当列车跨过鸭绿江进入朝鲜的一刻，落后和贫瘠的状态马上映入眼帘。直到接近平壤才稍微有了些城市的面貌。基本所有的普通旅行游客都会安排在羊角岛饭店，而且大多数旅客都是中国人。在朝鲜不允许兑换朝鲜钱币，一切的消费只能使用人民币，也仅限在饭店中消费。饭店的工作人员也非常乐意游客在这里消费，在这里同样的物品，物价是外面的很多倍。在当时朝鲜普通工人月薪大约在2000-5000朝鲜元，人民币仅有几百元，月薪500元人民币在朝鲜已经算是高收入人群。旅游业在朝鲜是收入占比较大的行业。旅游行业的从业人员薪资也相对较高。

As soon as the train crosses the Yalu River and enters North Korea, the backwardness and barrenness of the country is immediately apparent. It’s not until we get closer to Pyongyang that the city takes on a slightly more urban look. Basically all regular travelers are accommodated at the Yanggakdo Hotel and most of the travelers are Chinese. It is not allowed to exchange North Korean money in North Korea, and all purchases are made in RMB only, and only in the hotels. The staff of the hotel is also very happy for tourists to spend money here, where the price of the same goods is many times higher than outside. At that time, the average North Korean worker’s monthly salary was about 2,000-5,000 North Korean won, which was only a few hundred yuan, and a monthly salary of 500 yuan was already considered a high-income group in North Korea. Tourism is a major industry in the DPRK. The salary of tourism workers is also relatively high.

行程的大多时间都是在车上，有固定的时间可以在固定的区域自由活动，街上的朝鲜市民穿着都非常的朴素，从着装直接能看出哪些是游客。当地的市民看到游客也多是显露出比较新奇的眼神。平壤的机动车总量并不多，自行车是家居民众的主要通行工具，所以马路上私家车基本很少，城市的路面比较干净，即便是在金日成广场，人流量和车流量也不是大。朝鲜的街道上广告牌多是矢量画风格的招贴，如同70-80年代的中国电影海报，而且丝毫不会掩饰对美西方等国家的态度。

Most of the trip time is in the car, there is a fixed time can be in a fixed area of free movement, the streets of North Korea citizens are dressed very simple, from the dress can be seen directly which is the tourists. The local people also show a new look when they see the tourists. The total number of motor vehicles in Pyongyang is not much, bicycles are the main means of transportation for the people at home, so there are basically very few private cars on the road, the city’s roads are relatively clean, even in Kim Il Sung Square, the flow of people and traffic is not big. North Korea’s street billboards are mostly vector painting style posters, as in the 70-80s Chinese movie posters, and will not hide the attitude towards the United States and other countries.

在整个行程中是没有机会和当地市民交流的，其一是不允许交流，另外语言不通也无法交流。不得而知朝鲜民众对当下国家管理政策的满意度如何，从表面看起来大多数人还是洋溢着一种幸福的感觉。国家意志的意识形态根深蒂固的植根于大多数朝鲜民众的思想中，从导游利用间隙时间津津有味的阅读的书籍来看（可能是金日成选集），还是非常拥护国家的政策和管理的。行程的所到之处基本都会看到在各种公共场所悬挂着金日成与金正日的头像，场馆、地铁、火车站、酒店、剧院、学校等等。

During the whole trip, there was no opportunity to communicate with the local people, for one thing, communication was not allowed, and for another, the language barrier also prevented communication. It is hard to know how satisfied the North Korean people are with the current state management policies, but on the surface it seems that most of them are still overflowing with a sense of happiness. The ideology of national will is deeply rooted in the minds of most North Korean people, and from the books (probably Kim Il Sung’s anthology) that the guides read with great interest in their spare time, they are still very supportive of the country’s policies and management. Everywhere you go on the trip, you will basically see the heads of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il hanging in various public places, venues, subways, train stations, hotels, theaters, schools, and so on.

这次旅途的行程大约10天，当我回来后的不久，看到了金正日逝世的新闻。第二代朝鲜领导人悄然离去，第三代领导人冉冉升起。

The trip lasted about 10 days, and when I returned shortly afterward, I saw the news of Kim Jong Il’s death. The second generation of North Korean leaders had quietly passed away and a third generation had risen.