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Comment by ARandomerDude | Hacker News Reader

Every time I see photos of North Korea, I always wonder the same thing: Where is everyone? There are pictures of massive buildings and perfectly paved highways with no people and no cars. It’s bizarre.

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I suggest checking out Jaka Parker's video. He's a diplomat that can go to places where most tourists can't.

Channel: https://youtube.com/@jakaparker

Here's a video of him going on a bike ride, you can see a ton of people in it: https://youtube.com/watch?v=CDcfiEX__cA

Well, not really a ton, but certainly the streets aren't empty.

At least comparing to other parts of Asia, North America, or Europe, the level of foot and vehicle traffic in that video is remarkably low compared to the size of the buildings and roads. Gives off major empty/spooky vibes if you're used to those busier places.

There just aren't many cars, thats really the answer. Theres a few videos on youtube of tourists/diplomatic staff driving down a completely empty 10 lane highway lol

https://www.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/4...

Eh.... it's creepier than that and the not many cars thing doesn't explain everything. There are no people: there are no pedestrians on the sidewalks, no bicycles, no... life. It's much more suggestive that these cities are not productive at all and therefore no reason to be there (or allow people there as might be the case). Simple minded vanity projects of the powers that be is more what these photos suggest to me.

I suppose it's also possible that (I think I saw it suggested elsewhere) the streets were cleared for the photo... and I didn't try to find out how these photos came to be.

Everything sourced as "KCNA" is North Koren state media, maybe they just like the empty look in their architecture photography.

This "minecraft" is what the NK rulers consider art: order and simplicity. The lifeless vibe must be a part of what they consider beautiful.

I have no first hand experience of Pyongyang, so I have no way to say what's typical, but I really enjoyed this YouTube video of a morning commute

https://youtu.be/CDcfiEX__cA?si=tqSHZp2tsK_viRnA

Pyongyang by Guy Delislse also paints a charming if twisted picture of commuting in the city on foot.

If you open the photos in the article on a separate tab and view them fullscreen then you would see what there is actually people on most of the photos.

#2 lower left corner

#6 lower left corner at least 4 people visible

#10 someone walking at the 'south' end of the road, cars; a man at the storefront a bit farther; some people at the crossing and at the other end of the road

#11 there is one on the left side

#14 around 10 in the middle of the photo, cars and probably people at the farthest end of the road

#16 a lot people actually, because it's some celebration, in the middle of the photo; a lot of plain clothes (or dark coloured uniformed) people on the roads (look at the bridge)

#17 around 20 people easily distinguishable, clearly some cars at the other end of the road

Sure, this is waaaaay less than needed to convey an image of a living city, but as other people say, there is a clear bias for this type of people-less shots at KCNA.

They may just be renderings or heavy edits. I noticed a total lack of parking facilities for almost all buildings pictured. Highways are also pretty small for being next to what should be major traffic generators. There is also an absence of signalization at intersections where I would expect them. No auxiliary lanes or turn bays are marked on the pavement. Pavement markings are unblemished by tires. It doesn't make sense.

They're not real or nobody drives.

A quick Google says only 2% of North Koreans own cars, and they have strict gasoline rationing. Nobody drives.

I may be pandering to a stereotype here, but I wouldn't put it past the regime there to order everyone out of half a city while some photos are taken…

You don’t have to clear everyone out to take a few pictures. You just use a few images stacked and photoshop.

The dearth of signs of life in the article's photos is disturbingly consistent with that famous shot of the Korean Peninsula taken from the ISS at night: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Korean_Peninsula_at_nig...

I have the same thought but I also wonder if it’s a western propaganda phenomenon though.

> Where is everyone?

In the countryside, farming land for food? I wouldn't expect North Korea to be heavily urbanized.

I agree. How were these pictures even taken? Did they shut down all these roads?

Western propaganda apparatuses have strict policies on what is "fit to print" regarding state enemies like North Korea, so you simply are getting a cherry-picked narrative.

Reuters could post TFA with the headline "quirky Scandinavian socialist city scapes!" and no one would bat an eye.

Yeah sure, but a cherry picked narrative is still better than the official narratives in North Korea, which happen to be completely divorced from reality and made up on the spot to make the ruling class look good.

How are these policies enforced? Can you look them up somewhere? Are they handed out to journalists once they start working at a newspaper? Who creates the policy? Are the the same in all western countries? How is that supposed to work?

It's called "editorial policy", specifically the editorial policy for international topics. The big mainstream firms like NYT even include the government in their editorial process for high-risk topics, because they don't want to publish things that might "put American lives at risk" or other euphemisms for government censorship.

Check out the career arcs for the top international editors; it's not a very ideologically diverse crowd!

These policies are quietly enforced by the systemic firing and blacklisting of journalists (and presses) that demonstrate journalistic integrity in violation of the policies.

Its like those well known China grey filtered pictures western media likes to use xD.

Can you share any sources supporting your claims?

For start, propaganda here is done not with "have strict policies on what is "fit to print"" but in other ways.

Also, few things apply so generally across all western apparatuses of any kind anyway.

Also, for North Korea just accurate info is enough so no cherry-picked narrative is even needed anyway.

Here's a particularly egregious example from just a month ago:

https://theintercept.com/2024/04/15/nyt-israel-gaza-genocide...

You can imagine that there are similarly draconian editorial guidelines and policies for topics regarding North Korea, China, Russia, and the other Big Bads; the proof is in the pudding.

Over half the pictures are from KCNA (North Korean state media).

Sure, and most of them are pleasant/neutral pictures -- they could just as easily be from Europe. But the headline and overall framing of these mundane images is not from KCNA, it's from their geopolitical counterparts.

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