1. North Korea Has It’s Own Timeline In North Korea, they don’t follow the same timeline as Western countries. North Korea started its calendar in 1912, which was the year their founder Kim Il Sung was born. So while we’re living in 2022, in North Korea it’s currently the year 111.


North Korea Has Bizarre Internet Rules In North Korea, you can only visit 28 websites. The North Korean intranet, called “Kwangmyong” or Bright, is free to access IF you have a computer. Unfortunately, computers are incredibly expensive, and you need to request permission from the government to access on. There are also only 3 TV channels.

3. North Korea Has The World’s Largest Stadium Pyongyang
The capital of North Korea, is home to the largest sports stadium in the world. The Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, or May Day Stadium, can hold up to 150,000 people. On the odd occasion it holds sporting events, but is most famous for the Mass Games celebrations.


4. North Korea Has Their Own Basketball Rules
In North Korea, they have their own rules for basketball. Kim Jong Il decided he could improve the rules of basketball, so of course… he re-wrote them. Here are the North Korean Basketball rules: Slam Dunks are now worth 3 points. 3 pointers are worth 4 points – if it’s ‘nothing-but-net’. 1 point is deducted for every missed free-throw. Any field goal made in the last 3 seconds is worth 8 points! Games can end in a tie.

5. North Korea Uses Wood-Burning Cars
In North Korea they have wood burning cars. Because of strict international sanctions, oil has become very difficult to import to North Korea. This means they’ve had to be a little bit creative i.e. using cars that are fuelled by wood! There have also been reports of using solar powered taxi’s and buses, although it’s not really clear if they work yet or not.

6. North Korea Has A List Of Allowed Haircuts
There are only 28 state-approved haircuts. The North Korean haircut rules are: Men’s hair should be kept between 1-5 cm in length, with recommended haircuts every 15 days. Women are allowed to choose from one of 14 slightly longer styles. Spiked hairstyles are exclusively banned because the government thinks it’s rebellious. Kim Jong Un decided not to include his own hairstyle in the restrictions however, because he wanted to keep it unique.

7. North Korea Has Banned Blue Jeans
No one is allowed to wear blue jeans. In fact, they are completely banned in the country. Kim Jong Un sees blue jeans as a symbol of US influence and therefore made them illegal for North Korean’s to wear. Fashion trends that are also banned include: Mullets Ripped denim Spikey and dyed hair Certain piercings Branded T-Shirts

8. North Korea Has Stolen Billions In Crypto
The North Korean government has made billions of dollars in the past few years from cybercrimes, including hacking crypto. A recent US military report has found that North Korea’s hacking programme goes back to at least the mid-1990s – and has now grown to a 6,000-strong cyber warfare unit! In fact, the FBI confirmed that North Korean hackers stole over $400 million dollars of digital currencies in 2021 alone.

9. North Korea Has Wind-Powered Buildings
There are wind-powered buildings in Pyongyang. Electricity can be a problem in North Korea, so they’ve had to be a little bit inventive. These wind-powered buildings will have large turbines on the top that spin when it’s windy. This provides power to the building as a whole.