North Korea: landmarks, animals & facts for kids

North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is a country in East Asia that covers the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. It borders China and Russia to the north and South Korea to the south, across a heavily guarded border zone. Its capital is Pyongyang. North Korea is a mountainous country. Few foreign visitors travel there, and its government tightly controls contact with the outside world.

On My Earth Toy you can see the pyramid-shaped Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang and Mount Paektu (Baekdu) with its crater lake, Heaven Lake, on the border with China. Look for the Siberian (Amur) tiger, and discover the legends of Bulgasari and the Lake Tianchi monster.

Geography and nature

About four-fifths of North Korea is mountains and hills, with narrow plains along the coasts and rivers. Mount Paektu, a volcano 2,744 metres tall, is the highest point on the peninsula, and its crater holds the deep blue Heaven Lake. The Kumgang (Diamond) Mountains on the east coast are famous for their sharp granite peaks. The Yalu and Tumen rivers form the border with China. Winters are long and very cold, and most rain falls in summer.

People, languages and culture

People in North Korea speak Korean and write it with the Korean alphabet, called Chosŏn'gŭl in the North and Hangul in the South. Life is strongly organised by the state. Traditional Korean culture continues in many ways: families make kimchi together in late autumn for the winter, a custom recognised by UNESCO, and people celebrate the harvest festival of Chuseok. Cold buckwheat noodles from Pyongyang, called naengmyeon, are famous across Korea. Huge mass gymnastics shows have been staged in Pyongyang.

History in a nutshell

Ancient Korean kingdoms ruled the region, and Goguryeo made Pyongyang its capital in 427. The peninsula was later united under the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties. Japan ruled Korea from 1910 to 1945. After the Second World War, Korea was divided into a Soviet-occupied north and an American-occupied south, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was founded in 1948. The Korean War, from 1950 to 1953, ended with an armistice but no peace treaty, and the country has been led by the Kim family since its founding.