North Korea: A Basic Quiz

Answer: Kaesong

Kaesong is the only North Korean city out of these four options. It is a centre of the light industry in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (as North Korea is officially known). Some experiments with capitalism were started in 2002.

Hong Kong has been part of China since 1997, Kobe is a city in Japan and Ulan Bator is the capital of Mongolia.

Answer: West

Although North Korea is situated on a peninsula, there are only two coastlines: one on the west, one on the east side. To the south lies South Korea (evidently), and to the north there are land borders with China and Russia. Pyongyang lies near the western coast, near the Yellow Sea.

The Taedong River connects it with the sea. Famous landmarks include the Juche Tower (completed in 1982, as a political statement), the Arch of Triumph and the Arch of Reunification. The tallest building is the Ryugyong Hotel ("Willow Hotel"), with 105 floors.

Answer: White Mountain

The Japanese word "-san" is generally translated to "holy". "Venerable" would fit better, but for shortness most English speaking people use the word "holy".
But Korean is not Japanese. The Korean word "san" means "mountain".

You know now what the "-san" part means, but what is the Baekdu part? Well, most of the options I gave were figments of my imagination. As far as I know, there is no Korean Mountain of the Holy Ancestors - this red herring refers simply to a wide-spread practice in island nations in the Pacific Ocean. The Smoky Mountains are in the USA, not in North Korea. There is no such thing as a Mountain of Youth. During the 16th and early 17th centuries, some explorers tried to locate a Fountain of Youth in South America.

Answer: The Amnok River

The border between China and North Korea is for the most part formed by the Amnok River, which the Chinese call the Yalu River. It is very shallow (about three metres), but provides nevertheless great fishing opportunities for small vessels.

During the Korean War most of the bridges crossing the Amnok River were destroyed. The only bridge that survived the war was the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, built in 1943.

The Huang Ho River (Yellow River) is situated in China, and the Mekong River runs through China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. The Amur River forms part of the frontier between Russia and China.

Answer: Iron

Ink is not any kind of ore, it is a mixture of dyes with solvents and some other ingredients.
Indigo is a dye which was extracted from plants during several years. Nowadays, almost all the production is synthetic.
Iodine is a chemical element found mostly in seawater, but also in seaweed and in a mineral found in the Andes Mountains.
So the only ore (out of these four options) found in the Taebaek Mountains is iron. Coal, limestone and tungsten are some other ores found in these mountains.

Answer: Gifts to the North Korean leaders

Did you pick the perfume? Too bad: this is only a reference to the name of this mountain.
Quizzes on North Korea are very rare, but no one feels the need to exhibit some national quizzes.
Spoils of war usually aren't connected with the term "friendship", so the name of the museum would be unhappily chosen if it would contain spoils of war.
So the only valid option is gifts to the leaders of North Korea. There is a long tradition of exchanging gifts at the occasion of official state visits, and these gifts to North Korean leaders are stored in the International Friendship Exhibition. Don't expect a museum filled with priceless jewels: many presents have only a symbolic value, for example a basketball with Michael Jordan's autograph.

Answer: Harvest

We're talking about North Korea, a republic governed by one single party. There is no need for a large debate on the national budget, let alone to celebrate such a debate.

Tax freedom day is a term coined by western economists. It indicates when the Gross National Product of a nation covers the tax burden. There are two remarks to make on this day. First of all, it is typically only discussed under economists, while the large majority of the people ignore the specific date. Thus, there is no reason to organise a holiday for tax freedom day. Secondly, the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar is about September 22. Almost all countries have their tax freedom day before the end of July.

The end of school exams is very important for the young people attending school, and for their parents. However, I don't know of any nation celebrating a holiday on the end of school exams.

A good harvest is in many nations cause for celebration. North Korea is no exception to this rule: Chuseok is a holiday evolved from ritual harvest celebrations.

Answer: Sunan

Would anyone like to land an airplane at Sand Dunes? I don't think so, although the world contains some oddly-named airports.

Sudan is the name of a country in Africa. It has no bearing with North Korea whatsoever.

Shinto is the original religion in Japan: an animistic belief that breathes respect for animals, plants and rocks. I have oversimplified this of course, but there is no room here for ample discussion.

The international airport at Pyongyang (to be more precise, at 24 km or 16 miles from the capital's centre) is called Sunan International Airport. There are regular services with Beijing, Bangkok and Vladivostok.

Answer: Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il

Tae Kwon Do and Ai Ki Do are two martial arts sports. I would be very much puzzled if ever a president with such name would appear. Taekwondo is a sport in which the participants fight unarmed, with many kicks to the head. Ladies, don't practice this sport in a skirt, for you would show far too much leg...
Aikido is a Japanese sport in which blocks and throws are primordial techniques. One of the best known aikido fighters is the actor Steven Seagal, who demonstrates these techniques in almost all of his movies.

Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) was a Vietnamese leader, President of North Vietnam from 1945 until his death. Dien Bien Phu is not a person, but the place of a battlefield in Vietnam: the fortress where the French colonial army was utterly defeated in 1954.

Chiang Kai Shek (1887-1975) was a nationalist Chinese leader. He was President of the Republic of China from 1948 until 1949, when he was forced to leave the Chinese mainland and settled in Taiwan. The Kwo Min Tang is the name of the political party to which Chiang belonged.

Kim Il Sung (1912-1994) became the North Korean President in 1972. He remained in office until his death. His son Kim Jung Il (born 1941 according to the Russians, 1942 according to the North Koreans) succeeded him. The flowers named after these North Korean Presidents are the kimilsungia, a hybrid orchid, and the kimjongilia, a hybrid begonia.

Answer: Cultural world domination

The term "political independence" speaks for itself. North Korea does not want any interference with domestic policy. Some organisations claim that this call for political independence includes covering up human rights issues.

Military self-confidence is present in North Korea, although the military leaders are very well aware that North Korea wouldn't stand a chance in case of open war with the USA, China or Russia.

Economic autarky is in these days of globalization very hard to obtain. However, North Korea produces enough fresh fruit, iron, fluorite, copper and salt to satisfy its own needs. The nation is dependent on imported oil and gas.

The Juche ideology emphasises traditional values in the cultural branch. Nevertheless, North Korean culture is not very widespread, as it focuses much on the personality cult of Kim Il Song and Kim Jong Il - a cult that is typically limited to North Korea itself.