Pyongyang

Pyongyang, North Korea - darkometer rating : 7 - The capital city of North Korea and heart of this Hermit Kingdom. A city like no other. Not pretty as such in any traditional sense, but definitely impressive and full of unique sights. > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos What there is to see: Pyongyang was basically bombed flat by the USA in the Korean War . So everything is new, built in the post-war period, apart from a few tiny specks of old pre-war remnants (and even some of these are reconstructions rather than original). This gives the city a pretty unique look. Apart from individual sights, the cityscape is dominated by rows of white residential blocks, some older drab boxes, other, newer ones of a pretty impressive scale and even appeal (as long as you don't get too close to see the crumbling concrete and peeling plaster), lining wide boulevards – with very little traffic on them. Here it really still has that old Eastern Bloc characteristic of nearly no private cars. The city is bisected by the Taedong River, which flows through the city in a kind of S-shape. Many of the main sights are on or near the river. The part on the western side of the river is the larger and generally more interesting portion. Pyongyang can be considered a "dark" place for two main reasons. One is obvious: simply for what it is – the capital of North Korea , the seat of power in this ultra-Stalinist living relic from the communist era. But Pyongyang is also quite literally dark – at night. Whereas other capital cities have street lights and individual homes are often brightly lit too, here the ongoing energy crisis means frequent power cuts and a general power shortage.