No traffic jams here! Photo

Photographer’s Note

Pyongyang undoubtedly has the least traffic problems of any capital city in the world. First time visitors are always amazed at how little traffic there is on its roads. This is Kwangbok (Liberation) Street in Pyongyang – a ten lane wide boulevard through a relatively affluent residential district west of the city centre. I had to wait for several minutes for some cars to appear so that I could include them in the photograph to give the road some scale. The man crossing the road in a white uniform is a traffic warden – not a very stressful job in Pyongyang!

When I asked why the roads were so wide, I was advised that this was in preparation for the reunification the country once they had succeeded in driving out the American imperialists who where occupying the southern half of Korea.

Some of the buildings along this street are 42 stories high. I had heard that they had been built with no elevators. When I asked my guides if this was true, they just laughed. I am not sure whether that meant yes or no. I suppose if you are lucky enough to be allocated a unit on the top floor (people in North Korea are not able to choose their apartments – they are just ‘allocated’) then you wouldn’t have to bother about keeping fit if you had to walk up 42 floors every day.

Usual PP: adjusted levels, contrast, saturation and USM.

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Critiques | Translate

phi75 (0) 2005-10-19 7:01

hi David,
nice shot and good note!
regards;
philippe

keanfan (696) 2005-10-19 7:28

Very good composition David. It's rare to get pictures from North Korea. I think this wide road just symbolizes what the whole country is like now - barren. Good shot.

ahmet54 (2223) 2005-10-19 14:02

Hello David,
although those thirty-storey buildings are ugly your picture and your note is interesting. I like to know more about the conditions of living in North Korea. I hope to see soon some more of your shots.
Kind regards, Roland

gaby (19793) 2005-10-19 14:34

Hi David - it's very amazing - in Yamoussoukro - Ivory Coast - there is the same wide roads without cars and they unstop on the track -
I like your shot (I see police and army on your photo and I think it's not easy to shot in North Korea -
Thanks
Regards
Gaby

devimeuxbe (55665) 2005-10-19 17:13

Hi David
It's so interesting to see your picture about Pyonggang. It's not usual.
Thanks to share with us this picture.
Nice work
Bertrand

AmiBe (6042) 2005-10-19 18:27

Hi David,
very interesting to see pictures from this country.
This empty road is very impressive...
Are you "free" to take pictures in this country ?

rabani (9409) 2005-10-19 22:23

Wide open empty 10 lanes wide boulevard? It is a lot wider than our international runway ;) What about those wide bodied USSR styled buildings? Don't they have people in there? Guessed they are empty too huh. While the rest of us is bottlenecking, overfilling everything on the rat race everyday of our lives. Such comparison.

kensimage (8539) 2005-10-20 1:24

David, you really captured the emptiness well with your framing, and with inclusion of the one warden and just a few distant cars.

It looks more clean and neat than I would have guessed--is this some important area that is kept up well, Potemkin-village-style, or is it typical?

ktanska (16393) 2005-10-20 2:43

This truely is a picture that tells a story. Waiting was really worth it. I guess it would be too much effort for them to make a fake traffic jam there, just for you?

aloyho (6105) 2005-10-20 3:03

Hi David,
An interesting shot with the stark contrast of what we would expect of a city. I like your capture of the atmosphere. The towering blocks provide good rhythm and depth. The lone figure of the warden emphasized your title even more. Great shot!! Regards.

Wirraway (1985) 2005-10-20 4:25

Nice shot David, it looks unreal with no traffic in the daytime compared to other Asian capital cities in the region, great note as well, good job.

Regards Ian
North Queensland

PixelTerror (85994) 2005-10-21 4:05

Hi David,
First thanks for populating one of the poorest TE country folders and give us a chance to see what's happening there. I find the contrast striking between these supposedly large housing units and the emptiness of this ultra wide avenue. Such a photo gives all its sense to the russian word for avenue, "Prospekt" !
The last sentence sounds frightening but probably is not so far away from what could be heard in east germany a while ago.
Have a nice day,
Jean-Yves

sergio1 (12150) 2005-10-21 11:21

Hello

nice shot and good POV. The colors are very nice.
Good work
Regards
Sergio

capthaddock (28640) 2005-10-23 8:15

Hi David - wow, what an unusual place to visit and a rare look at perhaps the strangest country on earth, if Michael Jackson was a country, it would be NK.

pamastro (7213) 2005-10-23 22:11

Wow, so empty. I wonder if anyone is in those apartment buildings, or if they're even half full. The road is so huge and the cars and traffic cop are so small on the entire landscape. It's like a city built for giants. Or a city built but the people never showed up. And it's funny how this part of town works for and against them in terms of propaganda. Big, clean and modern but empty, and heartless at the same time.

There is supposed to be a building in Pyongyang that was going to be the tallest hotel in the world, a 300 meters tall or something. But it was never finished. It's a triangular block shape and I've seen really sketchy photos of it. Would it be around these buildings?

jbweasle (9294) 2005-10-25 14:43

David, a good photo to show just how it is. Having been to Pyongyang myself, I can entirely believe that you had to wait for some traffic to appear! I remember taking the five lane motorway down to Nampo and there was hardly a vehicle on it. Apparently it has been built for all the cargo traffic that will be going to and from the port one day soon...

[workshop] [compare]

sarju (5308) 2005-10-25 20:08

Hi David
what a nice photos you have posted lately ... but I found this one to be the most stunning.
It is a very spectacular and very rare scene you have captured here ... I kind of laughed when I read that you had to wait for some traffic to appear ... lols
but I do wish that you had included a bit more of the road on the right just to define the boundaries of the road (just my opinion)
tfs ... cheers ... sarju
PS: I am really impressed with this city .. though a bit confused about the wastage of money to construct ten lane highway
this is how it should be .. cities should be for people not for cars .. good planning

cessy (13647) 2005-10-30 4:08

what a quiet city, only two cars, one person, though there are many buildings there
ver nicely captured, David, excellent perspective
This what I like from TE, we can see pictures, learn more about places
thank you for sharing

chaity (1539) 2005-11-16 4:03

Hi David, long time didn't see your photos in Malaysia. No wonder, you were in this "mysterious" country (At least for me)
Nice note and POV of this super highway.

fadingstar78 (325) 2006-01-22 7:40

thanks for sharing pictures of this not much photographed country. the notes are incredibly interesting. and this picture is impressive.

Mistral (13628) 2006-02-05 11:01

Hi David,
very interesting shot from Pyongyang and note too!
Thanks a lot for appreciating my images too!
A smile
Luca

touristdidi (8561) 2006-05-29 11:51 [Comment]

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mphotographies (1976) 2006-07-27 7:17

Hey David,
Seeing the "half-truth" of Pyongyang in this image? Can you imagine this at night? Even satellite images see no life in this place. Aloofness in the air...
-JHCris

i9l2y1m8a8t3 (241) 2007-08-15 0:32