Things to Do in North Korea: City Guides & Audio Tours

North Korea occupies the northern half of the Korean Peninsula, a country of mountain ranges, deep valleys, and a history shaped by the division of Korea. The places to see here are closely connected to the country’s political history, official culture, and distinctive landscapes. Neywo offers a free audio guide to North Korea, covering 1 city and 81 narrated places in total.

Things to do in North Korea

Understand the division of the Korean Peninsula

North Korea’s modern history begins with the division of Korea after the Second World War. Korea had been annexed by Japan, but after Japan surrendered in 1945, the peninsula was divided into occupation zones: the Soviet Union occupied the north and the United States occupied the south. Attempts to reunify the country failed, and separate governments were established in 1948.

The Korean War began in 1950 when North Korean forces invaded South Korea. An armistice ended the fighting and created the Demilitarized Zone. The division remains central to North Korea’s history and political life, and the country’s story cannot be separated from that of the divided peninsula.

Explore Pyongyang

Pyongyang is the only North Korean city currently covered by Neywo. Its narrated places include landmarks that reflect the country’s official history, political system, and public culture.

Among the city’s notable sights are the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the Pyongyang Bell, Taesongsan Funfair, and Juche Tower. Together, they offer different perspectives on the capital: its commemorative spaces, historic heritage, leisure facilities, and political symbolism. With 81 narrated places, Pyongyang is the main starting point for discovering North Korea through Neywo.

Learn about the country’s leadership and Juche

Kim Il Sung was North Korea’s first leader and consolidated power after the Korean War. He promoted Juche as the state ideology, and leadership later passed to his son Kim Jong Il and then to Kim Jong Un. Since the country’s founding, North Korea has been ruled by the Kim family.

The country’s political history is therefore visible in many of its public places and monuments. The personality cult surrounding the Kim family is also connected with Paektu Mountain, which has been incorporated into official folklore and political symbolism.

More recently, North Korea formally abandoned efforts to reunify Korea and designated South Korea as a separate hostile state. This development reflects how the division of the peninsula continues to shape the country’s political outlook.

Discover a mountainous landscape

About 80 percent of North Korea consists of mountains and uplands. Deep, narrow valleys run between the ranges, creating a landscape of repeated ridges and sharp contrasts. Early European visitors compared the Korean Peninsula to a sea in a heavy gale, an image that captures the country’s succession of mountain lines.

North Korea lies between the Yellow Sea to the west and the Sea of Japan to the east. Its northern borders meet China and Russia along the Yalu, also known as the Amnok, and Tumen rivers.

At the country’s highest point stands Paektu Mountain, a volcanic mountain with a sacred place in Korean culture. It is also important in North Korean folklore and in the symbolism surrounding the Kim family.

Experience strong seasonal contrasts

North Korea’s climate changes sharply through the year. Winters are generally clear but can bring snowstorms carried by winds from Siberia. Summer is the hottest, most humid, and rainiest season, when monsoon winds bring moist air from the Pacific. Spring and autumn form transitional seasons between the extremes.

The combination of mountains, valleys, coastal waters, and changing weather gives North Korea a strong sense of geographical contrast. Its natural setting is an important part of understanding the country beyond its political history.

See how culture is shaped by the state

Korean culture developed its own identity despite a long history of Chinese influence, and it also experienced cultural assimilation during Japanese rule from 1910 to 1945. In present-day North Korea, cultural production is closely directed through official institutions.

Visual art generally follows socialist realism, combining Soviet and Japanese influences to encourage loyalty to the political system. Publishing houses are owned by the government or the Workers’ Party of Korea, while literature and print are treated as tools of ideological education and party policy.

Music has also carried political messages. The government has emphasized optimistic melodies rooted in folk styles alongside revolutionary music, while large orchestral works have drawn on traditional Korean ch’angguk. Media are heavily monitored and used to reinforce approved ideals.

Listen for the language of identity

North Korean and South Korean people share the Korean language, although dialectal differences exist between the two countries. Within North Korea, Chosŏn is used for Korea, and the official name is often shortened simply to the Republic.

These linguistic choices are more than matters of vocabulary. They reflect the way North Korea presents itself from within, as a state with its own political identity and understanding of the Korean nation.

Explore North Korea with Neywo

Download Neywo to explore North Korea with a free audio guide covering 1 city, 5 walking tours, and 81 narrated places. Each story plays as you reach the place, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule. Narration is available in 11 languages, so you can discover the stories of North Korea’s sights while walking through them yourself.