ⓒ YONHAP News

The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post has recently categorized subway systems worldwide under different themes such as the cheapest, oldest, most crowded or most dangerous in the world. According to the newspaper, the New York City subway is the world’s largest, based on the number of stations, while the Seoul Metropolitan Subway is the most comprehensive network, with a track length extended as far as 940 kilometers. And the Pyongyang Metro in North Korea is the cheapest in the world to ride. 

Today, we’ll learn more about the subway system in North Korea from Professor Chung Eun-chan at the Institute for Unification Education. North Korea’s subway is only found in the capital of Pyongyang. The Pyongyang Metro opened in 1973, one year earlier than the Seoul subway system. 

In Pyongyang, the first subway line Chollima Line opened in September 1973, and the Hyoksin Line was completed in 1978. The two lines combined extend for 34 kilometers. The Pyongyang Metro has these two lines with 17 subway stations in total. But one station, Kwangmyong, was closed because it was near the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun where the bodies of two former leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il are enshrined. Currently, 16 stations are in operation. Each train has three to five cars. The trains run every five minutes during rush hour and every 15 to 30 minutes during other times. A subway ticket cost 2 North Korean won before the 2000s but the fare rose to 5 won afterwards. Passengers may deposit 5,000 won to their metro payment cards that have been used since 2012. Names of some subway stations mean Unification, Comrade, Liberation and Triumph in English, symbolizing the country’s revolutionary achievements. For example, the station with the name “Kaeson,” meaning “triumph,” is located where Kim Il-sung delivered his victory speech. 

To use the Pyongyang Metro, passengers buy a ticket and pass through the turnstile before taking the escalator down to the platform. The escalator is so long and steep that it reminds users of a mountain railway. The tracks are 100 to 150 meters underground, compared to 10 to 30 meters underground in Seoul. That means passengers in Pyongyang descend to the subway deep down an escalator--as deep as to the height of a 40-story apartment building. 

It takes more than five minutes to reach the train platform by escalator. The escalator is very steep, with a slope of 40 degrees. Sometimes, the escalator stops before the last train arrives. In that case, passengers have to run down the escalator fast. 

So, why is the Pyongyang Metro so deep? That’s because subway stations can serve as bomb shelters in case of emergency. 

For this purpose, the entrance of the stations is fitted with a thick steel door weighing nearly 80 tons. It can function as a blast door designed to block polluted air from going inside. The metro tunnel has cross passages located 150 meters apart. A cross passage is a short tunnel that connects two parallel tunnels. Two or three separate blast shields are also installed in the cross passages. Apart from a transportation means, the Pyongyang subway system has another purpose of being a bunker to shelter local residents from any attack from outside. Those who have visited Pyongyang say that soldiers are stationed at subway stations. In fact, Metro workers wear a military-style uniform. Their work is recognized as military service, as their task is to protect and manage the facilities designed for defense against attack from the air. 

Subway stations in Pyongyang are lavishly decorated. Called by local citizens an “underground palace,” the Pyongyang Metro presents a unique spectacle to foreign tourists. According to TripAdvisor, a travel website that evaluates tourist attractions worldwide and shares relevant information, the Pyongyang Metro received the greatest reviews among various tourist sites in North Korea. 

At subway stations, North Korean residents can see crystal chandeliers on the dome-shaped ceilings and beautiful mosaics and murals—something that they can’t experience above ground. The interiors are actually pretty fancy. That’s why citizens call the metro an “underground palace.” It is certainly very different from subway stations in other cities like Washington D.C. and Seoul. 

The murals displayed in the stations mostly describe the anti-Japanese movement by the country’s founder Kim Il-sung and his revolutionary history. For foreign tourists, the murals show the leader’s achievements and the superiority of the regime. For local residents, they teach the ideology and greatness of the leader repeatedly. Art pieces made of bronze and brilliant lighting make the subway stations look like art studios. 

When the Pyongyang Metro opened in 1973, North Korea used rolling stock produced in China. From 2000, this was replaced with rolling stock imported from Germany. Since January 2016, North Korea has used domestically produced trains. The modern trains are equipped with TV displays and shiny, spacious and plastic seating to signal a major change in subway culture in North Korea. 

During the seventh Workers’ Party congress in 2016, North Korea stressed the need for the development of science and technology as a means of turning the country into an economic powerhouse. As an achievement of economic growth through scientific development, North Korea introduced its own, modern subway trains. However, North Korea still has limitations to achieve the stated goal. The country actively promotes the new trains, but they are operated only occasionally. Rather, old trains run in most cases. 

Unlike the old trains that open and close doors manually, the new ones are automatically operated. The new carriages are equipped with screens displaying station information. Electronic boards are also installed at subway platforms to notify passengers of suggestions and precautions. The old trains have priority seats for war veterans, and the new ones have added seats for pregnant women as well as disabled and elderly passengers, reflecting the country’s efforts to follow the subway culture of advanced countries.

North Korea invests a lot of money in its subway system. In 2019, two stations—Kaeson and Tongil—were modernized, while Jonseung and Jonu stations were renovated last year. The country promotes the Pyongyang Metro through various channels. 

At the renovated subway stations, LED monitors are installed at the left side of the escalators and the flag featuring the image of the Korean Peninsula is hung on the ceiling. 

North Korea touts these new features as its scientific and technological achievement. Interestingly, stalls and shops have appeared at subway stations since 2019. As North Korean enterprises have been given greater autonomy in management, they have explored sales channels, which now include subway stations. By displaying the products they’ve developed and manufactured on their own, the enterprises seek to promote their products, draw individual investment and make profit. 

In the past, decorations at subway stations mostly had propaganda purposes to highlight socialist ideology and the country’s revolutionary feats. But nowadays, pastel-toned landscapes and still-life paintings are also found there to focus more on the cultural side. North Korea’s subway stations are described as an underground museum or an underground art gallery.

The Pyongyang Metro has improved its appearance with brighter lighting and convenient facilities including electronic displays. The local media have underlined this part, saying that underground Pyongyang is getting younger. The Pyongyang Metro is an important means of transportation for local citizens and one of the glories that the country shows off to foreigners.