North Korea is definitely one of the strangest and most cruel countries the world has ever seen, so it's no surprise that there are so many surprising facts about it.
- Kim Jong Il once kidnapped a South Korean filmmaker for eight years. One of the films he made (with Kim Jong Il as executive producer) was Pulgasari, a knock-off version of Godzilla.
- North Korea doesn't use a calendar system like other countries. April 15, 2018, will be the year 106 in North Korea. They use the Juche Calendar, which begins with the birth of Kim Il Sung.
- Kim Il Sung was born on the same day the Titanic sank.
- Kim Il Sung is still technically the leader of North Korea, even though he has been dead for more than 20 years. This makes North Korea the world's only necrocracy, or government ruled by the dead.
- People should not give birth or celebrate their birthdays on July 8 and December 17. Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il died on these dates.
- North Korea has their own Propaganda Anime featuring a North Korean Squirrel fighting against a South Korean Rat, an American Wolf, and a Japanese Weasel.
- Marijuana is not classified as a drug and is legal in North Korea.
- In South Korea, juice is called Ju-Seu, which is an English translation. But in North Korea, juice is called gwail, which roughly translates to "sweet fruit water."
- In 2013, North Korea banned chocolate pies. The reason was that a joint factory between North and South Korea produced chocolate pies, and North Korean workers smuggled them as black market souvenirs.
- South Korea sent thousands of Chocolate Pies to North Korea via balloons in response to the ban.
- Only 2 South Koreans have defected to North Korea, but thousands of North Koreans have defected to South Korea.
- There is a North Korean School in Japan.
- Remember the armored train Kim Jong Un used to travel to China? It was built during his father's reign because he was afraid of flying.
- Former Equatorial Guinea dictator Francisco Nguema sent his children to study in North Korea.
- While his father spent millions of dollars on wine, Kim Jon Un spends millions of dollars on cheese.