In North Korea, the tourism business is still very poorly developed, because everything here does not depend on the demand of travelers, but on what the state allowed to show. Naturally, among the available visits, the apartments of ordinary citizens do not appear, because tourists can only be shown specially prepared "pictures" that reflect the allegedly high development of the North Korean socialist society. We have selected several standard interiors, which turned out to be painfully familiar to many of us.
Due to the status of the most closed country in the world, North Korea is of the greatest interest among true travelers, and in this case, the truth is triggered - "the forbidden fruit is sweet." At the moment, it is not so difficult to get to the DPRK as before, but, nevertheless, there are not so many lucky ones. And those who came here cannot deviate from the planned tour, communicate with the local population, and even more so ask the common people to visit.
In fairness, it must be said that the construction of housing in the country is taking giant steps, because after the complete devastation caused by the Americans during the war, the country had to start everything with scratch.
Naturally, the housing that was built back in the 50s. last century, was a saving straw for thousands of residents of the country, and it, as it turned out, almost completely repeats the layout and interior of our apartments of the era of socialism. Moreover, some elements and preferences are so similar that you can only find a difference thanks to photographs of the leaders on the walls and the nuances of the arrangement of bedrooms and bathrooms.
Many people in the apartment have a bathroom with Genoa bowls, which are unusual for apartments, and there is also a special drain there so that the water runs out when they take a shower. In a more modern layout of apartments, a washstand is also provided in the bathroom.
Note: The Genoa bowl is a floor-standing toilet that involves squatting while using it. In Soviet times, it was commonly used in public latrines. Now they can occasionally be found at train stations and toilets, where a large crowd of people is expected.
Much later, a bathtub as such appeared in apartment layouts, but even the happy owners of such pleasant equipment can very rarely afford indulge yourself in it, because the lack of a centralized supply of hot water and a rolling blackout make this activity inaccessible pleasure. The only thing that pleases in this case is that there is always a container for storing water at hand, which is also given intermittently.
Living rooms of standard houses differ from "soviet" houses only in that they are not very crammed with all kinds of rubbish, apparently they are not such "buns" as we are, or they still live poorer. But bright plush bedspreads, reproductions and pictures on the walls, stickers on sparse furniture, seated in a row of dolls on the wardrobe, knitted napkins everywhere - all this wealth painfully resembles Soviet environment.
Moreover, if there is a flat TV in the apartment, the owners are very rich people, and if they are lamp-based, then they are simply wealthy. Often in the living room you can see refrigerators, which are considered a status attribute and are displayed in the most prominent place, however, like a sofa.
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These items are symbols of wealth and prosperity, and the refrigerator is not used everywhere for its intended purpose due to the lack of electricity. Oddly enough it sounds, but the main distinguishing feature of even more modern apartments in large cities of the country is the lack of central heating.
For this reason, each owner heats the apartment as best he can. In most cases, a "warm floor" system is installed for these purposes. This is especially true in the bedroom, because the bulk of the population simply sleeps on a mat spread on the floor. Although in the apartments of wealthier people you can see beds and even sofas (they are considered luxury).
In order not to be left without electricity, which is often cut off, each homeowner buys uninterruptible power supplies, and if funds allow, then a solar battery.
According to the editors of Novate. Ru, more modern housing is much different from what was built immediately after the war (1950-1953), because Kim Jong Il approved new standards for living space for one family.
According to these rules, an apartment for three people should not be less than 130 sq.m. And the most interesting thing is when children grow up and create their own family, they will be obliged to move out from their parents, the only exception is the case when the parents are required constant care. Under this law, the young couple is provided with such housing.
Of course, it is unrealistic to provide all citizens of the country at the same time with updated conditions, so most people live in more modest apartments, patiently waiting for their turn. And even those lucky ones who have already been able to move into brand new apartments can, at most, equip a living space in the style of the 1990s. But who said it was bad?
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As you know, fashion is so fleeting that even furniture and wallpaper can be changed every year. But this is such an expensive process that it is better to make the right choice initially, and then just add some newfangled touches. If at one time you made a rash step and acquired trendy items, then even now you can fix everything, one has only to identify the old-fashioned details and disguise them wisely.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/260919/51857/