Pyongyang Metro EXPLAINED | North Korea's Metro Network 

Working on a new project as we speak - hopefully coming out in the next week or so. Kaesong EXPLAINED. I really don't know what people want to see on this channel, so I'm going to throw a few series ideas at the wall and see what sticks. Please let me know what aspects of the DPRK you want to see me explain next, and in the meantime, I'll keep working on new ideas. Thanks for watching! Also; thanks to everyone who's subscribed. I wrote my Kaesong script to celebrate hitting 800 subs, and now it looks like we'll hit 2K before it comes out! (The channel has grown so quickly that I haven't got access to the Community Posts feature yet, which would have been a better place to post this...)

I love it when travel bloggers actually speak the language of the country they're dealing with. That's why for example Bald and bankrupt is so successful.

Finally. A channel that explains North Korea without any bias, whistles, or antagonization and actual decent Korean pronunciation. Just pure facts. Thank you.

It‘s also worth mentioning that these metro trains are originally BVG D series trains from Berlin, Germany, and were built between 1957-1965. Pyongyang bought 108 of them in 1998 for about 1.5m€, and shipped them there. Except the exterior paint and some electronics, these trains are in original condition. Because of a shortage of electricity in Pyongyang, they have to run these trains at less power than what they were built for, which causes the slower acceleration compared to the units that remained in Germany.

Actually I am impressed about how informative this is

This is full of effort and passion. Even better than some RU-vidrs with millions of subscribers. Keep it up Benjamin and never give up. I'll watch your channel grow.

As someone who loves researching different public transport networks, for a relatively difficult country to look at, this is like a gem. Next Iran would be interesting😝

It should be noticed that most of the system is operated with ex-Berlin units that were built in the 1960s/1970s and were sold secondhand in 1997 to 2001, replacing the previous type DK4 of 1973 that was claimed to have been built in the DPRK but actually seem to have come from China. Recently some newer looking units have shown up but these actually seem to be modernized type D units from Berlin.

As a railway and metro fan, I love the old German Subway trains. Always nice to see some historic trains still running. Some of those trains are even still running in Berlin.

Wow I couldn’t believe it when I saw you had less than 2k subs, that won’t last long! Your work is fantastic!

Watching these old east-Berlin trains is like a time machine

I think the Pyongyang metro is the deepest metro system but in Kiev they have metro stations that are deeper than in Pyongyang but great video anyway.

Sad that N. Korea has a metro system when Ireland in 2021 doesn't.

Great content Ben. Any idea where the yard/maintenance facility is and as the entire system is underground, how did they get the new trains into the system?

2:50, So Internationally famous the art studio is that this is the first time 99% of anyone here has ever heard of it... However very informative video.

You deserve so many more views! This is great content.

Their metro looks alot more cleaner and presentable than many western cities

I really love your transportation network videos. And I'm happy to see I'm not the only one into these things... So happy I found your channel :3

You didn't mention that there is an abandoned station between Samhung and Rakwon.

A really awesome video, very fascinating to watch. Looking forward to all your next ones!

A very informative video, I particularly enjoyed the tourist style map you went for. Well done.

You put so much good effort in this video and it shows, great job!

Hey man! Just got your channel recommended to me, first your old video on the SPA, and then I checked this one out. Your videos are really well done, and there's not a whole lot out there about daily life in North Korea. If you enjoy making RU-vid videos, I think you have great potential! :)

This is a good and well researched video, I didn't even see your sub count but assumed you had hundreds of thousands

So happy this channel exists

Very nice and informative video!

Cool video, thanks for sharing. I would love to see some more videos like this on the DPRK.

Excellent video, very well edited and clearly presented interesting information :)

I really enjoy these videos! Please keep on with the great work.

This channel is excellent

I always see those dots while tourists use the metro but it is only now I know the points and names. Kudos and thanks. I have watched all you vids and cannot wait for new ones.

Wow.... very detail.... Right up .. Bald & Bankrupt's alley... Soviet sink , soviet train ,soviet mosaic, soviet seats......AWESOME content.... i just click the Subscribe button... you deserve it.. If only DPRK get their together, if the money that can make in tourism..... Even the railway station are built next to so many landmarks...... Geezzz...

Amazing video ✌️ subbed

Great video.

Thanks a lot for this interesting video! Back when I was in Pyongyang it happened to see some railway cars painted in the same livery as the metro ones on the outskirts of the city on the way to Sunan... I suppose those are used on ground level as some kind of light train... I was wondering if there is any connection between the rails of the metro and the ground, maybe some kind of train elevator used to bring up cars for maintenance

Those are old metros from Berlin. still cool to see them in use.

Another interesting video

I believe the network is nuclear bomb shelters as well. There are some very impressive doors down there. Glad to hear I can now tour all of the network, when I was there only three stations was open to foreigners. I was able to walk alone freely all over the city and I got lost at night. Quite an interesting experience. I believe tourists are more controlled now. I just happened to be there in a window of freedom for tourists. I also had no restrictions for taking pictures and videos.

Amazing ill watch all your videos today. So much fakt based I like it! Greetings from Germany +Sub+Like

woo another Benjamin Watson video!! thanks for uploading information about the DPRK. I have a suggestion for a video topic on something I'm curious about: their election process. I know you covered it briefly in your video about the Supreme People's Assembly, but I still have questions. Is the ballot a simple yes/no for the party's chosen candidate? What happens if >50% choose no? How often does a candidate receive >50% no? Are the ballots anonymous? Is access to voting stations easy for people living in remote areas? How are the districts divided up? Since the number of representatives per district is only 1, is there controversy over the fact that the people in less populated districts will be over-represented, and the people in more populated areas are under-represented? Can elected representatives be recalled and replaced easily? How often does a recall happen? Is there a new vote to replace them? Is there a vote to initiate a recall, so that the people can say they do not like their candidate? Or do the other representatives have sole power over recalls?

Very very interesting and inspiring beautiful amazing place. Great.

There’s one station on the Hyoksin Line that has been closed since Kim Il-Sung’s death in 1994 although a short tramway was built above parallel to it

Bro you missed the closed station in front of the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun. Maybe you could address that in a later video?

This series of videos is amazing. How did you get all of this footage?!

Enlightening presentation, thank you. I expect that the rationale for constructing the metro lines so deep, is to allow for increasing metro development ramifying at subsequently higher levels. Also a secure safe haven in case of enemy attack. I have to ask two questions: 1) how widely is English spoken; 2) what foreign currency is acceptable for exchange to enjoy a visit to DPRK?

Awesome Pyongyang Metro using West Berlin trains . the new trains look like Beijing Metro trains

Well as a Metro Enthusiasts, I think Pyongyang Metro is one of the most unique Metro Systems in the world. As Stations are so Deep that people can use the stations as a bunker during war times.

Great to see a video with actual info and not just myths. Thanks a lot for making this.

very nice to know

I'm surprised that despite having only two lines they couldn't make a transfer station between them. I wonder what the reasoning was that lead to that decision. Also that effect with the "22.5km" text was great. Was there a special tool for it or did you mask out all the peoples' legs by hand?

Quite good. The metro system has not been expanded apparently, unlike the systems in Moscow, St Petersburg etc. Yet the other side of the min river would seem to also benefit from the metro. Any sense of future construction? A future video on art within the metro system would be good. I assume that like the Moscow metro system the Pyongyang metro is richly appointed with art works.

I love their underground stations So Nice,I would love to take some pictures there?

Hey! Great video - Quick question, would you be able to re-upload the Pyongyang Minecraft map you did? All links are dead. I want to play with a few friends on that map but we can't :( Thank you!

Lovely!

Great work on an informative unbiased video that actually shows a functioning Pyongyang.

It's sad their metro only contemplates Pyongyang. A extension for others cities would help integrating more north koreans and also would help growing tourism intercourse... (Kinda tiring their focus being always on Pyongyang)

Absolutely wonderful videos, you should make some on Cuba and Russia))

Are there any planned expansions of the metro? btw as a person who can understand Chinese I can easily deduce the station names’ meanings without the English translation

I love how objective and unbiased this video is ♥️

The 2 lines don't share any transit stations? That's strange. Why would they not integrate the lines?

Pyongyang has better metro than nearest metropolis from my town...

Love it

Where are the pictures and videos of the station itself? All I see are dots on the map and pictures of buildings and sculptures for that certain place.

do you need a separate ticket when you change subway lines or you can do it for free?

How did you get access to all this information?

Pyongyang from videos gives me very 1990s Beijing vibes. Beijing is a far larger city though even back then. There were also only 2 metro lines at that time in Beijing iirc.

I don't mean to imply anything negative, but do you live in NK/work in some way for the government? You seem to have a lot of footage and I thought such things were generally restricted without permission? Again, not trying to imply anything negative, I myself have long harboured hopes of visiting one day, and I heard all sorts of horror stories about China before I travelled there (I kept my passport in my pocket for the first two weeks worried a policeman would demand I show him my visa, until I saw one of them sleeping in the back of a truck and realised no one cared that much). Loving the videos, by the way.

Awsome Video, you taught me more than my Guides. (No Disrespect To them)

I love the music!! Does anyone have timestamps for the DPRK music used?

good job

Please could we have some alternative to Vietnamese captions. I gave up after ca 30 seconds as I had no clue as to what you were saying.

Looks much more decent than most metro networks around the world laden with invasive and vulgar advertisements

Die Metro Pjöngjang nutzt ehemalige Züge der Berliner U-Bahn. Die Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe verkauften Nordkorea im Jahr 1996 120 Doppeltriebwagen des Typs GI („Gisela“) aus dem ehemaligen Ost-Berlin und in den Jahren 1998 und 1999 105 Doppeltriebwagen des Typs D („Dora“) aus dem ehemaligen West-Berlin. The Pyongyang Metro uses former trains of the Berlin U-Bahn. The Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe sold 120 double railcars of the type GI ("Gisela") from the former East Berlin to North Korea in 1996 Greetings from GFR(German Federal Republic)

I would like to go there

I love metro stations

Those are old underground trains from West Berlin: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BVG_Class_D

That's a much better transit infrastructure than what I have in my entire state

Very interested in taking the train from the UK to Pyongyang, this is very informative for getting around the city with my guides.

Music credit / description ?

Are they considering an expansion or a new line ?

I live in Berlin and when I was a child I took the same metros as North Koreans now.

Why did you not mention the permanently closed station?

go The trains used to run in West-Berlin in the 1980's. They are being replaced by locally built trains....Chinese technology

What about the 광명역(kwangmyong station)?

North Korea to me seems like a great sunny vacation spot, a place to escape off the grid.

I wonder why they named the Yeonggwang station as such when they could've just named it something like "평양역"

Can you explain North Korea's political system, like people keep saying its a monarchy when its not, also how WPK officials are elected and how the constitution of DPRK works.

gotta say, for a brit you've got decent pronunciation!! :D

How the hell do you know these much?

Pretty bad light pollution with those skyscrapers so much for North Korea being jet black when seen from space!

Faster and better than the metro in Boston

So north korea has an ltc line and most cities in canada cant even fucking figure it out...

Very good

Wow! Someone who actually talks about the real North Korea rather than relying on perception, bias and propaganda from enemy jealous states

And still we see only the same 2 stations for years :D

Can you break a cent? I need to buy a train ticket

Half an American cent a ride? Without a pass, a bus ride in the city I’m in is 2 bucks.

Why do we watch this 😭

Considering the laws of North Korea, this video is so informative and non biased I think it could actually be broadcasted in North Korea

no subtle jabs at dprk or antagonization of an entire country by a western person? color me impressed