Subscription Center
December 19, 2011
| 
7
An engineer who explores the relationships between energy, technology, and policy. Based in Austin, TX. Follow on Twitter @davidwogan.
North Korea appears as a sea of darkness in this famous photograph. The capital city Pyongyang registers as the sole blip of light.
Perhaps there is no better visualization of the isolation and oppression that the North Koreans live under.
Via the late Christopher Hitchens’ essay on North Korea for Slate: “A Nation of Racist Dwarfs”.
About the Author: An engineer who explores the relationships between energy, technology, and policy. Based in Austin, TX. Follow on Twitter @davidwogan.
Rights & Permissions
7 Comments
Add a Comment
You must sign in or register as a ScientificAmerican.com member to submit a comment.
Click one of the buttons below to register using an existing Social Account.
The Cognitive Science of Star Trek
It's not about predators, it's about journal quality
Dear Guardian: You've Been Played
Anti-Psychiatry Prejudice? A response to Dr. Lieberman
Scour: Why Most Bridges Fail
Northern Elephant Seals: Increasing Population, Decreasing Biodiversity
See what we're tweeting about
FlyingTrilobite Running thru Skydome. #jays https://t.co/Ibg4EmyUk5
BoraZ New cat is arriving on Monday night and I can't find his special food or special litter anywhere in the Triangle! Ugh!
SteveMirsky Early Land Animals Lacked Good Bites http://t.co/8hy8XhXoiE @sciam podcast
YES! Send me a free issue of Scientific American with no obligation to continue the subscription. If I like it, I will be billed for the one-year subscription.
Share
Email
Print
Yea but they are carbon neutral.
Link to thisI have heard that North Koreans, on average, are 4 to 5 inches shorter than South Koreans because of food rationing.
Link to thisI have also heard that making international phone calls is punishable by death.
This is terrible, our poor Dear Leader is dead!
Well, at least we have Obama.
Link to thisProbably the best visualisation I ever saw — thank you.
The funny thing is that the most of people in that darkness sincerely believe that there is even greater darkness elsewhere. I have personally seen the bewilderment in the eyes of Albanians in a delegation when they started to open their country.
Have a nice day,
Link to thisDamir Ibrisimovic
Is the picture at 8PM or 3AM? I doubt it’s the case, but if it’s 3AM, maybe they just don’t leave lights on all night wasting power and destroying the planet. In the same vein, if it’s 3AM and that’s Seoul, it’s a nice FU to the planet, lighting things up like that for no purpose (this goes the same for everywhere else that does it).
Link to thisChritopher Hitchens is dead? When did he die?
Link to thisWe actually visited the DPRK (North Korea) in 2008. Our understanding is that “lights out” was primarily a civil defense measure. Technically, we are still at war with North Korea (the US has refused to sign a peace treaty). They are concerned about an imminent attack, and have frequent bomb-shelter drills. Other defense measures include lack of street signs or accurate maps of Pyongyang, and no written descriptions on buildings. If this seems paranoid, consider that during the active part of the Korean civil war, the US destroyed almost all sizeable structures in North Korea and killed a tenth of its citizens. What would we do if the tables were turned?
Link to this