1. Weed Is Legal There
There is no law against the sale or consumption of marijuana in North Korea. “Leaf tobacco” isn’t considered a drug there, and apparently cannabis freely grows by the roadside throughout the country. It’s not uncommon to smell the scent of weed wafting while walking the streets, and it’s particularly popular with young soldiers who prefer it over local cigarettes.

Photo: A Korean youth smoking cannabis by the roadside.
2. Porn Is Prohibited
Pornography in North Korea is strictly forbidden. The possession, production, distribution and importation of pornography is punished harshly by the government. The State Security Department is tasked with monitoring illegal imports of pornographic materials. There are sources say executions of several persons accused of watching or distributing pornography took place in late 2013.

North Korea police tracking down the IP address of a man watching pornography.
3. North Korea Keeps Citizens in Line With a “Three Rule Generations of Punishment”
In North Korea, someone who violates the law isn’t just punished – their entire family is, too. Knowing you’ll be sending grandma to the slammer or your kid to a prison work camp might make you think twice about doing a bad deed.

Photo : a law offender being punished with the entire family.
4. They Have Their Own Calendar
The Juche calendar, named after the Juche ideology, is the system of year-numbering used in North Korea. They started the count anew based on former leader Kim Il-sung’s birth date of 15 April 1912, kind of like a Before Kim and After Kim thing. The Juche calendar was adopted in 1997, and 1912 became Juche.

Photo: A Juche calendar for juche 99 ( 2010 )
5. North Korea Has Some Serious Military Might
You are probably aware that North Korea has a big army, but you may not know just how big. An estimated 1.19 million people serve are in active military service, making it the fourth largest standing army on the planet. By comparison, the US armed forces has about 1.36 million members.

Photo: North Korea’s Army
6. Hairstyles Are Restricted
You’re not free to style your hair at whim in North Korea. In 2013 there were 28 state-approved hair styles that citizens could choose from. Married women were ordered to keep their hair sensibly short while single ladies were allowed to wear their locks a little longer. Now they are supposed to emulate the basic bob worn by the Supreme Leader’s wife, Ri Sol-ju. Men used to be able to express themselves through 10 short styles. Now they are forbidden to exceed a maximum of 2cm in length, and are encouraged to copy Kim Jong-un’s ghastly bouffant ‘do (maybe he’s on-trend, see below). Scissor-wielding authorities are cracking down on anyone sporting a “capitalist” hairstyle, and offenders may be shorn on the spot.

Photo: state-approved hair styles
7. North Korea Holds Elections Every 5 Years
Elections in North Korea are held every four-to-five years for the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA), the country’s national legislature, and every four years for Local People’s Assemblies. Only one candidate appears on each ballot.[7][8] Elections are ostensibly conducted by secret ballot, and a voter may cross off the candidate’s name to vote against them, but must do so by crossing out the name without secrecy.[7] Voting is mandatory and turnout is habitually near 100%.

Photo : Elections
8. A Must-see Attraction in DRNK, at Least for North Koreans
The embalmed and entombed corpses of the late “Supreme Leader” Kim Jong-il and his father before him, “The Great Leader” Kim Il-sung, are preserved and on display in a glass casket for all to see. The mausoleum is located in Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the former presidential palace in Pyongyang. Apparently 150,000 people line up to see them each day, and there are strict rules about how to dress and bow in their presence. Macabre, yes, but it’s not that strange, really. The bodies of former world leaders Mao Tse-Tung, Ho Chi Minh and Lenin are similarly on display, too.

Photo: preserved bodies of of the late “Supreme Leader” Kim Jong-il
9.0 North Korea Has a 100% Literacy Rate
It’s hard to verify a stat like this, but if it’s true, that puts North Korea way ahead of America’s functional literacy rate 0f 85%. The country does have universal free education, which is a good thing, but the curriculum includes a lot of indoctrination. For example, high school students must complete a three-year 81-hour course on the history of Kim Jong-un, which is in addition to a 160-hour course on Kim Il Sung and 148 hours on Kim Jong Il. Kim worship starts in kindergarten.

Photo: People of North Korea reading news at a bus station
10. North Koreans Are 2 Inches Shorter Than South Koreans
On average, North Korean citizens born after the war are shorter than their South Korean counterparts by about 2 inches. This is attributed to the relative poverty of the northern nation. It is said that 6 million citizens don’t get sufficient food and a third of the children have chronic malnutrition.

Photo: Chronic malnutrition of North Korean citizens born after the war.