Things That Can’t Be Unseen: The Differences Between North and South Korea

The Korean War was life-changing in more ways than one. Boundaries were being redefined. One such case was that Korea was split into North Korea and South Korea. Since then, the two nations have been openly hostile against each other. They have developed differently during the past 70-plus years. These images show the glaring contrast between the two countries.

Photo by Jacob Laukaitis

There is a dramatic difference in the skylines of the capital cities of North and South Korea. Pyongyang’s skyline in the top image shows tall buildings, but these pale in comparison to the skyline of Seoul.

It’s not just the skyline, but also the sky. The Pyongyang skies appear polluted even though the city has fewer cars, whereas Seoul exhibits a clear skyline despite a higher population and more vehicles.

© 2022 Fiveo All rights reserved