The Taedonggang Combined Fruit Farm (referred to as Taesongsan Combined Fruit Fam in most tour programs – I looked at GoogleMaps, it’s definitely the same place…) about half an hour outside of Pyongyang was one of the most unspectacular locations on my trip to North Korea. We were given the choice of either visiting the Pyongyang Folk Village (a park with miniature versions of landmarks in Pyongyang and the rest of the DPRK) for a rather steep entrance fee (something like 20 Euros) or heading out to the fruit farm for free, and the vote was unanimous – Taedonggang Fruit Farm!
Well, what can I say? The view from the observation point was nice, given that it was barely 50 meters high – but a fruit farm, predominantly apples and peaches, in spring isn’t exactly the most exciting place to be. So after we listened to the local guide how 800 people work on the farm, that the apple trees were imported from Italy and that the whole thing was built within just three years we headed down to the gift shop, which was actually the more interesting part of that stop. Fresh apples that looked like apples I remember from my childhood – different sizes, not perfectly formed, spots everywhere; much unlike the cloned stuff you get in supermarkets nowadays. I bought some dried apple rings and apple shampoo as souvenirs, but they also offered different kinds of juices and alcohol. Then we boarded the bus and headed back to the city, Pyongyang.
If I had only done some research in advance… What the guide didn’t tell us was that the Taedonggang Combined Fruit Farm is probably the best-defended farm in the world – the residence of the Kim family in Kangdong is only about 10 kilometers away and Kim Jong-un most likely passes by on the way to the city every day! There are several units of the Korean People’s Army stationed in the area, including some anti-aircraft units. So when you look at those peaceful pictures, please remember that all hell could break loose within seconds…
(Please *click here to get to Abandoned Kansai’s North Korea Special* and *here for a map about the tour at GoogleMaps*. If you don’t want to miss the latest article you can *follow Abandoned Kansai on Twitter* and *like this blog on Facebook* – and of course there is the *video channel on Youtube*…)
i’m posting this to my FB & telling everyone i know to read it
Thanks a lot for the support – much appreciated!
Very interesting. I would love to get to North Korea, if only for a short (monitored) experience.
That’s actually the perfect attitude. When I decided to go there I was very well aware that everything could be staged, but I went there for the performance. Luckily not everything was fake and controlled, so I experienced a really mix – something I will tell my grandchildren about one day…
Me too.
How much money was the apple shampoo? And was it any good always wondered if there stuff was of a low quality? Heak please tell me about any nk products you want to please!
Sorry, that was three and a half years ago, I don’t remember how much I paid for the shampoo – and it was a present, so I don’t know if it was good or not.
The sweets I bought were okayish – the best things to buy are printed / painted items: books, stamps, posters.