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Puh, so many questions to answer... 
These documentaries/reports, etc., you are referring, are nearly completely outdated now (I have collected the very most literature in German about the DPRK before the trip). Even those from 2010 and 2011 are not actual any more.
Although the political/progandistic superstructure is still existing and will not touched anyhow, the daily life of the common people is not too far away from those in other countries. Yes, Northkoreans are interested to earn money to give their families a good life and have a good life for their own. no, they aren't busy all day and night with readling and learning the propaganda-"bibles".
No, there are other lights in the towns except those for the monuments (although they still have big problems with the energy-supply).
btw: this is the 2012 World Press Photo: http://www.worldpressphoto.org/photo/2012-damir-sagolj-dl-1?gallery=2634
Yes, there are glass-panes in the windows, yes, there are gas stations existing, yes, a lot of people have mobile phones (although only usable inside the DPRK and although foreign mobile phones are forbidden)
A propos, here something DPRK-unique:
Every foreign mobile phone will be packed in this way by entering the country. Mine -visible here- was hold by our tour guide until the leaving. She gave it back at the train station with the instruction, not to open it until the border control is over, so at best by entering China.
Yes, we've seen a lot around Pyongyang, because we had booked a 10-day-trip (usually the tourist stay there for around 4-5 days). We had been at the DMZ in Panmunjom, in Hamhung, Kaesong, Kumgang-San (with a walk up to the mountain), Nampo and Wonsan (with two times swimming in the East-Sea (named Sea of Japan outside the DPRK)
The two guides alwys had been with us. An older guy with a large Germany-experience (student in the DDR, working in the ministery of foregin affairs and timewise for a German NGO since then) and a younger lady, a young mother from the English department from the ministery. The fmilies of both are working there, too, so their connections are very good.
The border-controls by entering the country was easy going, less elaborate than at the US-border or other non-EU-countries. Just sealing the mobile phones is a big thing. The rest of the luggage was not checked.
The controls by leaving the country (we rode by train via Shinuiju and Dadong to Beijing was not that bad, too. Not that strict, as it's said and not that strict, as it was at the DDR-border back then.
Several things weren't allowed, I told you about the restrictions. If you want to know all details, just send me an email. I've kept the pdf-document with them.
As we came there well-prepared and with a quite large travelling-experience (for me it was country no.45 and for my fellow country no.125), we followed them. Which made the trip very relaxing, interesting and impressive - because we had respected the taboos and haven't made any comment about obvious discrepancies between reality and official saying and about real absurd items, we had a relly good relationship to our guides, nearly as friends.
If you behave like this, you have much more advantages. You get much more informations and will make more intensive talks, as if you would act arrogant and narrow-minded.
These documentaries/reports, etc., you are referring, are nearly completely outdated now (I have collected the very most literature in German about the DPRK before the trip). Even those from 2010 and 2011 are not actual any more.
Although the political/progandistic superstructure is still existing and will not touched anyhow, the daily life of the common people is not too far away from those in other countries. Yes, Northkoreans are interested to earn money to give their families a good life and have a good life for their own. no, they aren't busy all day and night with readling and learning the propaganda-"bibles".
No, there are other lights in the towns except those for the monuments (although they still have big problems with the energy-supply).
btw: this is the 2012 World Press Photo: http://www.worldpressphoto.org/photo/2012-damir-sagolj-dl-1?gallery=2634
Yes, there are glass-panes in the windows, yes, there are gas stations existing, yes, a lot of people have mobile phones (although only usable inside the DPRK and although foreign mobile phones are forbidden)
A propos, here something DPRK-unique:
Every foreign mobile phone will be packed in this way by entering the country. Mine -visible here- was hold by our tour guide until the leaving. She gave it back at the train station with the instruction, not to open it until the border control is over, so at best by entering China.
Yes, we've seen a lot around Pyongyang, because we had booked a 10-day-trip (usually the tourist stay there for around 4-5 days). We had been at the DMZ in Panmunjom, in Hamhung, Kaesong, Kumgang-San (with a walk up to the mountain), Nampo and Wonsan (with two times swimming in the East-Sea (named Sea of Japan outside the DPRK)
The two guides alwys had been with us. An older guy with a large Germany-experience (student in the DDR, working in the ministery of foregin affairs and timewise for a German NGO since then) and a younger lady, a young mother from the English department from the ministery. The fmilies of both are working there, too, so their connections are very good.
The border-controls by entering the country was easy going, less elaborate than at the US-border or other non-EU-countries. Just sealing the mobile phones is a big thing. The rest of the luggage was not checked.
The controls by leaving the country (we rode by train via Shinuiju and Dadong to Beijing was not that bad, too. Not that strict, as it's said and not that strict, as it was at the DDR-border back then.
Several things weren't allowed, I told you about the restrictions. If you want to know all details, just send me an email. I've kept the pdf-document with them.
As we came there well-prepared and with a quite large travelling-experience (for me it was country no.45 and for my fellow country no.125), we followed them. Which made the trip very relaxing, interesting and impressive - because we had respected the taboos and haven't made any comment about obvious discrepancies between reality and official saying and about real absurd items, we had a relly good relationship to our guides, nearly as friends.
If you behave like this, you have much more advantages. You get much more informations and will make more intensive talks, as if you would act arrogant and narrow-minded.