The Difference between London and Pyongyang .

 The Difference between London and Pyongyang .

When I visited Pyongyang the capital of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK ) or People’s Korea in April this year I was able to see the newly built Hwasong Street consisting of very modern good quality apartment blocks which was given free of charge to people . Now some people may say that London too has many new buildings  and good quality flats.

                            

                                              

However , there are very big differences . For a start in People’s Korea flats are given to people free of charge . In London ,for example a new 2 bedroom in the Haydon, Aldgate central London is being marketed for £1,650,000 , well out of the reach of not only workers but also the middle class . Or to rent a 2 bedroom  flat in central London can be anything from £2,000 per month to £15-16,000 per month  ! Again this is well out of the pocket of the majority of the population .This difference is itself stunning .

However the differences between London and Pyongyang are even more profound . In London many ordinary people have been forced out of central London by the high property prices and rents , many have moved into the suburbs . Even in the suburbs of London property prices and rents are high for example £1,600 per month for a 2 bedroom flat in Zone 4 (which would mean an expensive commute into the centre of London). Many working people have even moved out of London . In my old job , it was not unknown for staff to live in Kent or Hampshire and commute into London from there ,spending hours and hours each day travelling . Actual ‘social cleansing ‘ and ‘gentrification ‘ has taken place in London ,for example a big social housing estate at Elephant and Castle was demolished to make way for expensive private flats . In Pyongyang , a socialist city , a city of workers , working people actually live in the centre of the city,

When the new riverside housing development at Ryongru-dong in Pyongyang was commissioned in 2022 , residents included trolleybus drivers and street cleaners .Ordinary workers can be found in the centre of Pyongyang .Visiting the Pyongyang Kim Jong Suk textile Mill in October 2019. The Pyongyang Kim Jong Suk Textile Mill is actually near to the centre of Pyongyang . We were told that  there was a  blocks of flats behind the factory for workers as well as a hostel on site.So there was no need for workers to commute into work.

                       

It can be added that there is yet another difference between London and Pyongyang .London lacks industry , In the past there were many factories in London but due to de- industrialization caused by capitalist crisis plus policies of successive governments Labour and Tory  as well as the EU , many factories have been closed in London. I struggle to think of a single factory located near to my home . Pyongyang is a very productive city , it does not rely on international finance or retail for its wealth but instead on productive industries. In fact it also a self-reliant city as it has farms producing its food located within the boundaries of the city.

So Pyongyang is not a ‘city of the elite’ as hack writers  claim but a city of workers , a city of ordinary people.

Dr Dermot Hudson

(General Chairman KFA UK and deputy editor /reviewer PKT )