Everything you need to know about North Korea
Explore North Korea from the volcanic heights of Paektu to the granite valleys of Kumgang, the Taedong River and the old capital of Kaesong. Connect its regions, cities and waters with Korean history, food and everyday language. The linked lessons introduce general Korean and mainly South Korean standard usage; northern vocabulary and local conventions differ.
Read it, then make it stick
Geography of North Korea
North Korea has a west coast on the Yellow Sea and an east coast on the Sea of Japan, called the East Sea in Korean usage. The Yalu, also called Amnok, and Tumen rivers form much of the northern frontier. The short Russian border lies near the Tumenโs mouth. The southern boundary follows the Military Demarcation Line within the Demilitarized Zone, rather than simply tracing the 38th parallel.
Know the shape of the country
Start with nine provinces and four province-level cities, then place twenty cities and follow four rivers to two surrounding seas. Zoom in for Kaesong, Nampo and Rason. Region and Taedong/Chongchon geometry: ยฉ OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0, prepared October 2026. Yalu/Tumen and context land: Natural Earth, public domain. City coordinates are curated. These are generalised learning maps; coastal answer zones do not show maritime claims.
Places worth visiting
Essential ยท Mountains
Mount Kumgang
Granite peaks, waterfalls and Buddhist sites make the Diamond Mountains a World Heritage landscape.
Pair the historic gates of Pyongyang with the old royal capital of Kaesong, then go into the mountains of the north and the east coast. Essential is our shortlist for a first trip, and worth a detour goes further. Select a pin to read about a place, then play the map and find them all.
Take Korean with you
Greetings and politeness
Hello, please, thank you, sorry: the ten openers everything else builds on.
Keep going one country deeper
When you have had your fill of North Korea, the countries marked guide have a page like this one, and every other has maps of its own.
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