North Korea sees in 2019 with a drone and laser show
Pyongyang’s sky was lit up with lasers, fireworks and illuminated craft earlier this week for its New Year celebrations
Some tourists visit Pyongyang for nostalgia’s sake. As Phaidon author and North Korea expert Nicholas Bonner puts it in his book, Made in North Korea, the country's design traditions bear close similarities to those found in the old Eastern Bloc, and, from a certain point-of-view, display a high degree of “practicality, purity and beauty.”
However, North Korea can also move with the times, as visitors to the Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square discovered this New Year’s Eve courtesy of Nick Bonner's tour company Koryo. The city hosted a high-tech celebration to see in 2019, with fireworks, a pop band, lasers, and an illuminated drone light show.
The drones formed such shapes as a doraji or bell flower, a pungsan hunting dog and the message “happy new year”. Revellers also enjoyed a performance from the Moranbong Band, North Korea’s state-run girl band (whose members were selected by Kim Jong-Un), as well as patriotic ice sculptures and traditional countdown to midnight.
To see more imagery from this little-visited country, order a copy of Made in North Korea here.