WORLD FOCUS

Pyongyang or Singapore? ST correspondents struck by how North Korean capital reminds them of home

An increasing number of Singaporeans have been visiting North Korea since it started to open up this year. In the final segment of a three-part special report, correspondents Walter Sim and Lim Yan Liang are struck by how its capital reminds them of home.

New: Gift this subscriber-only story to your friends and family

"This looks just like Pyongyang," our 24-year-old guide exclaimed at the Grand People's Study House, the downtown central library built in 1982, where students frequent to study for their examinations.

But what she had been looking at was a panorama of Singapore's city skyline in 1981, as published in the then Port of Singapore Authority annual report that year that had somehow wound up in the North Korean library catalogue.

Already a subscriber? 

Read the full story and more at $9.90/month

Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month

Unlock these benefits

  • All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com

  • Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device

  • E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 02, 2018, with the headline Pyongyang or Singapore? ST correspondents struck by how North Korean capital reminds them of home. Subscribe