33 Unexpected Facts About North Korea That’ll Surprise You

North Korea wanted to be paid in wheat for allowing a 7'8½" (2.35m) tall Ri Myung-Hun to play in the NBA.

27. North Korea's International Friendship Exhibition houses gifts presented to former leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il from various foreign dignitaries. It includes a VHS copy of the movie Space Jam.

28. North Korea uses a system called Songbun, which is a national system that ranks citizens' loyalty. It can determine what rights a person gets, including the amount of food.

29. North Korean authorities objected to the 2015 documentary "Under the Sun" after discovering that the film crew had smuggled unapproved footage. The camerawoman put the memory card in her trousers when she went to the toilet in order to keep the footage.

30. North Korea uses a different calendar than the rest of the world, with year 1 indicating the birth of Kim Il-Sung.

Kim Jong Il was a Godzilla fan, so North Korean Intelligence kidnapped a South Korean director and his wife. He was coerced into making propaganda films. The film 'Pulgasari' was inspired by 'Return of Godzilla.' The film is a metaphor for the effects of unchecked capitalism and the power of the collective.

32. In 1976, North Korean soldiers murdered two American officers who were trying to trim a tree in the DMZ. The U.S. responded by sending an 813-man task force to cut the tree down.

33. Kim Hyon-hui is a former North Korean agent who is responsible for blowing up a South Korean plane, killing 115 people. She was raised to hate the west but confessed after being shown the affluence of Seoul, realizing it was all lies. Initially sentenced to death, she was pardoned and released.