I collect & archive North Korean photos, uniforms, badges, etc. Everything I post is original & from my collection. Please give a follow to support my work.
옥류관
Joined October 2020
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🇰🇵 Korean People's Army Infantry Senior Captain's Overcoat (1984)
Original 1984 produced Korean People’s Army overcoat for a Senior Captain (대위) of the infantry branch. The distinctive red arrow shaped piping exclusive to the Korean People’s Army can be observed on the sleeves.
The construction of this coat is quite sturdy and similar in quality to Soviet overcoats of the time, using heavy wool as the material and the interior being half-lined. This coat style is still in use by the Korean People’s Army today, with this darker green shade commonly seen worn by guards at Panmunjom. This display also includes a blue scarf, commonly observed worn by officers with their overcoats, and a 1984 produced ushanka.
The last photo shows Korean People’s Army officers in the late 1980s wearing this coat paired with ushankas.
🇰🇵 Korean People's Army Corporal's Photo (1980s)
Original undated private photo of an unnamed Corporal of the Korean People's Army with a woman, possibly a sibling or friend, taken in the 1980s.
The soldier is wearing one of the less common indigenously produced vertical rectangular portrait badges of Kim Il Sung.
🇰🇵 Korean People's Army Female Soldier's Family Portrait (1991)
Original studio portrait photograph of a female Private 1st Class of the Korean People’s Army with her family members. This photo was taken in 1991 in Songrim, a city known for its steel industry.
The inscription on the sign translates to:
“At the City of Steel: Songrim”
🇰🇵 Order of the National Flag 1st Class (Type 2 Variant 5)
Original postwar Korean produced Order of the National Flag 1st Class with the small screwback design, likely being the Type 2 Variant 5 model.
The small screwback variant was the first indigenous first class variant of the Order of the National Flag produced after the Korean War with production quality being considerably more crude compared to the quality Soviet produced variant it succeeded.
The Type 2 variant uses a 27.5 mm screwback plate rather than the Soviet made 33 mm one.
Serial №. 3282
🇰🇵 Kim Il Sung Long Rectangular Badge (1970s)
Original portrait badge of Kim Il Sung wearing the inminbok superimposed on a long rectangular design with sunray lines, the Workers' Party of Korea emblem, and a slogan of "Let us defend Comrade Kim Il Sung with our lives!".
This portrait badge design was from the 1970s and appear to be worn by both civilians and military officers. The reference photo is from my collection and shows a uniformed military officer and what appears to be a civilian wearing this badge design.
🇰🇵 Mining Industry Workers' Photo (1960s)
Original undated photo of two uniformed workers of North Korea's mining industry, likely taken in the 1960s or early 1970s.
🇰🇵 🇨🇳 Korean War Map Display in China (1950)
Original undated photo of an informative map display prepared by the Chinese Youth Service Department of the then-current situation of the Korean War, taken in late July of 1950.
The captions on the display reads "Map of the Status of the Korean People's Liberation War" followed by labels for a photo of Kim Il Sung, the flag of North Korea, and the national emblem. This photo was most likely taken shortly after July 29th of 1950 as the map appears to show the city of Busan surrounded.
Curiously, there is a Captain of the Korean People's Army speaking to observers decorated with what appears to be an Order of the National Flag 1st Class. Many decorated combat heroes of the Korean People's Army were documented to have toured China for fundraising or raising awareness about the war.
🇰🇵 Order of the National Flag 2nd Class (Type 1)
Original Type 1 variant of the Order of the National Flag 2nd Class, produced indigenously in Korea prior to the Korean War.
This two-piece Order's craftsmanship is extremely crude compared to the subsequent Soviet made and later indigenous made postwar variants, which is understandable given the rudimentary nature of North Korea's prewar industry. An incredibly interesting detail is that the name of this award was written as "국긔 훈장" instead of "국기 훈장".
Unfortunately the original recipient is unknown, but I personally believe it was likely a Soviet or other European advisor given its close proximity to other known examples.
The prewar indigenously made variants of the Order of the National Flag are extremely rare due to the comparatively low amount produced and even lower amount that survived to this day.
Serial №. 81
This example belongs to my friend @PasitheaM who was kind enough to lend me these photos.
🇰🇵 Korean People's Army Navy Captain's Service Uniform (2010s)
Original service uniform for a Captain of the Korean People's Army Navy, completed with the branch accurate anchor buttons and collar insignia, sleeve rank patch, and sleeve star insignia.
Accompanying the uniform is an original portrait badge of a smiling Kim Jong Il in his marshal uniform, a two row ribbon bar, and a Kim Jong Suk Naval Academy graduation badge.
The peaked caps worn by the navy differ from the army and air force ones slightly in design, having far less filler and thus a small profile.
Last photo is of a Senior Colonel of the Korean People's Army Navy in 2007 wearing this uniform.
🇰🇵 Korean People's Army Air Force Senior Captain's Service Uniform (Late 2000s)
Original stamped uniform set for a Senior Captain of the Korean People's Army Air Force, dated around the late 2000s to pre-2012.
Along with an original Kim Il Sung portrait badge with a western suit facing forward and a three row ribbon bar, there is also a set of original 1st class combat pilot wings and a Kim Chaek Air Force University graduation badge. The peaked cap uses the two-piece Soviet-style pre-2012 insignia setup.
🇰🇵🇯🇵 Chongryon Teacher & Sports Association Vice President's Award Sets (1985 & 1989)
Original Order of the National Flag 3rd Class & Fatherland Liberation Commemoration Medal award sets belonging to Mr. Kim, former teacher at the Tokyo Korean Junior and Senior High School and later the Vice President of the Chongryon-affiliated Kanagawa Prefecture Sports Association in Japan.
The progression of this man's career is quite evident in the four years between the award being issued.
Full name, address, and birthday partially redacted for privacy.
🇰🇵🇯🇵 Chongryon Football Club Member's Merit Medal Set (1992) ⚽️ 🥅
Original Merit Medal set issued on on April 8th 1992 belonging to a Mr. Kim, a member of the formerly Chongryon-affiliated Zainichi Chosen Football Club (재일조선인 축구단) based in Tokyo, Japan. Paired along with the medal is a "Sports Expert" badge.
Though the Zainichi Chosen Football Club was initially affiliated with the Chongryon after its founding in 1961 and recruited many of its members through the Chongryon-affiliated Korea University in Japan, the club severed its Chongryon ties and was renamed to Footbal Club Korea (FC Korea) in the early 2000s following some political disputes.
Full name and birthday redacted for privacy.
🇰🇵 Korean People's Army Senior Captain's Family Portrait (1950s)
Original undated postwar portrait of an unnamed Senior Captain of the Korean People's Army possibly with his family, taken in the mid to late 1950s.
The badge the man in the front left row is wearing seems interesting.
🇰🇵 Maritime Fleet Workers' Commemorative Photo (1984)
Original commemorative photo of a group of friends onboard a North Korean merchant ship, taken on October 7th 1984.
A few of the people in the picture are wearing uniforms of the Maritime Administration of the DPRK, evident by their distinctive maritime cockade.
🇰🇵 Korean People's Army Sergeant 1st Class' Portrait (1980s)
Original undated studio portrait of an unnamed Sergeant 1st Class of the Korean People's Army, likely taken in the 1980s or 1990s.
It is interesting to note this soldier's vertical rectangular portrait badge of Kim Il Sung in his Marshal uniform. The studio also put this soldier's portrait within a Sonamu (소나무 / Pine Tree) brand television set.
🇰🇵 Korean People's Army Officer's Family Photo (1980s)
Original undated studio portrait of an unnamed 2nd Lieutenant of the Korean People's Army with his family, likely taken in the late 1980s.
This is a decent reference photo for school uniforms for children with lots of Korean Children's Union badges being visible.
🇰🇵 Family's Festive Celebration Photos (2004)
Original undated photo of an unnamed family most likely taken in Pyongyang on July 27th 2004 during the 51st first anniversary of the Korean Armistice based on the decorations visible in the background.
Many of the family members are well decorated with various awards, and interestingly enough the man in the middle and the man in the Korean State Railway dress uniform are both wearing youth badges, despite their more advanced age.
🇨🇳🇰🇵 People's Liberation Army Veteran Kim Ryongwoo's Portrait Photos (1990s)
Original set of photos of Chinese People's Liberation Army and People's Volunteer Army Joseonjok veteran Kim Ryongwoo (김룡우 / 金龙右).
The first three portrait photos were taken on September 23rd 1998 in the Chinese city of Yanji, Jilin Province while the last one was taken at a stone monument in North Korea.
It is quite interesting to see that he has replaced the original ribbons on his Chinese and Korean medals with a homemade pattern, likely due to the original ribbons being damaged or stained. Another interesting feature is his homemade tie clip, which uses a modified Type 87 People's Liberation Army lapel insignia.
🇰🇵 Korean People's Army Private 1st Class' New Years Greetings (1983)
Original studio portrait of an unnamed Private 1st Class of the Korean People's Army, taken on January 1st 1983 at a military checkpoint as a new years greeting to his parents. It is interesting to see he is wearing his winter uniform consisting of an enlisted overcoat and ushanka.
The inscriptions on the back reads:
"Happy New Years.
Extending well wishes to my precious parents for good health this new year. Greetings for the new years.
1983 January 1st
Sent from (the) Guard Checkpoint"
🇰🇵 Korean People's Army Ushanka (2010s)
Original and unissued Korean People's Army ushanka likely manufactured in the 2010s, sized 56 cm.
The materials and craftsmanship is entirely different from the older models from the 1980s, with the most important feature being the fixed earflaps which cannot be brought down. There is also a plastic band inside the ushanka to help retain its shape. The material itself is also interesting as it uses faux wool fabric more akin to velvet fabric. The interior is very plain with a faux leather sweat patch on the top with a fabric sweatband, while the size was simply marked with a written "6". It is quite obvious that these newer ushankas were designed with appearance being a priority rather than practicality.
The cockade on this ushanka is an original two-piece plastic cockade with a raised star design formerly common on headgear produced in the 2000s to early 2010s.
The last image was taken on December 30th 2009 at Panmunjom which shows a similarly fixed earflap ushanka used by Korean People's Army soldiers.
