September 27, 2023
Evergreen

North Korea’s “Torure” Rail Transport System

The cart itself is simple piece of technology: It rolls downhill and is slowed by a friction brake system by the conductor

A Flickr user has uploaded some interesting pictures of North Korea's railway system. These pictures show some North Korean entrepreneurs have co-opted unused railway assets for private economic activity:

This form of transport is known as "Torure" (도루레), and I recently had the chance to speak with a former resident of North Hamgyong Province who was able to share some of the basic details of how the operation works.