North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, was founded on September 9, 1948.
For the past 75 years, its people have lived under a reign of harsh state control with little access to outside influences.
National leadership has passed down the Kim dynasty who have ruthlessly eliminated potential rivals.
There are no opposition parties in North Korean elections.
The state even decides what haircuts people can have.
Women can choose from 18 cuts, while men have only 10 government-approved styles.
North Korea has a different calendar than the rest of the world.
It is known as the Juche calendar and starts on April 15, 1912 - the birth date of the country's first leader Kim Il-sung, pictured right.
Internet access is strictly limited in North Korea.
Only high ranking officials are allowed to surf the global network.
The majority of North Koreans can only access the nation's national intranet, called Kwangmyong.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is obsessed with his country's military - one of the world's biggest - and an avowed anti-American yet has a distinctly Western taste for the high life.
Despite years of global sanctions on his country, Kim has splashed out on a luxury yacht, expensive liquors and even the equipment necessary to kit out a luxury ski resort.
North Korea has one of the biggest empty buildings.
The pyramid-shaped Ryugyong Hotel in the country's capital Pyongyang has been under construction since 1987 and was intended to be a landmark and a symbol of progress and prosperity.
But the project was repeatedly delayed and remains empty.
For years, the most sought-after job for women in North Korea was becoming a traffic police officer.
The officers were chosen for their height and good looks and were part of a state propaganda effort to show North Korea as a progressive modern country.
North Korea has one of the world's largest football stadiums.
The May Day Stadium was built in 1989 and updated in 2014, to seat 150,000 people.
It was modelled after a magnolia blossom.
North Korea has waged a propaganda campaign against K-Pop performers such as Blackpink, pictured.
Leader Kim Jong-un described the South Korean music phenomenon as a "vicious cancer" in 2021.
Kim Jong-un is a huge basketball fan and has met former NBA star Dennis Rodman several times when the American visited North Korea.
But North Koreans who wish to play the popular sport must abide by a different set of rules than the rest of the world.
Since slam dunks trigger more reactions from the crowd, players are given three points instead of two for every dunk.