Battle-weary American troops withdraw from Yong San in Korea. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). 1950

American soldiers leaping from an armoured personnel carrier during exercises in Korea, 17th March 1954. (Photo by Three Lions)

At this year’s Venice Bienniale in Italy, the Korean pavilion has a curious exhibit called “Commissions for Utopia”. It includes renderings from North Korea’s top architects and artists (all anonymous), many of whom studied at the Paekho Institute of Architecture, North Korea’s state-run architectural college, and none of whom have ever left the country. They were asked to create a vision of North Korea’s future sustainable architecture for its expanding tourism industry. Their final products are a glimpse into what it would be like to envision the future after being entirely cut off from the present for almost 70 years. (Photo by Nick Bonner/Kyle Vanhemert/Venice Architecture Biennale)

“Kim Jong-il, also written as Kim Jong Il, birth name Yuri Irsenovich Kim (according to Soviet records) (16 February 1941/2 – 17 December 2011), was the supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). He was the General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, the ruling party since 1948, Chairman of the the National Defence Commission of North Korea, and the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, the fourth-largest standing army in the world”. – Wikipedia

Photo: North Korean leader Kim Jong Il inspects a military unit in North Korea. (Photo by Korean Central Television/Yonhap)

A woman guards stand at the gate of a cosmetic factory during a government organised visit for foreign reporters ahead of 70th anniversary of North Korea's foundation in Pyongyang, North Korea on September 8, 2018. (Photo by Danish Siddiqui/Reuters)

Collided passenger train cars are seen in Taebaek, South Korea, Tuesday, July 22, 2014. Two passenger trains collided head-on in eastern South Korea on Tuesday afternoon, killing one passenger and injuring dozens, fire officials said. (Photo by AFP Photo/Yonhap)

A South Korea fan smiles ahead of the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group H football match between Uruguay and South Korea at the Education City Stadium in Al-Rayyan, west of Doha on November 24, 2022. (Photo by Jewel Samad/AFP Photo)

“Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival is a rock festival, which is held annually in Incheon, South Korea for three days at the end of July. It is considered as one of the biggest live music events in South Korea. The festival covers various genres of music, but mainly rock music and electronic music. The name came from five main themes of the festival; music, passion, environment friendly, DIY, and friendship”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Festival-goers enjoy a performance during day two of the Pentaport Rock Festival at Dream Park on August 6, 2011 in Incheon, South Korea. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)