North Korea Summer (Camp) Stamps

Recently, several stamps appeared in North Korea that caught my attention; they depicted seemingly happy children gazing at the great leader Kim Jong-un with admiration. Such a scene on a North Korean stamp is not particularly unique in itself, of course; it was the text printed underneath that piqued my curiosity. Reading the text in the bottom right corner of one of the blocks makes it clear that the stamps were issued on the occasion of an international children's camp. It concerns the Songdowon Summer Camp, which is subsidized by the North Korean government and aims to introduce foreign children to the isolated country.

Songdowon summer camp

The camp has existed since 1960 and has housed tens of thousands of children up to the age of 15 over the years. For less than €300, you can place a child there for two weeks. Last summer, 300 children were present, including children from Russia, China, Ireland, Tanzania, and Vietnam. This video shows how much fun the children have during a visit to this summer camp, which is made possible in part by the local government. Unfortunately, all this extra attention that the government of North Korea is paying to youth is not yet fully bearing fruit. According to a recent United Nations report, one-third of the children in the country suffer from growth disorders caused by malnutrition. However, a stamp series dedicated to this subject will likely not materialize.