Which country is known as the 'Hermit Kingdom'?

North Korea is often called the "Hermit Kingdom" because of its extreme isolation from the rest of the world.

Origin of the name:

• The term was first used for the Korean kingdom of Joseon (1392-1897), which in the 19th century closed itself off from most foreign contact, except with China.
• The American writer William Elliot Griffis used the term in the title of his book "Corea: The Hermit Nation" (1882).
• After the division of Korea in 1945 and the Korean War (1950-1953), the term came to be applied mainly to North Korea.

Why North Korea is isolated:

• It has a highly centralised communist government, led by the Kim family since 1948: Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un (since 2011).
• Its official ideology is "Juche" (self-reliance).
• It strictly controls travel, the media and the internet; most citizens cannot access the global internet.
• It has developed nuclear weapons and conducted nuclear tests from 2006; it withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003.
• It faces many UN sanctions.

About North Korea:

• Its official name is the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" (DPRK).
• Its capital is Pyongyang.
• Its currency is the North Korean won.
• It is separated from South Korea by the "Korean Demilitarized Zone" (DMZ), roughly along the 38th parallel.
• The Korean War ended with an armistice in 1953, not a peace treaty, so the two Koreas are technically still at war.

India and North Korea:

India has diplomatic relations with North Korea and has an embassy in Pyongyang.

India sent a medical unit, the "60th Parachute Field Ambulance", to the Korean War, and chaired the "Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission" (1953), headed by General K. S. Thimayya.

Nicknames of other countries:

• South Korea: "Land of the Morning Calm" (a name used for Korea in general).
• Bhutan: "Land of the Thunder Dragon".
• Japan: "Land of the Rising Sun".
• Mongolia: "Land of the Blue Sky".

Why not the other options?

• ✗Bhutan was also isolated until the 1960s-70s, but it is called the "Land of the Thunder Dragon".
• ✗Japan followed a policy of isolation ("Sakoku") from about 1639 to 1853, but it is called the "Land of the Rising Sun".
• ✗Mongolia is called the "Land of the Blue Sky".