Satellite photo of North and South Korea by night

Satellite photo - Nothing to Envy, page 03

'North Korea faded to black in the early 1990s. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, which had propped up its Communist ally with cheap fuel oil, North Korea's creakily inefficient economy collapsed. Power stations rusted into ruin. The lights went out.' (Nothing To Envy, page 03)

This revealing satellite image starkly contrasts the bright lights of Seoul (South Korea's capital) to the black mass of North Korea. The only glimmer of light in the North is Pyongyang, the capital. Its population of 23 million people are almost completely hidden from view.