THE TWO KOREAS Left: This dramatic image
highlights the role of economic development. At the
lower right, most of South Korea is brilliantly illuminated,
with Seoul being the most conspicuous city. In contrast,
North Korea is almost totally dark, with only a patch of
light marking the capital Pyongyang. The demilitarized
zone separating the two Koreas is easily seen from
space. The gross domestic product of South Korea is
about 100 times that of its northern neighbor. Although
North Korea’s night sky must be exceptionally dark, very
few light-pollution-control advocates would call for such
extreme levels of darkness in populated areas.
SkyandTelescope.com July 2014 29