The Hermit Website Manifesto

September 2008
genesis
So .... I was surfing around on YouTube a while ago and stumbled upon a video featuring one of the Pyongyang Traffic Girls. I watched in curiosity as she performed a graceful ballet with automobiles, which she conducted from inside her little world defined by the white painted circle in the center of a not-so-busy intersection. It was a short video clip, but oddly mesmerizing as she continuously twirled and gestured and pointed her striped baton in an incessant rhythmic dance. I was hooked. I had to find out more.

Searching through the web, I found that there were many other people who seemed to be intrigued by these disciplined young female traffic controllers. They have been described in many various ways - robotic, pretty, stern, humorless, sexy, militaristic, zombie-like ....... everyone has an impression. And I found that most people who visit Pyongyang and then post their photos on the web have at least 1 photo of a Traffic Girl in their collection, while some have a series of them.

Also, many video or TV stories about North Korea will show a short clip of one of the Traffic Ladies spinning and signaling her commands in rigid order - and usually it is accompanied by a voice-over mentioning how little traffic there is in the streets for them to direct.
That latter common refrain is something that needs to be addressed here, forthwith, before the North Korean regime possibly feels pressured to remove their Traffic Girls due to some insecure sense of international mockery. We need to nip this in the bud, even before the bud has appeared. Our mantra, our cause will be this - minimal traffic, lack of traffic, or even traffic lights and stop signs should not and must not be allowed to become an excuse to deny the world the existence of this charming and unique little sisterhood of soldiering traffic police. We love them. Yes, they don't belong just to the DPRK anymore - they belong to the world.

So in finding that there was no site on the web dedicated to the discussion/pictures/media about the PTGs - only solitary mentions here and there, pictures scattered around the internet, videos popping up in a few places - I feel that it is time for there to be a place that the Traffic Ladies can call their own. A repository, a hub of all things Trafficgirl. I recall hearing that famous line from the movie Field Of Dreams....."If you build it, they will come."

conclusion
And here it is built - the unofficial Pyongyang Traffic Girls internet nexus.

Traffic ladies, behold your very own website, dedicated to you. One lonely address, located on one of the innumerable streets off one of the uncountable millions of highways connected to the vast cyber freeways known as the World Wide Web. You have a home.

It is an open home. A home for the curious, a home for anyone and everyone seeking information all about Pyongyang's most fascinating tourist attraction - the accidental iconic image of North Korea - the Pyongyang Traffic Girl.

So, for all those who find inspiration in the PTGs and their devotion to duty, we encourage you to go forth ... seek, explore, uncover whatever it is about the Pyongyang Traffic Girls you wish - pictures, video or other media - and feel free post your comments and thoughts here, in the Pyongyang Traffic Girls website that is created for all to contribute, share and enjoy!!
E Pluribus Unum PyongyangTrafficGirls.com