Draw North Korea from Memory
Test your geography knowledge by drawing North Korea from memory on a blank canvas. Shape comparison scoring is coming soon — practice North Korea's outline in the meantime.
Related Countries in Asia
Why North Korea Looks the Way It Does
Thirty minutes is about as long as it took to draw the border that still runs across Korea. In August 1945, with Japanese rule collapsing and Soviet forces pouring into Manchuria, two American colonels, Dean Rusk and Charles Bonesteel, spread a National Geographic map on a table in Washington and picked the 38th parallel as a line of occupation. It had no topographical logic at all: it crossed rivers, ranges and villages, and it left roughly half the peninsula in each zone. Rusk admitted afterwards that nobody had time to consult any Koreans, and nobody imagined the arrangement would outlast the war by a season.
The war of 1950 to 1953 settled the matter by destroying the parallel. The front line swept up and down the peninsula before the armistice froze it in 1953 along a Military Demarcation Line that no longer matches the 38th: it dips south in the west, taking Kaesong into the north, and bulges north in the east. Flanked by a demilitarized zone about four kilometers wide, it is not a border so much as a ceasefire that has held for seventy years, because no peace treaty was ever signed. A handful of villages stand inside the zone on both sides, the only settlements permitted there, and the fenced ground has quietly become one of the better wildlife habitats in eastern Asia.
North of the line the frontiers are older and more physical. The Yalu and the Tumen both rise on the volcano of Mount Paektu and flow in opposite directions around the Chinese frontier, while a sliver of Russian territory touches the northeast coast. On a blank page, that southern base is the line to place first, because the whole outline hangs from it.
Quick Facts: North Korea
- Capital
- Pyongyang
- Continent
- Asia
- Bordering countries
- 3 countries — South Korea, China, Russia
- Area
- 120,538 km²
What is "Drawing North Korea from Memory"?
Drawing North Korea from memory means sketching North Korea's border on a blank canvas without looking at a map. Focus on the country's distinctive features and overall shape — that's what pushes your accuracy score up.
North Korea sits in Asia and is rated ★★★ out of 4 for drawing difficulty — a trickier outline with more detail to remember. It connects to 3 neighboring country pages on this site. Border comparison scoring for North Korea is coming soon — the shape tips below will get your mental map sharp before it lands.
North Korea is the broad northern mass of the Korean Peninsula, a rough trapezoid with China and Russia along its top and the heavily fortified border with South Korea forming a flat southern base.
How to Draw North Korea from Memory
Step 01
Sketch North Korea as the upper block of the Korean Peninsula, a rough trapezoid that is wide at the top and tapers toward the south. Put China across the top border, let the short Russian frontier touch the northeast corner, and leave the western and eastern sides as the two seacoasts, which is what makes the country easy to distinguish from its southern half.
Step 02
The dominant feature is the peninsula's taper, because the west coast faces the Yellow Sea with a big bay biting in near the capital, while the east coast drops more steeply into the Sea of Japan. Draw the two coasts so the land narrows noticeably as it runs south, so the two sides never look symmetrical.
Step 03
Lock the shape with the DMZ, because the border with South Korea is a nearly straight line running across the peninsula at roughly the 38th parallel. Draw that flat southern base, keep China's wavy line above, and North Korea's blunt trapezoid locks between the two seacoasts, and the northern block stays firmly in place.
The broad-shouldered top of the Korean Peninsula, a rough trapezoid braced by China above and Russia at its corner, ending in the flat DMZ line where South Korea begins.
How North Korea Is Scored
When you hit Reveal & compare, your sketch is measured against North Korea's real border, point by point, in the same canvas space. Three numbers come back:
Matched — the share of the real border your drawing covered. 100% means you traced every part of the outline.
Extra — how much of your drawing fell outside the true border. This catches sketches that are too big, mispositioned, or drifting off.
Missed — the border you didn't reach, the flip side of Matched.
The three combine into a single 0–100 accuracy score. The rating names give you a target: 80+ is Cartographer, 60+ is Border patrol, 40+ is Getting there, and below 40 is Try again.
Automated scoring for North Korea is coming soon. When it ships, drawing large and centered will be the fastest way to raise your score, because a small sketch overlaps less of the true border.
FAQ
- Which countries are North Korea's neighbors?
- North Korea connects to 3 neighboring country pages on this site: South Korea, China, and Russia. Once you've drawn North Korea, try a neighbor next — drawing two shapes side by side locks both into your mental map.
- How hard is it to draw North Korea from memory?
- North Korea is rated ★★★ out of 4 for drawing difficulty — a trickier outline with more detail to remember. Automated scoring is coming soon, so use the shape tips below to practice in the meantime.
- How is my North Korea drawing scored?
- Once North Korea's border data goes live, your sketch will be compared with the real border point by point. You'll get a 0–100 score built from Matched, Missed, and Extra, plus a clear overlay showing where you nailed it and where you drifted.
- Can I draw North Korea on mobile?
- Yes — North Korea works on desktop, tablet, and mobile. Draw with your finger on touchscreens; no app download is required and it runs directly in your browser.