Reddit User Posts Photo Of North Korean Money He "Smuggled Out In Socks"

An image showing a North Korean currency note has surfaced on Reddit. The man who posted the image has claimed that it was smuggled out of the country in a sock. The currency note (a 5,000 won bill) features a smiling former North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, the founder of the country and the grandfather of current ruler Kim Jong-un. The photo has amassed more than 74,000 upvotes on the forum where it was posted five days ago. The image has also led to a long conversation among Reddit users.

The person, named John from New Zealand, posted the image under username Hos_In_Chi_Minh. "I traded this with a local bus driver and hid it in my socks on my way out," the user captioned the post, adding that he visited the country a few years ago.

Other users were intrigued by the photo and wanted to know what the man traded. "I traded 10 notes of the same value that we exchanged for use at the tourist shop. The other notes didn't have the leaders face on it and he was happy to 10x his money for the trade," John in response.

One user said he too visited North Korea and asked John if he saw the "insanely deep" subway underground and whether there was any child singing there. "No kid but yes to the deep subway. It was built as a nuclear shelter as well as a transport hub. We went to the school for gifted children and alot of their performances were blatantly just for the tourists," he replied.

Others were, however, concerned about John. "You risked it all for a souvenir," Reddit user D0ctorwh010 commented. "No clue why anyone would risk their lives just visiting these countries let alone something like this," added another user, Yasai101.