British Ambassador to Korea Colin Crooks (center), CEO of Golden Needles (Hwanggeom Baneul)Kim Young-mi(first from left), and Korea Safety Leaders Forum Chairman Park Kyeong-kook pose for a photo at the Korea Safety Leaders Forum at the Korea Press Center in Seoul on Wednesday. (British Embassy in Seoul)

The British Ambassador to Korea Colin Crooks shared his life in North Korea, where he previously served as a foreign ambassador from 2018 to 2021, at a forum in Seoul on Wednesday.

At the Korea Safety Leaders Forum, Crooks showcased photographs of architecture, modern taxis and traditional North Korean liquors that he took in 2019.

He witnessed a huge gap between Pyongyang and the countryside in terms of people’s lifestyles, standards of living and infrastructure.

British Ambassador to Korea Colin Crooks gave a presentation about his life in North Korea at an event organized by Korea Safety Leaders Forum at Korea Press Center in Seoul on Wednesday. (Sanjay Kumar/The Korea Herald)

"Bullock carts are very common," he said, adding that animals are widely used in the North Korean countryside, along with bicycles as the most common form of transportation.

The UK has not had an ambassador to North Korea since Crooks left Pyongyang in 2021.

The meeting was attended by 80 forum officials, including former high-ranking officials and ministers, businessmen, representatives of safety-related organizations, and members of the diplomatic corps in Korea.