Unusual time zones around the world
North Korea has shifted its time zone in line with the South's in a gesture it said aimed to help the two rivals "become one." It's not the first country to change its clocks for political reasons. DW takes a look.
One nation, one time zone
In an effort to promote unity after taking power in China in 1949, the Communist Party abolished all the country's time zones to make just one — Beijing Time (GMT/UTC+ 8 hours). It means that people in the far west of the country, such as the Xinjiang province, must get up earlier than their body clocks might want. Some set their clocks back two hours, something at times viewed as disloyal.
Night owls
Spain's late-night lifestyle may have more to do with a historic decision than with Latin temperament. Dictator Francisco Franco stayed neutral (at least on paper) during World War II. But in a show of solidarity with Hitler in 1940, he switched from GMT to Central European Time — in line with Nazi Germany. That's why the sun rises and sets much later in Spain, and life is a little later, too.
Shaking off the past
North Korea changed its timekeeping in 2015, at a time of high tension in the region. The reason given though, was more historic. Pyongyang wanted to extinguish a vestige of Japanese colonialism. Both Koreas had been using the same time zone as when Japan ruled the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.
Daring to be different
Nepal is also a little strange in its measure of time, choosing to be 15 minutes ahead of neighboring India and five hours, 45 minutes ahead of GMT. The idea was to distinguish the relatively small Himalayan country from India, and generate a feeling of national pride in being different.
Save power, get 'more future'
In 2016, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called for all clocks to be move forward by 30 minutes — four hours behind GMT. The move reversed a time-change introduced by predecessor Hugo Chavez in 2007. The idea was that an extra bit of daylight would reduce the amount of electricity needed. It was even given a positive spin with the tag "half an hour more future."
The long jump
The biggest single leap in time change must go to the Pacific country of Samoa, which jumped a full day across the International Dateline in 2011. The island nation went from 21 hours behind Sydney Time to three hours ahead. The decision aimed to break with the legacy of a 19th century king, who had wanted his islands more aligned with America, and improve ties with Australia and New Zealand.