Kimland

[Comrade]

Here's a fascinating account of a Korean speaking American who was able to put together a travel log of North Korea, very recently.

It's a damn good read and ballsy enough to really make the story very special and unique.

He sneaks a peek at the tour guides notes on the bus and almost gets caught.

He commits a serious crime by making a cell phone call from the NK side of the DMZ to some friend in S.K. in a bathroom.

He strikes up conversions with people who are not supposed to talk to him.

He visits the "elite school" and they all beam picture perfect smiles to his group in the classroom.

Then he sneaks back in and catches them with a snapshot right in mid-transformation from dull expressions to trained smiles again. It's a classic piece of insight into Kimland.

http://1stopkorea.com/index.htm?Travel.htm~mainframe

 

[Annie]

Great link Comrade, this is fascinating!


Referring to having passports collected:

Plus it's not like keeping them would have made any difference - the nearest US embassy was past about a million soldiers down in Seoul.

Too funny! Being 'pressured' to buy more expensive tickets!

Front row at a football game? Okay, maybe I'll pay $100. To see the Arirang Festival? Not going to happen. A look of consternation passed over Mr. Baek's and Mr. Huk's faces when we said we wanted the $50 seats. "Yes, that's possible, but I think there aren't many Americans that come here. If you only buy the $50 seats then everyone will see you and maybe you'll embarrass your country . . . "

Of all the things I've done that could be considered embarrassing to America (not that many by the way - any time something weird happens I always say I'm French . . .) this one seemed pretty benign. Our German comrades concurred and we stuck with $50 a ticket, much to the chagrin of our guides.

On the festival:

Arirang Festival

I'd heard and read plenty about this show before I came and had been kind of skeptical. A bunch of people flipping around colored squares? How cool could that be?

Well, to put it mildly, my expectations were blown away. The show was spectacular, and somewhat eerie, all at the same time. If Orwell had put a stadium scene in 1984 this would have been it. How could 100,000 people, as everyone claimed anyway, all work together in such perfect harmony? Mr. Huk, who sat next to me throughout the performance and who always seemed brimming with fervor to show us nonbelievers the one true way, used the beauty of the performance to fill my ear, endlessly, with the utter, undeniable greatness of North Korea. For him this many people working together in lockstep precision was a sign that he and his countrymen were of one pure heart, of one pure mind, working together to fulfill the ideals of the Kims and Juche.

"The people who come here for the performance are from all walks of life. Workers, students, soldiers, everyone who comes here is a volunteer. No one is paid. They do it because they love our country. The Arirang Festival shows how we can work together as one to achieve anything we desire, no matter who stands against us." Mr. Huk was polite enough not to point out the 'who' in this sentence meant me, or more specifically, my government. And of course the puppet government down in the South where I was living.

The spectacle was something I'll never forget, though perhaps not for the reasons Mr. Huk and his countrymen intended. The show was so precise as to be robotic. No one outside the group, everyone buried within it. All done with a flair and focus that was chilling to behold. The model of mass unity that was being held up as proof of greatness and independence smacked of mindlessness. Of course everyone in the performance was human, with their own hopes, dreams and desires. This though was something to be eliminated, not tolerated or encouraged. These were things that still had to be rooted out in an effort to build the utopian, Juche-centered society. The zeal in Mr. Huk's voice spoke not of a country, but of a cult.

 

[Comrade]

I'm kind of curious about the whole stadium on the other end from his view... all those thousands with the placards, are they peformers or paying customers?

I couldn't understand the whole thing about this stadium hyped up as THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD. And get a load of thier Arch of Triumph
and note how it's BIGGER than the one other stupid Arch in Paris. And that pyramid hotel was supposed to be the NUMBER ONE BIG hotel but then they ran out of money and it's just a mere shell. And still, their other hotel is barely occupied. All the egomaniacal commies in power honestly try to impress us with these massive wastes while their people starve.

And check the streets... always empty. He snaps a pic from the bus during rush hour cathing some people walking along the tracks to work, and get's warned about it. What a pathetic state of affairs.

Anyway, that whole stadium with the 100,000 performers, another insane waste of time and energy. Of course it's impressive, but how many starved for that display of centralized majesty. I weep for the people of North Korea.

I really want Kim to die, horribly if possible. Die you fucking prick.

 

[Annie]

I'm kind of curious about the whole stadium on the other end from his view... all those thousands with the placards, are they peformers or paying customers?

I couldn't understand the whole thing about this stadium hyped up as THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD. And get a load of thier Arch of Triumph
and note how it's BIGGER than the one other stupid Arch in Paris. And that pyramid hotel was supposed to be the NUMBER ONE BIG hotel but then they ran out of money and it's just a mere shell. And still, their other hotel is barely occupied. All the egomaniacal commies in power honestly try to impress us with these massive wastes while their people starve.

And check the streets... always empty. He snaps a pic from the bus during rush hour cathing some people walking along the tracks to work, and get's warned about it. What a pathetic state of affairs.

Anyway, that whole stadium with the 100,000 performers, another insane waste of time and energy. Of course it's impressive, but how many starved for that display of centralized majesty. I weep for the people of North Korea.

I really want Kim to die, horribly if possible. Die you fucking prick.

About the performers, according to the guide, they do it out of 'love of country' and 'love for Kim'. Aaarrrggg

I have to agree with your closing sentiments!

 

[Annie]

Just had to share this, after waking a son up with an exclamation!

The buildings shown below are only 15-20 minutes from the DMZ but seem a world away. The lunch was all done in a very traditional style with everyone sitting on the floor while dishes served by women in traditional hanbok gradually filled up the tables in front of us. The only thing that seemed out of place (other than us) was the meat. Having dined on dog meat numerous times in the South most of us agreed that we probably weren't eating beef . . . Squeamish diners beware - nothing says you're eating dog like having little hairs poking out of the fatty parts of the meat!

 

[Comrade]

Oh I just thought of the best part...

The temple of Kim. Thatcher gave the delegates a signed basketball from Michael Jordan, and the guides refuse to believe he's actually just a player and not some powerfull leader.

And the CNN mug and keychain and a few other mere trinkets, also front and center in the display room. This blew me away.

Did I mention there is some forbidden picture taken in secrecty of the the Wax Kim Il in the sacred temple. Speaking is forbidden. And taking pics is seriously a crime. It's just ho-hum and quite a silly thing to see, but this is a temple to them. And the Japenese-Korean tour group are caught up in the worship, which is another bizzare thing.

Anyway, you'll see this and just stare in disbelief. It's just strange.

 

[Annie]

Oh I just thought of the best part...

The temple of Kim. Thatcher gave the delegates a signed basketball from Michael Jordan, and the guides refuse to believe he's actually just a player and not some powerfull leader.

And the CNN mug and keychain and a few other mere trinkets, also front and center in the display room. This blew me away.

Did I mention there is some forbidden picture taken in secrecty of the the Wax Kim Il in the sacred temple. Speaking is forbidden. And taking pics is seriously a crime. It's just ho-hum and quite a silly thing to see, but this is a temple to them. And the Japenese-Korean tour group are caught up in the worship, which is another bizzare thing.

Anyway, you'll see this and just stare in disbelief. It's just strange.

Oh dear, do think the CNN and Jimmy Carter gifts are worth quoting:

Ever wonder why CNN seems to be the only Western news organization regularly allowed into North Korea? The next room perhaps offered a clue. In the 'Gifts from America' room a whole section of one wall is taken up by gifts from CNN. A few engraved plaques, a coffee cup (yeah, a freaking coffee cup!), a logo ashtray, etc. Probably at most a couple hundred bucks worth of crap that nonetheless get pride of place in the museum - for they reveal obvious signs of respect from a world famous news organization. The people at CNN are certainly using their heads and showing they know how to play the game. Though one wonders how that fits in with journalistic integrity . . .

Another of the interesting gifts in this section was the guestbook signature from former U.S. President Carter's visit. The several sentences, "wishing you peace and good fortune" (hard to remember verbatim when notes and pictures are banned) were a model of empty diplomatic phrases. Exactly the kind of stuff we were getting used to saying ourselves.

 

[Annie]

I think I've been looking at this site for nearly 2 hours! It's great! This is too funny

The other interesting gift is one I mentioned at the very beginning of this travelogue - a basketball autographed by Michael Jordan. This one presented by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright during here Fall 2000 visit to Pyongyang. It was funny seeing Mr. Huk's eyes light up in recognition of the name we had asked him about the day before when trying to figure out what he knew of the outside world.

"That's the person you talked about? He really is a basketball player!?" Mr. Huk was incredulous that a simple autographed basketball was all that the mighty US government had come up with. No cars, entertainment centers or nice respectful plaques, just a freaking basketball. It seemed to bother him for quite a while, he even asked me about it later on the bus ride back to Pyongyang. When I told him Jordan is kind of an American god, who got his start by playing basketball, he seemed to be somewhat mollified. Madeline Albright, if you're out there, excellent call on the gift - you certainly puzzled the hell out of a lot of North Koreans!