North Korea – Fascinating Place

I've decided to copy (gradually) my Facebook blogs over to this site so beware for those who may have read this in the past.

So the brainwashing has been completed, you Imperialist Pigs, “Military first, our forces shan’t be overcome “. Ok, that is an  exaggeration but propaganda aplenty. Welcome to North Korea. A great trip, fascinating experience and many a surprise. I went into the trip expecting a choreographed snapshot of the Korea the government wanted Westerners to see but instead we saw people living their everyday lives – going to work, at times having fun and a total commitment to the state that is based either on fear or belief  (or possibly brainwashing, hmmm, aren’t all non-scientific beliefs a form of brainwashing?) Of which (fear or belief) it is impossible to say as the only free conversation I had never got to that stage (with a lady doctor on the subway – she was more interested in why I was taking pictures in the carriage, not the current socio-political environment). My own opinion, of which I have no proof, is that there must be open minded people out there who cannot trust absolutely anyone, your own mum included, and so their true thoughts must remain trapped within their mind, the risk of trust being just too great. That aside, I did have ample opportunities to be able to freely converse with the general public (our group had 3 strict but friendly ‘guides’) but no locals spoke english; luckily the universal language of smiling and waving had been taught. Except for our evening prison/hotel  (complete with pool room, karaoke bar, bowling alleys, casino, table tennis, revolving restaurant that only starts to move once you arrive and ask  (I think anti-clockwise tonight) and enough beers to produce quite a few raggedy Anne faces in the morning )) I had 3 meet and greet non-guide events. The 1^st being the visit to the water park where I once again arched the back to pick up more speed on the water slides while the North Korean kids  (of the younger variety ) were having as much fun as me. Felt a bit guilty as being a foreigner meant you were privileged not to have to wait in line (probably as we had to pay for entry) and once noticed were zipped to the front for some pretty cool, fast slides (went down about 7 different slides,some indoors). The 2^nd being an amusement park where my being a kid hit the skids as the rest of the group took on some hairy rides. The last place where freely roaming with the locals was possible was on the last night when we went to the inaugural Pyongyang beer festival. Got the t-shirt, bought the mug and drank the beer. Great entertainment provided, great night. Although it may seem that the trip was a party tour most times this wasn’t the case. We visited quite a few statues of the great leaders of which 2 have died although it is believed they have not truly died but are in some type of restive state. All the leaders, including the current one, Kim Jong un, have unique titles - the 1^st being the inaugural president, next the general, and the current, marshall. It is illegal to take a part picture of any leader statue or figure eg. only the head. I am not sure of the consequences but thought it wise to stay clear of problem areas (not to say I didn’t bend the rules a bit elsewhere). We were also told that if we bought a newspaper that we could not fold the paper so that the leader’s picture was cut in any way. So when visiting these, admittedly impressive, statues, after lining up and bowing (good to practice your bowing if you ever head this way or conversely if you are ever bestowed a knighthood you can always come here first for practice) we  would take whole snapshots (of which I was once checked, again, in the subway of all places). Talking of the subway it is wise never to risk that ‘got to catch this train, I’m late’ lunge just before the door closes as in the North the doors just don’t close they decapitate,  limbs, it seems, are optional. Anyway I am digressing, sites visited: statues, the main square where military parades are held (no foreigners only dignitaries allowed during these), fallen comrades hill (busts of war heroes from the Japanese invasion are displayed on a perfectly manicured hillside), a visit to the DMZ with South Korea  (a bit disappointing  here -  too civilized, where are the manned turrets, exploding mines, piped propaganda music from the South, hell there wasn’t even a fence between the border where we visited just a row of huts with open pathways between that marked the border, I reckon I could have made a run for it, at least that would have created some adventure and tension, alas no, calm and sterile just as both sides probably want it) and a tower with a great view over what is an impressive city (pastille colored buildings aplenty). Recently, every year, they are building a entire new street from scratch, impressive looking skyscrapers and all. The work is done by the military (“no pictures of construction sites comrades”) with the help of locals who volunteer during their spare time  (I think I would volunteer, their television shows are crap, watched a re-run of high ranking military officials crying after a respected patron died and this happened, I was told, a few months before, mmmmm, no reality TV on that channel). I guess volunteering helps your status and proves your commitment to the state, after all, all housing, education and a food ration is provided free. You get paid for work (different wages for different jobs) but I was told the food ration was pretty miserly. The state’s mantra is ‘military first’ which is another way of saying if you are hungry it is because the state needs to protect itself (or maybe the leader needs a new Ferrari, possibly?) Anyway I haven’t even mentioned yet the 2 most impressive sites and this post is getting huge (lucky(?) it is raining outside  (presently in Kamchatka Peninsula, North East Russia – which will be another post). The war museum was filled not only with very impressive walk through displays, in it you could also hear, quite loudly, the sounds of propaganda being told at an alarming rate. That aside, the building was grandiose (you first walk in to be confronted by a marble staircase leading to a very large(!) lifelike statue of the president surrounded by a baby blue background that had an aura of depth, like looking 10m  into a Caribbean lagoon  (superbly done), the colors of the man, his clothing and the background felt as if you were looking at a Disney cartoon movie at the cinema where only one frame was being shown, Cinderella this man was not, but the surroundings  were definitely Disney). All of the building was impeccable with the other highlight being the revolving platform which was placed in the middle of a circular room which was surrounded by pictorial scenery of the Korean War. Close to the platform the scenery was constructed possibly in clay  (great detail) as it dropped away angled from the platform. Then much further, and lower away, a screen circumferenced the room with 2 dimensional imagery depicted on it. This was done so well that the real and the imaged (on the screen) melded into one. The scene was of a battlefield with destroyed buildings, soldiers, casualties etc. As the platform begun to spin a light show begun with artillery flashes, explosions, planes flying at you, you get the drift. Really impressive, great visual and audio effects.  OK, close to the end, still chucking it down outside, the finale. The mausoleum was for me the highlight of the trip. This place where the 2 previous leaders lie in state is the most sacred place in the country.  No jokes, no arm gestures, arms by side all the time, very quiet. You must dress formally, shirt and New Zealand op-shop pants (now discarded) for this experience. Nothing, absolutely nothing, except the clothes you are wearing can enter this place. Enforcement and security are tight. For someone who rarely travels without camera and especially moneybelt I felt very naked indeed. Upon entry, shoe disinfectant and security checks you are grouped into lots of 16 and then proceed along a number of long travelators (?) (moving walkways) along which pictures are hung depicting the lives and experiences of the great leaders. The sound of the travelators are all that is heard. The interior again is magnificent, upon entering a stately room with magnificent chandelier we proceed in the pre-planned 4 abreast to about 5 meters from 2 life-size statues of the leaders, the customary bow occurs before proceeding single line through a small passage area where jets of air are blasted at you  (I can only guess to clean any impurities from you). Arriving at mausoleum 1 you wait until the group in front proceeds then again line up 4 abreast facing the absolute ruler’s feet. The room is lighted in mauve so is quite dark except for the glass case in which the President lies. Security personnel are interspersed around the outer reaches of the room, some against the wall, some offset a few meters in. The room as you now probably expect is grand indeed. As we had been instructed bow to the feet, the 4 of us then moved single file to the left facing the leader’s side, line up, wait, bow, single file, move to the left. Now for the important part, don’t bow at the leader’s head. Big no no, big trouble, little China. Walk past leader’s head to his side,wait, bow, single file, leave room. All done in complete quiet, in perfect unison as if we had had months of training. So very, very  formal. This was repeated for the General as well  (including another jet blast of air). While the general looked pretty good in his glass case I have to admit the President has seen better times. More like a wax figure than a real person. After each viewing room you proceeded to other grand rooms containing items as – medals and certificates presented by other world leaders (Assad, Mao to name a few, no recognizable Western leaders), cars used by the respective leader (Mercs the only choice it seems), the railway carriage the leader travelled with wall mounted screen depicting (a popular word this post) where in the world the leaders travelled (the room for the President showed he traveled to quite a few countries, the General hardly visited anywhere in his 18 odd years in power due to the fall of communism). The most surprising room held the President’s 25m boat, wasn’t expecting that one. So it was quite an experience. You wonder how such a poor country can afford such opulence. I think looking back on it 2 things come to mind. One was after the mausoleum visit we went to the gardens around the building. As you can imagine these were magnificent and perfectly manicured. Upon closely looking at some of the local gardeners sitting on the lawn they were hand picking the grass of which this place had bucket loads. Labor is cheap especially when the absolute ruler is the state. Which leads to my second reason. As the leader is head of the military, the ‘Military First ‘ doctrine means all resources can be channelled away from the people towards what the state deems important. It means while the people are under hardships the city seems amazingly rich. Are people truly happy to sacrifice for the state, do their true beliefs really, really lie with their great leaders past and present. Unfortunately this trip or any other won’t give me the answer. I will never know. The end  (thankfully ).