Glamorous in Retrospect - North Korea

Pyongyang - first impressions and major sights

2006-10-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

After months of planning and ridiculous problems, we finally made it up to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea - better known as North Korea. The experience was beyond anything I could have expected. Living in the south, we hear about the evils of this isolated nation on a daily basis. To a lesser extent, this is also true at home in Canada (largely because of our over-exposure to the American media).

I'm still not sure whether my DPRK experience was exactly as I expected or the exact opposite. Regardless, it was fascinating, and I often felt that I had stumbled in to Orwell's 1984. Big Brother, despite being dead and lying in a very creepy mausoleum, was alive and well in this little country, and President Kim Il Sung's presence could be felt everywhere we went.

Now, a little clarification; yes, I'm saying that Kim Il Sung is both dead and the president. He is generally referred to as the Great Leader, and his face is everywhere. Above is a picture of the pin that one of our guides where. All North Koreans must wear one of these badges at all times, and they are not available for purchase. They must be earned. Portraits of the Great Leader are above buildings all over the country, and his name is everywhere. And that's before the propaganda signs and posters.

The official decision maker is Kim Il Sung's son, Kim Jong Il. A.K.A. the Dear Leader. Okay, enough politics lessons, here are some more pictures.

Here are our plane tickets with Air Koryo. As is normal 'pariah country' policy, you receive no stamps in your passport when you enter or exit the DPRK. This made us a little nervous about crossing borders till we got back to the south, but no major incident, so it's all good. Anyway, we have very little evidence of going there, so here are our tickets.

The Pyongyang airport. I counted 5 planes, including the one we arrived on. The others were just sitting outside.

Pyongyang's Arch of Triumph. Apparently it is 3 metres taller than Paris'. It was built on the site where the Great Leader gave the victory speech in 1945 when he defeated the Japanese. On the tour they neglect to mention that even at that time it was openly accepted as a Soviet accomplishment. However, we all know what they say about who writes history...

Also, crossing this street our guide warned us to be careful of the cars. Yup.

What I really liked about the arch was the Korean details integrated in to a very European structure.

Across the street was this mural at the side of a giant open square. It was called 'The Cheers of the People', and depicts the North Korea's happily celebrating their victory in WWII.

A closer view of Kim Il Sung delivering the news.

One of the big draws to the DPRK is the Mass Games, a giant display of 100,000 people dancing, doing gymnastics, and flashing cards in sequence to make giant pictures. Unfortunately, this year's games were cancelled due to widespread landslides during the summer, but we were lucky enough to see swarms of school children practicing in the square.

One girl on a quick break during practice.

This is the Juche tower (pronounced 'Joo-chay'). It is a monument to the 'Juche Idea', created by Kim Il Sung. The whole 'idea' is self-reliance. Ironically, that's the DPRK's biggest weakness... The tower itself is 150 metres tall, with a 20 metre red flame at the top (170 total).

When the tower was built, apparently people from countries around the world sent these stone blocks to commemorate the achievement of the Juche Idea.

Yup.

In front of the tower is this giant - GIANT - statue of three North Koreans representing the three important parts of society - the workers, the farmers, and the scholars. The inclusion of the scholars (including the writing brush with the hammer and sickle) is unique to the DPRK.

Seriously, GIANT.

The flame at the top of the tower.

The Workers Party Foundation Monument. (I think - I'll update when I have a chance to check.) After Kim Il Sung's death the people erected this monument (wordchoice intentional) directly across from a great bronze statue of him a few blocks away, though clearly visible from each other. Again, hands holding the hammer, writer's brush, and sickle. This was also giant. GIANT. Look closely at the people in the centre.

I don't think the planners fully thought it through, though. See a problem? No? Scroll down.

And... there it is. Oops.

Detail on the inside of the ring in this monument.

The writing at the top says '100 battles'.

And to its right, '100 victories'.

The Kim Il Sung statue. Remember how everything here is giant? This is no exception. Note the woman placing flowers at the bottom.

This is a required stop for every visitor to the DPRK. First, someone from your group must place flowers. Then, everyone must bow. Then you may take pictures. What's more interesting is why it's here. Most would assume it was a memorial. However, this was created as a celebration for a still-breathing Il Sung's 60th birthday. Originally it was covered in gold leaf (real gold) which requires regular maintenance, but the Chinese, who provide regular aid, objected, and now it is left in a polished bronze.

To the sides of Il Sung's statue are these giant structures of a red flag flanked by revolutionaries who have worked for the DPRK's independence and unification over the years.

From a statue at the Martyrs' Cemetary. Here they pay tribute to those who made the greatest sacrifices to the Korean people.

Each martyr is memorialized in a bronze bust. These are placed on a hill overlooking the city at intervals that allow each to view the future of Korea. An example of what had to be done to earn a place: one man thought he might accidentally spill confidential secrets in his sleep so he cut out his own tongue.

On a major street in Pyongyang. This is leading away from the train station. Notice anything missing? Cars, perhaps?

The Koryo Hotel - it's actually two towers joined near the top, and one of the ritziest in the city. Doesn't appear to get much traffic, though. Being in North Korea, and all.

Here is another one of our guides' pins. She informed us that men tend to prefer the flag style, while the women often opt for the smaller circle style.

Part of a monumet at the Moran. This one is dedicated to the Soviets and their contributions, with their flag draped in bronze.

The full monument, with their star at the top. And you can walk on it.

The May Day stadium. Apparently it's the largest indoor stadium in the world, if I'm remembering that correctly. This is where they hold the Mass Games.

The Moran, a park in Pyongyang, was a great part of the trip, because it allowed us to experience North Koreans outside of their roles. Families and friends were gathered everywhere, barbecueing and singing, enojoying the beautiful weather.

The Great Leader overlooking a parking lot.

Nampo, Panmunjeom, and Kaesong

2006-10-06T16:55:00.000-07:00

From Pyongyang we drove a few hours north to see the West Sea Barrage, a giant dam (?) with a complicated lock system. We had to watch a terrible video about the construction, which, as someone on our tour pointed out, showed footage circa the 1950's, when this thing was built about 20 years ago. Above is the lighthouse, designed to look like a giant anchor.

Here's the Barrage. I guess.

After spending the night in the east coast hot springs town of Nampo, we drove four hours south to Panmunjeom to see the DMZ. This is the road on the way, but notice behind it the mountain. Pretty bare, right? Unfortunately, many of the trees have been cleared over the years (some for farming, many for heat and fuel), leaving the mountains looking like this. Sometimes you'll still see covered mountains, but apparently one of the initial sentiments of escapees to the south is their surprise at how green the mountains are.

At this point I want to tell you about our bus. Ours is the one on the right. Ever seen that episode of the Simpsons when Bart and Homer are tethered together? And Homer has night terrors in Bart's class? And screams in his sleep? That's what our bus sounded like.

Inside the DMZ at the official border. This is taken from inside the official building on the North side, facing the South. A striking point was the quality of the roads on each side, although the building in the North was surprisingly nice.

See that big cement block? That's the official border. It's 50cm wide. If you try to cross it someone, will shoot you. Probably a number of someones, actually, from both sides. This was taken from inside the meeting room where the two sides convene for discussion. Here I was technically back in the south. Would have been easier to get home from there...

Craig and I, my left and his right foot in the south, my right and his left foot in the north. Weird, right?

Our guide, the major, climbing the steps to the main building.

And here's something you don't see everyday. Some men who'd had a meeting were allowed to cross the DMZ on foot. This was more than a little surprising to see.

Outside the front gate to the DMZ area - the green sign indicates that you're only a 70 km drive from Seoul. Very, very strange.

In Kaesong, somewhat near the DMZ, we stopped for a short visit. Here is another great Great Leader monument. Apparently the city has two generators for power cuts. One to fuel the hotel where foreigners would stay, the other to light this monument.

While in Kaesong we visited the Museum of American Aggression, or the Museum of U.S. War Crimes, or something along those lines. Though we saw little actual evidence that the U.S. had commited any of the atrocities they suggested, there were a number of lovely paintings of the events on display. Notice the expressions of the faces of the American soldiers.

Pyongyang - randomness

2006-10-06T08:05:00.000-07:00

On our last day of this trip our first stop was the embroidery factory. Where they make embroidery. Yeah you're jealous. Anyway, they showed us two rooms - one had about eight women who do the machine embroidery, the other had five who do the hand embroidery. All well and good, although it seemed to be a few short for the amount of work they're supposed to be doing.

Here are two women creating an embroidered replica of this tiger painting. It's supposed to take a full year to complete.

Another street shot in Pyongyang. Bustling, isn't it? This is outside the Korean War Museum. The museum was pretty interesting. Inside they showed evidence of the American effort to take control of the entire Korean peninsula. Most of the documents were actually declarations to the South Koreans that they would continue to maintain their regular jobs and lives, and their property was safe. Very interesting opinions on the events of the Korean War.

Here is a letter written by a helicoptor pilot who was shot down over DPRK airspace in 1994. He had to write a confession indicating the crimes of the United States against the North before being released. It is now on the wall in the museum as evidence that the US is responsible for the Korean War. The year it was written again? Yes, 1994.

The Pyongyang skyline from the restaurant in the TV tower. Below you can see the arch, and to the right is what was meant to be the world's biggest hotel. 3000 rooms, 5 revolving restaurants, 105 floors. The money dried up in 1989 (coincidence?), and the crane has been sitting motionless at the top ever since. No glass in the windows, no finished exterior, and one can only imagine the bareness of the inside, since they won't take you near it. Why they needed 3000 more hotel rooms in this city is beyond me, as far fewer visitors than that are even allowed to visit each year.

After the TV tower we visited a fun fair. This might have been the most depressing 'fun' fair I've ever seen. Scratch that - it definitely was. They had about five rusty rides, and some very sketchy games. However, they insist that they receive 100,000 visitors every day on weekends.

The roller coaster. Once we were on it I was afraid it might be the worst (and last) mistake I'd ever make, because the creaking was unbelievable. It ended up being pretty fun, though. Once.

Look how happy all the people are! Go ahead, take a closer look.

This ride definitely wasn't even running. I feel as though that was for the best.

Fun fun games! You shoot these with a gun. Nice.

A nice version for the kids!

The birthplace of Kim Il Sung. We were told that he was born right here. In this stable. Very moving story, isn't it? And original.

Inside the stable area.

The Kim family's pots. The keep them to show the president's humble beginnings, and I am truly amazed that anyone could possibly use the one on the right. Good for them.

A map of the Pyongyang metro.

The escalator going down to the trains. There was much discussion about how far down we actually were - official answer: 250 metres. This is because it was designed to double as a bunker in the case of attack. Apparently doors will slam shut keeping people inside safe.

First station we saw.

Inside the train. What's missing.... ooohh... ADVERTISING!

The second station we saw.

During our last afternoon they took us to the Children's palace, a place where exceptionally gifted children are invited to study for free in music, dancing, and martial arts. This girl was in a class that was practicing the gayagum. This whole place was amazing. After showing us around we saw a performance of kids who were unbelievably talented. Definitely a highlight.

So instead of traffic lights, the DPRK has traffic ladies. These women are almost robotic in their movements, and stand in the middle of intersections directing cars all day. It was amazing to watch them.

My entry card when we crossed at Dandong. Had to keep this tucked away while there were still DPRK guards on the train.