North Korea: Tourist Façade

January 2003 – 6’50”


Airport scenes Music 21:59:24
Simkin: A ride on Air Koryo, North Korea’s national airline, is an experience in itself. It’s the only airline I’ve flown on that doesn’t bother with a safety demonstration – but who needs one, when you’ve got the latest in emergency equipment. 22:09
Parading military bands Music 22:24
Simkin: Pyongyang is a place from another world, and another time. The whole city is like a giant socialist theme park, and, in the best collectivist tradition, the locals know how to put on a good show. Tourism isn’t just being tolerated, it’s being encouraged. Visitors – mainly from Eastern Europe – are starting to trickle in, presumably to revisit the good old days. 22:32
TV Local television was a bit limited -- there was only one channel, and only one subject – the glorious life and times of North Korea’s Dear Leader, Kim Jong Il. 23:00
TV: Our great General inspects the historic war relics of the revolution. He gives high praise for their preservation. 23:10
Music 23:24
Simkin getting on a tour bus Simkin: There isn’t a guidebook to North Korea, but tourists don’t need one. It’s a package tour on steroids. The government thoughtfully provides guides who tell you – in the politest possible way – where to go and exactly what time you’ll get there. They were even kind enough to look after my passport. 23:30
The streets are wide – but eerily empty.
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Pyongyang subway system Simkin: Here we are at the entrance to the Pyongyang subway system. All the stations are more than 100 metres underground, and there’s a good reason why. They double as nuclear bunkers. 23:57
The platforms themselves take kitsch to a new level. It’s hard to believe this was built in 1975. 24:12
Guide: The Great Leader, Kim Il Sung among the working class. 24:21
Guide and Simkin – subway Everything in our country is held together by the teaching and guidance of the Great Leader and the Dear Leader. Simkin: Thank you.Guide: We are happy because we are under their guidance. 24:26
Simkin: Rather than being related to their geographic locations, the stations are called “Revival”, “War Victory” and “Triumph”. 24:47
Music 24:56
View of Pyongyang - monuments Simkin: Back above ground, everything is built on a monumental scale, and comes with a generous dose of propaganda. There are monuments “to glorify the victory and heroic struggles in the fatherland liberation war, in which the Great Leader defeated the armies led by the American imperialists.” 25:12
Music
Simkin: There are monuments that reflect the unanimous desire of the people to praise the exploits of comrade Kim Il Sung and immortalize his revolutionary achievements.” 25:35
Crowds Guide: Our great leader was so gracious to help us serve him honourably even after his death by building this statue. 25:46
Music 25:56
Department Store number One Simkin: Any self-respecting tourist needs to take home some souvenirs, and this is a great place to get them -- Department Store number One. We were told it’s the biggest and busiest shop in all of Korea – and it certainly was overflowing with the latest gadgets. 26:11
book department The book department boasted a wonderful selection -- almost everything was written by or about, the Great Leader and the Dear Leader. 26:31
Simkin in book department Simkin: There are CD’s, too. This one is an opera called “Sea of Blood”. It’s full of great tracks, including “Youth is an Express Train”, “Longing For the General – Remembering His Sunny Smiles”, “I Will Satisfy My Deep-Seated Grudge at Any Cost”, “Let’s Go, Brindled Ox”, “Our Socialism is Best in the World” and my personal favourite -- “Peace is on the End of Our Bayonets.” 26:39
Music 27:10
Golf course Simkin: How better to relax after a hard day monument ogling than a game of golf? The great leader himself played at this course, and it’s said that he could get around the 18 holes in just 18 shots -- a pretty good performance, and one that would be very hard to beat. I decided to give it a go. 27:14
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Simkin: In my defence, I was a little distracted by a masterstroke of engineering. It’s amazing how the golf course was so green when the farmland around it was so brown. 27:35
rice paddies We weren’t supposed to film this, but we did. Apparently these are rice paddies, testaments to the priorities of a worker’s paradise. And that’s the really depressing thing about being a tourist in North Korea. You’re not allowed see anything that might reflect badly on the government, and 27:51
Military on the streets - street scenes yet everywhere you go, there are hints of just how harsh conditions are -- signs of a rotten reality behind the facade. And these people are relatively fortunate. Things are much, much worse in the north of the country, where tourists and even aid groups are prohibited. It’s estimated several million North Koreans have starved to death in the last decade. 28:09
Music 28:32
Theatre Simkin: Not that you’d notice on Pyongyang’s tourist trail. Here, it’s a very different reality. Everyone has a smile for the cameras. The irony is that these children really are happy – or at least, they think they are. Since they were born, they’ve been repeatedly told life in North Korea is perfect – and there’s no outside news to spoil the illusion. 28:39
It’s a symbol of a country that’s managed to con itself, and is now -- through tourism -- trying to con the world. 29:05
Music/applause
HAPPY HOLIDAYReporter: Mark SimkinCamera: Jun MatsuzonoEditor: Stuart Miller 29:21