The background of Arirang Mass Games - thousands of schoolchildren holding books with colored pages
The deposit is paid, so it's almost official: in August we are going to North Korea!
I've been gone from this space for so long that I owe you - all 50 of my regular readers - an explanation. I haven't gone traveling or anything. All this time I've been here sitting on the couch wrapped in blankets (c'mon Canadian summer, get here already!) reading books, planning trips, and lately keeping my fingers crossed for North Korea to be bluffing about the war. Hope that's their plan... because this year's big trip for me is to North Korea!
My level of excitement about this trip can be compared only to winning a jackpot. While everyone else thinks it's 1) unsafe during these rocky times and 2) weird to waste a precious vacation on a dodgy communist country, I feel extremely lucky and humbled by this opportunity. We tend to think that every country in the world wants the changes brought by globalization, meanwhile there is this one place that makes conscious choices to be different. North Korea - or officially DPRK - is the last fortress of dictator-type socialism in the world, and I find it fascinating that the Kim family has been able to hold the power for so long.
How could people fall for the cheesy propaganda? And do they really? What do they actually think about the third Kim? Is it true that locals we will encounter are actually actors assigned to ride the subway and hang out near monuments? As a result of this trip, I am hoping to better understand the other side.
My long-term obsession with North Korea doesn't come from nowhere. First of all, being born in Soviet Russia and learning at school about Stalin's personality cult, I can almost relate to what North Koreans are going through. Also, I've always loved reading dystopias like 1984, We, Fahrenheit 451 where socialist ideas are taken to the extreme. And finally - according to Jonny - some of my uncompromising expectations of people would make me a great dictator myself. I sort of agree.
My level of excitement about this trip can be compared only to winning a jackpot. While everyone else thinks it's 1) unsafe during these rocky times and 2) weird to waste a precious vacation on a dodgy communist country, I feel extremely lucky and humbled by this opportunity. We tend to think that every country in the world wants the changes brought by globalization, meanwhile there is this one place that makes conscious choices to be different. North Korea - or officially DPRK - is the last fortress of dictator-type socialism in the world, and I find it fascinating that the Kim family has been able to hold the power for so long.
How could people fall for the cheesy propaganda? And do they really? What do they actually think about the third Kim? Is it true that locals we will encounter are actually actors assigned to ride the subway and hang out near monuments? As a result of this trip, I am hoping to better understand the other side.
My long-term obsession with North Korea doesn't come from nowhere. First of all, being born in Soviet Russia and learning at school about Stalin's personality cult, I can almost relate to what North Koreans are going through. Also, I've always loved reading dystopias like 1984, We, Fahrenheit 451 where socialist ideas are taken to the extreme. And finally - according to Jonny - some of my uncompromising expectations of people would make me a great dictator myself. I sort of agree.
Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Monument in Pyongyang
Traveling in North Korea is easy and hard at the same time. It is easy because I don't need to research, plan, or book anything. All we have to do is to show up at the airport. We will be picked up, fed, driven around and entertained throughout the entire trip because - and here's the hard part - independent travel is absolutely impossible in North Korea. Our group will have two local guides with us at all times, and our itinerary is a list of attractions approved by the government.
Now, if this doesn't make you wanna hop on the next flight to Pyongyang, here are some more details.
Things we won't be able to do:
- walk alone on the street
- ride public transport (except a group tour of the subway where we will ride a predetermined route of 5 stations)
- talk to locals
- take pictures from a moving vehicle (we will also be told what we can and cannot take pictures of)
- leave our hotel at night
- use my point-and-shoot camera because it has GPS function
- go online (Internet the way we know it doesn't exist in DPRK)
Things we are expected to do:
- dress up to visit the mausoleum where both Kims are put to rest - ripped jeans, flip-flops, shorts and short skirts are out of the question
- dress up to visit the DMZ (the highly guarded boarder between the South and North Koreas)
- bow in front of Kim Il-sung statues
- keep our mouths shut about what we actually think of the system
During the stay, we are planning on attending the famous Mass Games - a highly synchronized performance like the ones we see at the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. The Mass Games are also called "The Greatest Show on Earth", so I'm quite pumped for it!
Now, if this doesn't make you wanna hop on the next flight to Pyongyang, here are some more details.
Things we won't be able to do:
- walk alone on the street
- ride public transport (except a group tour of the subway where we will ride a predetermined route of 5 stations)
- talk to locals
- take pictures from a moving vehicle (we will also be told what we can and cannot take pictures of)
- leave our hotel at night
- use my point-and-shoot camera because it has GPS function
- go online (Internet the way we know it doesn't exist in DPRK)
Things we are expected to do:
- dress up to visit the mausoleum where both Kims are put to rest - ripped jeans, flip-flops, shorts and short skirts are out of the question
- dress up to visit the DMZ (the highly guarded boarder between the South and North Koreas)
- bow in front of Kim Il-sung statues
- keep our mouths shut about what we actually think of the system
During the stay, we are planning on attending the famous Mass Games - a highly synchronized performance like the ones we see at the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. The Mass Games are also called "The Greatest Show on Earth", so I'm quite pumped for it!
One of the acts at Arirang Mass Games in Pyongyang
To prepare for this trip I have been watching documentaries and reading a lot about North Korea. So if you are not quite ready to jump on the plane and would rather armchair travel, check out some of these books:
Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty - at 700 pages, this is by far
the most detailed account of North Korea's history and leadership.
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea - read this book if you are looking for real-life stories of North Korean defectors. I couldn't put it down - it's so good!
Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West - you may have seen this at the bookstores recently. An incredible story of a prisoner born in a political camp who was able to find his way out.
A state of mind (documentary) - The Mass Games seen through the eyes of the young participants.
[Beautiful photos in this post are by (Stephan)]
Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty - at 700 pages, this is by far
the most detailed account of North Korea's history and leadership.
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea - read this book if you are looking for real-life stories of North Korean defectors. I couldn't put it down - it's so good!
Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West - you may have seen this at the bookstores recently. An incredible story of a prisoner born in a political camp who was able to find his way out.
A state of mind (documentary) - The Mass Games seen through the eyes of the young participants.
[Beautiful photos in this post are by (Stephan)]
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