It’s all fun and games now
We see the Philharmonic of North Korea and are treated to an impressive performance of powerful music. The skill is there without a doubt. We see 3 conductors, including a guest conductor (Chinese?)… Continue reading
Monthly Archive: October, 2012
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Another feast
The hot pot was already full of a delicious pork broth, and we cooked the vegetables in it. A culinary highlight.
By the time we reach
the important Monument to Party Foundation it is freezing and inauspiciously dark. In 1995 this monument was inaugurated to celebrate the 50 years of the foundation of the Workers’ Party. The hammer, sickle… Continue reading
They wanted me in the picture
even though my clothes don’t hold a candle to theirs.
Then I visit
the great statue of Kim Il Song, the “Grand Monument”, most revered monument of the country. The protocol is strict here, and the flowers are obligatory (5 euros). I bowed when it was… Continue reading
And right behind us
Right behind the highest Party officials and myself, comes the elite female corps of the prestigious Mangyongdae Revolutionary School. These women and the men that attend the same school will be the military… Continue reading
Young Kim Il Sung
Leaving Mangyongdae for the front. Behind him are his grandparents.
The pheasants are out on that day
and so are their handlers. Pheasants are part of the Korean lore, of their self-image of communion with nature. So, for the National Holiday, they are brought over from North Korea’s zoo to… Continue reading
“Immortality”
Immortality of the Eternal Leader.
The last critical monument!
Juche Tower (pronounce “djoochay”). Juche is the key tenet behind “Kimilsong-ism”, a subject of much study and reverence in this part of the world. Juche means “self-reliance”, a nice way to express that… Continue reading