Traveling on The Oppressed World Tour has made it difficult for us to post regularly, perhaps because the fabric of this journey has been to travel countries with different approaches to, for us, granted liberties. From my last published post I have traveled from the south of China to Beijing, gone and returned from North Korea and journeyed westbound to Kazakhstan-Almaty where I spent a day and night and now I am train-tracking to Uzbekistan. Much is to be said and the orderly fashion is to issue correspondence chronologically so all those eager to hear about Korea must endure the rants to come regarding minor details such as China.
I first saw Beijing 2005 or 2006 (we cannot agree on this, our previous passports having been filled and returned to the state) and Beijing was a Jack-City on the run. Only five (or four) years prior the city had been recently built, sky-scraping, perversely aveneu-ous, and grossly metropolitan and those that have not been since the Olympics I warn fervently before assuming the same city exists. I for one have seen a city or three in my young age and have to this day not seen such a monster as Beijing. Words need not be spent on descriptions on a city undoubtedly regularly visited, before or later, by many. I believe it is time for Korea.
On extra thoughts: the misconception that China is anything but the Worlds leading badass is common, and not misguided. Yes, rural China is... rural. So is rural –insert.your.countries.name.here- and standards are often different. I need only play this game in the comparative. Some have been to A and some have been to B. The odd Fucker has been to C and the eccentric Fucker has been to D. What are the foundations of civilization, the qualifying barriers between ´them´ and us? One of those is sanitation and Beijing is cleaner than a newborns conscience. The squatting, spitting Chinese have been rerouted somewhere else. The law and order version of Chinas Gotham, the smiling and friendly, formerly Sinful centre., Beijing is something to be acknowledged now & remembered. I have derailed from my thoughts. Best to continue onto something remotely relevant. Something you have vaguely, rarely or never heard of from an original source before. Korea. (n)
Pyongyang, you love hating it and you hate loving it.
One must tread lightly and carefully when story telling from Korea (DPR) not because it is as taboo and controversial as people assume but because the few that venture that way must understand the thin line between what is told, what is true and what is explainable. I will do my best to remain neutral and objective narratively, but personally I am far more anti-DPRK post-visit than I was pre-. This might not be news to many but now at least I have my reasons, from experience, rather than just speculation from the media. I am still like most or all a media-whore and am reactionally no different regarding news from some poverty stricken hellhole but I have been around enough to identify an (intentional?) fallacy every other coverage. My gold is to be able to contradict the brightest and most influential simply by having been to Pyongyang, occasionally the centre of attention, with a face to face account of the veralitées. Again my train of thought has led me off track. Let us begin, Beijing Pyongyang.
Those that assume that I am a product of nature, or nurture for that matter, are right and wrong but must not include those factors when viewing my analysis of Korea. Genetically I am my parent‘s son but ideologically I am of another era. Some might say that I am genetically prone to all communist ideals and regard most ‚oppressors‘ as ‚liberators‘ or some other bullshit like that but no. Unfortunately for my creators I have been educated on the events of The & Their World and will not readily bow to some great concept of some or all Cold War Era crap. My review of Korea is hands-on, untampered and honest.
Arriving In Pyongyang
Empty avenues, empty sidewalks, empty parks, apartment buildings, statues, expensive official or military BMW‘s or Benz‘s, empty trams (We came the night before a Sunday, the Korean one day weekend. The city was far more populated during the work-week), empty stores (the two we saw)... empty Pyongyang. We arrived in the late evening and the city‘s residents were apparently somewhere else. Appearance. Nothing is apparent in North Korea, not for those that visit. You see what you see, you see what you are meant to see. A random visit to the corner shop is quickly dismissed as impossible due to ´government policy´ much to my fathers´ dismay. The hotel we are brought to is five star, DPRK standard, and almost absolutely empty save a few Lebanese businessmen eager to make no money. Rooms are simple, channels are none. How much can one really listen to how the North Eastern Province # 46 has been visited by The Great and Wise Leader Kim Jong-Il for their unprecedented two year advance on the umpteenth five year plan in KIM´s Steel Factory. Nothing from outside the borders, no information, the N. Koreans know nothing. Without fear of exaggeration I say that I have never been to a country where information and knowledge is so fed and scarce, so limited and selected, so nil. North Koreans are subject to The News, without exception including a piece on Kims latest insightful, national brilliance. Did you know he was the Worlds funniest man? And usually scores four hole-in-ones in a single golf game! Night One.
Pyongyang is clean. The cleanest city I have ever seen. The Metro (foreigners only allowed to see two stations) is deep, deep, deep underground with murals, icons and paintings. It is effective and clean, although not extensive because Pyongyang is, although built Metropolitan, quite small. The avenues are big, the hedges are trimmed (everywhere!), the people are fit, not fat, not slim, but fit. They dress properly. Men boast trousers and tucked-in shirts and occasionally the casual tie (usually red) and women wear dresses and heels. The trams, buses and trains are timely, the hours are eight, the hair is kempt and short, the make-up is pseudo-Russian or none. Rubbish is none, cleanliness is worth reiterating, truly. En plus every single adult or almost-adult in the DPRK wears a Kim Il Sung button on his shirt/blouse covering his heart. Without exception. Everyone.
The DPRK ‚appears‘ to be a seemingly functional social paradise. The citizens do not pay tax, they do not vary much in income, they are seemingly equally educated and do not, seemingly, want or expect any deviation of life. They have free access to housing, to education, to health. There is no crime, no drugs, no prostitution, no crime and subsequently no prisons (only re-educational centres). No private belongings only public transport for free. Furnished apartments with DVD, VCD, LCD and all of those but no access to Batman and the likes. Only state channels and occasionally Chinese or Russian movies granted public access by the state. Rock, Pop, Jazz, Blues etc etc is none but the Korea DPR Red Army Choir does give out some CD‘s with patriotic songs (I have two CDs, you are most welcome to pop by for a listen)
Korea DPR. What the f. is going on?
The problem is that reasonably bright people will see through this farcical facade, the city looks grand and beautiful but when we were given an opportunity to see inside these buildings we saw the cracks in the walls and the moisture blotches in the corners etc etc. The library is meant to hold thirty million books and a large collection of foreign literature but where exactly was that? The library was empty except for a few students. Their are handball, football, martial arts, swimming, gymnastic superstructures along a certain avenue but appear to be vacant. Their thoughts on the Korea War are misguided, at least according to what my parents, my brother and myself along with my class were taught. American Imperialist Aggressors attacked an innocent North. Another link on an Imperial World Domination Mission. There were so many brutal and vulgar lies that we were told and what is worse I am convinced that they are (because they have no access to research or confirm anything else) generally believed by the masses. We were over fed in every single restaurant we were taken to, separately placed by a table in a room far from the main dining area, we were kept away from locals and led in and out five minutes after or before the Koreans. We could not confirm what we were being told but we could sense that they meant it, believed it and knew that theirs was the truth.
What angers me the most is little high heeled Kim. Our guides view their great and wise leader as one of them. He eats what they eat, lives how they live, sees what they see and feels what they feel. He is trusted because he is a dedicated Korean patriot constantly fighting for a unified peninsula. He DID NOT bomb the S. Korean ship! American artists were kidnapped and forced to forge the remains of the boat and missile to frame Kim and Korea. ... When asked whether he has children the guides answered that they did not know. Asked where he lives the guides said they did not know. Asked if he was married the guides said they did not know. If they did then they pretended not to. I don‘t understand why.
I have a sneaking suspicion that their beloved Kim is a Johnny Black loving, SUV-driving, gourmet food dining hypocrite keeping a nation imprisoned with blatant lies about the outside world and their role in it. I think he did blow that ship up as do I think he created or forged a nuclear bomb in order to receive much needed aid upon its dismantlement. I think he lives in a highly secure villa or three around the northern peninsula. I think he is an insane, power hungry megalomaniac. I think he is a criminal and should be captured, tried and shot. Why? Our guides were good people and I think Koreans in general are good honest hard working people, like most people anywhere. Why is it so important to completely block information from the masses. Why can they not read the newspapers, listen to the radio, watch the news and then repeat the procedure with different sources from different countries? These people are just people and I think the educational system is relatively good. Why in that ‚socialist paradise‘ do wages not differ, why can a civilian not buy a car or a bigger television. Why can some not excell in their field and work for whom they choose. They are allowed to be out and about after 21:00 but don‘t, because although allowed it is not expected and those that swim against stream are few and far between.
It was sad hearing our guides almost whisper „is there anything new in world news“ and we, regrettably, dismissed the question by saying that no, there was nothing new. Mid-East, Israel, Iran, Financial Crisis, Football, Elections here and there etc etc etc. Same old. Not for them. I wish I would have answered the question knowing what they were really asking. What the f. is really going on out there!?
I do not want to end this post on a negative note because there was much in Korea that will remain pleasantly in my memory. Although over-fed the food was good. Although oppressed the people were neat, clean and well dressed and dare I say looked content. Whether that is the famous ‚ignorance is bliss‘ or not is questionable but so is it everywhere else. The city was impeccably clean, trimmed and at times quite spectacular. The Circus was incredible, probably my favourite. The Korean Peoples Youth Union show was also very impressive.
The trip was the strangest I have been on to this day. I did not believe what I saw. I underestimated the oppression and the lies. I underestimated Korea and its functionality. Yes you are right, it is a sick country but you are also wrong. It is, again seemingly, not in any treacherous state. And if it is I suppose that it is hidden not only from tourists but from Koreans as well. Are they happy? Who can tell. Why shouldn‘t they be. By comparison, of which they have none, they are a cultured and free society. Is their leader a maniac, of course but perhaps not to them. He is always on the news (the only story on the news) and keeps promoting excellence, acknowledging hard work, rewarding loyal Koreans, promoting greatness and a place on the Global Pedestal. Is South Korea any better? Yes but again not to them. It unfortunately still takes orders from the Imperialistic American Global Expansion Armies and THEY are oppressed and whored, slave labouring for the Imperialist Plan.
I can not believe this still exists and to this degree. If you do not believe me or even if you do, I encourage every one to go see, what I fear will not remain as bizarre a trip to the 50‘s in coming years or decades, for yourselves. It is absolutely worth it. It is the only one of it‘s kind left.
Times they are a changing and for Koreans I hope this is true. In their favour.
Finnbogi Rutur Finnbogason...
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