Inside North Korea - Day 2

Aug. 21, 2011
It is Sunday in North Korea. After breakfast at the hotel we went to the resting place of Kim Il Sung. 

금수산기념궁전
김일성의 시신이 안치된 건물

I cannot describe how I felt to see the reverence the Korean people have for him. Here, scores and scores of people are marched through the interior of the building in lines, two-by-two. Tourists kept separate from citizens, of course. The message to the North Koreans who have been bussed here from all over the countryside (a government-funded, mandatory trip made once or twice a lifetime) is that the foreigners have come from all over the world to pay their respects to the Great Leader. We are led through the grand sepulcher by a guide and a recording that we listen to through headphones. In the end we are directed to a large cavernous room that is as still as night, the lights are dimmed, and it is slightly stuffy and eerie inside. There is only one door to enter or exit the room. In the center of the room is a large glass case with red velvet rope barricades surrounding it. Groups of four step up to the red velvet, stop, and bow 90°. This is repeated four times, once on each of the four sides of the glass case. And then you exit the room. As I approach the red velvet I look inside the glass case and see the preserved body of Kim Il Sung. I feel an odd sense of respect and disgust course through me. Before I know it I'm back outside the building. Though his body lies in the Mausoleum, as the propaganda signs say around the city, he is always with us. 

He lives in the hearts of the people here. The life he created for them, the world he made for them is full of constant reminders of him and his work. Every billboard, every building, every monument, song, news broadcast, and every person (via the pin on their shirt) carries a symbol of devotion and a reminder of the worker's paradise he has left for his people. The celebration of his communist victory is ubiquitous throughout the country, save for in one thing - the actual quality of life of the citizens, even in the capitol, who look more downtrodden than any freeway ramp beggar I have ever seen. 

As a part of our tour we got to ride on the subway, the deepest in the world. The escalator was scarily steep and all the subway stops were named things like paradise, glory, bountiful, or revolution, and the art at the two stops where tourists are generally allowed to visit was amazing. 

 

We went to a few other stops that aren't for show and I was surprised (sort of) to see that they were quite drab. We also got to see the National Art Museum. By the middle of the tour the tour guide had given to talking to me in Korean about many of the works (partly because the group had begun to get tired and disperse a bit and partly because I think she thought that it was so curiously wonderful that I could speak her language). A few things she said that struck me were that she had only had the job for about six months or so. I asked what she did before that. She replied that she didn't have a job before that, she was simply a stay at home mom. Now that her kids we grown and all in school she felt the need to be doing something, so she began working at the museum. Right away I knew that she must be married to somebody important. First of all, to not have to work is a HUGE deal, a luxury few in North Korea enjoy. Second, that on a whim she could get a job at the National Art Museum with seeming ease. Not only a very high profile job, but a job that puts her in contact with foreigners, which again, is extremely rare in North Korea and highly guarded. Only people who are within a certain circle of trust are put into such posts. Another thing she told me that solidified my first assumption came up as she was asking what all we had done since arriving. I told her about seeing the Arirang Festival. She commented that she loves to go each year to the festival and that, without fail, it brings tears to her eyes (나도 모르게 눈물이 흘린다). I took a picture with her afterwards.

Next we drove down to Kaesung. Kaesung was an old capitol of Korea during the Koryo Dynasty (918 AD -1392 AD). I mistakenly thought it was the third largest city in North Korea, it is actually the ninth. On the drive down I could see an array of beautiful hills, rivers, and mountains. The land is covered by farms though there were no visible villages from the road. Kaesung is near the 38th parallel, and hence in the southern part of the country. Upon arriving in Kaesung we visited Sung Gyun Gwan (성균관) - the oldest university in recorded Korean history. We visited the site where now exists rebuilt buildings of the ancient campus. There were so many children out as we drove around from Sung Gyun Gwan to the restaurant for dinner and then to the hotel. The hotel is a "traditional Korean" lodging, which means I slept on the floor. Thankfully there was a mosquito net!

Before going to sleep I tried to take a bath. There was no hot water and the electricity went out shortly after I finished (lucky it was a quick bath). 
My last thoughts tonight are of the many children I saw running through the streets today. The children are so precious. I am so glad we could make the drive from Pyongyang and see the country-side. It's still so surreal - unreal even - to be here, much like a dream.