It’s therefore taken me quite some time to finally visit Korea, but the wait was truly worth it. Our delegation consisted of five people, of which it was the first visit for me and one other comrade. The rest of our delegation were all veterans of visiting People’s Korea! I’m often told if I like it so much why don’t I go live there, or at the very least how do I know it’s not like how it’s said it is if I’ve never been there - usually said to me by someone who also hasn’t been there, and whose only knowledge of the country comes from clicking on articles with titles like ‘Photos North Korea Doesn’t Want You To See!’ with pictures of people walking down streets, getting on a bus or sitting in a park. The lurid trade in so-called defector biographies doesn’t help, with one famously claiming that in Korea nobody ever laughed, nobody ever danced, nobody ever smiled, there was no music or relaxation, just an endless cycle of misery and greyness. On board the plane from Beijing, we flew past Pyongyang to Sunan airport a few miles north, and what struck me first of all was the beautiful colours of the buildings, the quite eye-catching architecture, and it seemed a dedication to making their city look as pleasing as possible. No unrelieved greyness there. Also viewing the landscape below us, we saw green fields and farms, with no sign of any barbed wire or watchtowers! There was music playing in the plane as we landed, as well as videos depicting musical performances with its fair share of dancing. This was just a prelude to the gigantic performances we would witness later on in the DPRK. Meanwhile, back on the plane, the stewardesses were not short of smiles and friendliness. Even the infamous Air Koryo burger was better than I had been led to believe! Myths were being smashed before we’d even landed. Going through immigration was straightforward and the staff were friendly there too. Having been to the US twice, on both occasions I was questioned as to how long I’ll be in the USA, and had my fingerprints and photograph taken by unsmiling officials with guns. If you really want no music, no smiling, no happiness, a grey atmosphere, then try going through US customs. Getting into the DPRK was much simpler in comparison. The recently refurbished Sunan international airport terminal also looked very modern and clean, something that would be a feature of everywhere in the DPRK I later found.
Indeed, another thing that struck me about Pyongyang very quickly was its cleanliness. There was literally no rubbish on the streets at all. People had great respect for their city, and this is no doubt a result of the feeling of collectiveness, of working together for the benefit of each other that permeates in the DPRK. Looking out of the window at the hotel there was nearly always people sweeping the streets and tending to the grassland areas (not, as some have suggested, foraging for food or eating the grass!) We stayed at the luxurious Koryo Hotel in central Pyongyang, not far from the main rail station. Disappointingly for me we never got to travel on any mainline trains on this trip, but they could be regularly heard when going outside the hotel, again betraying the myth that the network is dead and any trains parked up are only for show. Also worth pointing out that the hotel had full power the entire time we were there. An evening stroll through Pyongyang one time showed the streets to be busy, shops and bars were mostly full and lively, even after 8pm. For a city supposedly made up of actors only called upon to appear when foreigners are around, Pyongyang contains a huge amount of acting talent!
Our guide was Mr. Li from the Korean Association of Social Scientists, the organisation who had invited our delegation to the DPRK. Delegations from all over the world had congregated in Pyongyang for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Republic, from Sweden and Poland, Russia, Brazil, Ukraine, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Bangladesh and Mongolia, amongst many others. There was a comradely spirit of friendly solidarity amongst us in the hotel, from our delegation leader Dr. Dermot Hudson being recognised and congratulated virtually everywhere we went, to the Bangladeshi’s shaking my hand whenever they saw me and telling me how much they loved my “Lenin beard”, and the Mongolians informing me they thought I was German, a compliment to this GDR admiring Wagnerian. Also present was a Labour Party delegation led by former MEP Glyn Ford, although they didn’t talk to us and seemed mildly contemptuous of our presence!
Our first visit was to the Mansu Hill monument, where we bowed and paid respect to the leaders of the Korean Revolution, comrades Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, and monuments dedicated to revolutionary martyrs, which then lead on to a tour of the Korean Revolution Museum, a fascinating look at the history of the struggles of the Korean people for independence and socialism. A visit to this museum is hugely recommended to any progressive visiting the DPRK as you get to see many genuine artefacts, dioramas, paintings and photographs from moments of the revolution. The vast museum has a floor space of over 60,000 square meters, and our delegation only had time to be shown the years between 1945-48 leading up to the founding of the DPRK. A whole day could be spent looking around it! The famous quote by President Kim Il Sung was visible in a newspaper cutting displayed in the museum: “To contribute positively to the work of building the new Korean state, let those with strength give strength, let those with knowledge give knowledge, let those with money give money, and let all people who truly love their country, their nation and democracy unite closely and build an independent and sovereign democratic state.” Our next stop was the Fatherland Liberation War Museum and a tour of the USS Pueblo, the US spy ship captured in Korean waters off the port of Wonsan in 1968. As we approached the Pueblo, we were lucky to catch site of Pak In Jo, a member of the Korean People’s Navy crew who had captured the ship, and it was an honour to meet a genuine hero of Korea and the delegates were pleased to have photographs taken with him. Imperialism always paints itself as the victim, but in reality it is always the aggressor. In the War Museum we were reminded of the atrocities committed by UN forces, something often conveniently overlooked in books on the subject in the west, if it is even mentioned at all – the humiliating ceasefire the US had to sign means it isn’t known as the “forgotten war” for nothing.
It was a privilege, too, to meet with the Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front and visit their Pyongyang offices for a comradely and delicious lunch. I was flattered to be recognised by the AINDF staff from photographs of KFA pickets outside the US embassy! The AINDF are suppressed in South Korea and some activists have had to flee north because of their views due to the anti-communist National Security Law. We were met by chief Pak Su Chol. There was a feeling of optimism throughout our meeting that reunification will happen soon, and these feelings were no doubt greatly bolstered by the historic Fifth Inter-Korean Summit held by Marshal Kim Jong Un with the SK President Moon Jae In shortly afterwards.
The Tower of the Juche Idea stands an impressive 170 meters tall and features 25,550 granite blocks, one for each day of the life of President Kim Il Sung up to his 70th birthday, on which date the tower was unveiled in 1982. It’s an impressive monument by the river Taedong which our guide - who spoke beautiful English which she told us was down to her admiration for the British accent - gave us a detailed account of. Blocks at the entrance list Juche Idea study groups around the world. Catching a lift to the very top, which can take several minutes, we were treated to spectacular views of Pyongyang, proving once again it’s anything but a dull, grey city. The Tower is impressively illuminated at night, and was clearly visible from our hotel room. A gift shop on the ground floor provided opportunities for souvenir hunting, including small statues, paintings, even some Korean clothing for sale. A guestbook was signed by Dr. Hudson. I learned later we just missed Gerard Depardieu also paying a visit as head of a French delegation to the DPRK!
But if the Juche Tower represented the leaders ideology, we were soon to see the great man himself, or rather the great men, when we were invited to visit the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the mausoleum of President Kim Il Sung and, since 2012, also of Chairman Kim Jong Il. The large building was originally the official residence of the President, but after his passing in 1994 was renovated and turned into a public mausoleum. It was a great honour and privilege for our delegation to be invited to a place considered almost sacred to Koreans, and a place of great pilgrimage for followers of the Juche and Songun Idea. Naturally no photography was allowed here, and we could only attend in our suits with nothing extra in our pockets. After several security checks and walking through a giant blower that gets rid of any dust on you, we bowed before two giant statues of the leaders – recently upgraded to two colourful lifelike statues rather than the old marble ones – then went on to bow before the sarcophagus of each of the leaders, resting on Korean style pillows, in two separate rooms, with a funeral march specially composed for each man playing in the background. It was a moving moment, and means I can also say I have now seen all three great Korean leaders after witnessing Kim Jong Un at the military parade and Mass Games, on which more in a moment. The rest of the mausoleum featured items from the leaders’ lives, including the railway carriage in which Kim Jong Il sadly had his fatal heart attack, preserved as it was the last time the General used it.
Two highlights for me were unsurprisingly transport related. The first was a trip on a trolley bus built in Korea in 1961 and which had received on the spot guidance from President Kim Il Sung himself. It was also my first time travelling on a trolley bus. We had a good journey from outside the main railway station up to the Arch of Triumph. Viewing the streets and boulevards of Pyongyang, with inspiring revolutionary posters everywhere, no tasteless advertising billboards in your face reminding everyone how sad their life is without whatever the latest must-have product is, everyone smartly dressed and respectfully behaved, was always fascinating to see. It truly seemed a well ordered society. Another highlight was travelling on the famous Pyongyang Metro. Despite rumours to the contrary, it is possible to ride the entire network, although we only had time for the popular two stations that most tourists ride on. The system has 2 lines with plans of an extension and possible third line circulating for some time. We rode on the modern new train, with music playing inside and LEDs giving real-time displays and updates. It was a smooth ride, the stations were like palaces similar to the Moscow Metro with beautiful murals on each wall depicting Pyongyang and scenes of the Metro’s own construction with one famous painting featuring Kim Il Sung leading construction workers into the building of the Metro. It’s also very deep with long escalators down, free of annoying advertising either side of you, and with secure blast doors in the passenger tunnels leading to the platforms, so the system can be used as a bomb shelter and, if the worst happens, even as a nuclear bunker as the heavy doors are also apparently designed to keep out radiation. There is also a Metro Museum which we didn’t get an opportunity to visit sadly, but hopefully on a future visit this will be on the itinerary.
But the true purpose of our visit came on September 9th. After a ten course banquet at the Koryo hotel the night before, which included the famous local dish Kimchi and even some Taedong Fish, and at which a member of our delegation was also toasted and presented with flowers for their birthday, the next day we assembled early and was taken to Kim Il Sung Square for the 70th Anniversary Civilian and Military parade. It was the first time I had ever seen such a parade, though I had often seen them on video and online, words cannot quite describe the overwhelming feeling of being there and witnessing such an epic display in person. It was a boiling hot, clear day, the entire parade lasted just over 2 hours, and I was grateful to another member of our delegation for letting me borrow some of his sunscreen! But we didn’t notice the roasting sun too much as what was happening in front of us was too spectacular to ignore. The entire thing can be seen on YouTube, and I’m sure many of you have already seen it, and the quick shot of us in the audience around 9 minutes in, but it was amazing to be there in person. The military parade included columns dressed in uniforms of the KPA over the decades, from the anti-Japanese struggle to the Fatherland Liberation War, right up to the present time. An impressive air display, far too large and spectacular to be caught satisfactorily for TV broadcast, also followed. Tanks and missiles also appeared on parade. It put me in mind of parades down Karl Marx Allee in the GDR I had watched many times on DVD, and wished I’d been there, as well of course as the old Soviet parades through Red Square. Unlike the celebrations of Putin’s national bourgeois Russia you see today, the parades on Kim Il Sung square are the real deal, a true People’s Army committed to defence – not aggression – of the revolutionary state and its people. The military aspect was, I was informed, nonetheless toned down for this year, something which Donald Trump apparently tweeted in gratitude for! The civilian parade was equally impressive. There were many revolutionary slogans on display, such as “Forward along the road to socialism!” and “Long live the revolutionary spirit of Mount Paektu”. Slogans it’s difficult to imagine any other socialist country today upholding. At the end of the parade Kim Jong Un himself appeared on the viewing podium and waved to the enthusiastic crowds below. He then walked over to the side our delegation was seated at and we could clearly see the Marshal, waving to the crowds where we were. Our delegation waved and cheered back. It wasn’t the only time we were within the vicinity of Marshal Kim Jong Un that day either. In the evening we were taken to see the new Mass Games event, specially created to celebrate the 70th anniversary, called ‘Glorious Country’. The large musical production performed at the vast May Day Stadium, with it seemed all 150,000 seats taken, told of the history of the DPRK, after throwing out Japanese imperialism, to the devastation of the Korean War, to the rebuilding of the country under the Chollima Movement, right up to modern times with the April 27th Panmunjon Declaration, widely applauded by the audience. With great precision, the performers went through their epic routines, meticulously rehearsed and flawlessly executed. It was sometimes difficult to keep up as there were so many performers in the auditorium at once and so much going on! I recognised several tunes, including my personal favourite DPRK symphonic piece ‘A Bumper Harvest at Chongsan Plain’ by the celebrated composer Kim Ok Song. The entire show was truly beyond Wagnerian proportions. Marshal Kim Jong Un was in the audience, although we did not see him this time, but his acknowledgment of the bowing performers at the end and the cheers of the crowd indicated he had clearly enjoyed the performance. Afterwards we left the May Day Stadium amongst vast crowds, including many soldiers - one of our delegation said he saw the son of one of the US defectors amongst them!
Musical and theatrical performances of a staggeringly high level was also a feature of the Mangyondae Children’s Palace. As well as a place to learn traditional and modern Korean and western musical instruments, there were also sports facilities, a place to learn computing skills, libraries and foreign language facilities. After a tour, we were taken to the 2,000 seat theatre and given a quite flawless performance of music and dance, with the 70th anniversary celebrations as a running theme. The children’s skills and confidence was extremely impressive.
Article 73 of the DPRK constitution – which was available in many bookshops around Pyongyang – states that all citizens have a right to an education. All education in the DPRK, including university, is free of charge. We had a chance to visit a very high tech Teacher Training College facility, which included a virtual classroom where students could interact with an AI classroom of children, and an even more impressive virtual reality room where various different environments could be recreated, including the top of Mount Paektu to the age of dinosaurs and watching a sailing ship out at sea.
We also visited several factories in Pyongyang, to see how Koreans lived and worked. The factory and the workplace is where most of the action goes on in Korea's socialism. Work units and trade unions provide subsidies for their workers. Incidentally, taxation was abolished in the DPRK in 1974 - nobody pays any tax. Apartments are also given virtually free of charge. A form of industrial democracy was evolved in the DPRK in the shape of the Taean Work System, which gives the workers of the DPRK have the meaningful sense of being the masters of production. We visited the Pyongyang Cosmetics Factory, the Ryuwon Footwear Enterprise and a Pyongyang bag factory. The workers were involved in many aspects of production, in the case of the bag and footwear factories even down to design. Despite having foreigners getting under their feet and in the way, the workers there seemed happy and content to be getting on with their jobs. Once again we were not told not to take any photographs, and some of our delegation even shared a laugh and a joke with some of the workers. Shocking!
It was truly an honour and unforgettable experience to have been in the DPRK for its 70th anniversary celebrations, not something I would’ve missed for anything. I’m only sad we had to leave so early when other delegations still had a few days left to go. It was interesting to compare my experiences with those of the comedian and travel writer Michael Palin, who had visited earlier in the year and whose Channel 5 documentary was screened just after we got back. I got the impression that, after some scepticism, Palin had come to rather like the DPRK more than he would’ve cared to admit, although his middle class liberal prejudices were never entirely lifted. I too heard music playing in the streets in the morning from the hotel, but it never struck me as mysterious or in some way creepy. Incidentally, watching the documentary, I am convinced Palin stayed in the exact same Koryo hotel room we did!
Anyway, it was time to say goodbye to the DPRK for us. We flew back to Beijing and then on the 10 hour flight back to London, where we arrived back and promptly discovered our luggage was still in Beijing! Beware flying through Beijing airport, I’d been forewarned of their incompetence beforehand! It was to be couriered on to us the next day (in fact it didn’t arrive until 3 days later). After filling out the necessary forms to get our luggage back in one piece, I caught the tube to Kings Cross and returned to Peterborough on the train, luggage free. Walking past a homeless man on the way home, avoiding an unidentified mess in the street and hearing the sound of shouting drunks in the distance before I got back to my flat, with a load of bills waiting for me in the post - I was well and truly back in broken Britain, and already missing the DPRK! One day I hope to return, and would encourage anyone interested in seeing what the DPRK is really like to do the same - my report cannot do the experience any justice, you really need to experience it for yourself. I would encourage all who can do so to try and make the effort one day.
James Taylor
UK KFA Communications Secretary
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