The ‘Joy’ of Kim Il Sung’s Forced Firework Fun

The North Korean authorities regularly organize a fireworks
display to commemorate the anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s birth on April 15th. In fact, there have been two such displays since the Kim Jong Eun regime took power at the end of 2011: one on April 15th, 2012, and another
this year.

However, while spectators watching the shows, which take place around the Juche Tower in central Pyongyang, appear to be enjoying them, sources
have long alleged to Daily NK that this is not actually the case. Rather, they say the authorities
treat the events as highly political in nature, and therefore compel watchers to express positive
emotions.

This is because the displays provide the leadership with the opportunity to not only reinforce the filial piety of Kim Jong Eun, but also to promote the supposedly “monolithic governing system,” and advertize the overall stability of the state. All these elements require that people react positively to what they are watching. 

As one source from northerly North Hamkyung Province reported to Daily NK on the 16th,
“I heard that they held a fireworks display in Pyongyang to celebrate
Taeyangjeol [Day of the Sun], and it
made me think, ‘People will be out there acting their part yet again.’ They wouldn’t
have been able to complain even if they had wanted to.”

Although Pyongyang can seem distant from other regions of North Korea, there are still a lot of interactions between the capital and provincial areas. These allow the transmission of information about the events, and inform perceptions nationwide. 

The source revealed, “In 2012 a group of a few dozen model members of the Union
of Democratic Women in this province were taken up to visit Kumsusan Palace [in
Pyongyang, where Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il’s embalmed corpses are stored],” the
source recalled. “They were then taken to watch the fireworks,
and got told by the authorities that they had
to show joy and excitement […] 
Heads of units ordered their people not to disperse while
watching the fireworks, and to raise the atmosphere by cheering and expressing awe any time cameras appeared.”

“Most of the people who went to Pyongyang at that time now reckon that the people ensuring that everyone plays their part in these events are
actually from the military or SSD (State Security Department),” the source concluded. “They had
always assumed from watching television that they were just students, but
changed their minds after going there and checking their appearance and way of
speaking at close quarters. They say you can tell from
people’s faces that their ‘enjoyment’ is forced.”