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The North Korean media has stepped up its positive reportage on the development of “Masik Pass Skiing Ground,” a ski resort in Gangwon Province, in spite of reports of serious damage caused by July rains at the site and surrounding region.
On the evening of the 7th, Chosun Central Television broadcast a documentary showing students and teachers from Kim Il Sung University taking part in the construction, which proceeded smoothly with their input and was attributed to the wise leadership of Kim Jong Eun.
In the broadcast, one student declared, “When we came to Masikryeong we embraced the respected Marshal (Kim Jong Eun)’s appeal and learned that the fatherland is seething,” adding, “My heart burst when I saw what the appeal letter was.”
One of the teaching staff said, “There was this commanding officer who stopped a boulder sliding from the mountain in the rain by throwing his body in front of it,” adding, “His heroic spirit of sacrifice (in emulation of the Marshal) brushed the sky, and we all bowed our heads there even in the rain.”
According to the narrator, “(Masikryeong ski resort) becoming a base of popular culture and a celebrated mountain of patriotism calling forth bombastic levels of economic growth is all because of the love our Dear Marshal has for the people.”
In an article on the 8th entitled “Despite the Heavy Rains, Our Advance Cannot be Stopped,” Rodong Sinmun also reported on the swift progress at Masikryeong. The piece declared, “The soldiers have installed all kinds of facilities in order to continue the work regardless of the heavy rains.”
Speaking about the recent propaganda narrative, one senior defector told Daily NK, “They are doing this propaganda because in North Korea the word of the supreme leader is above the so-called ‘law,’” adding, “Given that they have been emphasizing the plea from Kim for ‘Masikryeong speed’ on all construction sites, they are likely to place this at the core of Kim Jong Eun’s achievements for the time being.”
He added, however, “Hopes for the Masikryeong Ski Resort, an ambitious undertaking, have been dashed by the landslide. Yet this fact will remain hidden, as it cannot be announced to the public.”
