The “Second Meeting of KPA [Chosun People’s Army] Exemplary
Servicemen’s Families,” an event featuring performances from art groups across
ten KPA units and covered by the Rodong Sinmun on Tuesday, has seen complaints
from the servicemen involved and gossip among residents about Kim Jong Eun’s speech
after the event, Daily NK has learned.
“The Second Meeting of KPA Exemplary Servicemen’s Families
was held at the April 25 House of Culture and covered numerous times in the
papers and on television,” a source based in North Hamkyung Province told the
Daily NK on December 10th. “It’s a gathering that’s designed to drum up more
loyalty and passion for military exercises as they head into the New Year
political and combat drills.”
Most participants are servicemen’s wives who are either part
of units yielding good harvest output or received exemplary marks in unit
performances conducted on each base, according to the source. In order to put
on a good show for this “No. 1 event [any event with Kim Jong Eun in
attendance],” members have been practicing the same routine for months on end,
he explained.
The grueling schedule can often lead to domestic troubles
for affiliated families, according to the source. “With so many wives taking
part, they’ve had to practice day and night without having time to take care of
the household, so many of the husbands have found themselves taking care of the
chores and their children.”
“I can’t tell who the housewife is and who the head of the
household is,” some military officials have commented, while others have even
taken to complaining directly to their units about the matter. “Wives should
only focus on supporting their husbands at home. If they’re out and about day
and night, I can’t focus on training,” they have pointed out.
Despite being disgruntled, some officials still look forward
to the presents that will be handed down to them after the gathering. Despite
complaining about wives being away from home during the busy training period,
most feel that “since it’s already something we’re dealing with, we might as
well hope to get a color television out of it,” according to the source.
This reference originates from the First Meeting of KPA
Exemplary Servicemen’s Families, said to have taken place in the late 1990s,
with participants at the time reportedly receiving an “Arirang” color TV set
for their efforts. However, the gift came with strings attached: after the
gathering, art groups were expected to continue the performances for another
month, but this time on stage for all of Pyongyang’s residents, stirring up
considerable discontent from those involved.
On the other hand, ordinary residents, unaffiliated with
matters related to the performance, have focused heavily on Kim Jong Eun’s
actions at the event. Reports by North Korea’s state media on the
production blatantly revealed the leader holding up sheets of
paper–assumed to be notes for the speech he delivered to the crowd after the
performance.
Residents are perplexed as to why such images would be
disclosed to the public–proof of the leader’s human fallibility. “Isn’t there something wrong with the political
coverage team that uploaded those photos?” many have questioned.
“It’s common for most people to bring notes with them when
giving a speech, since they’re worried about saying something wrong, but most
people would agree that they can’t comprehend what someone like Kim Jong Eun
could possibly be afraid of,” the source concluded.
 Image: Rodong Sinmun |
