There was a time when it was possible to take pictures of North Korea by crossing the Yalu and Tumen rivers. After the border was sealed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it became impossible to cross the border. In addition, after China implemented its anti-espionage law, it became more difficult to take photos at the border between North Korea and China. We’re living in a time when taking pictures of the North has become a difficult undertaking.
One day in late January 2024, when the sky cleared up after a sudden drop to sub-zero temperatures, I took my telephoto lens and went to the Unification Observatory. It is a great comfort to have an observatory near the border to view parts of North Korea. However, at some point, the Unification Observatory was renamed the Peace Observatory. The same goes for the Aegibong Peace Eco Park in Kimpo. Neither of the two Koreas has ever been at peace. Although peace cannot come without reunification, the previous government renamed places like the Unification Observatory to include the word peace. Putting aside these bitter feelings, I looked across the frozen Han River toward the North. The withering winter wind only made the frozen land feel colder. Although Mt. Songak in Kaesong was in sight, the mountain represents the other half of the nation we cannot enter.
In the place known as “Propaganda Village,” there were a few shabby houses and North Koreans working in the rice fields. The desolate fields after the harvest seem to reflect the desolation of North Korea today. At the entrance to the village was the Eternal Life Tower, a propaganda slogan board, and a mosaic mural. When I enlarged the photo, I could see the slogans “Long live the revolutionary ideology of Comrade Kim Jong Un” and “Let’s protect our revolution with rice. Not long ago the slogan was “Let’s support the party with rice. The party changed the slogan to “Our Revolution. “Long live the revolutionary ideology of Comrade Kim Jong Un” seems to be a slogan that’s easy to find everywhere in North Korea these days. The slogan “Long live General Kim Jong Un, the Sun of Juche Joseon” can be seen on the buildings of cultural centers in every village in North Korea.
Another village was visible beyond Mt. Songak. In the middle of the village was a school. At the foot of the mountain, next to the school, a large propaganda billboard with the slogan “Love the future” was put up. The slogan “Love the future” was so bizarre to me. North Korea is ruled by a regime that sentenced two 16-year-old middle school students to 12 years of re-education through hard labor. Surely such an act disqualifies it from putting forward such a slogan. North Korea executes people for watching and distributing South Korean movies and dramas. Does such a place have a future? Is a leader who takes his barely 10-year-old daughter to see missile launch sites qualified to talk about the future?
When I look at the North Koreans just across the border who have lost hope, I rekindle the determination that we must become their hope. A united Korea is the hope of all Koreans.
The translator requested anonymity. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Views expressed in this guest column do not necessarily reflect those of Daily NK.
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