As the Yalu River overflowed its banks, flooding parts of North Korea, some people risked their lives to save portraits of the country’s former leaders as they fled their homes.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source in North Pyongan Province told Daily NK on Wednesday that residents began evacuating from Sinuiju’s Sumun, Minpo, and Yeokjon neighborhoods around 5 a.m. on July 27 as floodwaters rose.
While most people hurriedly gathered clothes, food, and other essentials, some took time to carefully remove and wrap three portraits from their walls: individual images of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, and a third showing the two leaders in discussion.
“Some people struggled to carry heavy framed portraits while evacuating, while others quickly removed just the photos from the frames and wrapped them in plastic to keep them dry,” the source said.
In a stark illustration of the portraits’ perceived importance, some evacuees who had forgotten the images ran back to their flooded homes to retrieve them, risking their lives in the process.
The prioritization of the portraits over personal safety extended to the evacuation sites. The source described scenes where evacuees asked about the safety of the portraits before inquiring about family members.
“There were people more concerned about whether the portraits were safely evacuated than whether their family members were safe, even as homes were being washed away and relatives were missing,” the source said. “Some household heads scolded their wives for bringing household goods but forgetting the portraits.”
North Korean authorities have long emphasized the sanctity of images depicting the country’s leaders, instructing citizens to treat them as they would the leaders themselves. Damaging these portraits can result in severe punishment.
This devotion to the regime’s iconography led some North Koreans to prioritize saving the portraits even in life-threatening situations, with some returning to flooded homes specifically to retrieve forgotten images.
“While evacuating portraits during a flood might be praised later, it’s absurd to ask about portraits before family safety,” the source said.
The flooding comes as North Korean state media reported leader Kim Jong Un personally directed rescue and evacuation efforts in flood-hit areas of North Pyongan Province on July 28. The Korean Central News Agency said Kim visited Sinuiju and Uiju county to oversee disaster response operations following heavy rains.
Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons.
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