![](\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/efile\/201403\/DNKE_204_297692_1394406342_i.gif\")
<\/p>\nIn February 2014, I traveled to several cities in North
\nKorea with the Pyongyang Project, a group based in Canada that organizes tours
\nof North Korea and works to help North Korean students study abroad in China
\nand the United Kingdom. We spent four days in Pyongyang, one day in Kaesong and
\na half-day in Pyongsong. While there, we
\nwere able to witness celebrations held for the Day of the Shining Star, the
\nanniversary of Kim Jong Il\u2019s birth.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
On February 15th<\/sup>, the eve of Kim Jong Il\u2019s \n As I got my first look at the city from the windows of \n I also had to get used to the propaganda and slogans that \n Outside of the city, the apartment blocks are not painted, and some don\u2019t even have windows. Many buildings appear to be under \n On the Day of the Shining Star on February 16th, hundreds \n As it was a public holiday, there were many people out \n Citizens enjoy a game of outdoor volleyball on their \n Pyongyang\u2019s metro system was quite busy that day, as \n On public holidays, hundreds of people gather to participate \n Most of the dancers formed circles, and everyone had a \n The dances themselves were quite easy to pick up. \n A Korean woman dressed in formal chosunbok<\/i> uses a cell phone. Mobile technology is now ubiquitous in \n Nobody, not even our guides, could deny that North \n We began to notice that a large contingent of elderly In February 2014, I traveled to several cities in North Korea with the Pyongyang Project, a group based in Canada that organizes tours of North Korea and works to help North Korean students study abroad in China and the United Kingdom. We spent four days in Pyongyang, one day in Kaesong and a half-day in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":26386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[644],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-analysis-and-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nbirthday, many people visited Mansudae, an area where large bronze statues of Kim
\nIl Sung and Kim Jong Il overlook the city. Each group would go up to the
\nstatues to lay bouquets of flowers and bow.![](\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/efile\/201403\/DNKE_205_297692_1394406416_i.gif\")
<\/p>\n
\nour tour bus, I was struck by how little traditional Korean architecture
\nremained. Not that Seoul has retained much more of its ancient
\narchitecture, but the juxtaposition of a few ancient gates with the omnipresent and severe Soviet-era
\nbuildings made for a striking image.![](\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/efile\/201403\/DNKE_206_297692_1394406416_i.gif\")
<\/p>\n
\ncould be seen on every billboard and building in place of advertisements. These bold messages encouraged citizens to
\nfollow the wise leadership of the Marshal Kim Jong Eun toward victory, and to live
\naccording to the revolutionary Mt. Baekdu spirit, or, in this case, \u201cIf the American Imperialists Attack, Let’s Wipe Them Off the Face of the Earth!”![](\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/efile\/201403\/DNKE_207_297692_1394406416_i.gif\")
<\/p>\n
\nconstruction but the cranes operating them have rusted over. Pyongyang is very
\nclean. We never even saw a trashcan. Despite this cleanliness, however, the city
\nstill looks like it is crumbling to pieces.![](\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/efile\/201403\/DNKE_208_297692_1394406416_i.gif\")
<\/p>\n
\nof visitors arrived to pay their respects to Kim Jong Il who lies in state at the
\nKumsusan Palace of the Sun. To mark the occasion many army units were transported
\nin via bus from the provinces to take in the sights of the capital. ![](\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/efile\/201403\/DNKE_209_297692_1394406416_i.gif\")
<\/p>\n
\nand about. Cars, buses, trolleys and new taxis could be seen on the streets,
\nthough traffic is rarely congested. Most intersections do not have lights and
\nare overseen instead by the highly-trained, almost robotic men and women in
\nblue.![](\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/efile\/201403\/DNKE_210_297692_1394406416_i.gif\")
<\/p>\n
\nday off.![](\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/efile\/201403\/DNKE_212_297692_1394406416_i.gif\")
<\/p>\n
\ntrains were filled with people headed downtown for the afternoon mass dances.
\nEveryone used transport cards at the somewhat modern-looking turnstiles, but
\nthe trains themselves were quite old. Their doors opened mechanically and the
\ninterior was dimly lit. Nationalistic songs blared through the speakers. Similar
\nto public transportation all over the world, no one spoke much or made eye
\ncontact. ![](\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/efile\/201403\/DNKE_213_297692_1394406416_i.gif\")
<\/p>\n
\nin mass dances that take place in public squares throughout the country. This time, too, young adults dressed in their finest chosunbok <\/i>(traditional Korean attire)
\nand suits, often adding a heavy winter coat for an extra layer. The mass dances may
\nsound bizarre, but in reality it was quite fun. It reminded me of an
\nEnglish-Scottish folk ball I attended once, although the music here was a
\nparticular brand of North Korean pop music that praises the leaders. It sounded harsh and militaristic even when performed
\nwith a synthesizer and a drum kit. ![](\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/efile\/201403\/DNKE_214_297692_1394406416_i.gif\")
<\/p>\n
\npartner they remained with for the duration of the dance. Though most pairs
\nwere male-female, often women danced with women, and I did see a few instances
\nof men dancing with men. I was told that the mass dances are not a bad time to
\nmeet potential love interests!![](\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/efile\/201403\/DNKE_215_297692_1394406416_i.gif\")
<\/p>\n
\nAfter a few minutes of watching, I felt the urge to join, so my friends and I
\nran in and joined one of the circles. The Koreans looked at us with varying
\nlevels of surprise and were good humored about it. After stumbling around with my friend for a
\nfew songs, I worked up the courage to dance with a Korean girl, who was very
\nhelpful in directing my steps for the last few songs. I\u2019ll admit it – I had a
\nlot of fun!![](\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/efile\/201403\/DNKE_216_297692_1394407567_i.gif\")
<\/p>\n
\nPyongyang. Citizens may access the strictly-controlled intranet via their smart
\nphones, which are either produced domestically
\nor imported from China. However, the greatest advantage of cell phone
\ntechnology is the ability to store multiple numbers for multiple uses.![](\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/efile\/201403\/DNKE_217_297692_1394407567_i.gif\")
<\/p>\n
\nKorea has an energy problem. The lights at our hotel and restaurants shut off
\nwithout warning at least half a dozen times during our trip. Nobody even
\nblinked. The first time this happened was during
\ndinner, and we promptly took out our cell phones so that we could see our food.
\nOur servers continued to bring out dishes as if nothing was amiss. Those of us
\nwho enjoy photographing our food simply had to turn on the flash.![](\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/efile\/201403\/DNKE_218_297692_1394407567_i.gif\")
<\/p>\n
\nmen and women were staying with us at the Yanggakdo International Hotel. It did
\nnot take us long to figure out that these men and women were about to participate in the separated family reunions scheduled for February 20th<\/sup>-25th<\/sup>.
\nWe saw them every day but we were not allowed to interact with them. They were all taken to the Mt. Kumgang Resort in
\nVIP limousines and buses on February 19th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"