Portland to Pyongyang

Day 5: Victorious Fatherland Museum and Leaving the DPRK

2011-07-07T21:34:00.000-07:00

First thing in the morning after breakfast is this museum. It's dedicated to the Korean War. First thing you see is a painting of Kim Il Sung. Once again we're shown an anti-American documentary and then shown around the various exhibits. The elevators are broken here.

Another Kim Il Sung painting.

After WWII, the USSR donated a large amount of it's T-34 tanks to the North Koreans. Apparently each little white star on the gun barrel represents an American tank that this tank destroyed,

Another WWII Soviet-made North Korean tank, also marked with its number of kills. This is a pretty lightly armored vehicle, not sure how feasible it is for it have scored that many given that the North Koreans weren't particularly experienced with mechanized warfare.

The basement of the museum contains American weapons and vehicles either captured or destroyed during the war.

To top it off, the museum has a massive rotating diorama, it takes about 15 minutes to see the whole thing. It depicts some Korean War battle. We asked what this is based on, whether photos, documents, etc? The girl guiding the tour answers, "the artists' imagination." I don't doubt it.

Candid shot of North Korean soldiers taken from the bathroom window the Victorious Fatherland museum.

Picture with the girl who guides the museum tour. Apparently she's an actual soldier with weapons training and all; we asked. Note my crooked glasses... hot, I know. After the museum, we headed for the international airport, our flight was to leave at noon. Our minders finally relinquished our passports and tourist papers.

View of the airport from the plane. Very fancy. Bye, Kim Il Sung; thanks for the hostil...err... hospitality.

The plane we left in, was thankfully enough, a new production Russian Tupolev Tu-204, with such luxuries as plasma screens and even overhead baggage compartments that close. It's not really much better than Western equivalents, but it is actually remarkably quiet, probably the quietest jet I've ever flown on.

Day 4: Myohyang-san Mountain

2011-07-06T23:30:00.000-07:00

This day starts with a drive to the International Friendship Exhibition. Sadly photography is not allowed here, our cameras (as well as hats, watches,etc) are taken away until we leave the exhibition. Basically, this place is a museum of gifts that Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il have received from various people and places all over the world. There's an electronic counter keeping track of how many gifts there are, as far as I can remember there were 59,000+ gifts, There's also a map with illuminated dots indicating places that gifts have come from. There are a handful of neat things (like a bulletproof limousine made in the USSR) but also a lot of really funny things like ashtrays from Jimmy Carter, two plastic menorahs, a stuffed crocodile holding a tray, an iMac computer from 1999, a Bulgarian television set, a set of chopsticks from Mongolia and so on. They're quite proud of this place; it's guarded by soldiers with silver-plated AK-47's We have to go through metal detectors and are required to wear shoe covers.

One of the few photos I was able to get from around the International Friendship Exhibit. There appear to be a number of tourist buses parked out front but there weren't any other tourists.

A rare photo of the quieter, friendlier of our two minders, Ms. Li.

Another shot outside the International Friendship Exhibition

After the exhibition, we went to some 700-year-old Buddhist sites. The North Korean government allows this place to remain because of the role Buddhism has played in Korean history. However despite an official claim of guaranteeing religious freedom, religious belief and worship are disallowed. Some of the news magazines touted that a Russian Orthodox church has recently been built in Pyongyang, but this is apparently more for Russian diplomats as well as their families and staff rather than for ordinary North Koreans.

After that, we had something of a picnic in this area. Once again we finished too quickly and had to hang around for 45 minutes or so before the next spectacle in our itinerary was prepared. Several military trucks drove by, which made us suspect that they may be a military base in the area. We waved at each passing truck loaded with North Korean soldiers, few soldiers smiled and waved back.

Love that delicious North Korean bottled water.

Afterwards, it was a two-hour drive back to Pyongyang to the Children's Palace. It was described to us as a place children go after school where they can learn an art form of their choosing, whether dance, painting, music, etc they make sure to add that it's all free of charge.

The kids here are freakishly good at all that they do, it makes me wonder if they're really here by choice and what exactly it takes to get kids so young to be as good as they are at their respective arts. Seems like every room had those same watchful portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.

Some hall inside the Children's Palace. According to the abridged biography I skimmed in one of the book shops here, Kim Jong Il personally participated in the construction of this building, hauling large blocks even though his shoulders began to swell and skin began to peel. It seems they genuinely believe Kim Jong Il does everything, knows everything, and is everywhere, the notion crosses deeply into the realm of the absurd, but it seems here in the DPRK it's all said and written with a straight face.

After we toured the Children's Palace, we attended a 1-hour performance. Have to apologize for the quality of the photos but the lighting in the auditorium was pretty awful. Didn't understand a word of the show, but seemed to be entirely about how awesome North Korea is in every way.

Orchestral performance to a video backdrop of a military parade.

On the way to the restaurant. Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung make yet another appearance. According to minder Mr. O, Pyongyang has a population of 4 million people, leaves me wondering where they all are. Then again, he also told us the DPRK has a population of 70 million. Western and South Korean estimates place the number at 25 million and 29 million respectively.

After the concert, we went to a restaurant in Pyongyang that apparently specializes in duck. Here's another variety of North Korean beer.

The food here was remarkably good, probably the best meal of the entire trip. It's pretty clear ordinary North Koreans can't even imagine eating this way, they'd all get fat. In fact there were never any ordinary people eating at any of the restaurants we went to, and we went to quite a few.

After dinner we head back to the hotel and challenge one of our minders to a game of pool. First time around I'm easily able to beat him. When we play for money, his performance improves significantly. I'm out only 10 euros, in North Korea that's about a week's worth of pay, however.

Mr. O, our chain-smoking, foul-mouthed, Chinese-bashing minder. He claimed to be 28 years old. According the our contact in China who'd met with Mr. O just a few months prior, Mr. O claimed to be 23. Strange.

Day 3: Downtown Pyongyang

2011-07-06T01:05:00.000-07:00

The reunification monument. The North Koreans do want to reunite the two Koreas, but under Kim Jong Il's rule. The two sides of this sculpture, obviously enough, represent North and South Korea. The driver made too good a time heading back from Kaesong and the next act in the North Korean tourism song and dance wasn't quite ready. We pulled over here and waited around this monument for 30 minutes before it was time to move on.

The North Korean side is portrayed as strong, dignified, and willing to help their needy brothers.

South Korea is shown as desperate, impoverished, and pleading for help from their neighbor to the north.

The USS Pueblo, captured by the North Koreans in 1968 and is the only US Navy ship in currently captivity anywhere in the world. The guy in the foreground is the other minder assigned to us, the hard-drinking, chain-smoking Mr. O. When we arrived there about a hundred North Korean soldiers on board who weren't too thrilled to see us. Seemed awfully tense and awkward, especially considering anti-American documentaries are screened here. Some of the soldiers look like kids, couldn't have been much older than 15... if at all.

The bullet holes from the fire-fight that resulted in the ship's capture. One US sailor was killed, the rest of the crew, some 80 men in all, were captured and tortured for 11 months before they were released.

The ship's flag, as well as the captain's uniform.

Manning the ship's only armament.

The girl is the one who runs the tours of the ship.

After seeing the Pueblo, we took a ride on the Pyongyang metro, here's the ticket.

Statue of Kim Il Sung at the national library. We had to bow to a Kim Il Sung statue on one occasion. Refusing to do so can land you in some trouble, people that aren't willing to play along apparently shouldn't so much as think about traveling to North Korea. Here we got a chance to use North Korea's intranet. Supposed to be a lot like internet, except it allows access only to North Korean sites approved by the state, and apparently only accessible to select few anyways. They allowed me to do a search using their search engine (they took a few steps to allow the whole process to work in English). I looked up the most innocuous thing I could think of, "cars." I got 3 or 4 results and I don't think any of them were relevant.

Ridiculous Kim Jong Il painting.

Kim Il Sung square... largely empty aside from the people practicing for the Arirang mass gymnastics that take place every August.

The tower near the center is the Juche Tower. Named after the Juche philosophy created by Kim Il Sung. The whole city goes dark at night and this tower is the only thing that remains lit at all times. The Juche philosophy centers around self-reliance and the notion that man decides and controls his own fate. Ironically North Korea relies heavily on foreign aid and the North Korean state determines the fates of its people.

Kim Il Sung once again, he's pretty much everywhere.

The only other non-Korean or Chinese people we saw the whole time are these portraits of communist icons Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin.

North Korea's Arch of Triumph, they're quite proud that it's taller than the original in Paris. It commemorates the Japanese being driven from Korea, which is attributed solely to Kim Il Sung and his resistance movement. In fact, during the closing days of WWII, the Russians drove the Japanese out in a matter of days and faced little resistance; Kim Il Sung played only the most minor of roles. The few Chinese tourists present did manage to ruin my shot.

Pyongyang as seen from the top of the Juche Tower.

Plaques from various places that study the North Korean permutation of communism, located at the entrance oft he Juche Tower. Looks like Kim Il Sung has a following in the USA too, or did back in 1975 anyways.

Pyongyang's not bad-looking from a distance.

Building across the street from the Juche Tower. Don't remember what it is, it's a bit over-exposed, so much so you cane barely see the Kim Il Sung portrait on it.

Monument that commemorates the founding the Korean Workers Party. The sickle, hammer, and brush represent the three facets of the Party, the peasant, worker, and intellectual, respectively.

Had lunch in yet another restaurant that lacked electricity. One of the interesting things about restaurants in North Korea is there doesn't ever appear to be a menu. Most tourist meals consist of several courses but you really don't have much say over what you get, if you don't like something, you simply choose not to eat it. The minders do attempt to ascertain any dietary restrictions tourists may have (for example, they would ask, "You do eat meat, right?")

The Pyongyang Metro, clean but old, run-down, and kinda smelly. Got lots of stares from North Koreans here. I was never able to determine for certain whether it's true that regular North Koreans aren't legally allowed to interact with tourists or if they're simply wary about it because everything they're taught about foreigners. Maybe both, but either way they kept their distance. The two Koreans I sat by on the metro quickly changed seats and preferred to stare from a distance. According the US State Department, if a tourist attempts to interact with any of the locals, it can be construed as espionage.

A Kim Il Sung painting that suggests he had a personal hand in building the Pyongyang Metro. It seems the dude knows everything about everything.

Some real North Koreans, these people are quite privileged, life tends to much worse outside of the showcase capital city.

Every subway car is adorned with a Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il portrait.

Day 2: Kaesong and the Demilitarized Zone

2011-07-04T23:17:00.000-07:00

The following morning is more clear, but not actually clear. I think the whole continent must be that way this time of year, it was the same in China. We start the day with a buffet style breakfast at 0730 at the hotel and head for the DMZ at 0800. It's a 200km drive. The highway is rough and has people performing menial labor all along its expanses. Very few cars out here. Most people seem to travel down the highway on foot. As we approach the DMZ, there are several military checkpoints (4 or 5 in total) with armed soldiers and all. In North Korea, one isn't allowed to so much as leave the town they reside in without written permission from the government. In most cases when the minders show this permission paper to the soldiers through the window of our SUV they wave us right through the checkpoint, but occasionally we're subject to considerable scrutiny. It's funny how the most inappropriate songs start running through one's head in such circumstances.

"They're gonna hang me high

Silhouetted against the sky

While swinging in the wind I pray

That she will come and carry me away

To somewhere safe, somewhere safe."

The tour of the demilitarized zone starts off with a lecture from some high-ranking North Korean military officer. The North and South side are face to face here, it's considered the most dangerous border in the world as the nations are still officially at war.

The officer attributes the separation of Korea to the Americans and warns that at any given moment things can turn ugly again at the drop of a hat.

A view of the actual border between North and South Korea, it runs down the middle of the blue buildings.

North Korean soldiers stand on their side. Apparently South Korean and American soldiers often don't make an appearance and watch the area through cameras instead.

Me with the North Korean border guards, the door behind us leads to South Korea.

This is the table that talks are held between the North Korean side and the Americans. The officer has us on the American side. The unpleasant lady is North Korean Worker's Party member, and the cute girl with the glasses is one of our North Korean minders.

The actual border between North and South Korea, the side with the gravel is South Korea.

During the officer's speech, I reached across the table and shook hands with folks from the "other side." It gave the North Koreans (including the military personnel) a good laugh. All of the Chinese and North Koreans took turns getting pictures of shaking with the Americans across the negotiation table. Later that day we had lunch one table away from North Korean Worker's Party members who were at the DMZ with us earlier; they were talking about this scene. I went on the trip hoping to leave a good impression on the citizens of that country. I think it happened here.

It's not all smiles though. This the axe North Korean soldiers used to murder two American military officers back in the 1970's, proudly displayed in a museum. The Americans sought to chop down a tree that obstructed the view between two of their observation posts. North Korean soldiers showed up, and beat the American officers and killed them using the axes the Americans brought to cut the tree with.

The officer who runs the North Korean side of the DMZ.

After the DMZ, we checked in at the Kaesong Folk Hotel. We were the only ones staying their, our Russian-made UAZ Patriot SUV was the only car in the parking lot. I'd get one of these if it were available in the States; it takes a beating and doesn't quit.

Propaganda poster seen from the entrance of the hotel.

Our room at the Kaesong hotel. Though equipped with a TV, mini-fridge, AC unit, lamps, etc there weren't even any sockets to plug these appliances into; it's all for show apparently. The sink in the bathroom was not connected to any plumbing or even affixed to anything. It could be moved freely to any wall or corner. None of the light switches did anything.

This is a side of North Korea that few people are even aware of. There's actually quite a few rather ancient sites, temples and palaces built several hundred years ago.

A tomb of one of the ancient Korean kings.

The minder's say tourists aren't usually allowed at this tomb. Doesn't jive with the fact that there are public restrooms there with English signs and a souvenir/refreshment shop that accepts foreign currency. All of the gift shops sell essentially the same exact stuff, with very few exceptions, and virtually every stop on the trip closes with dropping into a gift shop. Even by the fifth or sixth time you step into a gift shop, the minders and salespeople still expect you to buy things even though you've been offered this same stuff several times before.

Probably the nicest scene in Kaesong... the rest of the city is very run down. Crumbling concrete buildings everywhere, windows without glass, people defecating in the streets. A lot of people engaging in all manner of aimless drudgery, such trimming back the weeds and grass from the sides of the road with pocket knives. Naturally our minders didn't allow photos of anything "negative."

The site of what used to be a massive palace, destroyed by the Mongols centuries ago. The minders themselves they've never been here before and are seeing it for the first time thanks to it being put on our itinerary.

A photo of us with one of our minders.

Idyllic looking map of our hotel in Kaesong.

Actual photo of our hotel in Kaesong

The map doesn't include the wall that surrounds the place, keeping it quite separate from the city around. There's a gate with a gate keeper to make sure no one comes or goes until they're supposed. Our room was right next to wall and we could hear what was going on in a house on the other side. A Korean woman sang songs to her kids at night. Don't know what the words meant but it was nice to experience a little bit of the real Korea without the minders' knowledge and superivision.

The fridge you see in the background is apparently for show. It's not plugged in and all of the products with in it are warm.

Close up of another ancient royal tomb.

Day 1: Arriving

2011-07-02T23:48:00.000-07:00

My friend and I start the day in Shenyang, China. There's nothing for tourists to do here. It's largely pretty run-down and quite smelly in parts. Got lots of long stares from the locals, a couple of whom nearly crashed their mopeds because they were so amazed. But it's where the North Korean consulate is, as well as the airport that we fly into North Korea from. First thing in the morning we head for the North Korean consulate to pick up the visas we had been approved for months ago. After that, there's a long awkward taxi drive to the Shenyang airport with a North Korean official accompanying us.

For some reason, there was a power socket in the shower of the hotel we stayed in Shenyang, kind of a seedy place but it was something like $20/night. None of the staff spoke any English, we requested a wake-up call, and a lady came by with more pillows.

Picturesque view from the hotel entrance/exit

My tourist visa for North Korea.

We flew into Pyongyang an old Il-62 airliner. Nearly 50-year-old design and it shows.

Interior of the Il-62, the overhead compartments don't close. In the upper left corner you see someone's suitcase that was sitting precariously on the shelf right over my head. The flight attendant noticed, and looked concerned, but not so concerned as to do anything about it.

Pyongyang's international airport. Very small, run down and experiences very little traffic, believe it or not.

Photo of my having just gotten off the plane. Definitely a "What have I gotten myself into?" moment.

The view from Pyongyang from our hotel, the Yanggakdo Hotel. The hotel is on an island, and the only place they let your roam around freely (without minders), at least up until the checkpoint at the hotel parking lot.

It's pretty hazy, you can barely see the unfinished 105-story tall Ryugyong Hotel in the distance, by far the tallest building in the entire country,

Our hotel room. They make no secret of the fact that rooms are bugged. I made some minor effort at finding the bug but wasn't able to. Probably inside of the 1970's phone. Apparently the people that listen in are located on the 5th floor (the hotel has 47 floors). The elevator doesn't stop at the 5th floor so I couldn't drop by and to say hello.

One of the several restaurants at the hotel.

Some North Korean beer and bottled water. They have 3 brands of beer, but this one was the most common. It's not bad, but I'm no beer connoisseur, despite living in Oregon.

The revolving restaurant at the top of the hotel. There were waitresses up there but no one was eating there... we just went up there to have a look around.

The following morning was a bit clearer.

This phone guide attempts to explain how to make international calls from the room's phone. We tried several numbers but none of them worked, the hotel staff person, "Those numbers don't work."

The lobby of the hotel. The elevators are kinda weird, as people get on the elevator sinks lower and lower, at times people were asked to get off to keep the elevator from dropping to the bottom floor... even though there never too many people on.