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The Quiet Bandit

North Korea

North Korea – Hermit kingdom and a relic of the past

North Korea: Souvenirs and propaganda images

North Korea: Souvenirs and propaganda images

by M

Souvenir time!!!! Stamps can be bought from the counter at Juche Tower. They are divided into  categories (Juche/ Sogun) and North Korea-China stamps. North Korea-China stamps are a lot more easier to find than North Korea- Russia friendship stamps. Of course, any North Korea- America/South Korea stamps are unheard of. At the basement of the Yanggakdo International Hotel, you can buy newspapers and Kim-ism books. Three great postcards with images from propaganda posters. Top- Turning point: people’s lives and welfare Bottom Left- Chomilla Higher and much faster Bottom Right- Crushing the Americans

North Korea: Facts , info and all that

North Korea: Facts , info and all that

by M

Nine men crossed the overpass at Beijing’s Second Ring road. Their Kim badges, matching suits and haircut automatically screamed out : We are North Koreans. They all work at the Embassy, probably part of the Propaganda Department who send out weekly special notices. It’s always one to two A4 page of well written words denouncing USA and the West for their sabotage and ongoing attacks on North Korea. South Korea are often mentioned too. I told them that I’ve just visited their country and through broken Chinese, we chatted about their Juche, their country and her achievements. One man pointed to his left coat pocket and said “Maybe some will not understand me but I do love him. Kim Il-sung will always be my most beloved leader. He shines in my heart.” We parted ways and my memories of North Korea came flooding back. It would be great to work in North Korea for a year-…

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North Korea- In the News

North Korea- In the News

by M

All foreigners will come in contact with North Korea’s leading state owned English newspaper- The Pyongyang Times. It’s also translated into French although copies are hard to find. Whether it is on the flight into Pyongyang or at the hotel foyer, you will find many copies of The Pyongyang Times. It runs weekly and like everything else in the hermit kingdom, it’s state-owned. It is the foreign language edition of Pyongyang Sinmun( found in 1957 by Kim Il-sung). The articles are well-written in your typical North Korean style kind of language. The authentic english feel was made possible by their staff who, almost all, spent time abroad perfecting their level of English. I always enjoy reading newspapers as it gives you an insight into how a country thinks and how they run things. When it comes to The Pyongyang Times, the front cover is always a full page dedicated to the dear Kims…

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North Korea: A very tense DMZ

North Korea: A very tense DMZ

by M

3 May 2013 We were the only bus on the long dusty road. After leaving the Reunification Highway and making our way down the more local roads, the drive started to feel rather long. We could feel that dead silence as we approached Panmunjeom. This feels like the Cold War. The small village of Panmunjeom unfortunately lies at the battle front of the Korean War. A tense atmosphere always linger around the area prompting Bill Clinton to call it “the scariest place on earth” in 1993. We were asked to turn off our camera and devices as we inched our way into the area that divides the North from the South. The 4-km strip of land that separates the two appear to be tranquil not he surface but it won’t take long for things to take a bad turn. Land mines, barbed wires and stations scatter along the line- always on careful watch. The…

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North Korea: Farm, Nampho, Kim’s home and metro

North Korea: Farm, Nampho, Kim’s home and metro

by M

2 May 2013 Another early start and another long day. The tour guides took us to a farming neighbourhood to show us what a community outside of Pyongyang looks like. The small cabbage farm/patch paints a picturesque and ideal scene of a prospering farming community as well as the fantastic agricultural developments and sense of great self-reliance in the DPRK all made possible due to the glorious supreme ever-so-wise leader. It’s not hard to see the point of this morning visit. The Kim wall and his quotations  was renovated to remember the dear leaders. After all, this is sort of like a “model” community. In terms of orientation, the first Kim Statue Square is a short 2 minute walk away from the centre of the community. Greenhouses and apartments lies in neat rows towards the left side of the community square. A huge banner ” Our glorious leader” hangs along the…

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North Korea: Kim’s presents and ancient temple

North Korea: Kim’s presents and ancient temple

by M

1 May 2013 We bowed to the statue of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. We were in the hall of the 60,000 square meter International Friendship Exhibition Centre. It is home to all the presents given to the two leaders by others around the world.  Our centre guide led us into the hall and started to explain about the significance of the museum and the meanings behind the various anti-American paintings. The 144 rooms boasts some 70,000 presents from 184 countries. You have vase, portraits, ivory, statues, rhino horns, bear skin from USSR, calligraphy works, paintings, photos with other leaders ( Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou), gifts from my Tsinghua University, furnitures, clothes and much more. The rooms are divided according to the year and the country of origin. Ms Zhao, our 28 years-old female guide kept an eye on me since I have the tendency to linger longer than my other 11 companions.…

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North Korea: Just landed and voila!

North Korea: Just landed and voila!

by M

30th April 2013 North Korea is China during the Cultural Revolution (1960 to 1976). The people back then were identical. Sam Mao suits, same hairstyle, same loyalty and same loyalty –  “Our dear Chairman Mao! Long Live Chairman Mao” they would chant. In North Korea, it’s “Our glorious leader this and his eternal sun that.” Yep, pretty much the same. Any wacky unorthodox places gets my attention. This hermit country is definitely something that I want to see. The timing was awful since North Korea had just finished a nuclear bomb test. Such acts were seen as highly provocative and a threat to regional peace and stability.” China blocked her borders with North Korea so I had to fly into Pyongyang instead of train-ing it. Only one local Chinese agency ( Beijing Youth Travel Service)  was running the May-June trip. It was a sensitive time so tourist numbers were low.  For…

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What Onion saga says about China’s sense of humor

by M

Always great to participate in another piece of writing for CNN.  Thank you People Daily for not hanging up on me. China’s state-run People’s Daily newspaper is known for political correctness rather than a sense of humor. So when a report surfaced this week that North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un had been named the 2012 “Sexiest Man Alive”, the self-described mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party cheered its Korean comrade on its website — only this “news” came from satirical U.S. website, The Onion. China is North Korea’s major ally and aid provider. Reporting something flattering on Kim must have been considered politically correct. Its website editors even built a gallery of photos to accompany the report, with slides featuring Kim riding a horse, inspecting troops and being hugged by female soldiers. While the item spiced up the usually staid pages of the website, it led to wave of sniggering as international…

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