Reading and Using the Newspaper

In North Korea, there are rules around newspaper use. For example, pages with Kim Il Sung or Kim Jong Il cannot be damaged as it is considered a serious crime.

According to Open News for NK, most North Korea readers prefer only reading section 5 and 6 (news of the world and policy around South Korea) of the Rodong Sinmun because this is one of their only sources to the outside world. The other sections of the newspaper are often ignored because readers are tired of reading about the current activities of the Kim Jong Il (section 1), politics and commentaries (section 2), party principles (section 3), and praises or criticisms of party officials (section 4).

The other and more interesting reason why North Korean readers prefer section 5 and 6 is because they can use these pages to roll tobacco as there are rarely any pictures of the Kims. And also because there are less pictures, there is less risk in inhaling printing ink when smoking tobacco.

More information:

Open Radio for NK: Which Section on the Rodong Sinmun Do North Korea Readers Enjoy?

Vice Guide to North Korea - Part I

A note about how VBS was able to film in North Korea:

"Getting into North Korea was one of the hardest and weirdest processes VBS has ever dealt with. After we went back and forth with their representatives for months, they finally said they were going to allow 16 journalists into the country to cover the Arirang Mass Games in Pyongyang. Then, ten days before we were supposed to go, they said, “No, nobody can come.” Then they said, “OK, OK, you can come. But only as tourists.” We had no idea what that was supposed to mean. They already knew we were journalists, and over there if you get caught being a journalist when you’re supposed to be a tourist you go to jail. We don’t like jail. And we’re willing to bet we’d hate jail in North Korea. But we went for it. The first leg of the trip was a flight into northern China. At the airport, the North Korean consulate took our passports and all of our money, then brought us to a restaurant. We were sitting there with our tour group, and suddenly all the other diners left and these women came out and started singing North Korean nationalist songs. We were thinking, “Look, we were just on a plane for 20 hours. We’re jet-lagged. Can we just go to bed?” but this guy with our group who was from the LA Times told us, “Everyone in here besides us is secret police. If you don’t act excited then you’re not going to get your visa. So we got drunk and jumped up onstage and sang songs with the girls. The next day we got our visas. A lot of people we had gone with didn’t get theirs. That was our first hint at just what a freaky, freaky trip we were embarking on…"
— VBS Founder Shane Smith

Vice Guide to North Korea - Part II

Vice Guide to North Korea - Part III

Hacker Army

South Koreans are in to gaming.

North Koreans are into hacking.

And apparently both are on the top of their game.

It was revealed earlier this week that North Korean hackers breached South Korea's military Internet network stealing around 2000 national secrets on March 5, 2009. How did they get so good?

"Kim Dong-sung, a lawmaker for the ruling Grand National Party. 'Over the last 10 years, we (South Korea: Unification Ministry) provided more than 3,000 Pentium-level computers to North Korea and helped train their workers in IT skills. What we have ended up doing is to train a unit of hackers.'" (Chosun Ilbo).

And how good are they?

"The U.S. Defense Department's tracing of countries where users visited U.S. military websites for several years revealed that North Korea made the most connections to them. There is speculation that North Korea is second only to the CIA in terms of hacking capabilities" (Chosun Ilbo).

More information:

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/10/19/2009101900401.html

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/07/10/2009071000588.html

Rev. Franklin Graham's Visit to North Korea

"Graham spent Oct. 12-15 in North Korea (the DPRK, or Democratic People’s Republic of Korea). He was welcomed to Pyongyang by several top DPRK officials, who do not usually meet with non-government delegations, according to news reports. This was Graham’s third trip to North Korea. He visited one of the three hospitals where, earlier this year, technicians from Samaritan’s Purse installed diesel generators and solar panels to provide electrical power. Since 1997, Samaritan’s Purse has provided more than $10 million in medical and dental equipment and other assistance in North Korea. Graham’s latest visit coincided with the delivery of $190,000 worth of dental equipment to outfit a school that can train up to 70 rural dentists a year" (Samaritan's Purse).

This is not the first time an organization was asked for money and supplies to build a dental clinic in PyongYang. Should there not be many by now then?

On a positive note, solar panels to generate the much needed electricity in North Korea is a brilliant idea.

More information:

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/articles/franklin_graham_travels_to_asia/

http://www.foxnews.com/video/index.html?playerId=011008&streamingFormat=FLASH&referralObject=10704948&referralPlaylistId=playlist

Birth of Kim Jong Il

If I were to rewrite my birth into history books...

I would make it grand and fantastical too.

The Chinese Intention?

What do the Chinese want when they give lavish gifts to North Korea? Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao brought with him on his latest trip this October over US$200 million, which included, "free economic assistance, pledges of support in the fields of education and technology, tourism deals and the construction of a new bridge over the Apnok or Yalu River with Chinese money" (Chosun Ilbo).

China is not the most altruistic country. Nor does it need North Korea to be its trading partner. Instead what it wants for its assistance is:

"Mining rights for North Korea's key mines, including Musan iron ore mine in North Hamgyong Province, Hyesan copper mine in Yanggang Province and Yongdeung coal mine in North Pyongan Province. China is in charge of prospecting for offshore oil deposits on the West Sea and has won exclusive use of certain docks in Rajin port by either building or expanding them. China has also won the rights to fish in parts of North Korea's territorial waters and to develop the Yalu River. During the latest visit by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, the two countries also signed agreements in the areas of food, energy, education and information and technology" (Chosun Ilbo).

When I was waiting at the North Korean border, it was sad to see many Chinese trucks leaving North Korea with its natural resources. Is it really a fair trade? It seems that North Korea has traded its land and soul to the Chinese. And for what?

See Chosun Ilbo for more news:

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/10/07/2009100700686.html

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/10/07/2009100700827.html

Kimjongilia - the movie

Today I went to see Kimjongilia at the VIFF. It is a documentary produced by Heikin after she heard the story about Kang Chol-Hwan's child imprisonment in a concentration camp. She felt she needed to do something to expose these crimes against humanity. Thus, the film Kimjongilia. What impressed me the most about this documentary was the ending where the NK refugees were asked, "What about the future?" A former general replied that the day the world stops aiding, the North Korean people will overcome the regime with their own bare hands. An elderly lady who was imprisoned due to her friendship with the high officials' mistress said that the world needs to know about the crimes and intervene because the North Korean people have no voice. The others...are waiting for the end of KimIlSung. I agree with all of them.

From www.kimjongiliathemovie.com

"KIMJONGILIA, The Flower of Kim Jong Il, is the first film to fully expose the disaster through a tapestry of defectors’stories,North Korean propaganda, and original performance. This feature documentary shows why the defectors fled, describes their hair-raising escapes, and recounts the dangers they face in China, hunted by Chinese as well as North Korean police. These refugees are from every walk of life, from child concentration camp inmates to an elite concert pianist. But their stories all speak of body-and-soul killing repression and paint a picture of a country so far off the rails it defies belief. Ultimately, these humble heroes are inspiring, for despite their suffering, they hold out hope for a better future."

Hope again

After visiting North Korea in 2007 for 9 days, I grew disenchanted with the idea that I could do anything to bring change to the country in dire need. I put aside the hope I had for my people. I asked myself, "What can I do? The problem is too colossal for me."

2 years later, I still see a colossal problem that is too big for one person to deal with. But now, I see hope.

Purpose of the blog:

1. To be vigilant and watchful about the happenings inside North Korea.

2. To finish journalling my trip to North Korea.

3. To document the stories I heard from my childhood.

4. For us to see hope.