By Many of you may not know this but the British ambassador to Korea has his own blog (you can find it on my sidebar as well) and recently featured a guest posting from the British ambassador to North Korea Peter Hughes:
“There was a very festive atmosphere throughout the city. Many people were walking to or from the polling stations, or thronging the parks to have picnics or just stroll. Most of the ladies were dressed in the colourful traditional hanguk pokshik and the men in their best suits. Outside the central polling stations there were bands playing and people dancing and singing to entertain the queues of voters waiting patiently to select their representatives in the country’s unicameral legislature. The booths selling drinks and snacks were very popular with the crowds and everyone seemed to be having a good time. The list of successful candidates was published on Monday.”
“There was a reported turn-out of over 99% of the voters and all the candidates, including Kim Jong Il, were elected with 100% approval.”
“In a few weeks time the Supreme People’s Assembly will open for business which will include voting for the Chairman of the National Defence Committee (presently Kim Jong Il), and drawing up the budget for the coming financial year.
“The city has returned to normal since the weekend, and people are going about their business much as they usually do. However, the sunny weather and warmer temperatures have encouraged the parks and roadside verges to begin turning green again after the long winter. During the afternoons, long columns of schoolchildren can be seen marching through the streets in their blue uniforms with red neckerchiefs, carrying red banners and flags that encourage the people to launch a “general offensive in response to the Party’s call to make a historic leap on all fronts, and sounding the advance for opening the gate to a strong, powerful and prosperous nation in 2012, the centenary of the birth of the Great Eternal Leader Kim Il Sung. The children sing songs and chant slogans as they either walk gaily hand in hand, or march solemnly by.” [Evening Standard]
Peter Hughes was called out by the British media for writing a posting that could have come straight from the KCNA the way it made North Korean democracy seem ideal and even festive. Of course it was all a big propaganda show put on for people like Hughes to report on how great things in North Korea are, which readers of this blog know isn’t the case.
The criticism has since forced Hughes to apologize.
1:56 pm on March 17th, 2009 1
Scary how quickly a critical thinking westener can become indoctrinated in that city. His next post will probably be along the lines of “All citizens of Pyongyang are in blooming euphoria to boost potato production for the happines of the leader!”
10:14 pm on March 17th, 2009 2
Potato is rice! So says the Dear Leader, what don’t you understand running dog?
3:19 am on March 18th, 2009 3
I think the irony of the faux-democracy was intended; after all, the post explicitly described the 99% turnout/100% margin that pretty much flies in the face of real democracy. The schizophrenia of the charming nationalism and the already well-known oppression was what made the piece interesting, and I definitely would include it if I were putting together a book that made a detailed look into North Korean life.
Seriously, no one on the internet has a sense of humor anymore.
10:55 am on March 18th, 2009 4
Boy, is that ever true. The more low-key satire is, the more likely it is that some thin-skinned right-thinking person will totally misinterpret it.
9:04 am on March 27th, 2009 5
I wonder how much choice Hughes has in the matter considering he’s probably being monitored (or believes he’s being monitored) 24/7.
7:25 pm on July 3rd, 2009 6
Bloody ‘ell, mate! No wonder the blokes ‘aven’t published me comment!
(Very sorry I missed this post, thanks for the link!)