My Way in Pyongyang (2014) - full transcript

The bridge over Amnok river.

The connection between North
Korea and the rest of the world.

It's an Alice in Wonderland.

You pop down a rabbit-hole
and fall into

a different country, a
different world.

Where nothing is what it
seems...

What is real, what has been
put on scene?

And what has been
put on scene for so

long that it now has
become real again?

Looking around in this
open-air museum of communism,

wondering:
what do you really see...



It's a public holiday in
North Korea.

April 2012.

The country celebrates
the Day of the Sun,

the Great Leader's
100th anniversary.

Kim il Sung, the founder of the
nation, the Sun of Humanity.

The Chinese train pulls us
through Wonderland.

The land is still bare,
it looks grey and gloomy.

A vague transition from
winter to spring.

Small groups of people
everywhere, working.

Quiet, dedicated, united,
or so it seems...

North Korea,
Kim's worker's paradise,

a totalitarian state.

There's the state,
and there's the people.

Leo Tolstoy used to say about
his Russia:



In this world we can
live an excellent life,

if we can work and love,

if we can work for the ones
we love and who can love us.

Is that something the North
Koreans have in store?

We want to see how people
live there, life as it is.

People as they are,
authentic human beings,

what do they think,

what do they feel,

what are their wishes?

And above all: will we
get a glimpse of that,

or will we remain guessing?

KOREAN OVER LOUDSPEAKER

Shinjuju station, North
Korea s frontier station.

Directions... they resound
from the speaker.

How to leave the station.
How to behave in the street.

And how to get on the train.

Law and order. We re in the
nation of the Great Leader,

Kim il Sung, who will be
a hundred

years old in 108 hours
and 38 minutes.

From a towering hotel: the
city, completely rebuilt.

In August 52 the bombing
was increased,

the Americans dropped
as many bombs

as the number of
people living there,

429.000 bombs,

the city had to be flattened.

429.000;
and just as many trauma's.

Pyongyang is the only city
in the world that has

been devastated completely
by bombardments.

And has risen from its ashes

like a flower that
refuses to break,

traumatised but proud,
with the strength of a

people resolved never
to be ruled over again.

Hello, no picture

The Great Leader Kim often
has brilliant ideas.

Such as: about a desk top.

He gave instructions
to turn over the

study table at an
angle of 12 degrees,

which makes the student
absorb much more information.

We are in the Grand
Peoples Study House,

the University of the People .

Here anybody can study
books, music, languages

and culture from countries
all over the world.

One expects nothing, in North Korea.
One expects anything.

But what you're really
amazed about is that they

should study music from
every corner in the world.

Did this music just happen
to stand there...?

From the Grand Peoples Study House
we have a view over the square,

this world famous square.

A few days before the Big Day
thousands of people

are training for
the Day of the Sun.

The day that the Sun of Humanity,

Kim il Sung, will be a
hundred years old.

Will be,

it is laid down in the
constitution that he will

be the Eternal President,
even though he died years ago.

You don't just leave the square.
Sharp orders

guarantee an immaculate
progress of the show.

A taut direction,
thousands of people make

synchronic movements
like a school of fish.

It's a kind of national sport.

Nothing is left to chance,
not even the way to leave the square.

The film industry.

The production of
hundreds of films

in the honour of
Kim's philosophy,

the Juche Idea of the independent,
self supporting nation.

Here they still work at
the makable society,

to the service of Big Director
Kim Jong il.

Who was also a great enthusiast
of Hollywood films, by the way,

and especially of Liz Taylor.

He himself directed the
film "Our Lifeline",

about an ordinary North Korean
who tracks down a double agent

and uncovers an
American-Japanese conspiracy.

Kim's answer to Hollywood,

propaganda against the
unlimited capitalism,

interspersed with
socialist ideals like

solidarity and a sense of community.

The film as a message of
where the country has to go,

and what the country
has achieved.

A film as a direction, a preview,

a political weather forecast.

The reality of daily life
looks different...

Peace and quiet. Lots of
tranquility in North Korea.

Empty, quiet roads,
just the odd car.

Without oil from Russia
it becomes

more and more quiet
on the road...

There is room, to walk,
to work.

In the Western world room is
almost a synonym for freedom.

Freedom to go
wherever you want to go,

to be left alone,
room to think.

Thoughts are free;
speaking out what you

think is another matter
in North Korea...

Gone will be your peace...

The stories about prison camps
speak for themselves...

now and then you smell the fear.

There, between those hills, lies
American concrete, miles of it.

A powerless wall
between two ideologies,

near the border between
two halves of Korea.

Here again: words,
a stream of words.

Explain, over and over
again, convince...

prove your point against
Washington, the prime aggressor.

Pyongyang shows its teeth.
Calimero is angry.

Kaesong, the far south
of Northern Korea.

Most traffic noise is due to
squealing brakes of bicycles...

a harmony of clicking heels,
bicycles,

and the buzz of voices
all over...

The peace and quiet of
a car-free Sunday -

fragments of cheery music,
they do have that

Rooting in the mud. Bare fields,
cattle nowhere to be seen.

A collective farm, small houses
for the farmers.

The landscape mostly
strewn with red characters,

slogans calling for an
increase in production.

The state provides for oil,
seeds and fertilizer,

the produce belongs
to the state;

it gives every North Korean
a share of the food

Most of the time
this isn't enough;

year after year
the country makes an appeal

to the United Nations for help.

In 2012 Kim Jong Un
announced some reforms.

From now on the farmers
are allowed to keep, sell

or exchange a part of the harvest,
if it is good.

In big brother China
a reform like this

led to a capitalist economy...

In Kim's Utopia as well,
children are curious by nature.

Ideologically neutral,
not yet aware

of what is allowed
and what isn't...

Strangers... what are
they doing here?

Curious yes... but you shouldn't
overdo it, of course...

Curious children... ...and then
all of a sudden: the doubt...

won't this get us in trouble?

The DMZ - a soldierfree strip of
land... the demilitarized zone,

crowded with soldiers,
strangely enough.

The blue barracks
are stil there.

Here, Koreans negociated
with Koreans for years.

But the family fight
is still stuck.

An ideological clash.

The North Koreans hang on
to their demands, like a pitbull.

GUARD SPEAKING KOREAN

The hall in which
the suspension of hostilities

was signed, is empty.

Two tables, two books,
two signatures.

It's a communist museum,
the last room on earth

where Marx is kept alive,

on a drip of words.

The red book is closed,

and you wonder if it ever
will be opened again.

Korea's past isn't over yet
by far.

North and South
hardly communicate,

the country seems to be
locked in its history.

We're looking at the
signature of the Great Kim.

In July '94 he wanted to talk
to the South.

The Sun of Humanity died from a
cardiac arrest a few hours later.

All this becomes too much
for our guide.

His tears drip
on neutral ground.

There are lots of
leaders in the world

but nobody such as Kim il Sung

Who passed away while walking
from his office to the train

EXPLAINING IN KOREAN

Today, just before the
Day of the Sun, there's

not one American to be
seen on the other side.

A boxing ring with no opponent.
It never came to a knock-out.

It's just a cease-fire,

it has been like that for
almost sixty years.

The DMZ meanders across the
Korean insula, like a curtain

keeping two big ideologies
away from each other.

Natural disasters have struck the country
for the past few years.

The papers say that,
according to Pyongyang,

that's a natural way
for nature to respond

to the shocking death
of the Great Leader.

Even nature suffers the loss.

Kim il Sung, the Invincible
Commander with the Iron Will,

fought the Japanese.

There are 563 bronze statues,
scattered over the country.

A multiple Golden Calf.

Is it allowed to make a
picture of the statue?

Certainly, the guide says.

But the whole of the statue
has to be on it.

One foot or arm missing -

and the picture has to
be deleted on the spot.

Those are the rules.

Kapsida! The guides are calling.
Kapsida, hurry up!

We're not allowed to be
standing still too long.

Certainly not for filming...

Every village is rehearsing,

concerts in the honour of the
Great Leader s birthday.

A student orchestra, the
girls choir, a men's choir.

Everything is inspected
to perfection.

A country full of instructions,
multiple perfectionism.

Is your Kim pin straight!?

Ten soloists, all in gowns,
surrounded by smart suits.

Rehearsing for the big festival
on the Day of the Sun.

There will be festivities all
over the country, in the

honour of the Invincible General
with the Golden Heart...

Do we recognize the voice of
the well-known anchor woman?

Reciting is drama in North Korea.

Touched voices, full of dedication
for the higher purpose.

The world famous face
of the state television,

Ri Chun-Hee, takes the lead...

overwhelmed by grief,
resolute or heroic...

Ri never studied journalism,
she trained to be an actress...

Evening... the peace and quiet
have returned to the square.

The people walk or cycle home.
But of course you

don't cycle past the statue
of the Great Leader...

there you get off your bicycle.

Walk a few yards, and then
you just cycle on.

That's what is called respect.

If you don't want
to walk, you cycle

around the square
in a wide circle.

Neither do you fold a paper
containing a photograph of Kim

which is any paper.

A fold in Kim's face
shows no respect

so the guide warns us...

And when there's a power failure,
leaving the city in the dark,

the spotlights will remain
shining on the bronze Kim.

The next morning...
the square wakes up.

With a three-four time.
A walz, a light opera.

An appeal to get to work
in good spirits.

Produce has to be increased,

for the village, for the country,
and the party.

The field of the cooperative
is my field!

Once in a while you catch
a glimpse of the time

before the Kims.

Authentic sculptures and
buildings, centuries old sometimes,

often from Buddhist origin.

Succesfully restored, thanks to
the generous support... of Kim.

Are they still in use?
Certainly, the guide says.

On our way we also see a
Christian church and a mosk.

Everybody is free to profess his
religion, the guid says again.

We count precisely
one Buddhist monk;

he's all the life and soul
we see of religion...

Korea is 1! No doubt about that.

North as well as South
want to be 1.

Also the entrance to Pyongyang
is clear about this. Korea is 1.

Tableaus everywhere, in the
street, in front of factories,

the picture of the future,
the ideal state.

The aggressor spied in
territorial waters.

Of course you shouldn't do
a thing like that.

Pyongyang hijacked the American
spy ship the Pueblo in January '68.

A trophy, triumphantly exhibited
for the sparse tourists.

I did it my way...
The Voice is back!

Would you believe,
here in Pyongyang,

Frank Sinatra isn't
under a taboo.

My Way, an ode to the
self-will of the individual,

in a country full
of collectivism.

A self-willed state,

that should be more like
Kim's Juche philosophy.

But this blushing face
evidently enjoys it... or still

is it the dutiful
repertoire for tourists?

The Big Day. The Day of the Sun,
Kim il Sung's 100th anniversary.

The Eternal President,
officially still

in power, celebrates
his birthday.

The founder of the Juche
ideology, which states that the

collective will of the people is
pressed together in the leader.

Every deed of the
Great Leader mirrors

the needs of the state
and the society.

Don't doubt that...

A festival in the park.
A three-four time again.

Looking at and being looked at.

Is this the spot, the festival
for the Koreans themselves?

Are we crossing the set, or
are we the set ourselves?

men everywhere... with
a mobile phone...

mobile phone codes,
watching us, code 007...

This is where the
birthday boy lies today.

Balmed, shoes polished,
hair combed.

He doesn't receive any
visitors today,

hardly are we allowed to watch
from this distance.

We are filming the military
parade.

A soldier in impressive cap
ticks our shoulders...

inspection.

He wants to see our camera,
see what we have filmed.

We have to delete a
number of shots.

What is it that we are
not allowed to see?

This cheerful military show is
on television all over the world,

with the sanctioned footage
of the state television.

Or are we inadvertently
filming state secrets,

are these missiles
loaded after all?

A confusing contrast...
this charming smile.

Is this openness?...

Or shyness?

...and this man even
thanks us, ka amsamida!

Then suddenly a
glimpse of fury...

that man on the right...

he is distrustful and
sets a soldier at us...

Not a festive day without a
visit to the flower show.

A big hall full of... indeed...
Kimjongilias and Kimilsungias.

A begonia and an orchyd
named after the two Kims.

Neither isn't the
missile lacking

The Tepondong was launched
on Friday 13th...

What all these people do
not yet know,

is that it came down
again in less than a minute,

and only caused no
more than a small

ruffle on the
Exchange of Seoul.

The idea was to play songs
from the universe, to

tribute to the glory of
the Great Leader Kim.

Later that day the Korean state

television came with
the affirmation

that the launch had failed...
and that's what is new,

because the nation doesn t
very easily admit its

failure in front of 23
million inhabitants.

Will Kim Jong Un's
glasnost start here?

Fireworks in Pyongyang.
One hundred years of Kim.

The personality cult
reaches its climax.

A phenomena that we in the
West are suspicious about.

Whatever the North Koreans
thought about them,

the first two Kims also offered
certainty in their lives.

This has gone now and mistrust
of the outside world is great.

No North Korea without
trust in the leader...

so the Kim dynasty
is continued.

The spectacle starts
at a quarter to eight.

A few seconds before
that all the lights in

every building in Pyongyang
are switched off

in less than no time...

The ultimate control.

Today is a joyful day.

Today it turns out that a
second Kim has been placed.

Two bronze statues.

Kim Jong il next to
father Kim il Sung.

Or even, the statue
of the father

has been replaced by a
less stern version.

Kim with glasses, more modern
coat, more frivolous.

Food for the Pyongyang watcher.

And this... this shows
a face of the future,

nowhere near bronze...

Kim il Sung Square, Pyongyang.
The day after.

All people are equal,
in a classless state.

Some are a touch more dark.

They work and plod on the land.

Others have a light complexion,

subtly protected by a parasol.

In this Kim Farm, as in
George Orwell s Animal Farm,

all people are equal,

and some are more
equal than others.

Sangun - army first.

With this adage Kim Jong il gave
the military its elite status.

Not imagination, not the
economy, but soldiers rule
the country.

Learn young, learn fair,

if you want to cuddle
up against power you can

never start too early,
many a mother thinks.

Recently Kim Jong Un also put
economists in high places.

New understandings, even
a constitutional reform.

But... how are you going to
dress your child like an economist?

Badges. Chests full of badges,

the people look proud
and well-to-do.

But lately Kim Jong Un openly
admitted what everybody knows:

the North Korean economy
isn't really flourishing.

After a long history
of oppression

Pyongyang has turned its back
to the rest of the world,

with poverty as a consequence.

For years the country has been
trying to be self supporting.

But, Kim Jong Un also expresses
through the state media,

it is important to raise the
living standard of the people.

North Koreans are
brave, revolutionary,

they fought their freedom
from foreign aggressors.

Kim's people s army drove
the Japanese out,

and founded the Democratic
People s Republic of Korea.

Since then they look
forward confidently

and militantly to
a bright future.

But... the Korean is
also a day tripper.

An excursion to the bronze
statues on the Mansudae Hill...

they show their respect,
and bow for both Kims.

Or even more fun:
a wedding picture, under

the approving look
of the Great Leader.

Or a happy family photo...

Against Pyongyang's skyline
there s a colourful parade of people,

dressed in their Sunday best.

Traditional gowns, but also
women in woman's suits,

smartly cut, men in more
loose stilish costumes.

Strikingly beautiful supple fabric,
dark colours or fiery red.

Women walking in fashionable
platform-soled shoes...

For us fashion is a way to be
different as an individual.

What is it like in the empire
of the Great Leader Kim?

Is it possible to
be an individual here?

It doesn't look like it.

Everything turns
around the collective,

everybody dresses rather
uniformly, stylish but uniformly

A people with a collective will.
And everybody is included,

that's the other side of it...

But, very remarkable:
even the women

soldiers are parading
in high heeled shoes.

'The less one knows,
the more one is going to suspect',

Macchiavelli already said.

There are lots of myths
about North Korea.

Pyongyang's underground is said
to have only a few stations.

A show for foreigners,
with extras by authority,

as in a real life soap

There s a huge crowd, like
in Paris, London or New York

the old Chinese carriages ride
on a frequent schedule and are packed.

With commuters, so it seems.

Some glass windows bear scratchings...
it looks like graffiti.

But that is improbable
in Pyongyang.

How far does the underground go?

We don t know, we get off
at the third stop...

However isolated the
North Koreans live,

they do want to be reckoned
with in the world.

Certainly they shouldn't
be looked down upon.

That wouldn't be right.

So their Arch of Triumph in
Pyongyang measures 59 yards,

over three yards higher
than the one in Paris.

Also quite something
is the monument

for the founding of
the Labour Party.

The hammer, the sickle.
But a paint brush as well:

the intellectual and the artist
count in Kim's workers paradise,

big brother China can
learn a lesson here.

Apparently this monument
is a sensitive spot.

All of a sudden we
see these men again,

inconspiculously
NOT twittering...

for they're not on Twitter,

their phones only work in an
internal North Korean network.

The North Korean state circus...
we're not allowed to film.

Why not?

Our guide whispers:

'our circus is good, but maybe
not yet perfect.

If you film a mistake, the
Western world will use this

to make us look ridiculous.'

The perfect show we watch
takes our breath away.

An artistic expression of
the ultimate makability.

Traveling through North
Korea - it is possible.

We experienced Kim's
ideal state,

the sets Pyongyang
allowed us to see.

Slices of Life.

But have we seen North
Korean life as it is?

Traveling through a country
where the past isn't over yet by far.

An amputated country,

wishing above all to be
one again, one Korea.

But that must be one
workers paradise.

Pyongyang is in fear of the
economic power of Hyundai

and Samsung, LG, Kia,
Daewoo, Ssanyong --

South Korean firms, some of which
use North Korean labour

for their production -
just over the border.

Foreign currency
Pyongyang can't resist.

About 40.000 North Koreans earn
an average of 160 dollars a month

- one fifth of what a South
Korean worker would have earned.

A capitalist enclave to keep
up the communist ideals.

A traumatised country,
a traumatised people, isolated.

But also proud and self-confident.

We wanted to see how people
live there, life as it is.

People as they are,
authentic human beings,

what do they think, what do they
feel, what are their wishes?

They were unapproachable for us...

We are leaving Wonderland,

pop down a rabbit-hole again and
fall back into the other world.

A world where everything
reasonably is what it looks like...

North Korea is an idea.
A timeless country,

locked in its history.