War of Art (2019) - full transcript
Artists from across the Western world visit North Korea to take part in a "cultural exchange" - with varying degrees of success and failure.
[Radio chatter]
Narrator: How do we deal with
a country like North Korea?
Isolation? Threats?
Or dialogue?
♪♪
Norwegian artist Morten Traavik
has worked
with the regime for years.
Now, he's here to propose
a risky project --
a modern art academy inside the
world's most secluded country.
[Man speaking Korean]
Okay.
So, you visited my country
more than 11 or 12
or something.
It's a good thing because then
you came here not as a tourist,
but you came here
as a cultural exchange
and mutual understanding
between the countries.
So, I sure appreciate
your visit,
but you should
welcome our troops, as well,
to other countries.
You should be
the introducer,
introducing the Korean culture
to the others.
Traavik:
I am the introducer.
This is the reason
why we are here,
why we are
having this meeting.
You are aware that,
in our part of the world,
there is a lot of political
negativity towards the DPRK.
So, for each of the projects
that we do together,
we are like the drop
that hollows out the stone,
as they say.
How to deal with it?
What is your plan?
The idea for this
DMZ Academy is that
by inviting artists from many
countries and many continents,
we are creating more
and more understanding
and more and more people realize
that the DPRK is open.
[Speaking Korean]
Okay. So, according to
these plans, step-by-step,
that I hope to develop,
improve and facilitate
our cultural exchange
between your country
and my country.
[Speaking Korean]
[Speaking Korean]
♪♪
♪♪
Reporter:
Our top story this morning,
the dangerous situation
on the Korean Peninsula
is getting more intense.
♪♪
♪♪
Reporter #2:
War of words between the U.S.
and North Korea is intensifying.
Reporter #3: President Trump
says Kim Jong-un
will be tested
like never before.
♪♪
♪♪
Host:
So, who will flinch first?
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: After more than
two years of planning,
Morten arrives
in North Korea
with a select group
of international artists.
The group is invited to spend
a week
in the capital, Pyongyang,
producing art and meeting
North Korean colleagues
who rarely get input
from the outside world.
[Camera shutter clicking]
♪♪
Traavik: The DMZ Academy is
the first-ever
contemporary art seminar
in North Korea.
For me, the scenery here
is very similar
to some small part
in China, you know.
-Mm-hmm. Yeah.
-I mean, you know,
all the people.
-The whole landscape.
People riding bicycles.
Narrator: Morten has hand-picked
the foreign artists
who all represent art forms not
known or allowed in North Korea.
♪♪
His idea is to use modern art
as a Trojan Horse
inside the totalitarian regime.
♪♪
Traavik: It's not to bring peace
and democracy to North Korea.
I mean, they have to sort
that out themselves.
But it is to question the way we
and they look at the world.
♪♪
To rage within the machine
instead of raging against it.
♪♪
[Laughter]
You can see how there's still
some, you know, happy people.
They're pretty...
pretty happy.
♪♪
Narrator:
The Academy is hosted
by the Committee
for Cultural Relations.
Traavik: Chocolate Eskimo?
Ice cream, anyone?
Their goal is to
turn the artists
into North Korean allies.
Delicious.
An invitation they might regret.
Are you walking
or staying here?
No, I think we are
going back in the bus,
but if you want to have a walk,
it should be fine.
Just go?
♪♪
♪♪
[Horn honks]
Oh. Oh. Oh!
-Now he'll go to jail.
-Yeah.
-He violate the traffic.
-Yeah.
The regulation also.
Of course, it's not my fault,
but it's his.
Please, please.
I warn you a time.
Please don't leave
the tour group again.
Okay?
He's just hoping
to be arrested
by one of the beautiful
traffic ladies.
-Okay. And being tortured.
-Yes, being tortured.
So, being tortured
by the beautiful officer.
-Very intimately, yes.
-No problem.
[Laughs]
If our people see him
just crossing the road,
they will say, "Oh, you,
why are you crossing the road?"
So, that is why.
Avoid that.
[ Speaking indistinctly ]
Stop him.
She was actually showing him
what not to do.
♪♪
♪♪
Nowak: I started building
sound systems.
When I finished one,
I would start another one...
and that became
like an addiction.
♪♪
I can't bring physical artworks
to North Korea,
but I can bring a soundscape
and talk about perception
of reality.
♪♪
Traavik: Alright, guys.
The idea behind
this whole enterprise
is actually to expose you
to North Korea and vice versa
and see what happens,
basically.
Man: We probably can jump
into the questions
about how to produce and...
You will be sharing studios
with Korean artists.
When we get to the situation
where we can present ourselves,
I think we should just try to
engage them in an inviting way.
It will be, like,
in one of the studios
or in a meeting room
at the Pyongyang University
of Fine Arts.
But the Committee asks
to review the contents
of your presentations...
Mm-hmm.
...just to make sure that
you will not be too naughty.
[Laughter]
Is it something naughty?
Oh, it's very,
very naughty.
Is it very French?
It's very universal,
I must say.
I hope it's not too rotten.
I kept it
in the fridge, but...
-So, it's--
-Oh, it's kind of...
a bit like...
[Sniffs]
But --
No, it still smells okay.
This is my blood.
It's your own blood?
It's my own blood, yes.
I have, like, a bottle
in my freezer at home,
and I just took
a sample of it.
What do you use it for?
-What?
-What do you use it for?
Uh, I took into --
for a presentation
because I printed a poster
with human blood, as well.
So, I use this.
This little tool.
You know,
I spike my finger.
[Click]
Really? Oh, shit.
And I sign my books.
-Like this?
-Yeah.
♪♪
Valnoir: What inspires me
is what is negative
in the human mind?
Right now, I'm crushing
bones to create ink.
It comes from this piece of hip,
a human hip that will be
used then for printing.
So, maybe you can see that
the texture is very abrasive.
North Korea triggers
my curiosities a lot.
I'm very curious
to see what happens
when you confront our vision
of art
and their vision of art.
Can I sit?
-Yeah.
-Here, you mean?
Narrator: A censorship screening
is set up by Mr. Ham.
He wants to make sure
that North Korean artists
will not be contaminated
by their visitors.
I am removing
what has been rejected.
[Giggles]
They don't want this,
this, this, this or this.
So, I work with
the music industry,
and I design cover artworks
for bands.
So, this is like a jacket,
a rock jacket,
but with the patches
stitched on the back
of the guitar player.
Yeah.
[Speaking indistinctly]
So, this I will show
and I will explain.
Me, I cannot get
the point.
Please give me the message
you want to convey.
So, look. This is blood.
We made ink with the blood,
and we printed 100 copies
of this poster with my blood.
[Laughs]
Traavik: If I can interject,
as an artist,
if you want to show people
that I am willing
to do anything for my art,
you use your own blood.
It's like your own heart,
your own feelings,
into your art.
I understand that you
extracted your own blood
and you used coffins.
It's really,
you know, kind of...
-Horrifying.
-It's bizarre...
-Bizarre, yeah.
-...printing,
but just showing them
this is bizarre printing.
I don't think that's the kind
of message that inspires people.
At the moment,
I would say you are not ready.
Who will be the next?
Man:
Oh, I can. Yeah.
Ms. Yun.
This is for you.
Okay, thank you.
But I need to sign it
before --
No! No, no!Man: What he is doing?
That is...
-Forever.
-Oh.
To my future wife,
Ms. Y...
-Y-U-N.
-Y-U-N.
♪♪
This is called
the "Permafrost."
[Speaking indistinctly]
Yeah.
Do you have some painting
related to people's life?
Everyday life, you mean?
Nothing related to politics.
Just, you know, mood.
Yes.
[Blows]
You have to let it dry
for a few minutes.
Yeah. Thank you.
Kiss me.
[Both giggle]
Do you have any women...?
Just to my girlfriends.
Okay.
I think Mr. Ham,
he will kill you.
Why?
Because you give him
this extremely hard task.
No. Soft task.
Soft task? Come on!
Alright.
So, see you tomorrow then, eh?
♪♪
I think
it will be fine.
Beautiful.
I love this clash of cultures.
[Whistle blows]
Pres. Donald Trump:
No-one has shown more contempt
for other nations
and for the well-being
of their own people
than the depraved regime
in North Korea.
If the righteous many
do not confront the wicked few,
then evil will triumph.
It is time for all nations
to work together
to isolate the Kim regime
until it ceases
its hostile behavior.
♪♪
Narrator: Every morning,
flag ceremonies
take place to motivate people
on their way to work.
♪♪
German sound artist Nik
has made an appointment
with Mr. Ham
to record the performance.
♪♪
Morning.
But when Mr. Ham
does not show up,
Nik faces a dilemma.
Here's the wall.
We can't get through here
without Mr. Ham.
I'm worried that Mr. Ham is not
amused when we go without him,
but we could also just go.
♪♪
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[Music stops]
You are in our country.
Yeah, I know.
Then acting alone
with all the gears,
especially with camera,
with microphone,
pointing like this,
it looks suspicious
without explanation.
And without me, you cannot
explain it to the local people.
Okay.
That's what
I'm worried about.
You can be mistaken
for something else you are not.
-Okay.
-That's why I'm here.
I thought because it's just
a few meters, it's okay
because you knew that I'm here
and that I'm going.
I thought it's okay
if I already start.
Without explanation,
it looks suspicious
without authority.
It looks like --
-It's not supposed to be there.
It looks like...suspicious.
Okay. Alright.
It's okay.
No hard feelings,
but, you know.
I'm sorry and I apologize.
You could be better.
-Yeah.
-What's up?
What have you done now?
I have done
very nice photographs.
Narrator:
The hosts are personally
responsible for their guests.
Their job is to stay
with them at all times
and, of course,
make them fall in love
with Korean art and culture.
♪♪
Look at that.
♪♪
Traavik: I think you will
struggle to find any society,
anywhere in the world,
where art is used to promote
the state ideology
to such an extent
as you will see in North Korea.
You see art everywhere.
♪♪
♪♪
But all of that art
is tailor-made for once purpose.
One purpose only.
♪♪
So, our President
Kim Il-sung said
it is actually the way
that painters should paint.
Look at this.
It's crazy good quality.
We have to keep in mind
that the history of modern art,
to a North Korean,
stops around 100 years ago
when Picasso started making
naughty experiments.
If you teach the students
about the development
of the European
classical painting history,
do you also go further,
like the Romantic era,
Impressionists, Cubism
and the modern artistry,
or where do you stop?
The important thing is
that we have to be
critical
about the pieces.
We take only something
we really need and apply it.
♪♪
Placht:
I have no idea how it's going
to look like before I start.
It's a really big mystery
each time.
♪♪
Of course, there is always
hidden information in artworks
because it's a language.
So, if you want
to understand a language,
you also have
to give the effort.
♪♪
My strategy for being
in North Korea
is to remember, at all times,
that I am a guest there.
I'm there to become friends.
Any new person you meet
is a potential friend
and so is also North Korea.
The U.S.
The U.S.
is under our target.
Understand?
-Yeah.
And these are the weapons,
as you see.
Yeah.
-Simple.
-Very simple. Mm.
-Anything more?
-Yeah. This?
Because
we have the war here.
-Mm-hmm.
-And here's the peace stuff.
The peace is being defended
by our strong armies.
-Hmm.
-That's all.
So,
let's hope for peace.
Yeah.
Let's hope for it.
Yeah. Let's work on it.
[Both chuckle]
♪♪
Can we ask the artist, in the
55 years he's worked here,
what has been
his favorite moment?
[Speaking Korean]
So, there is
a specific moment.
Actually, he consider
the moments
whenever our great leader sees
works of his and appreciate him.
He consider it
to be the happiest moment.
Very lucky.
Happy man.
He's painting it from
the photo of a painting.
That's why.
-[Speaking Korean]
This is what she drew
many years before.
He is trying to complete,
perfect the picture.
[Speaking indistinctly]
Boyd: They're not painting
from their minds.
They're not painting
with an idea.
They're painting
from a copy.
♪♪
♪♪
Well, this is
the second edition
of Sonic In London.
Two days, taking over
the entire venue
and it's music which is visual
or visual art which is sonic.
Let's go.
Let's go, let's go.
I spent 20 years
directing opera, orchestras,
and visualizing music.
I just want to wish you luck
for the performance
because I know it's
the first time you do it
and you're probably
very, very nervous.
♪♪
I'm especially inspired
by presenting unknown artists
from cultures
we in the U.K. may not know of.
♪♪
♪♪
So, during this trip,
I hope that I meet people
and can find out,
can I work with these people?
♪♪
♪♪
Wow!
[Applause]
[Conversing indistinctly]
Narrator:
At the music conservatory,
the group is given a traditional
tour by the director.
[Students singing]
Nik and Cathie are supposed to
give lectures to students here,
but when the tour ends,
those plans have obviously
been changed.
Traavik: We are now going to
have a little talk, yes,
about Mr. Nik,
to do the presentation?
What the presentation
looks like?
What? Come on, we already
agreed on this.
-Okay.
-Yeah?
[Speaking Korean]
Nowak: I made recordings,
sound recordings,
from the unaudible spectrum.
They are above and below
what we can hear,
but I have transferred
them into the audible.
[Speaking Korean]
Will here be any people that
would hear it, other than us?
[Speaking Korean]
No?
Then I won't do it.
It doesn't make any sense.
-He will hear.
-What?
-He will hear it.
He will hear it?
Yeah, that's true.
Okay. Let's do it.
And Mr. Ri, about me
being able to present
to a small group of musicians,
as was planned?
The plan, please?
We will take it, but now we will
just getting Nik's thing going.
So, we will
get there but...
[Chirping]
[Warbling]
He is not interested
or...?
No.
-[Speaking Korean]
Hold a sec.
He heard already.
He heard it already?
But he can't because it's from
the upper ultrasonic.
That's bats and insects
that you can't hear,
so he hasn't heard
it before.
Because these are 40 kilohertz
and 60 kilohertz,
and we can only hear
to 20 kilohertz maximum,
if he has the best ears
on the planet.
[Speaking Korean]
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Right now, even I have to say
it's not very easy.
Alright? And I beg you
to respect that opinion.
You are really keeping us,
the whole group,
on a very, very tight leash,
as we say.
You know the dog?
-Yeah.
When you walk the dog, you are
keeping the dog on the leash.
Right?
-We did that?
It's an expression.
Maybe we go out
somewhere and just...
But you see, it's even a problem
to go out somewhere
because then, somebody would
want to do something
and they will be told off,
and we are just making even
stronger the negative here.
So then, I would say
it's actually better
that we just stay in the hotel,
we don't go anywhere,
because it always is a problem
because you are not trusting us.
-Yeah, I understand.
-Maybe we talk off the camera?
You come here and you see that
the people are really happy.
They're genuinely happy.
There is really
something functioning.
-Yeah.
-But then, it shows you later,
when you, kind of,
come to the limits,
it shows how it feels like,
when you just step
a little bit out of the frame,
and then it becomes
really terrible.
You know what I heard
about what some guys
on the Committee
said about you?
That you were like
a Chinese journalist
and that you are not
an artist
because you are
just a photographer
and that you are not
important for the project.
Okay. I'm fine because,
in this country,
people don't see photography
as a form of art.
-Yeah.
-That's very, you know...
I know it's a very...
It's a complicated topic,
you know. Enhh!
But I'm okay.
They see me as, you know,
like a fucking photojournalist.
That'll be fine for me.
♪♪
Shih: I'm a photographer
and also a filmmaker.
I'm doing my own work
as well as commercial work.
♪♪
I think China
and North Korea,
we are very cultural
close country
because we used to have
the same political system.
Our cultures were both
influenced by a Soviet culture.
I was, like, "Okay, let's take
a time machine to my past."
♪♪
[Television playing
indistinctly]
[Cheers and applause]
It's always a bit hard
to distinguish,
when you're here, between
you being uptight and paranoid
and real difficulties.
So, I think what this project,
and the outcome so far, shows
is the dilemma that North
Koreans find themselves in.
The wish for some kind
of controlled interaction
with the outside world,
but it's impossible to interact
without getting influenced.
They have been trying
to completely dictate the terms,
and that simply doesn't work,
and, deep down,
they do understand it.
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: Morten's confrontation
with the hosts had an effect
and the artists are now
given more freedom
to do what they came for.
Okay.
It's a nice color, I think.
Ooh, this is a beautiful green.
♪♪
Woman:
Yeah, quite strange.
It's very different
from yours,
but this is how it can look
like in the beginning.
So, what do you think?
I mean...
Yeah?
-It means nothing.
It doesn't
represent anything,
but it's a very open way
of working.
It's like poetry.
Like music, almost.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Your name?
[Conversing in Korean]
Mr...
Mr. Hendrik.
Yes.
And you are?
What's your name?
My name...
[Conversing in Korean]
Mr...
The trio. The trio.
Yeah, it's nice.
The three knights.
The three musketeers
of watercolors.
Okay. [Groans]
[Laughs]
[Babbling]
[Sighs]
You like it? Yeah?
You like? It's okay?
[Sighs]
♪♪
Could you look at camera,
please?
Like this. That's great.
-[Speaking Korean]
[Camera shutter clicks]
Beautiful.
[Camera shutter clicks]
♪♪
Shih: That's okay.
Don't be nervous.
♪♪
[Camera shutter clicks]
♪♪
You live your family?
Yeah, I live
with my family.
-Okay.
-That's better.
When I was your age,
I came to Beijing.
I used to live myself
because my parents,
they were in another city.
I mean, if you have boyfriend
or girlfriend, life will change.
It will feel much better.
-Yeah, definitely.
They also say when you get
married, you know, life change.
Marriage is, kind of,
we call it the most
important thing in life.
Yeah. Yesterday,
I saw two boys walking.
They're not young, they're 18
years old, like, hand-in-hand.
Also, like...
you know, in the West,
they look like a gay couple.
You know.
Do you think there is
any gay here in North Korea?
No?
You know,
I think this gay thing
and all these
lesbian things
are, kind of, production
of capitalist system.
Exactly. Yeah.
Yeah.
We educate people
the only good things,
so they can't even imagine
about this gay or lesbian
or something like that,
you know.
They just walk hand-in-hand
because they are friends.
I know. I understand.
I'm from the same kind
of political system.
But in China now, you know,
gay, it's not illegal.
You can't get married,
but there are some gay scenes.
Gay bar. Yeah.
China change
like other country.
Not your country, yeah.
So, what's your next dream?
-My next dream?
-Yeah.
[Chuckles]
To have a nice apartment?
No.
In our country,
if you ask about dream,
it's not about
material things.
It's about, you know...
Oh. Yeah.
The wisdom of --
dream for your destiny.
Yeah, we Chinese have changed
to another kind of person,
you know.
Some kind of bad person.
A lot of young Chinese, when
they're talking about dreams,
they're always about, you know,
"I want to be a boss.
I want a new apartment.
I want a new car." Like this.
Nobody talking about,
you know, your kind of dream.
My dream.
My dream would be...
to become very...
just a simple dream that...
My dream would be
to become, you know,
a person which my name
would be remembered
by the next generation.
Mm!
Do you understand
what I mean?
Yeah.
I feel time here
is very slow
and very good.
And the air is very fresh.
♪♪
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♪♪
We are really proud
of having a great leader.
We consider ourselves
very lucky.
Even if the foreign
people don't understand it.
What do you feel?
What thoughts or emotions
do you feel when you see him?
I feel absolute
happiness and honor.
Give me more than that.
Expand on that for me.
It's what you feel
when you meet a great person,
like a great man.
Have you ever
wept in awe?
Yes, of course.
Mm-hmm.
I can't forget being sad
the moment
when our glorious
Kim Jong-il passed away.
Yeah.
Sorry, I didn't mean --
-This is one of --
No, no, it's alright.
This is one of
the power source...
that the foreign...
don't understand.
You're right,
we don't understand.
-This unity.
-Yeah.
This mood.
This kind of philosophy.
Spirit.
We consider it to be the most
powerful weapon
for our nation,
which is unique to our nation.
No, it's true. You have a unity
that we don't have.
Narrator: With political
tensions already running high,
North Korea taunts the world.
They detonate
their first hydrogen bomb
just north of Pyongyang.
[Birds chirping]
Traavik:
Did you notice the ground?
My bed was shaking and it felt
like a small earthquake.
And the light posts outside
were vibrating.
-Oy, oy, oy.
-Yeah.
Well, let's go out there now,
and I'll put my laptop up.
Please.
[Indistinct conversations]
"North Korea underground
nuclear test feared."
South Korea calls
national security meeting
after earthquake
of magnitude 6.3
detected near a North Korean
testing area.
Did you notice the earthquake
that was at 12:00?
Boyd: They don't know yet.
Tell them.
In the world news right now
is that your country
has conducted another
nuclear test
and that there will be
a press conference.
We very strongly request that we
can see this press conference.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
[Applause]
[Speaking Korean]
[Applause]
Why were you
applauding?
-The successful test.
-Of the nuclear bomb?
-Yeah, yeah.
-H-bomb.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Did she say anything
where it was? Do you know?
I just spoke to her
and they are fully armed.
Mm-hmm.
I mean, we are
one of the world powers now
which the U.S. --
You are one
of the world's...
...most powerful country
with the most powerful weapon
which the U.S. should be
very well aware of.
So they should be careful
about what they speak to us now.
Wow. You're very brave
saying that, Mr. Ham,
because my fear is that
America
will wipe out
this country in seconds.
You know, the provocations
by Trump,
what kind of aggressive words
addressed to us
and coming out.
We have to defend
our sovereignty, our identity.
I mean, this is serious,
you know.
Your leader is
a very powerful man
and is very strong-minded
and we have another man
in the West
who is equally as crazy
at hitting the button.
They are both obsessed
with hitting the button.
So, the choice
depends on him.
He hits the button,
he is to blame, not us.
I know,
but we'll all be gone.
Poof!
We won't even know.
But it's because of him,
not because of us.
No, no, no.
We are living
under these sanctions
and everything for
so many years.
We have
nothing more to give.
Do you know initially
who divided your country?
Who divided North
and South Korea?
-It's the U.S.
-Yeah, exactly.
That's the shame.
They divided you
in the first place.
They made this nation two,
which you should not be.
You know, being someone
from Ireland,
I have a country
that's divided.
I hate this. Our countries
should not be divided.
Ireland should be one.
Yes, exactly the same.
You know,
it should not be two --
-One nation.
-It should not be divided.
Yeah.
So, yeah.
I just popped a Xanax.
I'm waiting for it to kick in
and we'll see what happens,
basically.
But yeah, it seems that we are
in for some...now, so...
♪♪
♪♪
Sorry, I'm just curious.
There was a test
which you may know about.
You know?
We had the H-bomb test?
Did you feel
the shaking in the tower?
No.
What was your view
of the test?
I am feeling
very proud of that
because I'm a citizen of
a great population.
Yeah, that's my opinion.
No more weak country
we are.
We have a good view
on the end of mankind here.
What a beautiful day.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Pres. Donald Trump:
Rocket Man
is on a suicide
mission for himself
and for his regime.
♪♪
Now, North Korea's reckless
pursuit of nuclear weapons
threatens the entire world with
unthinkable loss of human life.
♪♪
The United States has
great strength and patience,
but if it is forced
to defend itself or its allies,
we will have no choice
but to totally destroy
North Korea.
Oh.
I'm tired.
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator:
While the world worries
about a potential nuclear war,
the artists are ready
for the conclusion
of a cultural stand-off.
-Nice to meet you.
-Hi.
Hi!
[Both chuckle]
♪♪
It is my great pleasure to see
all of us gathered here at last.
Many of us have to overcome our
own fears to be able to meet.
We also feel that it is a very,
very important time
to visit the DPRK now that
the tensions are so high.
[ Applause ]
So, good morning, everyone.
My name is Jean.
I come from Paris and I'm
a visual artist and designer.
So, the name of this project
is called "Single Heart Unity."
I took photography
of someone walking --
tac, tac, tac, tac, tac --
and then I duplicated
those people to make this crowd.
It's a group made out
of one single heart.
[Conversing in Korean]
I wish you to produce
more of this kind of artworks.
-Thank you very much.
-Yeah.
This is reflecting
the...
[Conversing in Korean]
[Laughter]
[Applause]
Ah, no, no, no, no.
-I tried.
-Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'm an independent artist.
That means I'm a freelancer.
So I make a living by
doing commercial job
and also I can selling
my work in gallery.
Light and color is my weapon.
It's all about the light.
[ Applause ]
Thank you.
Thank you.
-Yeah, yeah.
-Is this your own works?
-Yeah, yeah.
It's all my paintings.
-It's oil painting?
Yeah, all of them
are oil painting, yeah.
Ah.
Very nice.
Thank you.
[Feedback]
[Warbles and chirps]
Nowak: At least, like,
talking to each other,
looking at each other's eyes,
there was a exchange.
[Noises continue]
The artists themselves,
they're friendly.
It's also not clear
what they really think
about their own regime.
Boyd: I would have liked to have
heard more from them,
to talk more
about their work,
but I'm not sure they have
the language yet here.
So, of course, we are living
in a different country,
different culture.
But all I can understand,
we are living in
the same world of art.
[Applause]
Traavik: It was not like a huge
lecture in a stadium,
but still, I mean,
we had an exchange.
A real one.
So, what is, "See you again,"
in Korean?
[Speaking Korean]
[Speaking Korean]
Yeah?
[Applause]
Narrator: After a week
where both sides
might feel
they sacrificed too much,
the artists are ready to return
to the outside world.
Traavik:
I'm not really prepared
to settle the accounts yet
because I still think
it's too early to say.
Maybe one day, 20,
30 years from now,
then we can assess
what it meant or not.
Nowak:
It's very strange for me now
because the situation
is so tense.
But I hope it's just
the beginning of something.
Valnoir: You cannot convert
the North Koreans.
They would rather die
than bending to show their ass.
So this I admire.
I mean, they show balls.
Nowak: It's a totalitarian,
fascist regime
and I've experienced it.
Still, I would hope to meet
some of the people we met here
in 25 years when maybe
circumstances have changed.
Shih: I know that the country
is very deep.
We're just living
on the surface.
If the country will open,
I think they will
change rapidly.
Reporter:
Historic statements coming
from North Korea right now.
Reporter #2:
President Trump has now agreed
to meet North Korean leader...
Pres. Donald Trump:
Most importantly, I want
to thank Chairman Kim
for taking
the first bold step,
and we're ready to write a new
chapter between our nations.
Kim has the chance to seize
an incredible future
for his people.
[Applause]
So you never know, right?
Boyd: Why do you give up
on anything?
If you never work with countries
which are in a difficult regime,
how will they ever change?
And if a country is as shut off
as North Korea,
what do we expect?
♪♪
[Vocalizing]
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: How do we deal with
a country like North Korea?
Isolation? Threats?
Or dialogue?
♪♪
Norwegian artist Morten Traavik
has worked
with the regime for years.
Now, he's here to propose
a risky project --
a modern art academy inside the
world's most secluded country.
[Man speaking Korean]
Okay.
So, you visited my country
more than 11 or 12
or something.
It's a good thing because then
you came here not as a tourist,
but you came here
as a cultural exchange
and mutual understanding
between the countries.
So, I sure appreciate
your visit,
but you should
welcome our troops, as well,
to other countries.
You should be
the introducer,
introducing the Korean culture
to the others.
Traavik:
I am the introducer.
This is the reason
why we are here,
why we are
having this meeting.
You are aware that,
in our part of the world,
there is a lot of political
negativity towards the DPRK.
So, for each of the projects
that we do together,
we are like the drop
that hollows out the stone,
as they say.
How to deal with it?
What is your plan?
The idea for this
DMZ Academy is that
by inviting artists from many
countries and many continents,
we are creating more
and more understanding
and more and more people realize
that the DPRK is open.
[Speaking Korean]
Okay. So, according to
these plans, step-by-step,
that I hope to develop,
improve and facilitate
our cultural exchange
between your country
and my country.
[Speaking Korean]
[Speaking Korean]
♪♪
♪♪
Reporter:
Our top story this morning,
the dangerous situation
on the Korean Peninsula
is getting more intense.
♪♪
♪♪
Reporter #2:
War of words between the U.S.
and North Korea is intensifying.
Reporter #3: President Trump
says Kim Jong-un
will be tested
like never before.
♪♪
♪♪
Host:
So, who will flinch first?
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: After more than
two years of planning,
Morten arrives
in North Korea
with a select group
of international artists.
The group is invited to spend
a week
in the capital, Pyongyang,
producing art and meeting
North Korean colleagues
who rarely get input
from the outside world.
[Camera shutter clicking]
♪♪
Traavik: The DMZ Academy is
the first-ever
contemporary art seminar
in North Korea.
For me, the scenery here
is very similar
to some small part
in China, you know.
-Mm-hmm. Yeah.
-I mean, you know,
all the people.
-The whole landscape.
People riding bicycles.
Narrator: Morten has hand-picked
the foreign artists
who all represent art forms not
known or allowed in North Korea.
♪♪
His idea is to use modern art
as a Trojan Horse
inside the totalitarian regime.
♪♪
Traavik: It's not to bring peace
and democracy to North Korea.
I mean, they have to sort
that out themselves.
But it is to question the way we
and they look at the world.
♪♪
To rage within the machine
instead of raging against it.
♪♪
[Laughter]
You can see how there's still
some, you know, happy people.
They're pretty...
pretty happy.
♪♪
Narrator:
The Academy is hosted
by the Committee
for Cultural Relations.
Traavik: Chocolate Eskimo?
Ice cream, anyone?
Their goal is to
turn the artists
into North Korean allies.
Delicious.
An invitation they might regret.
Are you walking
or staying here?
No, I think we are
going back in the bus,
but if you want to have a walk,
it should be fine.
Just go?
♪♪
♪♪
[Horn honks]
Oh. Oh. Oh!
-Now he'll go to jail.
-Yeah.
-He violate the traffic.
-Yeah.
The regulation also.
Of course, it's not my fault,
but it's his.
Please, please.
I warn you a time.
Please don't leave
the tour group again.
Okay?
He's just hoping
to be arrested
by one of the beautiful
traffic ladies.
-Okay. And being tortured.
-Yes, being tortured.
So, being tortured
by the beautiful officer.
-Very intimately, yes.
-No problem.
[Laughs]
If our people see him
just crossing the road,
they will say, "Oh, you,
why are you crossing the road?"
So, that is why.
Avoid that.
[ Speaking indistinctly ]
Stop him.
She was actually showing him
what not to do.
♪♪
♪♪
Nowak: I started building
sound systems.
When I finished one,
I would start another one...
and that became
like an addiction.
♪♪
I can't bring physical artworks
to North Korea,
but I can bring a soundscape
and talk about perception
of reality.
♪♪
Traavik: Alright, guys.
The idea behind
this whole enterprise
is actually to expose you
to North Korea and vice versa
and see what happens,
basically.
Man: We probably can jump
into the questions
about how to produce and...
You will be sharing studios
with Korean artists.
When we get to the situation
where we can present ourselves,
I think we should just try to
engage them in an inviting way.
It will be, like,
in one of the studios
or in a meeting room
at the Pyongyang University
of Fine Arts.
But the Committee asks
to review the contents
of your presentations...
Mm-hmm.
...just to make sure that
you will not be too naughty.
[Laughter]
Is it something naughty?
Oh, it's very,
very naughty.
Is it very French?
It's very universal,
I must say.
I hope it's not too rotten.
I kept it
in the fridge, but...
-So, it's--
-Oh, it's kind of...
a bit like...
[Sniffs]
But --
No, it still smells okay.
This is my blood.
It's your own blood?
It's my own blood, yes.
I have, like, a bottle
in my freezer at home,
and I just took
a sample of it.
What do you use it for?
-What?
-What do you use it for?
Uh, I took into --
for a presentation
because I printed a poster
with human blood, as well.
So, I use this.
This little tool.
You know,
I spike my finger.
[Click]
Really? Oh, shit.
And I sign my books.
-Like this?
-Yeah.
♪♪
Valnoir: What inspires me
is what is negative
in the human mind?
Right now, I'm crushing
bones to create ink.
It comes from this piece of hip,
a human hip that will be
used then for printing.
So, maybe you can see that
the texture is very abrasive.
North Korea triggers
my curiosities a lot.
I'm very curious
to see what happens
when you confront our vision
of art
and their vision of art.
Can I sit?
-Yeah.
-Here, you mean?
Narrator: A censorship screening
is set up by Mr. Ham.
He wants to make sure
that North Korean artists
will not be contaminated
by their visitors.
I am removing
what has been rejected.
[Giggles]
They don't want this,
this, this, this or this.
So, I work with
the music industry,
and I design cover artworks
for bands.
So, this is like a jacket,
a rock jacket,
but with the patches
stitched on the back
of the guitar player.
Yeah.
[Speaking indistinctly]
So, this I will show
and I will explain.
Me, I cannot get
the point.
Please give me the message
you want to convey.
So, look. This is blood.
We made ink with the blood,
and we printed 100 copies
of this poster with my blood.
[Laughs]
Traavik: If I can interject,
as an artist,
if you want to show people
that I am willing
to do anything for my art,
you use your own blood.
It's like your own heart,
your own feelings,
into your art.
I understand that you
extracted your own blood
and you used coffins.
It's really,
you know, kind of...
-Horrifying.
-It's bizarre...
-Bizarre, yeah.
-...printing,
but just showing them
this is bizarre printing.
I don't think that's the kind
of message that inspires people.
At the moment,
I would say you are not ready.
Who will be the next?
Man:
Oh, I can. Yeah.
Ms. Yun.
This is for you.
Okay, thank you.
But I need to sign it
before --
No! No, no!Man: What he is doing?
That is...
-Forever.
-Oh.
To my future wife,
Ms. Y...
-Y-U-N.
-Y-U-N.
♪♪
This is called
the "Permafrost."
[Speaking indistinctly]
Yeah.
Do you have some painting
related to people's life?
Everyday life, you mean?
Nothing related to politics.
Just, you know, mood.
Yes.
[Blows]
You have to let it dry
for a few minutes.
Yeah. Thank you.
Kiss me.
[Both giggle]
Do you have any women...?
Just to my girlfriends.
Okay.
I think Mr. Ham,
he will kill you.
Why?
Because you give him
this extremely hard task.
No. Soft task.
Soft task? Come on!
Alright.
So, see you tomorrow then, eh?
♪♪
I think
it will be fine.
Beautiful.
I love this clash of cultures.
[Whistle blows]
Pres. Donald Trump:
No-one has shown more contempt
for other nations
and for the well-being
of their own people
than the depraved regime
in North Korea.
If the righteous many
do not confront the wicked few,
then evil will triumph.
It is time for all nations
to work together
to isolate the Kim regime
until it ceases
its hostile behavior.
♪♪
Narrator: Every morning,
flag ceremonies
take place to motivate people
on their way to work.
♪♪
German sound artist Nik
has made an appointment
with Mr. Ham
to record the performance.
♪♪
Morning.
But when Mr. Ham
does not show up,
Nik faces a dilemma.
Here's the wall.
We can't get through here
without Mr. Ham.
I'm worried that Mr. Ham is not
amused when we go without him,
but we could also just go.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
[Music stops]
You are in our country.
Yeah, I know.
Then acting alone
with all the gears,
especially with camera,
with microphone,
pointing like this,
it looks suspicious
without explanation.
And without me, you cannot
explain it to the local people.
Okay.
That's what
I'm worried about.
You can be mistaken
for something else you are not.
-Okay.
-That's why I'm here.
I thought because it's just
a few meters, it's okay
because you knew that I'm here
and that I'm going.
I thought it's okay
if I already start.
Without explanation,
it looks suspicious
without authority.
It looks like --
-It's not supposed to be there.
It looks like...suspicious.
Okay. Alright.
It's okay.
No hard feelings,
but, you know.
I'm sorry and I apologize.
You could be better.
-Yeah.
-What's up?
What have you done now?
I have done
very nice photographs.
Narrator:
The hosts are personally
responsible for their guests.
Their job is to stay
with them at all times
and, of course,
make them fall in love
with Korean art and culture.
♪♪
Look at that.
♪♪
Traavik: I think you will
struggle to find any society,
anywhere in the world,
where art is used to promote
the state ideology
to such an extent
as you will see in North Korea.
You see art everywhere.
♪♪
♪♪
But all of that art
is tailor-made for once purpose.
One purpose only.
♪♪
So, our President
Kim Il-sung said
it is actually the way
that painters should paint.
Look at this.
It's crazy good quality.
We have to keep in mind
that the history of modern art,
to a North Korean,
stops around 100 years ago
when Picasso started making
naughty experiments.
If you teach the students
about the development
of the European
classical painting history,
do you also go further,
like the Romantic era,
Impressionists, Cubism
and the modern artistry,
or where do you stop?
The important thing is
that we have to be
critical
about the pieces.
We take only something
we really need and apply it.
♪♪
Placht:
I have no idea how it's going
to look like before I start.
It's a really big mystery
each time.
♪♪
Of course, there is always
hidden information in artworks
because it's a language.
So, if you want
to understand a language,
you also have
to give the effort.
♪♪
My strategy for being
in North Korea
is to remember, at all times,
that I am a guest there.
I'm there to become friends.
Any new person you meet
is a potential friend
and so is also North Korea.
The U.S.
The U.S.
is under our target.
Understand?
-Yeah.
And these are the weapons,
as you see.
Yeah.
-Simple.
-Very simple. Mm.
-Anything more?
-Yeah. This?
Because
we have the war here.
-Mm-hmm.
-And here's the peace stuff.
The peace is being defended
by our strong armies.
-Hmm.
-That's all.
So,
let's hope for peace.
Yeah.
Let's hope for it.
Yeah. Let's work on it.
[Both chuckle]
♪♪
Can we ask the artist, in the
55 years he's worked here,
what has been
his favorite moment?
[Speaking Korean]
So, there is
a specific moment.
Actually, he consider
the moments
whenever our great leader sees
works of his and appreciate him.
He consider it
to be the happiest moment.
Very lucky.
Happy man.
He's painting it from
the photo of a painting.
That's why.
-[Speaking Korean]
This is what she drew
many years before.
He is trying to complete,
perfect the picture.
[Speaking indistinctly]
Boyd: They're not painting
from their minds.
They're not painting
with an idea.
They're painting
from a copy.
♪♪
♪♪
Well, this is
the second edition
of Sonic In London.
Two days, taking over
the entire venue
and it's music which is visual
or visual art which is sonic.
Let's go.
Let's go, let's go.
I spent 20 years
directing opera, orchestras,
and visualizing music.
I just want to wish you luck
for the performance
because I know it's
the first time you do it
and you're probably
very, very nervous.
♪♪
I'm especially inspired
by presenting unknown artists
from cultures
we in the U.K. may not know of.
♪♪
♪♪
So, during this trip,
I hope that I meet people
and can find out,
can I work with these people?
♪♪
♪♪
Wow!
[Applause]
[Conversing indistinctly]
Narrator:
At the music conservatory,
the group is given a traditional
tour by the director.
[Students singing]
Nik and Cathie are supposed to
give lectures to students here,
but when the tour ends,
those plans have obviously
been changed.
Traavik: We are now going to
have a little talk, yes,
about Mr. Nik,
to do the presentation?
What the presentation
looks like?
What? Come on, we already
agreed on this.
-Okay.
-Yeah?
[Speaking Korean]
Nowak: I made recordings,
sound recordings,
from the unaudible spectrum.
They are above and below
what we can hear,
but I have transferred
them into the audible.
[Speaking Korean]
Will here be any people that
would hear it, other than us?
[Speaking Korean]
No?
Then I won't do it.
It doesn't make any sense.
-He will hear.
-What?
-He will hear it.
He will hear it?
Yeah, that's true.
Okay. Let's do it.
And Mr. Ri, about me
being able to present
to a small group of musicians,
as was planned?
The plan, please?
We will take it, but now we will
just getting Nik's thing going.
So, we will
get there but...
[Chirping]
[Warbling]
He is not interested
or...?
No.
-[Speaking Korean]
Hold a sec.
He heard already.
He heard it already?
But he can't because it's from
the upper ultrasonic.
That's bats and insects
that you can't hear,
so he hasn't heard
it before.
Because these are 40 kilohertz
and 60 kilohertz,
and we can only hear
to 20 kilohertz maximum,
if he has the best ears
on the planet.
[Speaking Korean]
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Right now, even I have to say
it's not very easy.
Alright? And I beg you
to respect that opinion.
You are really keeping us,
the whole group,
on a very, very tight leash,
as we say.
You know the dog?
-Yeah.
When you walk the dog, you are
keeping the dog on the leash.
Right?
-We did that?
It's an expression.
Maybe we go out
somewhere and just...
But you see, it's even a problem
to go out somewhere
because then, somebody would
want to do something
and they will be told off,
and we are just making even
stronger the negative here.
So then, I would say
it's actually better
that we just stay in the hotel,
we don't go anywhere,
because it always is a problem
because you are not trusting us.
-Yeah, I understand.
-Maybe we talk off the camera?
You come here and you see that
the people are really happy.
They're genuinely happy.
There is really
something functioning.
-Yeah.
-But then, it shows you later,
when you, kind of,
come to the limits,
it shows how it feels like,
when you just step
a little bit out of the frame,
and then it becomes
really terrible.
You know what I heard
about what some guys
on the Committee
said about you?
That you were like
a Chinese journalist
and that you are not
an artist
because you are
just a photographer
and that you are not
important for the project.
Okay. I'm fine because,
in this country,
people don't see photography
as a form of art.
-Yeah.
-That's very, you know...
I know it's a very...
It's a complicated topic,
you know. Enhh!
But I'm okay.
They see me as, you know,
like a fucking photojournalist.
That'll be fine for me.
♪♪
Shih: I'm a photographer
and also a filmmaker.
I'm doing my own work
as well as commercial work.
♪♪
I think China
and North Korea,
we are very cultural
close country
because we used to have
the same political system.
Our cultures were both
influenced by a Soviet culture.
I was, like, "Okay, let's take
a time machine to my past."
♪♪
[Television playing
indistinctly]
[Cheers and applause]
It's always a bit hard
to distinguish,
when you're here, between
you being uptight and paranoid
and real difficulties.
So, I think what this project,
and the outcome so far, shows
is the dilemma that North
Koreans find themselves in.
The wish for some kind
of controlled interaction
with the outside world,
but it's impossible to interact
without getting influenced.
They have been trying
to completely dictate the terms,
and that simply doesn't work,
and, deep down,
they do understand it.
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: Morten's confrontation
with the hosts had an effect
and the artists are now
given more freedom
to do what they came for.
Okay.
It's a nice color, I think.
Ooh, this is a beautiful green.
♪♪
Woman:
Yeah, quite strange.
It's very different
from yours,
but this is how it can look
like in the beginning.
So, what do you think?
I mean...
Yeah?
-It means nothing.
It doesn't
represent anything,
but it's a very open way
of working.
It's like poetry.
Like music, almost.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Your name?
[Conversing in Korean]
Mr...
Mr. Hendrik.
Yes.
And you are?
What's your name?
My name...
[Conversing in Korean]
Mr...
The trio. The trio.
Yeah, it's nice.
The three knights.
The three musketeers
of watercolors.
Okay. [Groans]
[Laughs]
[Babbling]
[Sighs]
You like it? Yeah?
You like? It's okay?
[Sighs]
♪♪
Could you look at camera,
please?
Like this. That's great.
-[Speaking Korean]
[Camera shutter clicks]
Beautiful.
[Camera shutter clicks]
♪♪
Shih: That's okay.
Don't be nervous.
♪♪
[Camera shutter clicks]
♪♪
You live your family?
Yeah, I live
with my family.
-Okay.
-That's better.
When I was your age,
I came to Beijing.
I used to live myself
because my parents,
they were in another city.
I mean, if you have boyfriend
or girlfriend, life will change.
It will feel much better.
-Yeah, definitely.
They also say when you get
married, you know, life change.
Marriage is, kind of,
we call it the most
important thing in life.
Yeah. Yesterday,
I saw two boys walking.
They're not young, they're 18
years old, like, hand-in-hand.
Also, like...
you know, in the West,
they look like a gay couple.
You know.
Do you think there is
any gay here in North Korea?
No?
You know,
I think this gay thing
and all these
lesbian things
are, kind of, production
of capitalist system.
Exactly. Yeah.
Yeah.
We educate people
the only good things,
so they can't even imagine
about this gay or lesbian
or something like that,
you know.
They just walk hand-in-hand
because they are friends.
I know. I understand.
I'm from the same kind
of political system.
But in China now, you know,
gay, it's not illegal.
You can't get married,
but there are some gay scenes.
Gay bar. Yeah.
China change
like other country.
Not your country, yeah.
So, what's your next dream?
-My next dream?
-Yeah.
[Chuckles]
To have a nice apartment?
No.
In our country,
if you ask about dream,
it's not about
material things.
It's about, you know...
Oh. Yeah.
The wisdom of --
dream for your destiny.
Yeah, we Chinese have changed
to another kind of person,
you know.
Some kind of bad person.
A lot of young Chinese, when
they're talking about dreams,
they're always about, you know,
"I want to be a boss.
I want a new apartment.
I want a new car." Like this.
Nobody talking about,
you know, your kind of dream.
My dream.
My dream would be...
to become very...
just a simple dream that...
My dream would be
to become, you know,
a person which my name
would be remembered
by the next generation.
Mm!
Do you understand
what I mean?
Yeah.
I feel time here
is very slow
and very good.
And the air is very fresh.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
We are really proud
of having a great leader.
We consider ourselves
very lucky.
Even if the foreign
people don't understand it.
What do you feel?
What thoughts or emotions
do you feel when you see him?
I feel absolute
happiness and honor.
Give me more than that.
Expand on that for me.
It's what you feel
when you meet a great person,
like a great man.
Have you ever
wept in awe?
Yes, of course.
Mm-hmm.
I can't forget being sad
the moment
when our glorious
Kim Jong-il passed away.
Yeah.
Sorry, I didn't mean --
-This is one of --
No, no, it's alright.
This is one of
the power source...
that the foreign...
don't understand.
You're right,
we don't understand.
-This unity.
-Yeah.
This mood.
This kind of philosophy.
Spirit.
We consider it to be the most
powerful weapon
for our nation,
which is unique to our nation.
No, it's true. You have a unity
that we don't have.
Narrator: With political
tensions already running high,
North Korea taunts the world.
They detonate
their first hydrogen bomb
just north of Pyongyang.
[Birds chirping]
Traavik:
Did you notice the ground?
My bed was shaking and it felt
like a small earthquake.
And the light posts outside
were vibrating.
-Oy, oy, oy.
-Yeah.
Well, let's go out there now,
and I'll put my laptop up.
Please.
[Indistinct conversations]
"North Korea underground
nuclear test feared."
South Korea calls
national security meeting
after earthquake
of magnitude 6.3
detected near a North Korean
testing area.
Did you notice the earthquake
that was at 12:00?
Boyd: They don't know yet.
Tell them.
In the world news right now
is that your country
has conducted another
nuclear test
and that there will be
a press conference.
We very strongly request that we
can see this press conference.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
[Applause]
[Speaking Korean]
[Applause]
Why were you
applauding?
-The successful test.
-Of the nuclear bomb?
-Yeah, yeah.
-H-bomb.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Did she say anything
where it was? Do you know?
I just spoke to her
and they are fully armed.
Mm-hmm.
I mean, we are
one of the world powers now
which the U.S. --
You are one
of the world's...
...most powerful country
with the most powerful weapon
which the U.S. should be
very well aware of.
So they should be careful
about what they speak to us now.
Wow. You're very brave
saying that, Mr. Ham,
because my fear is that
America
will wipe out
this country in seconds.
You know, the provocations
by Trump,
what kind of aggressive words
addressed to us
and coming out.
We have to defend
our sovereignty, our identity.
I mean, this is serious,
you know.
Your leader is
a very powerful man
and is very strong-minded
and we have another man
in the West
who is equally as crazy
at hitting the button.
They are both obsessed
with hitting the button.
So, the choice
depends on him.
He hits the button,
he is to blame, not us.
I know,
but we'll all be gone.
Poof!
We won't even know.
But it's because of him,
not because of us.
No, no, no.
We are living
under these sanctions
and everything for
so many years.
We have
nothing more to give.
Do you know initially
who divided your country?
Who divided North
and South Korea?
-It's the U.S.
-Yeah, exactly.
That's the shame.
They divided you
in the first place.
They made this nation two,
which you should not be.
You know, being someone
from Ireland,
I have a country
that's divided.
I hate this. Our countries
should not be divided.
Ireland should be one.
Yes, exactly the same.
You know,
it should not be two --
-One nation.
-It should not be divided.
Yeah.
So, yeah.
I just popped a Xanax.
I'm waiting for it to kick in
and we'll see what happens,
basically.
But yeah, it seems that we are
in for some...now, so...
♪♪
♪♪
Sorry, I'm just curious.
There was a test
which you may know about.
You know?
We had the H-bomb test?
Did you feel
the shaking in the tower?
No.
What was your view
of the test?
I am feeling
very proud of that
because I'm a citizen of
a great population.
Yeah, that's my opinion.
No more weak country
we are.
We have a good view
on the end of mankind here.
What a beautiful day.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Pres. Donald Trump:
Rocket Man
is on a suicide
mission for himself
and for his regime.
♪♪
Now, North Korea's reckless
pursuit of nuclear weapons
threatens the entire world with
unthinkable loss of human life.
♪♪
The United States has
great strength and patience,
but if it is forced
to defend itself or its allies,
we will have no choice
but to totally destroy
North Korea.
Oh.
I'm tired.
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator:
While the world worries
about a potential nuclear war,
the artists are ready
for the conclusion
of a cultural stand-off.
-Nice to meet you.
-Hi.
Hi!
[Both chuckle]
♪♪
It is my great pleasure to see
all of us gathered here at last.
Many of us have to overcome our
own fears to be able to meet.
We also feel that it is a very,
very important time
to visit the DPRK now that
the tensions are so high.
[ Applause ]
So, good morning, everyone.
My name is Jean.
I come from Paris and I'm
a visual artist and designer.
So, the name of this project
is called "Single Heart Unity."
I took photography
of someone walking --
tac, tac, tac, tac, tac --
and then I duplicated
those people to make this crowd.
It's a group made out
of one single heart.
[Conversing in Korean]
I wish you to produce
more of this kind of artworks.
-Thank you very much.
-Yeah.
This is reflecting
the...
[Conversing in Korean]
[Laughter]
[Applause]
Ah, no, no, no, no.
-I tried.
-Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'm an independent artist.
That means I'm a freelancer.
So I make a living by
doing commercial job
and also I can selling
my work in gallery.
Light and color is my weapon.
It's all about the light.
[ Applause ]
Thank you.
Thank you.
-Yeah, yeah.
-Is this your own works?
-Yeah, yeah.
It's all my paintings.
-It's oil painting?
Yeah, all of them
are oil painting, yeah.
Ah.
Very nice.
Thank you.
[Feedback]
[Warbles and chirps]
Nowak: At least, like,
talking to each other,
looking at each other's eyes,
there was a exchange.
[Noises continue]
The artists themselves,
they're friendly.
It's also not clear
what they really think
about their own regime.
Boyd: I would have liked to have
heard more from them,
to talk more
about their work,
but I'm not sure they have
the language yet here.
So, of course, we are living
in a different country,
different culture.
But all I can understand,
we are living in
the same world of art.
[Applause]
Traavik: It was not like a huge
lecture in a stadium,
but still, I mean,
we had an exchange.
A real one.
So, what is, "See you again,"
in Korean?
[Speaking Korean]
[Speaking Korean]
Yeah?
[Applause]
Narrator: After a week
where both sides
might feel
they sacrificed too much,
the artists are ready to return
to the outside world.
Traavik:
I'm not really prepared
to settle the accounts yet
because I still think
it's too early to say.
Maybe one day, 20,
30 years from now,
then we can assess
what it meant or not.
Nowak:
It's very strange for me now
because the situation
is so tense.
But I hope it's just
the beginning of something.
Valnoir: You cannot convert
the North Koreans.
They would rather die
than bending to show their ass.
So this I admire.
I mean, they show balls.
Nowak: It's a totalitarian,
fascist regime
and I've experienced it.
Still, I would hope to meet
some of the people we met here
in 25 years when maybe
circumstances have changed.
Shih: I know that the country
is very deep.
We're just living
on the surface.
If the country will open,
I think they will
change rapidly.
Reporter:
Historic statements coming
from North Korea right now.
Reporter #2:
President Trump has now agreed
to meet North Korean leader...
Pres. Donald Trump:
Most importantly, I want
to thank Chairman Kim
for taking
the first bold step,
and we're ready to write a new
chapter between our nations.
Kim has the chance to seize
an incredible future
for his people.
[Applause]
So you never know, right?
Boyd: Why do you give up
on anything?
If you never work with countries
which are in a difficult regime,
how will they ever change?
And if a country is as shut off
as North Korea,
what do we expect?
♪♪
[Vocalizing]
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