North Korean Photo Exhibition in Pyongyang

I wasn’t sure whether to post this in the Travel or Culture forums…so I thought “What the hell?” and posted it here.

For those of you traveling to Pyongyang, be sure to check out the National Photography Exhibition. It sounds great!

National Photo Exhibition Opens

Pyongyang, September 5 (KCNA) – A national photo exhibition was opened at the People’s Palace of Culture to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the DPRK. Displayed at the exhibition are at least 170 photos on the revolutionary history of President Kim Il Sung and immortal feats of leader Kim Jong Il.

Among them are “The Great Leader Comrade Kim Il Sung Addressing the Pyongyang City Mass Rally Celebrating the Foundation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” “The Great Leader Comrade Kim Il Sung Examining and Ratifying the Document of the Armistice Agreement” and “The Great Leader Comrade Kim Il Sung Addressing the Joint Conference of Representatives of Political Parties and Public Organizations in North and South Korea” and other photos dealing with the glorious revolutionary exploits of the President. There are also photos dealing with the personality of Kim Jong Il as a great man such as “Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army Comrade Kim Jong Il Receiving a Bouquet Carrying the Feelings of Boundless Reverence of the Servicemen of the People’s Army,” “Respected Supreme Commander Comrade Kim Jong Il Watching Exercise of Servicemen of the People’s Army,” “Chol Pass Marked with Footprints Left by the Great General to Provide Songun Revolutionary Leadership.”

On display are photos dealing with the firm will of the people and servicemen of the DPRK to build a great prosperous powerful socialist nation on this land without fail and their heroic struggle. Present at the opening ceremony held on Sept. 4 were Jong Ha Chol, secretary of the C.C., the Workers’ Party of Korea, and Choe Ik Gyu, minister of Culture, and other officials concerned.

kcna.co.jp/index-e.htm

It sounds like riveting stuff. I don’t think I’ll be able to make it to North Korea, much as I’d love to, but perhaps they’ll publish a collection of the photos and then I’ll be able to buy a copy for my coffee table.

Quoting myself from an earlier thread on North Korea:[quote]While I was in China, I saw a book in English about North Korea. I do not exagerate in the slightest when I say that every single page of that very thick book had a picture of the Dear Leader (or whatever the title was for the father of the current wacko dictator), who was instructing his adoring subjects on ways to improve their grain production, traffic control, rocket science, and everything else under the sun. I would have bought the book, but I was travelling and it was too heavy, it closely resembling a large college yearbook. [/quote]

Cranky, I once read a story about how Dear Leader was sketching more efficient design for North Korean bakery uniforms, listening to pieces of an opera that he was composing (and making occasional notes on what parts to add), talking to one of his underlings about an upcoming speech, and chewing gum (and blowing bubbles) – all at the same time. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the presence of mind to zip up his pants after a leak and the underling pointed this out, which earned him a place in front of the firing squad, although to his credit, Dear Leader did pick each gunner and load the guns himself.

I love the official North Korean news agency website, which usually has an anecdote about the Dear Leader every couple of days. One of the stories had him going to a syringe factory and taking a couple of samples – within two days he sent word that the shots he had taken had hurt and that the factory should take more care to ensure that workers and soldiers had sharper needles.

If the U.S. operated a similar site, it could tell about the time President Clinton visited the Zig-Zag rolling paper factory or about the time President Bush visited a maker of small gold spoons.