Many things in the DPRK had reminded me of the China that I visited more than twenty years ago. The infrastructure of the country, the apparently unquestioning nature of the population, the disparity between those in the party apparatus and those not; all these things and more were similar. So when I discovered that the afternoon was to be a visit to a school, I thought that I knew exactly what it would entail. In that visit to China we had had just such a visit, in Shanghai, and I recall it to this day. We saw displays of expert dancing from groups of young girls and boys; we saw a group of students learning to create beautiful calligraphy; we saw a child of about six playing a complex piece of Bach watched by two beaming piano teachers; we saw displays of artistic, musical and gymnastic prowess that would have impressed anyone. We even saw a class of students assembling transistor radios. And at the time I recall remarking that I bet there wasn't a child in the whole showcase school that wasn't the son or daughter of a fully paid up party official.
This afternoon, I was sure, would be more of the same: the children of the elite (which of course doesn't exist in the DPRK) performing highly skilled routines in a school at Kaesong that the kids of those peasants toiling all day with their hands wouldn't ever have the slightest chance of getting near.
Under normal circumstances that's exactly what it would have been. In fact it started out that way. We stopped the bus some way from the school and walked towards it. There were large groups of uniformed school children laying flowers at the feet of a statue of the Great Leader. In the school we saw some displays of basketball and karate but it was clear that most of the children weren't there and we soon found out why.
Tomorrow, April 15th, was of course the celebration of the birthday of the Great Leader, Kim Il Sung and today, out in the town square the students were having a celebration in song and dance. Our English tour leader asked the Korean guides if we could stay and watch some of it so we went out to the square where it was just getting underway and sat down on the floor, with the assembled crowd to watch. It was fascinating. It started with a group of teenagers dancing on roller skates accompanied by a full orchestra which, while not perfect was certainly quite amazing for school musicians. They were followed by the pupils of the school performing a great variety of dance routines, song performances - both solo and as a choir, an accordion group, acrobatics and gymnastics. And all of it was performed with a breathtaking degree of skill. And all of it was performed in front of the giant smiling beatific portrait of the leader in whose honour it had been conceived. We stayed there for about an hour, quite literally enthralled by it, until our guides insisted that we had another site to visit and needed to be moving on.
It was only later that a comparison occurred to me. In the film Cabaret, there is a scene where a group of people go out to a cafe and while they are there, members of the Hitler Youth perform the song "Tomorrow Belongs To Me". Beginning with a solo singer it mounts to a sinister and triumphal crescendo. It's one of the most chilling moments in the whole film, especially when Michael York remarks, as they are leaving, "Do you still think you can control them?"
This afternoon, I was sure, would be more of the same: the children of the elite (which of course doesn't exist in the DPRK) performing highly skilled routines in a school at Kaesong that the kids of those peasants toiling all day with their hands wouldn't ever have the slightest chance of getting near.
Under normal circumstances that's exactly what it would have been. In fact it started out that way. We stopped the bus some way from the school and walked towards it. There were large groups of uniformed school children laying flowers at the feet of a statue of the Great Leader. In the school we saw some displays of basketball and karate but it was clear that most of the children weren't there and we soon found out why.
Tomorrow, April 15th, was of course the celebration of the birthday of the Great Leader, Kim Il Sung and today, out in the town square the students were having a celebration in song and dance. Our English tour leader asked the Korean guides if we could stay and watch some of it so we went out to the square where it was just getting underway and sat down on the floor, with the assembled crowd to watch. It was fascinating. It started with a group of teenagers dancing on roller skates accompanied by a full orchestra which, while not perfect was certainly quite amazing for school musicians. They were followed by the pupils of the school performing a great variety of dance routines, song performances - both solo and as a choir, an accordion group, acrobatics and gymnastics. And all of it was performed with a breathtaking degree of skill. And all of it was performed in front of the giant smiling beatific portrait of the leader in whose honour it had been conceived. We stayed there for about an hour, quite literally enthralled by it, until our guides insisted that we had another site to visit and needed to be moving on.
It was only later that a comparison occurred to me. In the film Cabaret, there is a scene where a group of people go out to a cafe and while they are there, members of the Hitler Youth perform the song "Tomorrow Belongs To Me". Beginning with a solo singer it mounts to a sinister and triumphal crescendo. It's one of the most chilling moments in the whole film, especially when Michael York remarks, as they are leaving, "Do you still think you can control them?"
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