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When Norwegian artist Morten Traavik traveled to North Korea, he met students from the Pyongyang Kum Song School of Music and gave them a CD of Euro-pop group a-ha. The students surprised him by performing "Take On Me" on accordions.
From Korea Realtime blog over at The Wall Street Journal:
After giving the students the CD on a Monday night, they surprised him by playing their own improvised version of “Take On Me” on Wednesday morning. Mr. Traavik made a video of them and decided to post it on YouTube to promote the festival. Since he put it up on Thursday, the video has gone viral, passed along by North Korea watchers and others mystified or intrigued by the idea of musicians in a collective society with traditional instruments playing one of the classics of 1980s Euro-pop.
Mr. Traavik said he’s noticed the video has attracted the normal skepticism about its origins and whether the musicians were threatened to learn the music or secretly dislike it. He said he views them as normal artists who, skilled at their instrument, did what was natural when presented with something they liked – tried to re-create it.
“I think it’s quite evident from the video that you can’t accomplish that in such a time if you would suppose those young musicians actually hate what they’re doing,” he said.
Hit play or go to Link [YouTube]
In an effort to pull the old “I’m not up to no good! See, I can prove it!” routine, North Korea has released a FAQ page to answer all your questions about the dark and mysterious country, and alleviate any global concerns at the same time.
This fun, informative and easy to read page includes the following hits:
24. Is it true that all citizens of the DPRK work for the government?
Government and people are one. There is no distinction of them.
8. Can I travel to North Korea as a backpacker?
No. You must travel as a group only, even if you are the only participant you must be with Korean guides at all times.
…and many more hilarious answers to seemingly simple questions. Will it make you trust North Korea more?
Probably not, but you’re guaranteed to enjoy the circular logic and evasive answers, all while cracking up at the very thought of a country like North Korea having a FAQ page!
These two photographs of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il’s funeral procession were taken only seconds apart, but the top photo was taken by Japanese press outlet Kyodo News, and the bottom one was provided to journalists by North Korea’s state news agency. North Korea is no stranger to photo manipulation; in this case it serves only the purpose of making the procession look more “perfect.” The details are at the New York Times photography blog. Link -via Metafilter
(Image credits: Associated Press, via Kyodo News; Korean Central News Agency, via European Pressphoto Agency)
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About a year ago, we were introduced to a Tumblr blog called Kim Jong-Il Looking at Things. Now that Dear Leader has died and passed the torch to his 27-year-old son, there’s a new Tumblr blog that follows in the first blog’s footsteps. Kim Jong-Un Looking at Things already has plenty of material of the new North Korean leader inspecting this and that. Link -via Dangerous Minds
Image: bryanh/Flickr
In the Mangyongdae funfair, riding that white knuckle ride can actually be your last. Kuriositas blog explains why in this North Korea amusement park, having fun can be a deadly business:
Link - via I Heart ChaosThe rides at the park are so ramshackle that repairs are done on an as and when, ad hoc basis. To avoid the deaths of important North Koreans or overseas visitors (whose foreign currency is rather more important) local farmers are often recruited to test the rides for safety. This must be the only place in the world where a knock on the door and the words you’re going to the funfair are met with dread.
North Korea released the results of their “happiness survey” a few weeks ago (we had the item, but looking at it now would be *wink* cheating). According to the survey, South Korea and the United States are the UNhappiest places in the world. Meanwhile, Today’s Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss asks you to name the top five happiest countries in the survey in one minute. Can you do it? Link
North Korea may be one of the happiest places on Earth… according to a study by North Korea. Guess who is last? That’s right, the “American Empire.” However you know the study was fair and balanced since they didn’t rank themselves first on the list. They gave the title of Worlds Happiest Place on Earth to China.
Korea’s Chosun Central Television recently came out with a happiness index compiled by local researchers. Their findings? China is the happiest place on the planet, earning 100 points (a perfect score!). At number two is none other than North Korea itself. Cuba, Iran and Venezuela (in that order) round out the top five.
In a series that he calls Kim Jong Phil, artist Phillip Toledano depicted himself as a heroic leader, much as North Korea’s propaganda art shows dictator Kim Jong-il. He explained that this is a natural thing for an artist to do:
It occurred to me that being an artist is a great deal like being a dictator.
Just like a dictator, I must live in a closed loop of self-delusion. A place where my words and ideas always ring true. A gilded daydream of grandiosity. There can be no room for doubt. I must be convinced that I have something vital to say. I must believe that the world is waiting in keen anticipation to hear my message.
Link via Crackajack
Previously on Phillip Toledano:
Bankrupt Offices Photography
Mr. Toledano
The Reluctant Father
The first hamburger franchise opened in Pyongyang, North Korea last summer. The unfamiliar hamburgers have become such a hit that customers must make reservations, and the lines are still long. Samtaesung (Food) and Cool Beverages calls their sandwiches “minced meat and bread” to avoid using the American word “hamburger”.
According to rates displayed on the restaurant’s menu, the cost of a hamburger is 228 North Korean won, or more than U.S. $2 according to the official exchange rate, putting it outside of the budget of the average citizen.
According to the Pyongyang resident, customers can pay in North Korean won, U.S. dollars, euros, or Chinese yuan.
Initially, the resident said, Samtaesung was frequented only by people who had traveled overseas or those who wanted to try the food out of curiosity, but the hamburger joint soon became very popular.
He said that many Pyongyang residents are now fond of hamburgers, though the greasier taste of the food takes some getting used to.
“The third time you eat a hamburger, you really get to appreciate it. By the time you’ve had your fifth, you’re already addicted to the taste,” he said.
The restaurant is owned by Kim Jong Il’s sister. Link -via Breakfast Links
Economic activity inside North Korea has reportedly ground to a halt following a government announcement that it is devaluing its currency at a rate of 100:1.
There were reports of public outrage and confusion after the announcement of the measure, which requires North Koreans to swap existing won notes for new ones at an exchange rate of one to 100 — effectively knocking two zeroes off their value. Because of a cap of 100,000 won per family (£475 at the official exchange rate), anyone with significant holdings of cash will have their savings wiped out.
The move is seen as an effort to quash small businesses and private enterprises which have proliferated in the unofficial economy. As many as 30,000 vendors are believed to operate in a market outside the capital, Pyongyang, and many of them had accumulated substantial cash reserves. This move effectively confiscates that cash.
Analysts do not foresee any direct economic repercussions outside the country, but it does serve as a reminder that many other world currencies are, like the North Korean won, “fiat money”
Links at the Times Online, Wall Street Journal, and Economist. Photo credit.
“Mass games” are group athletic events in which the performance of the individual is deemphasized in favor of the performance of the group as a whole. They are thus well suited to the philosophy embodied by socialist/communist states, but the components of such games are also employed for other major events such as Olympic opening and closing shows.
The video above includes the closing moments from the movie “A State of Mind,” documenting mass games in North Korea.
North Korea is world-renowned for its crippling poverty, saber rattling and wanton firing of missiles left, right and center. It is also known for its strict TV practices where all televisions are made to tune only to state run stations and programs. As a staunchly communist nation commercialism is very rare or non-existent. So you could imagine that it was a bit of surprise for both North Korean viewers and for many groups who keep an eye on what is happening in that country to see a rare site sight…an advert for beer!
I would love to have a translation of what the advert claims as the advert itself is just trippy and I suppose that the claims regarding the beers “stress reducing” abilities are too.
The heavily guarded Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea is impossible to cross alive, so if you want to escape from North Korea, you have a better chance taking the more circuitous route of sneaking into China, and then slowly and cautiously making your way across the country to freedom in South Korea.
But this route presents plenty of obstacles. Defectors have 2,000 miles of China to cross, and if they are discovered by Chinese police, they will be deported in handcuffs and chains back to North Korea, where they will spend 10 years doing hard labor in a prison camp.
Writer Tom O’Neill went undercover to meet some of these North Korea defectors hiding in China, and reported their stories (with names & escape routes changed) in this article in the February issue of National Geographic.
Some 50,000 North Korean escapees are thought to be hiding in China, many of them virtual prisoners of exploitative employers who can blow the whistle on them at any time if they protest. Many of them never make it to South Korea.
From the Upcoming 
ueue, submitted by Marilyn Terrell.
Our two “translators” (they were about 30-40 years old) then wanted to see our passports. They thoroughly checked our visas and asked for where we were going and for what purpose (I answered by pointing on the Korean word next to the words “Purpose of entry” on my visa…). They asked for our nationality and I had the impression that they initially didn’t exactly understand from what country I was from. I don’t know how Austria is said in Korean language, and they didn’t seem to know the Russian word “Avstriya”. I finally tried to explain by drawing a map and saying that “Avstriya” is “nedaleko” (close) to “Germaniya”…
They sat quite a while with us and asked us also what was our job, what we knew about North Korea, how our media is reporting abouth North Korea, how we think about the United States, whether we have been there or were planning to go there, what we were thinking about Kim Jong Il and so on…of course we answered diplomatically.
However, they were always friendly and we had the impression that they were also very interested to talk with Europeans. Maybe it was the first time in their life they could do that.
The entire site is fascinating for train enthusiasts. If you are only interested in the North Korean part, you can skip ahead. Pictured is the Demilitarized Zone, which they visited from the northern side. Link -via reddit
