“The Atomic Bomb Never Happened”

In April 2016, I spent three days in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), more commonly known in the west as North Korea.  Here’s part 3 of my experience.

I was most excited to really SEE the city, the people, and experience the hermit kingdom through my own senses.

The day before the marathon we spent sightseeing.  As we walked the streets of Pyongyang, it was surprisingly active.  High rises lined the streets and even more buildings were under construction.  Seemed like a normal city.

All around the city we noticed countless pictures and statues of their former leaders, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.  They were considered god-like; all songs, movies and TV news were dedicated to glorifying them.  No outside pictures or information were allowed into the country.

This was the real-life version of living in “The Matrix”, as Keanu Reeves did in the famous movie.  Millions of people were living their daily lives totally oblivious to the world happening outside their tightly-controlled borders. 

In fact, the government has convinced them they have it good.  “The rest of the world, especially South Korea, lives in poverty,” they proclaim.  They should feel “lucky.” 

And when American TV shows are smuggled into the country on USB drives, the North Korean citizens cannot believe their eyes.  So much so that anyone caught with an unauthorized laptop, radio, even a book, can be sentenced to years of hard labor…or worse.

It wasn’t surprising that we were blasted with our own forms of propaganda during our sightseeing tour.

Our first stop was the USS Pueblo, the warship that was captured by the North Korean Navy in 1968.  We were taken aboard the ship and shown a video of the “imperialist Americans who tried to overthrow the government.” 

Ironically, by most accounts the US ship was sailing in international waters.  The North Koreans captured the ship and tortured its members, granting their release only after the US begrudgingly signed a full apology letter.

The second stop was to the famously massive bronze statues of their dear leaders.  At 66-feet tall and $10 million to construct, they were extraordinarily creepy.

We lined up in front of them and all bowed through gritted teeth.

The final stop was to the “Victorious War Museum”, where we were paraded through a total rewrite of history.  No mention of Pearl Harbor.  No atomic bomb.  No Holocaust.

All efforts were directed at how the US “indiscriminately bombed” the defenseless North Korea citizens, leading up to the victorious defeat of the American troops in 1953.  And the gruesome photos and real-life replicas of American soldiers made me sick to my stomach.  I was happy to leave.

As we headed back to the hotel, our bus stopped into a stationary store to buy some souvenirs.  As we walked in, we were greeted with countless postcards showing North Koreans killing American and Japanese soldiers. 

“Good Lord.  They’ve convinced the entire country the war is still going on”, I said to myself.  I bought a few postcards to show my friends and family in case they didn’t believe me.

The power of revisionist history is on full display by the North Korean government.  It’s no wonder their 25 million citizens hate the United States and Japan - they’re taught to do so from birth.

We see how countries, cultures and people are depicted through our TVs, tablets and cell phones.  Sometimes you just have to see for yourself to truly understand people on the other side of the world. 

My biggest takeaway was that people in North Korea wake up each morning just like us – seeking happiness.  Just because there are a few crazies who run the government doesn’t mean the whole country is full of bad people.

--------------------------

In the next post, you’ll hear (and see) stories from the full 26.2-mile marathon we ran through the streets of Pyongyang.  This is the only chance I would have to interact with real North Koreans without a guide or handler controlling our every move.