A State of Mind – North Korean Film Review
The documentary A State of Mind
Their determined preparation leading to the film’s “socialist realist extravaganza” mass games finale is fascinating, but I more enjoyed the peeks into the girl’s daily lives: attempts to ditch homework, delight as one girl inherits a room when an older sister joins the army, and a father complaining about his house full of chatty woman.
The filmmakers successfully present a non judgmental viewpoint, but there is no mistaking the reality of a people’s collectivist mindset. Sacrifice of individuality to the needs of the state is the film’s major theme – which is precisely what the mass game and other mass events aim to be the ultimate representation of.
Filmed a decade ago, this is not the DPRK I am firsthand familiar with, but I still love this documentary and consider it required viewing for anyone with an interest in the country. I personally know the director, and although I haven’t met the girls from the film, I have seen behind the scenes photos of them from the production, making this extra special film for me.
You can find A State of Mind
Last Chance to see the Arirang Mass Games?
2011 Arirang Mass Games – photo by Joseph A Ferris III
From my contacts at Koryo Tours: Word from our sources in Pyongyang is that the Arirang Mass Games of 2012 will be the last – so we suggest you sign up now to ensure that you can see this remarkable event while it is still running.
Don’t miss the Arirang Mass Games! Tell us a little about yourself, and I will hook you up with a great DPRK travel deal for visiting!
Mass Gymnastics Post #2
North Korean girls perform mass gymnastics at the Arirang Mass Games in Pyongyang, North Korea.
Beauty and Grace at the Arirang Mass Games
It’s not all about high kicking sexy military girls and mass flip card human mosaics at the North Korean Arirang Mass Games; experience the more delicate side of the games with the following set of photos showcasing the beauty and grace of North Korean women in their traditional Korean chosŏn-ot dresses.
Dancing Maidens at the Arirang Mass Games
Young North Korean maidens dancing in an orchard……
and then the nightmare begins!
Related articles
- Arirang Mass Games Taekwondo (josephferrispics.wordpress.com)
- The Arirang Festival Mass Games (americaninnorthkorea.com)
- North Korean Mass Human Mosaics (josephferrispics.wordpress.com)
Frisbee Diplomacy in North Korea – Picture Post #2
A series of photos from our day of Frisbee diplomacy in Pyongyang, North Korea.
Above Gabriel Mizrahi of The North Korea Blog teaches young North Koreans how to throw a Frisbee.
Nightmarishly Strange Mass Games
Dancing chickens, cows, sheep, and even a giant pig – a nightmarishly weird boasting of agriculture and animal husbandry power and success during the North Korean Arirang Mass Games.
April 12th 2011 North Korea Trip
I’m looking for a few good people to help fill a VIP custom trip to North Korea. This is the big one, April 15th is the 100th birthday of the Eternal President Kim Il Sung, and I plan to be there for all the celebrations! Also included on the trip will be first time ever visits to heavy industry sites, and to Pujon, a mysterious location deep in the interior of the country.
We are looking at around 2,000 Euro for the trip + China double entry visa + flight to Beijing. You will be traveling with an exclusive group, so contact me so I can get to know you (so I can screen you) – visas into the country will be tight at this time, so we need to have applications in by Jan.
Check out the proposed itinerary below:
Hello from North Korea!
Thurs 12th April
Flight to Pyongyang (departs Beijing Airport Terminal 2) 14:00. Arrive Pyongyang, meet guides, transfer to hotel via Arch of Triumph. Dinner at hotel. Potonggang Hotel, Pyongyang.
Fri 13th
Pyongyang Metro (6 stations), Mansudae Art Studio, Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum, Drive to Nampo, Chollima Steel Works, Tae’an Heavy Machine Tool Complex, Tae’an Glass Factory. Hot Spa Resort, Nampo.
Sat 14th
West Sea Barrage, Nampo Taekwondo School, return to Pyongyang via Mt Ryonggak for picnic lunch, Shooting Range, Juche Tower, Pyongyang Film Studios, Paradise Department Store and Microbrewery, Kaeson funfair after dinner. Koryo Hotel, Pyongyang.
Sun 15th
100th birthday of President Kim Il Sung: Exact nature of events to be confirmed but should include visit to Kumsusan Memorial Palace (Mausoleum of President), Kimilsungia Flower Exhibition, Mansudae Grand Monument, Mangyongdae Funfair, walk in Moranbong Park (where locals go to enjoy their day off), expected mass dance, other celebratory events, MASS GAMES.
Aririang Mass Games
Mon 16th
Drive to Wonsan (4 hrs with breaks), lunch at Dongmyong Hotel. Songdowon Schoolchildren’s Camp, walk in central square and around docks. Evening walk along pier (EUR 1 entry). Dongmyong Hotel, Wonsan.
Tues 17th
Drive to Hamhung (approx 3 hours) via Wonsan Agricultural University and Tongbong Cooperative Farm, lunch in Hamhung, Kim Il Sung Statue and central park, Native House of Ri Song Gye, drive past Hungnam Fertiliser Factory and Vinalon Factory (not possible to visit but can ask driver to go slowly and take photos from bus), relaxing on beach at Majon Guesthouse. Majon Guesthouse.
Weds 18th
Drive to Pujon county deep in the North Korean interior, see stunning mountain scenery and the rural way of life, picnic lunch. Ascend to the top of North Korea’s second highest mountains for an unparalleled view of somewhere that nobody you know has ever laid eyes on, See the spectacular Stone River where thousands of giant boulders form a cascade down the hillside. DPRK’s famous ‘slogan trees’ can also be seen here. Return to Hamhung. Sinhungsan Hotel, Hamhung.
Thurs 19th
Very early departure to return to Pyongyang. Arrive Pyongyang late afternoon, School Children’s Palace Tour and performance (if time allows). Yanggakdo Hotel, Pyongyang.
Fri 20th
Drive to Mt Myohyang (2 hrs), International Friendship Exhibition, Pohyon Buddhist Temple, walking in area (can have picnic lunch – for surcharges see below – or just lunch in hotel) Return to Pyongyang, Museum of Metro Construction, Farewell dinner at Duck BBQ restaurant. Yanggakdo Hotel, Pyongyang.
Farewell dinner at Duck BBQ restaurant
Sat 21st
Transfer to airport for flight JS151 to Beijing. 08:55 departure, arrive Beijing approx 10:00. End of tour.
Friendship
Photo and story by Gabriel Mizrahi
Crumbling from end to end and punctured by gaping holes, Pyongyang’s massive 12-lane Youth Hero Highway is a free-for-all for the few dozen vehicles that actually use it. Trucks, buses and the occasional sedan weave in and out of oncoming traffic in order to avoid the sickly workers stooping to repair the road, a symbol of the mindless excess and abject failure of North Korea’s infrastructure. The road was built, James Bond Villain explained, by students and people under the age of 30. It is a point of national pride………..Continue reading this post at The North Korea Blog.
North Korea Shooting Range – Guns, Girls, and Beer!
North Korea Shooting Range – Guns, Girls, and Beer – Photo by Joseph A Ferris III
In an online article at Mademan.com, Jordan Harbinger answers why North Korea is better than Vegas. Backing up this claim, Jordan points out such North Korean show stoppers as the Arirang Mass Games, massive propaganda statues, gasoline clam bakes, and my personal favorite, guns, girls, and beer at the Pyongyang shooting range.
Jordan Harbinger at the Pyongyang gun range.
When our North Korean guide asked us if we wanted to arrange a trip to the shooting range we said “Hell Yeah!” The shooting range turned out to be a type of North Korean men’s club, with young ladies in military style uniforms handling the guns, conducting the safety checks, and pouring the beers. This little side trip was not in the tour itinerary and there were some long faces from the other tourists at the hotel that night when we told our stories about this outing.
Neil Strauss at the Pyongyang, North Korea gun range.
Gabriel Mizrahi at the Pyongyang gun range.
Sexy Sailor Girls
The sexy sailor girls of North Korea marching in the rain at Arirang Mass Games, Pyongyang, DPRK – posted for no other reason except that I love sexy sailor girls!
The Arirang Festival Mass Games
By Contributing Writer Gabriel Mizrahi
Imagine the sight of one-hundred thousand humans executing the world’s most impeccable live performance. This is the Arirang Festival, also known as the Mass Games, dubbed the greatest acrobatic spectacle on earth.
Arirang Mass Games – photo by Joseph Ferris
To the haunting chants of Korean folk music, an orgy of color and music explodes on the field. Baton-wielding military jackets parade in honor of the Dear Leader. Tiny gymnasts in blue uniforms uniforms flip and twirl with cautious grace. Tae Kwon Do athletes perform a complex series of kicks and punches. In the other half of the stadium seats, 20,000 students manipulate colored flipboards that magically shape-shift into pictures of the mythical countryside and portraits of the Great Leader in mind-blowing detail. All the while, the haunting tones of “Arirang” echo in the May Day Stadium, telling the story of a Romeo and Juliet tragedy that doubles as an allegory for the separation of North and South Korea…………Continue reading Arirang Festival Mass Games at The North Korea Blog
Related articles
- Young Gymnasts of the Arirang Mass Games (josephferrispics.wordpress.com)
- North Korean Mass Human Mosaics (josephferrispics.wordpress.com)
- Arirang Mass Games (josephferrispics.wordpress.com)
North Korean Mass Human Mosaics
I introduced the mass human mosaics of the North Korean Arirang Mass Games in my last post. Just adding a few more photos of these incredible mass flip book images.
“Great Leader” Kim Il-sung
Get your guns!
Proof that North Korea is a fun place!
All pictures above are from the Aug. 27th 2011 Arirang Mass Games at the Rungrado May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea.
Young Gymnasts of the Arirang Mass Games
Its been a very long day at work, I had to deal with a crew member showing symptoms of a heart attack – a long day indeed! My ship was in port, he got checked out by a doctor, and we are back to sea and sailing east along the coast of South Africa. All of this has nothing to do with North Korea, but if you would like to learn more about our current science expedition please check out our current underway science outreach project.
Like I said, its been a long day, I’m simply going to leave these pics of young North Korean gymnasts performing at Arirang Mass Games, DPRK, North Korea.
Related articles
- NKorea launches massive dance and gymnastics show (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
American in North Korea 