1 00:00:02,500 --> 00:00:06,180 Can there be a country more shrouded in mystery and fear 2 00:00:06,180 --> 00:00:08,460 than North Korea? 3 00:00:08,460 --> 00:00:11,180 It's a brutal dictatorship. 4 00:00:11,180 --> 00:00:13,140 Many say it's intent on nuclear war. 5 00:00:14,620 --> 00:00:18,660 A dystopian land of military parades, repression, 6 00:00:18,660 --> 00:00:20,500 and barbaric prison camps. 7 00:00:21,580 --> 00:00:24,820 But I've been given an unprecedented opportunity 8 00:00:24,820 --> 00:00:27,940 to go beyond the politics 9 00:00:27,940 --> 00:00:32,100 and visit the country 25 million people call home... 10 00:00:33,340 --> 00:00:35,260 CHEERING 11 00:00:35,260 --> 00:00:40,340 ..to travel 1,300 miles across a land of colourful cities... 12 00:00:40,340 --> 00:00:42,100 Wow. 13 00:00:42,100 --> 00:00:44,380 ..and epic landscapes... 14 00:00:44,380 --> 00:00:47,380 The Rockies or North Korea? Take your pick. 15 00:00:48,420 --> 00:00:51,420 ..to understand the so-called Hermit Kingdom. 16 00:00:53,260 --> 00:00:55,300 I want to engage with its people... 17 00:00:55,300 --> 00:00:59,060 My name is Michael, Michael Palin. 18 00:00:59,060 --> 00:01:01,980 ..at a unique time in the country's history. 19 00:01:01,980 --> 00:01:07,060 There may be a change in relations between your side and America. 20 00:01:07,060 --> 00:01:08,500 Filming under supervision, 21 00:01:08,500 --> 00:01:10,700 I'll need to tread carefully. 22 00:01:10,700 --> 00:01:14,700 A good leader should be able to deal with criticism. 23 00:01:14,700 --> 00:01:16,860 That's why we are so different from you. 24 00:01:18,460 --> 00:01:22,220 But this will turn out to be the most revealing journey 25 00:01:22,220 --> 00:01:23,540 of my life. 26 00:01:31,660 --> 00:01:33,940 My journey begins in Beijing. 27 00:01:33,940 --> 00:01:38,140 China is one of North Korea's few allies in the world. 28 00:01:38,140 --> 00:01:39,620 And more importantly for me, 29 00:01:39,620 --> 00:01:42,780 it's the place where you can catch an overnight train 30 00:01:42,780 --> 00:01:44,460 to its capital, Pyongyang. 31 00:01:46,660 --> 00:01:49,460 But first, I've come to a quiet backstreet 32 00:01:49,460 --> 00:01:52,420 to meet the man who's made my trip possible. 33 00:01:54,380 --> 00:01:57,340 Michael, this is the visa, the most important piece. 34 00:01:57,340 --> 00:02:01,860 This is the visa just for North Korea. Yeah. 35 00:02:01,860 --> 00:02:03,380 So I call it that, or...? 36 00:02:03,380 --> 00:02:06,180 DPRK. DPRK. They prefer DPRK. 37 00:02:06,180 --> 00:02:09,700 Which is the Democratic... ..People's Republic of Korea. 38 00:02:09,700 --> 00:02:12,620 Nick Bonner has been getting people in - 39 00:02:12,620 --> 00:02:14,900 and more importantly, out - 40 00:02:14,900 --> 00:02:16,900 of the DPRK for 25 years. 41 00:02:16,900 --> 00:02:19,540 Journalists are normally barred, 42 00:02:19,540 --> 00:02:23,300 so this trip is something of a first for the North Koreans, 43 00:02:23,300 --> 00:02:24,620 and for me. 44 00:02:25,940 --> 00:02:27,860 I don't think there's any other country 45 00:02:27,860 --> 00:02:30,060 that I've been less prepared for visiting. 46 00:02:30,060 --> 00:02:33,060 I think the problem is if you load up with your preconceptions, 47 00:02:33,060 --> 00:02:35,780 you will sort of fit everything into that box, 48 00:02:35,780 --> 00:02:39,180 so you'd better, sort of, almost open up your mind. 49 00:02:39,180 --> 00:02:42,980 What are the things that I really shouldn't talk about? 50 00:02:42,980 --> 00:02:46,060 Erm, things you don't mention 51 00:02:46,060 --> 00:02:50,780 would be the prison camps that were reported in the West. 52 00:02:50,780 --> 00:02:53,460 The Koreans will just have a way of answering it, 53 00:02:53,460 --> 00:02:56,900 saying, "Look, in every country there is a penal system," etc. 54 00:02:56,900 --> 00:02:59,140 When it comes to offence with the leaders, 55 00:02:59,140 --> 00:03:01,700 that's where you have to take great care. 56 00:03:01,700 --> 00:03:05,180 Fully briefed but probably not wholly prepared, 57 00:03:05,180 --> 00:03:07,140 we head to Beijing station, 58 00:03:07,140 --> 00:03:10,220 the starting point of my North Korean adventure. 59 00:03:13,180 --> 00:03:15,740 I have to find K... 60 00:03:15,740 --> 00:03:17,660 K27 is the platform. 61 00:03:18,740 --> 00:03:20,300 Oh, there we are, I see it. 62 00:03:22,340 --> 00:03:26,420 Two, four, five, six, seven. 63 00:03:26,420 --> 00:03:30,100 Oh, two must be down there. 64 00:03:30,100 --> 00:03:32,500 We've lost platform two. 65 00:03:33,860 --> 00:03:35,540 Let's find another one like it. 66 00:03:36,540 --> 00:03:38,620 Just follow everyone, I think. 67 00:03:38,620 --> 00:03:41,180 I presume they're all getting the same train. 68 00:03:41,180 --> 00:03:43,940 Most of my fellow passengers are Chinese, 69 00:03:43,940 --> 00:03:46,180 and are travelling to Dandong, 70 00:03:46,180 --> 00:03:48,580 a city on the border with North Korea. 71 00:03:49,900 --> 00:03:51,500 The train is down here now. 72 00:03:51,500 --> 00:03:55,300 It was two, it was four, it's now six, 73 00:03:55,300 --> 00:03:58,340 and coaches 1 to 16... 74 00:03:58,340 --> 00:04:01,300 Oh, blimey. 75 00:04:01,300 --> 00:04:02,740 There we are. 76 00:04:02,740 --> 00:04:04,100 Number 11. 77 00:04:08,580 --> 00:04:11,340 INDISTINCT 78 00:04:11,340 --> 00:04:12,780 OK. 79 00:04:17,940 --> 00:04:19,340 Phew! 80 00:04:20,980 --> 00:04:24,700 Well, that was quite an ordeal, actually getting on to the train. 81 00:04:34,380 --> 00:04:36,860 We're on the move, and dead on time. 82 00:04:39,740 --> 00:04:41,500 I've even got a spittoon. 83 00:04:44,300 --> 00:04:46,100 They never think of that on Virgin. 84 00:04:51,060 --> 00:04:55,340 This train will take me 500 miles to the North Korean border. 85 00:04:56,460 --> 00:04:57,980 After a quick change of train, 86 00:04:57,980 --> 00:05:01,380 I'll then travel a further 200 miles to Pyongyang. 87 00:05:04,260 --> 00:05:05,860 I'm about to enter a country 88 00:05:05,860 --> 00:05:09,100 that has essentially been cut off from the outside world 89 00:05:09,100 --> 00:05:10,780 for 70 years. 90 00:05:12,580 --> 00:05:16,580 Well, it's quite different going to North Korea, I think, 91 00:05:16,580 --> 00:05:18,540 than anywhere else I've been. 92 00:05:18,540 --> 00:05:20,740 I've never been to one country where there's been 93 00:05:20,740 --> 00:05:24,420 quite so much of a sort of blackout on information, 94 00:05:24,420 --> 00:05:28,620 so what I hope is that although we'll be controlled, I know that, 95 00:05:28,620 --> 00:05:30,380 all our movements and all that, 96 00:05:30,380 --> 00:05:32,700 but we'll get beyond that 97 00:05:32,700 --> 00:05:36,940 and actually get to know or meet or just observe 98 00:05:36,940 --> 00:05:40,140 the people themselves, the North Koreans, 99 00:05:40,140 --> 00:05:42,740 who live there and work there and play there, 100 00:05:42,740 --> 00:05:45,540 and bring up their children there, and go to school there. 101 00:05:45,540 --> 00:05:47,420 You know, if we can do that, 102 00:05:47,420 --> 00:05:49,620 if I can get beyond the politics, 103 00:05:49,620 --> 00:05:52,620 beyond, if you like, a very strict regime, 104 00:05:52,620 --> 00:05:56,220 I want to find, hopefully, the people who live there 105 00:05:56,220 --> 00:05:58,060 see us as fellow human beings. 106 00:05:59,420 --> 00:06:01,180 Because that's the point of travelling 107 00:06:01,180 --> 00:06:03,060 and going around the world, is to see that 108 00:06:03,060 --> 00:06:05,820 people actually are much closer to us than we think. 109 00:06:15,740 --> 00:06:17,940 That was an odd night's sleep. 110 00:06:17,940 --> 00:06:22,140 Odd cos I don't think I slept more than about three minutes. 111 00:06:22,140 --> 00:06:24,740 I'm not sure, but I probably did. 112 00:06:24,740 --> 00:06:26,180 It was reasonably comfortable, 113 00:06:26,180 --> 00:06:28,860 but the train was doing all sorts of things as trains do - 114 00:06:28,860 --> 00:06:32,100 juddering, stopping, shaking, rattling, banging. 115 00:06:32,100 --> 00:06:36,340 But I get up this morning and it's just wonderful, suddenly... 116 00:06:36,340 --> 00:06:40,580 I mean, this is what I just love about travelling. 117 00:06:40,580 --> 00:06:43,500 I mean, Beijing was OK, but it was another city, 118 00:06:43,500 --> 00:06:46,940 but look out and this is just a totally different landscape - 119 00:06:46,940 --> 00:06:50,140 the buildings, the architecture, everything, 120 00:06:50,140 --> 00:06:54,220 and you want to know about it, you want to get out there. 121 00:06:54,220 --> 00:06:59,900 So, sod the sleep, I'm really awake now. 122 00:07:01,620 --> 00:07:04,980 Soon, the train pulls in to Dandong station. 123 00:07:08,780 --> 00:07:11,620 We are now only a few hundred metres from the border. 124 00:07:14,620 --> 00:07:16,660 After clearing Chinese Customs, 125 00:07:16,660 --> 00:07:19,580 it's time to board the North Korean train 126 00:07:19,580 --> 00:07:22,540 that will take me to Pyongyang. 127 00:07:22,540 --> 00:07:25,500 Right, a lot of merchandise being loaded on. 128 00:07:26,980 --> 00:07:29,420 WHISTLE BLOWS 129 00:07:29,420 --> 00:07:32,060 I think we're going. 130 00:07:32,060 --> 00:07:33,340 This is it. 131 00:07:34,820 --> 00:07:39,740 The Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge is all that separates us 132 00:07:39,740 --> 00:07:42,580 from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. 133 00:07:46,780 --> 00:07:48,380 As we cross the Yalu River, 134 00:07:48,380 --> 00:07:52,540 the stark difference between these two countries becomes clear. 135 00:07:55,300 --> 00:07:57,540 I mean, you can just see 136 00:07:57,540 --> 00:08:00,380 the Chinese shore is full of tall blocks. 137 00:08:03,140 --> 00:08:06,020 So it is an extraordinary contrast - 138 00:08:06,020 --> 00:08:10,660 this amazing sort of high-rise Chinese northern shore, 139 00:08:10,660 --> 00:08:12,060 and the southern shore... 140 00:08:16,100 --> 00:08:18,860 It's a completely different feel to it, much more open, low-rise. 141 00:08:20,780 --> 00:08:23,740 I suppose now we are more than halfway across the river, 142 00:08:23,740 --> 00:08:25,860 so we're in North Korea. 143 00:08:33,340 --> 00:08:36,300 Immediately, everything looks different. 144 00:08:36,300 --> 00:08:38,700 It's as if we've stepped back in time. 145 00:08:39,820 --> 00:08:41,260 High security. 146 00:08:50,740 --> 00:08:55,100 North Korean military guards on the platform of Sinuiju station 147 00:08:55,100 --> 00:08:59,660 remind me that I'm entering a country under totalitarian rule. 148 00:09:01,460 --> 00:09:03,780 And as they prepare to board the train 149 00:09:03,780 --> 00:09:05,740 to check our visas and passports, 150 00:09:05,740 --> 00:09:09,300 we get our first taste of North Korean authority. 151 00:09:09,300 --> 00:09:11,700 We're told to turn off the camera. 152 00:09:15,100 --> 00:09:18,260 One hour later, I'm allowed onto the platform. 153 00:09:19,300 --> 00:09:22,060 A lot of papers had to be gone through and signed. 154 00:09:22,060 --> 00:09:25,060 One man would come in and take down all the details. 155 00:09:25,060 --> 00:09:27,700 People in very impressive, big hats, would come in 156 00:09:27,700 --> 00:09:29,900 and ask for exactly the same details. 157 00:09:29,900 --> 00:09:33,580 Some questions I didn't expect, like, did I have a Bible with me? 158 00:09:33,580 --> 00:09:36,700 I'd normally say, "Oh, yes, absolutely, I'm a good Christian," 159 00:09:36,700 --> 00:09:38,580 but no, that's the wrong answer here. 160 00:09:38,580 --> 00:09:41,460 If you say, "I have a Bible," no, they don't want to know about that. 161 00:09:41,460 --> 00:09:44,100 So, you know, it's a little unsettling, 162 00:09:44,100 --> 00:09:46,700 but it's intriguing at the same time. 163 00:09:46,700 --> 00:09:50,740 I mean, they have my passport, so I can't leave, 164 00:09:50,740 --> 00:09:53,660 and I'm just being kept slightly unsettled, 165 00:09:53,660 --> 00:09:55,980 and this is probably deliberate. 166 00:09:57,700 --> 00:10:01,900 From now on, my fate lies in the hands of the North Koreans, 167 00:10:01,900 --> 00:10:04,100 but, after a tense wait, 168 00:10:04,100 --> 00:10:06,500 we're allowed on our way to Pyongyang. 169 00:10:17,620 --> 00:10:21,580 People are simply washing their bicycles in the river 170 00:10:21,580 --> 00:10:24,740 and alongside here, by the railway line, 171 00:10:24,740 --> 00:10:28,580 everywhere seems to be sort of cultivated, people have... 172 00:10:28,580 --> 00:10:30,940 It looks like even inhospitable ground 173 00:10:30,940 --> 00:10:33,340 has been dug and something has been planted. 174 00:10:33,340 --> 00:10:36,820 With no internet or international phone signal, 175 00:10:36,820 --> 00:10:40,420 I'm now effectively cut off from the outside world, 176 00:10:40,420 --> 00:10:44,220 and the world I've entered seems rather strange. 177 00:10:46,460 --> 00:10:47,700 I haven't seen a car. 178 00:10:49,180 --> 00:10:51,300 In all this development, it's all bicycles. 179 00:10:53,180 --> 00:10:57,460 There we are. A road, empty, completely empty of cars, 180 00:10:57,460 --> 00:11:02,580 but it seems of a different time, in a way. 181 00:11:04,420 --> 00:11:08,820 Korea was divided in 1945, after the Second World War, 182 00:11:08,820 --> 00:11:12,580 and has been largely governed on communist principles ever since. 183 00:11:12,580 --> 00:11:14,260 Closed off from the outside world 184 00:11:14,260 --> 00:11:17,100 and now under strict international sanctions, 185 00:11:17,100 --> 00:11:19,460 it's seen little economic development. 186 00:11:21,500 --> 00:11:23,380 When it comes to the dining car, 187 00:11:23,380 --> 00:11:26,500 it looks like nothing has changed since the 1950s. 188 00:11:27,620 --> 00:11:30,340 Table for one. Lunch, please. 189 00:11:30,340 --> 00:11:32,260 Thank you. Thank you. 190 00:11:32,260 --> 00:11:35,140 Gamsa...ham...hamnida. 191 00:11:35,140 --> 00:11:36,900 Gamsahamnida. Gamsahamnida. 192 00:11:36,900 --> 00:11:39,020 Oh, good, first word I've used. 193 00:11:40,780 --> 00:11:42,060 Hello. 194 00:11:44,060 --> 00:11:45,820 Gamsahamnida. 195 00:11:45,820 --> 00:11:47,820 I've said it twice, 196 00:11:47,820 --> 00:11:51,580 and look what I've got as a result of speaking Korean! 197 00:11:51,580 --> 00:11:53,540 It's beautiful, isn't it? 198 00:11:53,540 --> 00:11:54,820 Mmm. 199 00:11:54,820 --> 00:11:56,700 Well, I think this must be kimchi. 200 00:11:57,980 --> 00:12:00,780 Made from fermented cabbage and chillies, 201 00:12:00,780 --> 00:12:03,620 kimchi is a staple of the North Korean diet. 202 00:12:04,740 --> 00:12:06,540 Wow, it's quite fierce. 203 00:12:07,860 --> 00:12:11,380 After the kimchi, I think you need something to put out the fire. 204 00:12:14,660 --> 00:12:17,300 There's a sort of video playing, 205 00:12:17,300 --> 00:12:20,340 and there's mainly missiles on it. 206 00:12:21,580 --> 00:12:25,780 Various shots of the great leaders and applause. 207 00:12:27,300 --> 00:12:30,940 Lunch, with a side order of North Korean propaganda. 208 00:12:34,380 --> 00:12:39,300 Eventually, after six long hours, we trundle into Pyongyang. 209 00:12:51,900 --> 00:12:53,780 I'm told this is where I'll be met 210 00:12:53,780 --> 00:12:56,260 by the two guides who will be making sure 211 00:12:56,260 --> 00:12:58,740 I don't step out of line for the next two weeks. 212 00:13:00,140 --> 00:13:03,740 Ah, hello. Excuse me, are you Mr Michael Palin from Britain? 213 00:13:03,740 --> 00:13:06,380 I am Michael Palin, yes. Oh, nice to meet you. 214 00:13:06,380 --> 00:13:08,860 Hello. Nice to meet you. Yeah, yeah. Hello, how are you? 215 00:13:08,860 --> 00:13:11,300 Nice to meet you. Annyeonghaseyo. Annyeonghaseyo. 216 00:13:11,300 --> 00:13:14,100 I've been learning that on the train. 217 00:13:14,100 --> 00:13:17,460 Yes, you're a good student. Thank you very much. 218 00:13:17,460 --> 00:13:20,380 Hardly the threatening minders I was expecting. 219 00:13:23,900 --> 00:13:25,620 My name is Li Soo-young. 220 00:13:25,620 --> 00:13:27,380 Li is surname. Yeah. 221 00:13:27,380 --> 00:13:30,540 Soo-young is given name, so you can call me either way. 222 00:13:30,540 --> 00:13:32,380 What would you prefer to be called? 223 00:13:32,380 --> 00:13:35,340 If you want to be more friendly, then Soo-young. 224 00:13:35,340 --> 00:13:38,900 Soo-young, I'll be more friendly then, with your approval, Soo-young. 225 00:13:38,900 --> 00:13:41,460 And what? Li Kyung-chul. 226 00:13:41,460 --> 00:13:44,100 Oh, Soo-young and... Kyung-chul. ..Kyung-chul. 227 00:13:44,100 --> 00:13:45,820 OK. Michael, just Michael. 228 00:13:45,820 --> 00:13:48,060 Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Michael. Yeah, yes. 229 00:13:57,700 --> 00:13:59,460 As we drive to the hotel, 230 00:13:59,460 --> 00:14:02,420 I find it hard to believe I'm finally here. 231 00:14:05,740 --> 00:14:09,340 I know that there will be restrictions on what I see, 232 00:14:09,340 --> 00:14:12,340 but, despite this, I'm hoping Pyongyang will give me 233 00:14:12,340 --> 00:14:14,100 a greater understanding 234 00:14:14,100 --> 00:14:18,340 of a country once described as being on the axis of evil. 235 00:14:25,040 --> 00:14:28,160 LOUDSPEAKERS PLAY SYNTH BALLAD 236 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:36,320 My first morning in Pyongyang 237 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:39,440 and the world's most unusual wake-up call. 238 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:46,880 I first heard this, I think, at five o'clock this morning. 239 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:49,800 It's like music emanates from the whole city. 240 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:52,240 I don't know where it's coming from, 241 00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:55,000 the source of speakers, 242 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:56,840 it's just this suffusion of sound. 243 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:02,000 It was quite menacing at five o'clock. 244 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:04,880 Now the sun has come out, it's just rather strange. 245 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:09,680 It sounds vaguely Brian Eno. 246 00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:11,520 Oh, there he is. 247 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:13,040 Hi, Brian. 248 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:15,320 The thing is 249 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:17,840 that there really aren't any of the other sounds 250 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:21,800 you think of in a city - screaming sirens, cars rushing around, 251 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:24,480 none of that at all. 252 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:28,920 So that's why this sound can really... You can't avoid it. 253 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:31,680 I suppose that's the thing, you can't avoid it. 254 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:34,680 This is the sound of Pyongyang, 255 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:38,080 which is not the sound of any other city I've ever been in in my life. 256 00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:42,640 The track is called "Where Are You, Dear General?" 257 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:46,800 referring to the first leader of the DPRK, Kim Il-sung. 258 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:51,440 And after breakfast, it's time to head out 259 00:15:51,440 --> 00:15:53,720 for my first appointment of the day, 260 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:55,840 with the great leaders themselves. 261 00:15:57,080 --> 00:15:59,360 While our growing group of minders are nervous 262 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:01,240 about us filming on the streets, 263 00:16:01,240 --> 00:16:05,080 it gives me my first sense of daily life in Pyongyang, 264 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:07,600 and it's all very normal. 265 00:16:07,600 --> 00:16:10,240 But I do notice one significant difference. 266 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:13,920 That's interesting, that's the first poster I've seen, 267 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:15,640 kind of propagandist poster. 268 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:16,760 All clutching... 269 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:18,240 Clutching their weapons. 270 00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:21,400 Cos there's no advertising here, 271 00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:24,080 you never see any sort of consumer goods, just ideas. 272 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:31,400 Hello. 273 00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:42,560 The Pyongyang metro system was built in the 1970s, 274 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:45,640 but its grandeur is from a different age. 275 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:48,760 That's quite something, that's quite something. 276 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:00,840 This view of urban life is very different 277 00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:03,160 to what I saw from the train yesterday. 278 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:05,800 Possibly because Pyongyang is much more prosperous 279 00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:08,440 than the rest of the country. 280 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:10,120 You could just stay here, really. 281 00:17:10,120 --> 00:17:11,840 Why bother to catch a train? 282 00:17:11,840 --> 00:17:14,240 Just watch the world go by. 283 00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:18,280 I've arrived in the DPRK at an historic time. 284 00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:21,520 State-controlled newspapers are covered with photos 285 00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:25,320 of a meeting between the current leaders of North and South Korea, 286 00:17:25,320 --> 00:17:27,760 one that heralds new hope for peace. 287 00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:29,880 WOMAN WAILS 288 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:35,760 Ever since Korea was divided in 1945, 289 00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:39,760 North Korea has been ruled by the Kim family. 290 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:41,280 Their images are everywhere. 291 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:47,280 And everyone seems to be wearing badges featuring their faces. 292 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:53,440 I've been told that to understand North Korea 293 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:56,000 you need to understand the role of the leaders. 294 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:02,200 So I'm heading to the Mansudae Grand Monument, 295 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:05,560 one of the most sacred places in the whole country. 296 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:13,760 These 22-metre-tall bronze statues 297 00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:17,040 depict the first two leaders of North Korea. 298 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:23,000 Kim Il-sung, on the left, 299 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:24,800 was supported by the Russians 300 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:27,640 to lead the newly-formed country in 1945. 301 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:32,360 After he died, his son, Kim Jong-il, took over, 302 00:18:32,360 --> 00:18:35,240 until his death seven years ago, 303 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:37,400 leaving his son, Kim Jong-un, 304 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:38,800 as the current leader. 305 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:44,520 Well, there they are, the biggest leaders I've ever seen, 306 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:48,560 and there's something about the size and the scale 307 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:51,440 which is undoubtedly incredibly impressive, 308 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:55,360 and yet there are very few statues to great leaders around the world 309 00:18:55,360 --> 00:18:56,840 where they're smiling, 310 00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:58,120 they're looking accessible, 311 00:18:58,120 --> 00:18:59,400 they've got their specs on, 312 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:02,760 they've got their gear on, they're sort of embracing the country. 313 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:04,200 I think that's what - 314 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:06,520 although it seems very grand and overpowering - 315 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:08,520 they are actually trying to show the love, 316 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:10,800 embrace the love of the whole country, 317 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:15,400 by smiling and making themselves like the benign fathers 318 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:18,840 rather than the sort of stern rulers. 319 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:21,080 That's how I read it, anyway, 320 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:22,920 but judge for yourself. 321 00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:28,200 In the West, the Kim dynasty is known as a brutal dictatorship, 322 00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:30,960 but here, the great leaders cannot be criticised, 323 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:33,320 so I've been warned to tread carefully. 324 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:36,800 I notice that you wear the badge, 325 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:39,480 the party badge, there, 326 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:42,440 with the two leaders on. 327 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:46,720 So I would say our Korean nation is Kim Il-sung, 328 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:49,680 Kim Jong-un nation, and we are all members of the nation, 329 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:52,320 so it's the symbol of that 330 00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:58,080 and the reason why we have them on our left-hand side 331 00:19:58,080 --> 00:20:00,080 is that it's... 332 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:02,840 Where your heart is. Yeah, yeah. Yes, yes. 333 00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:06,640 Is it significant that they're smiling? 334 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:10,240 Is that important that they are seen to be smiling? 335 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:15,600 Yeah, so when you are smiling, they look very happy and very alive, 336 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:19,880 so we, Korean people, we think they are still alive. 337 00:20:19,880 --> 00:20:23,000 They are alive in our hearts, even though they passed away. 338 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:28,800 They are more like fathers than just political leaders. 339 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:31,280 We call it single-hearted unity, 340 00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:36,160 the popular masses united around the leaders and the party, 341 00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:39,120 and with one will and one idea. 342 00:20:39,120 --> 00:20:42,040 And presumably when you're growing up, 343 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:44,120 from fairly early on in school, 344 00:20:44,120 --> 00:20:48,080 you're learning about their work and what they represent. 345 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:51,840 At school, of course, we learn what they have done. 346 00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:58,920 But we all have got our own outlook on the world, 347 00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:04,760 and so it's not like what you call...brainwashing... 348 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:07,120 OK, yeah. ..it's not like... Yes. 349 00:21:07,120 --> 00:21:12,840 So we learn from our hearts that they have done really great things 350 00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:14,120 to our Korean people. 351 00:21:14,120 --> 00:21:16,120 The people who come here, 352 00:21:16,120 --> 00:21:18,320 I see people getting married, 353 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:22,720 how many times a year should you come here? 354 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:25,160 Is there a time everyone should come or anything? 355 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:28,360 It's voluntary, it's open for everyone, 356 00:21:28,360 --> 00:21:30,560 and there is no, like... 357 00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:34,400 Yeah, no-one tells us to do, what to do - 358 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:38,600 "You should go there," or, "You should go here." 359 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:40,800 It's more like a tour 360 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:44,560 of our own volition. From your heart, OK. 361 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:46,520 There are many more questions I'd like to ask, 362 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:48,720 but now is not the time. 363 00:21:48,720 --> 00:21:50,760 It is made apparent by our minders 364 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:52,920 that I've already crossed a line. 365 00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:57,120 North Korea claims to have no religion, 366 00:21:57,120 --> 00:22:00,160 but it's hard for me not to think that for many people 367 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:02,360 the great leaders are filling that void. 368 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:06,360 And in a country that has a widely reported 369 00:22:06,360 --> 00:22:08,400 appalling human rights record, 370 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:11,360 I worry that they've put their faith in those 371 00:22:11,360 --> 00:22:14,360 who do not always act in their best interests. 372 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:20,560 After lunch, it's a quick walk to the east side 373 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:22,200 of the Taedong River 374 00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:24,920 and a place that offers me the best view of the city - 375 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:26,640 the Juche Tower. 376 00:22:29,120 --> 00:22:30,600 Tower, up? 377 00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:34,520 Annyeonghaseyo. Annyeong-hasimnikka. That's right, I'm learning. 378 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:37,480 Annyeong-hasimnikka. Annyeong... Annyeong-hasimnikka. 379 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:39,520 Annyeong-hasimnikka. Mm. 380 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:41,480 Annyeong-hasimnikka. Annyeong-hasimnikka. 381 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:44,200 Yes. Annyeong-hasimnikka. 382 00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:46,960 Annyeong-hasimnikka. Yes. Annyeong-hasimnikkeh. 383 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:49,200 Hasimnikka. Hasimnikkeh. 384 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:51,720 Hasimnikk-a. Hasimnikka. 385 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:54,080 Ka. Ah, annyeong-hasimnikka. 386 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:56,400 Yes. Annyeong-hasimnikka. Good! 387 00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:59,800 It's a good thing it's a high building. Yes. 388 00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:03,520 All that just to say hello. 389 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:09,720 OK. Please. Yes. 390 00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:14,760 Wow. 391 00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:28,560 The stunning view from this 170-metre-tall tower 392 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:32,840 gives me my first proper sense of the size and scale of Pyongyang. 393 00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:35,400 I shouldn't say wow, 394 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:37,640 but that is the only thing you can say up here. 395 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:39,280 It's astounding. 396 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:43,600 The west side of the city is dominated by grand buildings - 397 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:46,600 stadiums and new developments 398 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:50,040 that look like something from a science fiction movie. 399 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:58,240 The east is a sea of Soviet-style concrete apartment blocks. 400 00:23:59,560 --> 00:24:01,200 They used to be grey, 401 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:03,040 but Kim Jong-il instructed 402 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:06,000 that the buildings be painted in bright colours, 403 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:08,120 transforming the skyline. 404 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:11,960 One thing I do know is that Pyongyang 405 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:16,360 was just bombed flat in 1953, during the Korean War, 406 00:24:16,360 --> 00:24:18,560 so what we're seeing here has, 407 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:21,920 with I think the exception of one building, 408 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:25,320 all been built in the last sort of 60 years. 409 00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:27,200 That's quite impressive. 410 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:33,640 The name of the Juche Tower refers to Kim Il-sung's ruling ideology, 411 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:38,400 one which has perpetuated the idea of self-reliance and isolation 412 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:42,360 from the rest of the world for almost 70 years. 413 00:24:42,360 --> 00:24:44,720 Funny how cities all have a sort of name, 414 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:45,880 a ring about them, 415 00:24:45,880 --> 00:24:49,040 and very often countries are known by their cities. 416 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:50,560 Paris, France and all that. 417 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:54,920 This is Pyongyang, North Korea, which is a name I've known, 418 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:59,800 a lot of us know, in always slightly threatening context. 419 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:02,720 This is Pyongyang, what comes out of here is vaguely sinister. 420 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:04,640 What does it mean, a city is threatening us? 421 00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:05,960 A city is sinister. 422 00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:11,640 A city is a city and this has its own grandeur, in a way. 423 00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:18,760 Pyongyang also has a bizarre charm. 424 00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:25,120 And on my way back across the river, 425 00:25:25,120 --> 00:25:29,320 I find it hard not to be transfixed by the traffic police, 426 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:31,360 stationed at busy intersections. 427 00:25:31,360 --> 00:25:33,480 SHE BLOWS WHISTLE 428 00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:38,280 Their choreographed, robotic movements 429 00:25:38,280 --> 00:25:39,800 are strangely hypnotic. 430 00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:46,840 They also, I notice, all appear to be young women. 431 00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:52,320 There's a rumour that Marshall Kim Jong-un 432 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:54,440 hand-picks them himself. 433 00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:06,560 It's Sunday... 434 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:11,200 ..the one-day weekend in the DPRK. 435 00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:13,360 THEY CHEER 436 00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:15,720 Volleyball, a big thing here? 437 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:19,480 Yes. A big sport. Very popular here. Yeah. 438 00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:21,960 Soo-young and Kyung-chul are keen to show me 439 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:23,400 what they would be doing 440 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:25,960 if they weren't having to look after a British film crew. 441 00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:30,880 SOO-YOUNG: Have you ever shot a pistol? 442 00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:33,200 Well, not often, but I have, yeah. 443 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:35,560 I'll have a go. Shall we? 444 00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:37,160 OK. 445 00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:41,160 He's going to show me, first of all, what a hotshot he is, 446 00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:43,640 and why he has earned the name 447 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:46,320 of the Wyatt Earp of the Korean peninsula. 448 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:50,840 Oh, good. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 449 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:55,080 Oops. 450 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:58,240 Yeah, I keep aiming at the yellow bit behind! 451 00:26:58,240 --> 00:26:59,800 I hit that every time. 452 00:27:03,120 --> 00:27:05,240 Very close. Almost! 453 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:07,880 Last one, OK? 454 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:10,680 Because I don't think I'm destined to... 455 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:11,880 ..get one. 456 00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:14,520 Wow! 457 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:15,960 Bravo! 458 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:18,280 On camera or not? GUIDES LAUGH 459 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:20,160 HE MOUTHS 460 00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:25,480 To unwind after our efforts at the shooting range, 461 00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:28,360 we find ourselves somewhere I really wasn't expecting... 462 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:38,360 ..a North Korean health spa. 463 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:44,440 This is the state-run Changgwang Health Complex. 464 00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:48,600 It's about as far from prison camps and nuclear missiles as you can get. 465 00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:53,880 It includes a hair salon, 466 00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:58,120 which has a rather prescriptive approach to hairstyles. 467 00:27:58,120 --> 00:27:59,600 Ah, these, I think, 468 00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:01,880 are the recommended haircuts. 469 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:04,600 All the styles you can have here, are up there. 470 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:08,880 And they actually look remarkably similar. 471 00:28:08,880 --> 00:28:11,520 No, you know, mullets or ponytails 472 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:15,000 or anything sort of disorderly like that. 473 00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:16,320 Very neat and tidy. 474 00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:19,520 Hello. 475 00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:22,400 Can you do me a sort of massage, not haircut? 476 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:25,000 No hair cut, but massage, OK? 477 00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:26,800 Thank you. 478 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:32,120 Ooh, already I feel the pressure slipping from my shoulders... 479 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:35,160 ..down my back and into this chair, 480 00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:37,280 which is vibrating slightly. 481 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:44,760 That's just what I want. 482 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:47,640 Mmm. 483 00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:53,640 Hope it doesn't come off! 484 00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:57,600 Thank you. 485 00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:00,480 This is a relaxing end to a long day. 486 00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:03,080 Thank you very much. 487 00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:08,440 And my hotel room gives me a rare moment 488 00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:11,240 away from prying eyes and ears. 489 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:12,880 Well, at least, I hope it does! 490 00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:16,600 Filming isn't easy here. 491 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:22,520 Everywhere we go, we're accompanied by an entourage 492 00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:28,280 of about five or six men and women in suits, 493 00:29:28,280 --> 00:29:31,400 who watch our every move, and check everything we're seeing 494 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:32,920 and everything we're doing, 495 00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:34,800 and everything we're saying. 496 00:29:34,800 --> 00:29:38,400 But, you know, they do things completely differently here. 497 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:39,960 That's the way it is. 498 00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:43,360 You can't just come blundering in and say, we are from the West, 499 00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:45,680 we want to see this and we want to see that. 500 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:49,240 If you're going to learn anything at all, I think, about this country, 501 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:52,040 you've got to prise the door open very, very gently. 502 00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:55,840 We need to keep their trust 503 00:29:55,840 --> 00:29:57,360 and it's a slow process, 504 00:29:57,360 --> 00:30:00,840 but if we step out of line and shoot things we shouldn't shoot, 505 00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:03,560 then the door will be slammed shut and that'll be the end of it. 506 00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:09,280 So it's really all about us trusting them and them trusting us. 507 00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:12,680 I mean, so far, it's working quite well 508 00:30:12,680 --> 00:30:13,920 but we'll see in the end. 509 00:30:23,490 --> 00:30:25,010 Day two in Pyongyang, 510 00:30:25,010 --> 00:30:27,130 and it's time to go back to school. 511 00:30:28,530 --> 00:30:31,010 From a young age, children in North Korea 512 00:30:31,010 --> 00:30:33,210 are taught the revolutionary history 513 00:30:33,210 --> 00:30:36,090 of their country's battles against Japanese occupiers 514 00:30:36,090 --> 00:30:38,010 and American aggressors, 515 00:30:38,010 --> 00:30:41,370 and the heroic deeds of the great leaders. 516 00:30:41,370 --> 00:30:43,330 Do you know London? PUPILS: Yes. 517 00:30:43,330 --> 00:30:45,530 What is more surprising 518 00:30:45,530 --> 00:30:50,210 is that learning English is also compulsory. 519 00:30:50,210 --> 00:30:53,170 Annyeong-hasimnikka. 520 00:30:53,170 --> 00:30:56,890 PUPILS AT DIFFERENT TIMES: Hello, how are you? 521 00:30:56,890 --> 00:31:00,290 My name is Michael, Michael Palin. 522 00:31:00,290 --> 00:31:01,810 I live in Britain. 523 00:31:01,810 --> 00:31:03,490 Anyone know London? 524 00:31:03,490 --> 00:31:06,370 TEACHER: London. PUPILS: Yes. That's it. Very, very good. 525 00:31:06,370 --> 00:31:07,970 I'll tell you what I've got. 526 00:31:07,970 --> 00:31:11,410 I've been to lots of places in the world 527 00:31:11,410 --> 00:31:15,770 and I travel, with me, with this, a globe. 528 00:31:15,770 --> 00:31:17,170 HE BEGINS TO INFLATE GLOBE 529 00:31:17,170 --> 00:31:20,610 THEY COUNT BLOWS: One, two, three... 530 00:31:20,610 --> 00:31:23,170 I'm intrigued to know how well these kids 531 00:31:23,170 --> 00:31:26,930 know the world around them, especially as international travel 532 00:31:26,930 --> 00:31:30,010 is effectively banned for all North Koreans. 533 00:31:30,010 --> 00:31:32,930 ..eight, nine, ten... 534 00:31:32,930 --> 00:31:34,690 Yes! 535 00:31:34,690 --> 00:31:37,530 THEY APPLAUD Very good. 536 00:31:41,770 --> 00:31:44,610 Who wanted to show me where Britain is on this map? 537 00:31:44,610 --> 00:31:46,650 Who would like to have a go? 538 00:31:46,650 --> 00:31:48,930 It's in Europe, good. Yes, it's in Europe. 539 00:31:48,930 --> 00:31:50,690 And it is... 540 00:31:50,690 --> 00:31:52,490 No, that's... There we are! 541 00:31:52,490 --> 00:31:54,730 Yes, that bit there, yes. 542 00:31:54,730 --> 00:31:57,010 Now, throw it around, have a look at the world. 543 00:31:57,010 --> 00:31:58,450 That's it. 544 00:31:58,450 --> 00:31:59,690 OK. 545 00:31:59,690 --> 00:32:02,330 You've got to name a country. India. India, very good. 546 00:32:02,330 --> 00:32:05,410 Now you can throw it very hard at anyone you don't like! 547 00:32:05,410 --> 00:32:06,930 Russia. 548 00:32:06,930 --> 00:32:08,170 Russia, OK. 549 00:32:08,170 --> 00:32:09,570 Who are you going to throw it to? 550 00:32:09,570 --> 00:32:11,210 Japon. Japan. 551 00:32:11,210 --> 00:32:12,730 Ooh, that's to me. 552 00:32:12,730 --> 00:32:13,810 OK... 553 00:32:13,810 --> 00:32:14,850 America! 554 00:32:16,010 --> 00:32:18,050 Canada. Canada, good, yep. 555 00:32:18,050 --> 00:32:19,450 Well done. 556 00:32:19,450 --> 00:32:21,490 Now, if there's anything 557 00:32:21,490 --> 00:32:25,170 they would like to ask me about my life? 558 00:32:25,170 --> 00:32:26,930 How many children in your family? 559 00:32:26,930 --> 00:32:28,690 I've got three children. 560 00:32:28,690 --> 00:32:30,210 How many in your family? 561 00:32:30,210 --> 00:32:31,690 Four. Four? 562 00:32:31,690 --> 00:32:35,010 What do you want to do when you grow up? 563 00:32:35,010 --> 00:32:37,530 I want to be a scientist. 564 00:32:37,530 --> 00:32:38,890 Anyone else? 565 00:32:38,890 --> 00:32:42,330 I want to enter the Korean People's Army. 566 00:32:42,330 --> 00:32:43,650 Good. 567 00:32:49,130 --> 00:32:50,690 Very good. 568 00:32:50,690 --> 00:32:53,210 I want to be a famous writer. 569 00:32:53,210 --> 00:32:54,730 You want to be a famous writer? Yes. 570 00:32:54,730 --> 00:32:55,890 That's good. 571 00:32:57,090 --> 00:33:00,930 Have you got a poem? Can you remember a poem that you've written? 572 00:33:00,930 --> 00:33:03,050 Say it in Korean. 573 00:33:05,530 --> 00:33:07,250 TRANSLATION: 574 00:33:46,050 --> 00:33:47,130 Aw-w! 575 00:33:49,130 --> 00:33:53,370 Mount Paektu is a sacred volcano in North Korea, 576 00:33:53,370 --> 00:33:56,530 which Kim Il-sung allegedly used as a hideout 577 00:33:56,530 --> 00:33:59,530 while plotting against the Japanese in the 1930s. 578 00:34:02,090 --> 00:34:05,730 It's a beautiful poem, but I get the distinct impression 579 00:34:05,730 --> 00:34:09,530 that critical thinking is probably not on the school curriculum. 580 00:34:15,170 --> 00:34:18,610 But excelling at sport most definitely is. 581 00:34:18,610 --> 00:34:21,290 I'm told by my guides that Kim Jong-un 582 00:34:21,290 --> 00:34:24,570 wants North Korea to become a sports superpower. 583 00:34:24,570 --> 00:34:28,730 And judging by this lot, table tennis may be the way to go. 584 00:34:31,090 --> 00:34:34,970 It's like a factory farm for ping-pong champions. 585 00:34:34,970 --> 00:34:37,810 I was quite impressed first of all that they were learning English 586 00:34:37,810 --> 00:34:41,450 but also the ideology was there, underneath everything, 587 00:34:41,450 --> 00:34:44,610 but not pushed absolutely all the time. 588 00:34:44,610 --> 00:34:47,210 And yet the poem was about Mount Paektu 589 00:34:47,210 --> 00:34:49,450 and the boy wanted to be a physicist 590 00:34:49,450 --> 00:34:51,410 to do things better for Kim Jong-un. 591 00:34:51,410 --> 00:34:53,930 So it's kind of there, very much embedded - 592 00:34:53,930 --> 00:34:56,690 the feeling of working together for one leader - 593 00:34:56,690 --> 00:34:58,490 but it wasn't pushed at me that hard. 594 00:34:58,490 --> 00:35:00,890 And the ping-pong was just incredible. 595 00:35:00,890 --> 00:35:03,570 The speed, the ferocity with which they played, 596 00:35:03,570 --> 00:35:05,970 and the determination to be world-beaters. 597 00:35:05,970 --> 00:35:09,930 What I'm learning is that the sense of unity and togetherness 598 00:35:09,930 --> 00:35:11,970 is incredibly strong here, 599 00:35:11,970 --> 00:35:13,810 if a little disturbing. 600 00:35:13,810 --> 00:35:17,530 After all, this is the land of mass military parades. 601 00:35:21,890 --> 00:35:23,090 Mmm. 602 00:35:24,610 --> 00:35:27,170 Now, that's a really, really good cup of coffee. 603 00:35:27,170 --> 00:35:29,490 About the best I have had in Pyongyang. 604 00:35:29,490 --> 00:35:34,930 This rather nice sort of intimate, almost Austrian-style cafe. 605 00:35:34,930 --> 00:35:37,250 This all feels rather pleasant, 606 00:35:37,250 --> 00:35:40,050 and yet it's in quite an odd location, really. 607 00:35:42,210 --> 00:35:44,410 This intimate little place 608 00:35:44,410 --> 00:35:48,730 is actually right on the corner of... 609 00:35:50,690 --> 00:35:52,010 ..Kim Il-sung Square. 610 00:35:55,010 --> 00:36:00,090 The place where those vast processions of military might... 611 00:36:00,090 --> 00:36:02,450 It all takes place on this amazing, 612 00:36:02,450 --> 00:36:03,930 amazing area here. 613 00:36:06,570 --> 00:36:09,530 You can see, when they do these enormous ballets 614 00:36:09,530 --> 00:36:13,210 with thousands of people, all doing the same thing at the same time, 615 00:36:13,210 --> 00:36:14,850 there are the dots, 616 00:36:14,850 --> 00:36:18,170 the little positions where people stand. 617 00:36:18,170 --> 00:36:20,690 So you've got somebody here doing all that sort of stuff 618 00:36:20,690 --> 00:36:23,570 and then you've got somebody here doing all that sort of stuff. 619 00:36:23,570 --> 00:36:24,890 So you've got to sort it out. 620 00:36:24,890 --> 00:36:27,250 It's incredibly difficult, when you see it done, 621 00:36:27,250 --> 00:36:28,890 to actually get it done properly 622 00:36:28,890 --> 00:36:31,210 without bashing the person next to you. 623 00:36:31,210 --> 00:36:33,450 Of course, when the parades come along, 624 00:36:33,450 --> 00:36:34,890 it's along this roadway 625 00:36:34,890 --> 00:36:39,690 that the weapons and the missiles will come. 626 00:36:39,690 --> 00:36:42,090 It's just so... 627 00:36:42,090 --> 00:36:45,810 It's such a strange sensation to walk across it. 628 00:36:45,810 --> 00:36:46,930 And here we are. 629 00:36:48,410 --> 00:36:51,530 At the moment, there's not many people here. 630 00:36:51,530 --> 00:36:53,450 Just me at the moment, 631 00:36:53,450 --> 00:36:59,050 doing my own display of synchronised television presenting! 632 00:37:00,530 --> 00:37:03,170 It's never going to catch on. It's never going to catch on. 633 00:37:04,970 --> 00:37:07,730 The billboard showing a Korean soldier 634 00:37:07,730 --> 00:37:10,010 is just one of the many pieces 635 00:37:10,010 --> 00:37:13,570 of military propaganda I've seen in Pyongyang. 636 00:37:13,570 --> 00:37:16,810 Most of it is produced behind closed doors, 637 00:37:16,810 --> 00:37:19,050 here at the Mansudae Art Studio. 638 00:37:21,850 --> 00:37:23,650 But, for the first time, 639 00:37:23,650 --> 00:37:26,450 we are being allowed to film one of the country's 640 00:37:26,450 --> 00:37:28,690 leading propaganda artists at work. 641 00:37:30,650 --> 00:37:33,650 Can you tell me what this painting, 642 00:37:33,650 --> 00:37:36,050 what this work is about? 643 00:37:36,050 --> 00:37:37,850 TRANSLATION: 644 00:37:55,130 --> 00:37:59,330 This picture of pan-Korean peace and unity is very timely 645 00:37:59,330 --> 00:38:01,290 and might be just for my benefit, 646 00:38:01,290 --> 00:38:04,410 but I think there's more to propaganda than missiles. 647 00:38:04,410 --> 00:38:08,290 It's another way to keep people united to the cause. 648 00:38:09,530 --> 00:38:14,290 What is the secret of making a good propaganda poster? 649 00:38:36,330 --> 00:38:41,410 There are over 1,000 artists here producing art for the state. 650 00:38:41,410 --> 00:38:44,170 In this studio, a painter is working on a canvas 651 00:38:44,170 --> 00:38:46,090 celebrating the fishing industry. 652 00:38:48,090 --> 00:38:50,290 And this man has been responsible 653 00:38:50,290 --> 00:38:53,730 for sculpting the giant statues of the great leaders. 654 00:38:53,730 --> 00:38:56,370 I'm aware everything I'm being shown 655 00:38:56,370 --> 00:39:00,570 is designed to give me a positive image of North Korea. 656 00:39:00,570 --> 00:39:02,410 But what I'm also realising 657 00:39:02,410 --> 00:39:05,010 is just how tightly everything is controlled. 658 00:39:05,010 --> 00:39:07,490 There is no internet, no international phones, 659 00:39:07,490 --> 00:39:09,410 no freedom of the press. 660 00:39:09,410 --> 00:39:11,210 The government controls it all 661 00:39:11,210 --> 00:39:13,490 and there are no voices of dissent. 662 00:39:14,650 --> 00:39:16,450 And after a few days, 663 00:39:16,450 --> 00:39:20,610 you start to feel the propaganda seeping into your soul. 664 00:39:25,690 --> 00:39:29,250 There's so much that is so different about North Korea 665 00:39:29,250 --> 00:39:31,490 that I find the offer of dinner and a few beers 666 00:39:31,490 --> 00:39:34,570 with my friendly guides refreshingly familiar. 667 00:39:37,170 --> 00:39:39,410 Have you ever done barbecue? 668 00:39:39,410 --> 00:39:43,090 No, I haven't had Korean barbecue, not like this. 669 00:39:43,090 --> 00:39:45,010 It's messy, is it? 670 00:39:45,010 --> 00:39:47,890 Is there going to be a lot of spray flying? 671 00:39:47,890 --> 00:39:50,210 Yeah, yeah. Oh! 672 00:39:52,450 --> 00:39:54,250 I think that she's tied me to the chair! 673 00:39:54,250 --> 00:39:56,610 I can't... You look great in it. 674 00:39:56,610 --> 00:39:58,530 Do I? Is this my colour? 675 00:40:00,810 --> 00:40:05,090 So, this is the raw meat, this is...? Yeah, raw meat. 676 00:40:05,090 --> 00:40:07,490 Koreans like meat. 677 00:40:07,490 --> 00:40:10,250 We love. You love meat, OK, I got the wrong verb. 678 00:40:10,250 --> 00:40:12,810 You love meat. You wrap... 679 00:40:12,810 --> 00:40:15,050 Oh, you wrap it up? Yeah. OK, OK. 680 00:40:19,530 --> 00:40:20,650 Mmm. 681 00:40:20,650 --> 00:40:22,410 How is it? Mmm. 682 00:40:22,410 --> 00:40:23,850 It's very, very good. 683 00:40:23,850 --> 00:40:25,210 Mmm. 684 00:40:25,210 --> 00:40:27,290 North Koreans enjoy a drink. 685 00:40:27,290 --> 00:40:32,250 Apparently, each man is given weekly beer coupons by the state, 686 00:40:32,250 --> 00:40:36,650 which provides them with five litres of beer a month. 687 00:40:36,650 --> 00:40:40,050 Thank you. In Korean, geonbae. Geonbae. 688 00:40:40,050 --> 00:40:43,210 Geonbae. Choonpay! Geonbae. Geonbae. Geonbay. 689 00:40:43,210 --> 00:40:45,570 Geonbay. Geonbae. 690 00:40:45,570 --> 00:40:47,930 It's nice to see the guides relax, 691 00:40:47,930 --> 00:40:50,130 but I'm told tomorrow is the day 692 00:40:50,130 --> 00:40:52,570 I'll really see the North Koreans at play. 693 00:41:03,950 --> 00:41:07,030 It's my last day in the capital of North Korea 694 00:41:07,030 --> 00:41:08,350 and it's May Day, 695 00:41:08,350 --> 00:41:10,270 the international workers' day, 696 00:41:10,270 --> 00:41:11,670 and it's a holiday. 697 00:41:15,190 --> 00:41:17,550 The parks of Pyongyang are filling up 698 00:41:17,550 --> 00:41:20,830 with the city's three million residents. 699 00:41:20,830 --> 00:41:23,750 WHISTLE BLOWS/ CHEERING AND YELLING 700 00:41:26,590 --> 00:41:28,350 WHISTLE BLOWS 701 00:41:29,670 --> 00:41:31,830 YELLING 702 00:41:37,190 --> 00:41:39,950 The game is... You have to pick up bits of paper 703 00:41:39,950 --> 00:41:41,790 and then the bit of paper will tell them 704 00:41:41,790 --> 00:41:44,110 they've got to take something and run round the ring. 705 00:41:44,110 --> 00:41:46,830 It might be a ball, it might be a hat, it might be a jacket, 706 00:41:46,830 --> 00:41:48,710 it might be man, woman or child, 707 00:41:48,710 --> 00:41:50,270 and they race round with it. 708 00:41:57,630 --> 00:42:01,150 There's also music and dancing. 709 00:42:06,990 --> 00:42:11,470 I suspect this gentleman is a frustrated Fred Astaire. 710 00:42:11,470 --> 00:42:15,430 Office manager by day, who knows what by night? 711 00:42:29,270 --> 00:42:32,950 May Day seems to be giving me what I've been hoping for - 712 00:42:32,950 --> 00:42:35,630 an opportunity to mix with ordinary North Koreans 713 00:42:35,630 --> 00:42:37,350 when their guard is down. 714 00:42:38,310 --> 00:42:40,510 THEY SHOUT IN KOREAN 715 00:42:44,590 --> 00:42:46,150 Mmm, that's good food. 716 00:42:46,150 --> 00:42:48,950 THEY CHAT AND LAUGH 717 00:42:52,270 --> 00:42:55,190 MUSIC PLAYS 718 00:42:56,950 --> 00:42:59,470 HE SHOUTS HAPPILY IN KOREAN 719 00:43:03,470 --> 00:43:06,710 And as the day goes on, so does the dancing. 720 00:43:06,710 --> 00:43:09,230 HE CONTINUES YELLING 721 00:43:13,630 --> 00:43:16,030 And, I suspect, the drinking. 722 00:43:20,830 --> 00:43:23,110 To an inhibited Englishman, 723 00:43:23,110 --> 00:43:26,790 a sort of mass fun day like May Day in Pyongyang 724 00:43:26,790 --> 00:43:30,470 seems, at first, slightly intimidating. 725 00:43:30,470 --> 00:43:33,190 But actually, you just have to join in. 726 00:43:37,190 --> 00:43:39,790 Everyone's out, and they're all in the centre of the city. 727 00:43:39,790 --> 00:43:41,630 They don't go out to the countryside. 728 00:43:41,630 --> 00:43:45,070 And they start with lots of little parties that become bigger parties, 729 00:43:45,070 --> 00:43:48,430 then become these huge occasions of spontaneous dancing 730 00:43:48,430 --> 00:43:53,430 and a bit of drinking, the rice wine, to keep you going. 731 00:43:53,430 --> 00:43:57,390 After a bit, the whole sort of hill is just humming. 732 00:43:59,350 --> 00:44:01,550 Are singing and dancing quite important? 733 00:44:01,550 --> 00:44:03,750 Everyone seems to have a song or a dance. 734 00:44:03,750 --> 00:44:07,070 Yeah, every Korean knows how to sing and dance, except me. 735 00:44:07,070 --> 00:44:09,550 I have a poor voice. Well...! 736 00:44:09,550 --> 00:44:11,950 MUSIC CONTINUES BLARING 737 00:44:18,710 --> 00:44:19,790 OK! 738 00:44:21,510 --> 00:44:24,030 THEY LAUGH 739 00:44:24,030 --> 00:44:25,670 Thank you! 740 00:44:30,310 --> 00:44:33,230 These people might live in a repressive system 741 00:44:33,230 --> 00:44:35,310 that I find hard to understand, 742 00:44:35,310 --> 00:44:38,950 but there's a joy and humanity to this that's undimmed. 743 00:44:40,270 --> 00:44:41,710 This goes on all day. 744 00:44:41,710 --> 00:44:44,310 You know, we're only kind of, well... 745 00:44:44,310 --> 00:44:46,190 It's about half past two. 746 00:44:46,190 --> 00:44:47,870 What's it going to be like here at night? 747 00:44:47,870 --> 00:44:49,150 It's going to be, you know... 748 00:44:49,150 --> 00:44:50,830 What is it going to be like here at night? 749 00:44:50,830 --> 00:44:52,190 I ask myself. 750 00:44:52,190 --> 00:44:53,390 Oh! 751 00:44:53,390 --> 00:44:54,750 Thank you. 752 00:44:54,750 --> 00:44:56,470 PEOPLE CHEER AND APPLAUD NEARBY 753 00:44:57,950 --> 00:44:59,390 Thank you. 754 00:45:00,790 --> 00:45:02,190 Oh, dear. 755 00:45:03,990 --> 00:45:05,630 Being dragged back by the family. 756 00:45:07,870 --> 00:45:10,350 Well, I'm off to be a tree somewhere else! 757 00:45:33,750 --> 00:45:34,950 May Day, 758 00:45:34,950 --> 00:45:36,790 and my time in Pyongyang 759 00:45:36,790 --> 00:45:40,630 has left me with more questions than answers. 760 00:45:40,630 --> 00:45:43,830 Much of me wants to take everything at face value, 761 00:45:43,830 --> 00:45:47,070 to accept the North Korea that I'm being shown. 762 00:45:47,070 --> 00:45:49,230 But I know there's another side, 763 00:45:49,230 --> 00:45:50,950 and I've seen enough to realise 764 00:45:50,950 --> 00:45:53,630 this is a country with none of the freedoms 765 00:45:53,630 --> 00:45:55,430 we in the West take for granted. 766 00:45:58,470 --> 00:46:02,030 Maybe I'll learn more outside the bubble of Pyongyang. 767 00:46:02,030 --> 00:46:03,710 After much negotiation, 768 00:46:03,710 --> 00:46:07,230 I've been given permission to explore parts of the country 769 00:46:07,230 --> 00:46:10,630 that are normally off-limits to outsiders. 770 00:46:10,630 --> 00:46:12,590 Tomorrow, we start a journey 771 00:46:12,590 --> 00:46:15,230 that will take us into uncharted territory. 772 00:46:22,590 --> 00:46:27,150 Early next morning, we start our road trip across North Korea, 773 00:46:27,150 --> 00:46:29,270 and head south from Pyongyang. 774 00:46:31,470 --> 00:46:35,710 As we leave, we pass under the imposing Arch of Reunification. 775 00:46:39,030 --> 00:46:40,230 Wow! 776 00:46:43,710 --> 00:46:46,030 It's impressive. 777 00:46:46,030 --> 00:46:50,030 Reunification of Korea might be the aim of the leadership, 778 00:46:50,030 --> 00:46:53,630 but the reality is this is still a country divided. 779 00:46:55,950 --> 00:46:59,310 The arch marks the start of the road that will take me directly 780 00:46:59,310 --> 00:47:01,510 to the border with South Korea. 781 00:47:01,510 --> 00:47:04,430 And so far, traffic doesn't seem to be a problem. 782 00:47:05,510 --> 00:47:10,630 This is the Reunification Highway which runs about 100 miles 783 00:47:10,630 --> 00:47:13,790 from Pyongyang to the demilitarised zone. 784 00:47:15,030 --> 00:47:16,790 Well, I suppose sadly, 785 00:47:16,790 --> 00:47:20,190 because reunification hasn't happened yet, 786 00:47:20,190 --> 00:47:22,270 this road is almost empty. 787 00:47:22,270 --> 00:47:25,870 There is hardly a single vehicle on a six lane highway. 788 00:47:27,750 --> 00:47:29,150 Miles of empty road. 789 00:47:32,870 --> 00:47:37,830 I'm heading 100 miles south to the DMZ, the demilitarised zone, 790 00:47:37,830 --> 00:47:39,910 a two and a half mile wide border 791 00:47:39,910 --> 00:47:42,630 that splits the Korean peninsula in two. 792 00:47:44,870 --> 00:47:49,070 With me are my two guides, Kyung-chul and Soo-young. 793 00:47:52,110 --> 00:47:56,310 After three hours, we arrive at the joint security area, 794 00:47:56,310 --> 00:47:58,030 the one place on the DMZ 795 00:47:58,030 --> 00:48:02,190 where you can cross from one side of Korea to the other. 796 00:48:03,110 --> 00:48:05,470 Looking after me is the rather intimidating 797 00:48:05,470 --> 00:48:08,230 Senior Lieutenant Hwang Myong Jin. 798 00:48:23,950 --> 00:48:28,470 The demilitarised zone was created as a result of the Korean War 799 00:48:28,470 --> 00:48:30,430 in the 1950s. 800 00:48:30,430 --> 00:48:33,710 Like most people in the West, I learnt that the war started 801 00:48:33,710 --> 00:48:37,230 when North Korea invaded South Korea, who were then defended 802 00:48:37,230 --> 00:48:39,510 by the UN and America. 803 00:48:39,510 --> 00:48:42,550 But the senior lieutenant sees it rather differently. 804 00:49:04,950 --> 00:49:07,550 But really, nobody won the Korean War. 805 00:49:07,550 --> 00:49:11,470 There's just been a ceasefire for over 60 years. 806 00:49:13,550 --> 00:49:17,030 It's interesting to hear your side of it, 807 00:49:17,030 --> 00:49:21,270 because I was ten years old when the war, 808 00:49:21,270 --> 00:49:25,470 the Armistice ended the conflict in 1953, 809 00:49:25,470 --> 00:49:27,950 and we were told we had won. 810 00:49:27,950 --> 00:49:31,550 And you believe you had won. So, there we are. 811 00:49:46,390 --> 00:49:51,030 Well, I would say there are wolves on both sides, so it's a... 812 00:49:51,030 --> 00:49:52,790 You know... 813 00:49:52,790 --> 00:49:54,790 Neither side won. 814 00:49:57,750 --> 00:50:01,790 Our minders are not particularly happy with me questioning 815 00:50:01,790 --> 00:50:05,790 who won the war, so we walk on to what is probably the most 816 00:50:05,790 --> 00:50:08,990 militarily and politically sensitive area in the whole 817 00:50:08,990 --> 00:50:10,750 of the Korean peninsula. 818 00:50:12,310 --> 00:50:16,550 These blue UN conference rooms are the only place you can walk 819 00:50:16,550 --> 00:50:19,590 between North and South Korea. 820 00:50:19,590 --> 00:50:22,830 The border's marked by the raised concrete line in the middle 821 00:50:22,830 --> 00:50:23,950 of the huts. 822 00:50:32,790 --> 00:50:38,390 I've been here once before, from the other side, in 1996. 823 00:50:40,870 --> 00:50:43,670 22 years ago, while filming in South Korea, 824 00:50:43,670 --> 00:50:47,550 I stood on the other side of the border as part of a tour group. 825 00:50:47,550 --> 00:50:49,750 Escorted by American soldiers, 826 00:50:49,750 --> 00:50:52,710 North Korea seemed an impenetrable land, 827 00:50:52,710 --> 00:50:55,470 but I've always wanted to see it for myself. 828 00:50:55,470 --> 00:50:57,950 If you wish to make a crossing into North Korea, 829 00:50:57,950 --> 00:50:59,710 please do so at that end of the table. 830 00:51:01,030 --> 00:51:02,310 North Korea. 831 00:51:04,510 --> 00:51:07,870 And more than two decades on, here I am. 832 00:51:07,870 --> 00:51:10,910 This time crossing from north to south. 833 00:51:12,070 --> 00:51:14,190 The atmosphere is still tense. 834 00:51:22,070 --> 00:51:25,190 So, this is 22 years later. 835 00:51:25,190 --> 00:51:29,230 I remember thinking then that, you know, I... 836 00:51:29,230 --> 00:51:31,670 It was like it was presented as a blank wall there, 837 00:51:31,670 --> 00:51:34,670 from which you would get no response at all, 838 00:51:34,670 --> 00:51:37,110 and yet I felt I wanted to know more. 839 00:51:37,110 --> 00:51:39,470 You had to know more, you can't just have one side 840 00:51:39,470 --> 00:51:42,750 of the story, you've got to look at the other side of the story. 841 00:51:42,750 --> 00:51:44,230 So, it's rather... 842 00:51:46,470 --> 00:51:49,310 I'm rather pleased that I'm given the chance, 843 00:51:49,310 --> 00:51:53,590 have been given the chance today to see the other side as well. 844 00:51:54,990 --> 00:51:59,750 So, this time I don't have to go back and out the door 845 00:51:59,750 --> 00:52:02,350 as we did before with a large group of people. 846 00:52:02,350 --> 00:52:08,190 I can come in on my own and walk over into North Korea, 847 00:52:08,190 --> 00:52:11,070 and I can stay here for a bit and probably have my lunch here. 848 00:52:13,430 --> 00:52:15,110 And that... I think that's... 849 00:52:17,350 --> 00:52:20,670 I feel that's an achievement of some kind. 850 00:52:20,670 --> 00:52:23,030 For all of us. 851 00:52:24,230 --> 00:52:28,150 Sadly, these huts represent a massive failure of diplomacy, 852 00:52:28,150 --> 00:52:33,230 and since 1953, North Korea has found it necessary to create 853 00:52:33,230 --> 00:52:36,470 one of the biggest armies in the world. 854 00:52:36,470 --> 00:52:40,710 It reportedly spends 25% of its GDP on the military 855 00:52:40,710 --> 00:52:44,670 and its notorious nuclear weapons programme. 856 00:52:44,670 --> 00:52:48,110 None of this makes for good small talk. 857 00:52:48,110 --> 00:52:53,470 Nuclear warheads and nuclear missiles have cost your country 858 00:52:53,470 --> 00:52:55,270 a lot of money to develop. 859 00:53:04,190 --> 00:53:08,670 Hopefully, there are signs that there may be a change 860 00:53:08,670 --> 00:53:13,870 in relations between your side and America. 861 00:53:13,870 --> 00:53:15,230 Is this good news? 862 00:53:20,510 --> 00:53:27,310 Well, I hope that people recognise that we don't really need wars 863 00:53:27,310 --> 00:53:30,270 and armies and weapons. 864 00:53:30,270 --> 00:53:33,870 We should understand each other by meeting each other, 865 00:53:33,870 --> 00:53:36,710 talking to each other, sharing our experience 866 00:53:36,710 --> 00:53:38,870 rather than fighting each other. 867 00:53:38,870 --> 00:53:42,470 It's a simple message and, you know, 868 00:53:42,470 --> 00:53:45,830 I hope one day more people will understand it. 869 00:53:52,630 --> 00:53:56,430 Well, it's good to meet you and I hope you're successful 870 00:53:56,430 --> 00:53:58,550 with no more loss of life, you know? 871 00:54:02,390 --> 00:54:05,470 After this, the guides seemed to relax. 872 00:54:05,470 --> 00:54:09,310 If only the real peace talks could end this well. 873 00:54:09,310 --> 00:54:13,510 A sad legacy of the Korean War is that most of North Korea 874 00:54:13,510 --> 00:54:15,710 was destroyed by American bombing, 875 00:54:15,710 --> 00:54:18,670 leaving few reminders of what was here before. 876 00:54:20,630 --> 00:54:24,390 But just a couple of miles away from the DMZ is a town 877 00:54:24,390 --> 00:54:27,750 that 1,000 years ago was the capital of Korea. 878 00:54:33,030 --> 00:54:34,590 This is Kaesong. 879 00:54:39,110 --> 00:54:42,670 During the Korean War it was part of South Korea, 880 00:54:42,670 --> 00:54:45,110 so was spared American bombardment. 881 00:54:50,710 --> 00:54:55,070 And this 1,000-year-old Confucian University 882 00:54:55,070 --> 00:54:59,030 is a rare reminder of Korea's ancient past. 883 00:54:59,030 --> 00:55:02,230 Something historian Kim Yong-hui knows well. 884 00:55:03,550 --> 00:55:07,190 Don't they feel sad that there are so few places 885 00:55:07,190 --> 00:55:10,150 like this where you can see their history? 886 00:55:29,830 --> 00:55:33,870 Is it important to people of the DPRK 887 00:55:33,870 --> 00:55:36,470 to remember the long history? 888 00:56:01,150 --> 00:56:04,310 Just a few minutes away is my hotel. 889 00:56:04,310 --> 00:56:08,190 Very different to where I've been staying in Pyongyang. 890 00:56:08,190 --> 00:56:09,750 Ah! 891 00:56:09,750 --> 00:56:11,670 That looks nice and cosy, doesn't it? 892 00:56:11,670 --> 00:56:12,670 It's good. 893 00:56:18,670 --> 00:56:22,150 The buildings in the hotel are over 100 years old, 894 00:56:22,150 --> 00:56:25,670 and as night falls, the guides and I are entertained 895 00:56:25,670 --> 00:56:28,510 by a night of Korean traditions. 896 00:56:28,510 --> 00:56:33,830 They are now bashing the boiled rice to make it more sticky. 897 00:56:33,830 --> 00:56:35,590 Ah, this is an old tradition, is it? 898 00:56:35,590 --> 00:56:37,230 Yes. 899 00:56:37,230 --> 00:56:39,910 Go on, show me how you... 900 00:56:39,910 --> 00:56:44,150 It's actually an unusual opportunity for us to do this. 901 00:56:44,150 --> 00:56:45,950 You're in good form, you're in good shape. 902 00:56:45,950 --> 00:56:48,270 Soo-young, be careful. 903 00:56:52,230 --> 00:56:53,950 Kyung-chul, you're fantastic. 904 00:56:57,190 --> 00:57:00,270 There's more on your mallet than there is on the... 905 00:57:00,270 --> 00:57:01,790 Wow! 906 00:57:01,790 --> 00:57:04,030 Lets see how heavy it is. 907 00:57:04,030 --> 00:57:06,950 You have to do it with this hand, OK. 908 00:57:11,390 --> 00:57:12,510 I think that's... 909 00:57:12,510 --> 00:57:15,190 Actually, I've got a doctor's note! 910 00:57:15,190 --> 00:57:16,630 A bad shoulder! 911 00:57:18,470 --> 00:57:19,710 Yes. 912 00:57:19,710 --> 00:57:20,750 Take a bite. 913 00:57:22,630 --> 00:57:24,110 Mmm. 914 00:57:24,110 --> 00:57:26,710 I took great efforts to bash this. 915 00:57:26,710 --> 00:57:31,350 Yes, actually, it's still got the marks of your mallet on this. 916 00:57:33,910 --> 00:57:37,470 Kaesong has taken me back to North Korea's past, 917 00:57:37,470 --> 00:57:40,790 but tomorrow I'll be travelling towards its future. 918 00:57:51,710 --> 00:57:56,790 The next morning it's time to leave North Korea's history behind us. 919 00:57:56,790 --> 00:58:01,230 We're driving 300 miles to the beach town of Wonsan, 920 00:58:01,230 --> 00:58:06,390 a place which could play a large role in the DPRK of tomorrow. 921 00:58:08,830 --> 00:58:10,790 But the roads are getting worse. 922 00:58:13,550 --> 00:58:15,750 Just about sort of halfway now. 923 00:58:16,870 --> 00:58:22,950 This is the main road, and yet it's pretty rough. 924 00:58:22,950 --> 00:58:26,030 The surfaces can be quite bouncy. 925 00:58:40,030 --> 00:58:41,790 I have this slightly... 926 00:58:43,470 --> 00:58:45,670 You were nodding off there, weren't you? No. 927 00:58:45,670 --> 00:58:47,710 No, I do, I do. 928 00:58:47,710 --> 00:58:50,150 I'm surprised you can sleep on a road like this! 929 00:58:52,430 --> 00:58:56,310 Winding through the mountains with the sea at the end of it, 930 00:58:56,310 --> 00:58:57,830 it's quite an adventure. 931 00:58:57,830 --> 00:59:01,150 I associate the sea with holidays. 932 00:59:01,150 --> 00:59:05,550 Do you have summer holidays here as well, holidays when you go 933 00:59:05,550 --> 00:59:08,030 away with your families? 934 00:59:08,030 --> 00:59:11,910 We have... We working people have 15 days vacation 935 00:59:11,910 --> 00:59:15,830 and we can choose any day off. 936 00:59:15,830 --> 00:59:18,990 I go to... 937 00:59:18,990 --> 00:59:22,710 I usually go to the sea or beach with my friends. 938 00:59:22,710 --> 00:59:26,390 Do you go with your family, your mother and father, or...? 939 00:59:26,390 --> 00:59:30,230 Yeah, I got married last year in February, so... 940 00:59:30,230 --> 00:59:32,190 PHONE RINGS Oh, there she is! 941 00:59:32,190 --> 00:59:34,590 That's his wife, he can't get away! 942 00:59:38,190 --> 00:59:42,550 After a few hours we stopped for lunch next to a reservoir, 943 00:59:42,550 --> 00:59:48,350 and for a moment I could almost feel I'm beside a lake in Switzerland. 944 00:59:48,350 --> 00:59:51,790 Well, we've just stopped for lunch at this rather idyllic spot. 945 00:59:51,790 --> 00:59:54,750 It's halfway between Pyongyang and Wonsan, 946 00:59:54,750 --> 00:59:57,270 and it's turned into a beautiful day. 947 00:59:57,270 --> 01:00:01,510 A strong breeze cleared the skies, lovely mountain scenery 948 01:00:01,510 --> 01:00:03,750 and we've got about halfway to go now. 949 01:00:03,750 --> 01:00:05,830 About another 80 or 90 K, 950 01:00:05,830 --> 01:00:10,470 so I'll be on my way with my team of constant attendants. 951 01:00:17,670 --> 01:00:20,630 After a few more tortuous hours on the road, 952 01:00:20,630 --> 01:00:23,990 we finally arrive in the coastal town of Wonsan. 953 01:00:25,190 --> 01:00:28,150 A city at the centre of Kim Jong-un's plans 954 01:00:28,150 --> 01:00:30,910 to transform the North Korean economy. 955 01:00:32,230 --> 01:00:34,390 Palin. Mr Palin. 956 01:00:34,390 --> 01:00:35,630 Thank you. 957 01:00:42,110 --> 01:00:45,070 I'm hoping the ping-pong won't keep me up! 958 01:00:55,630 --> 01:00:58,790 North Korea might be a country that has closed itself 959 01:00:58,790 --> 01:01:03,030 from the outside world, but paradoxically, it's also trying 960 01:01:03,030 --> 01:01:07,910 to restyle itself as an international beach destination. 961 01:01:09,070 --> 01:01:11,230 A few miles away from my hotel, 962 01:01:11,230 --> 01:01:13,510 Kim Jong-un has ambitious plans 963 01:01:13,510 --> 01:01:16,830 to turn Wonsan into the Costa del Korea. 964 01:01:28,950 --> 01:01:33,230 There is a huge construction project here in Wonsan to create 965 01:01:33,230 --> 01:01:36,350 a new resort and a massive amount of workers have been brought 966 01:01:36,350 --> 01:01:37,590 into the city. 967 01:01:37,590 --> 01:01:40,950 And these women here are here every morning, and other groups 968 01:01:40,950 --> 01:01:45,990 all over the city, to encourage the workers to build 969 01:01:45,990 --> 01:01:49,230 this extraordinary place in extraordinarily fast time. 970 01:01:52,230 --> 01:01:55,070 I can't see it happening for HS2, 971 01:01:55,070 --> 01:01:58,190 but maybe they'll learn a thing or two. 972 01:02:01,190 --> 01:02:04,030 Holidays to North Korea might sound unlikely, 973 01:02:04,030 --> 01:02:07,550 but it's already a popular destination for the Chinese, 974 01:02:07,550 --> 01:02:12,150 and international tourism is seen as a potential future growth area. 975 01:02:13,630 --> 01:02:17,870 This huge development of luxury beach hotels, conference centres 976 01:02:17,870 --> 01:02:21,750 and golf courses should be completed by the end of 2019. 977 01:02:23,030 --> 01:02:25,910 Book now to avoid disappointment. 978 01:02:25,910 --> 01:02:29,950 And visitors won't have to endure a four hour drive to get here, 979 01:02:29,950 --> 01:02:33,830 because they've already built an international airport. 980 01:02:35,990 --> 01:02:37,910 It's all ready to go. 981 01:02:37,910 --> 01:02:41,070 There's even the first advert I've seen here. 982 01:02:42,350 --> 01:02:46,310 But there's a distinct lack of passengers... 983 01:02:46,310 --> 01:02:48,590 ..or planes. 984 01:02:51,590 --> 01:02:54,990 But what makes this Mary Celeste of airports even more bizarre 985 01:02:54,990 --> 01:02:58,630 is that all the shops and bars are fully staffed, 986 01:02:58,630 --> 01:03:01,270 despite there being no customers. 987 01:03:04,110 --> 01:03:06,830 I suspect they're here for our benefit. 988 01:03:11,430 --> 01:03:16,150 Nothing has confounded my expectations of the DPRK 989 01:03:16,150 --> 01:03:19,550 as much as this gleaming new airport, 990 01:03:19,550 --> 01:03:23,950 and it seems to me it's a statement of intent 991 01:03:23,950 --> 01:03:27,310 that DPRK is going out to the world. 992 01:03:27,310 --> 01:03:28,470 Come here. 993 01:03:28,470 --> 01:03:30,830 In order to fill this place, they've got to have people 994 01:03:30,830 --> 01:03:34,390 from all over the world coming to the country, so it means 995 01:03:34,390 --> 01:03:37,510 that the country itself will have to be seen by the rest 996 01:03:37,510 --> 01:03:41,710 of the world as the benign and welcoming host rather than the, 997 01:03:41,710 --> 01:03:44,150 you know, possible bad boy. 998 01:03:51,670 --> 01:03:55,470 But I wonder if international tourists will want to travel 999 01:03:55,470 --> 01:03:58,750 to a country that is renowned for food shortages, 1000 01:03:58,750 --> 01:04:00,310 famine and poverty. 1001 01:04:04,550 --> 01:04:07,870 With a landscape that is three quarters mountain, 1002 01:04:07,870 --> 01:04:12,590 North Korea has always struggled to produce enough food for its people. 1003 01:04:14,710 --> 01:04:20,030 This is the Chonsam Cooperative Farm, a few miles outside of Wonsan, 1004 01:04:20,030 --> 01:04:23,310 and I'm joining farmer Kim Jang-hui in the fields. 1005 01:04:23,310 --> 01:04:27,950 Annyeong-hasimnikka. 1006 01:04:27,950 --> 01:04:29,630 Michael. Thank you. 1007 01:04:29,630 --> 01:04:31,470 You show me? 1008 01:04:31,470 --> 01:04:32,830 OK. 1009 01:04:32,830 --> 01:04:34,950 Is it rice that you grow mostly? 1010 01:04:46,070 --> 01:04:50,790 Due to a lack of machinery and fuel, most farm work is done by hand. 1011 01:04:55,870 --> 01:04:58,070 You put it on top, yes. 1012 01:04:59,790 --> 01:05:01,150 Ah... 1013 01:05:01,150 --> 01:05:02,790 How am I doing, all right? 1014 01:05:12,590 --> 01:05:14,590 Well, well, that's honest. 1015 01:05:14,590 --> 01:05:15,950 That's honest! 1016 01:05:20,190 --> 01:05:24,950 North Korea's food shortages hit their peak in the mid-1990s 1017 01:05:24,950 --> 01:05:29,630 thanks to a fatal combination of flooding and the end of food imports 1018 01:05:29,630 --> 01:05:32,110 from the collapsing Soviet Union. 1019 01:05:32,110 --> 01:05:36,030 Aid agencies estimate more than a million people starved 1020 01:05:36,030 --> 01:05:40,430 to death, and it's something I've been warned not to bring up. 1021 01:05:40,430 --> 01:05:42,270 We... 1022 01:05:42,270 --> 01:05:46,990 We remember hearing in the West that you had very bad shortage 1023 01:05:46,990 --> 01:05:49,790 of food in the 1990s. 1024 01:05:49,790 --> 01:05:53,230 Are things much better now? 1025 01:05:59,670 --> 01:06:03,350 I'm starting to get used to North Koreans shutting down 1026 01:06:03,350 --> 01:06:05,670 when I ask uncomfortable questions. 1027 01:06:05,670 --> 01:06:07,990 Food supplies might be getting better, 1028 01:06:07,990 --> 01:06:10,670 but malnutrition is widely reported. 1029 01:06:10,670 --> 01:06:13,430 And though the government may not like to admit it, the country 1030 01:06:13,430 --> 01:06:18,470 still requires tens of thousands of tonnes of food aid each year. 1031 01:06:18,470 --> 01:06:20,150 Ah, this is your house. 1032 01:06:20,150 --> 01:06:22,830 It's very nice. Very good... 1033 01:06:28,510 --> 01:06:29,630 Ah. 1034 01:06:29,630 --> 01:06:31,790 Is this your son? 1035 01:06:31,790 --> 01:06:33,990 Annyeong-hasimnikka. 1036 01:06:33,990 --> 01:06:35,630 Nice to meet you. 1037 01:06:35,630 --> 01:06:37,110 Very nice to meet you. 1038 01:06:37,110 --> 01:06:38,910 Very good! 1039 01:06:38,910 --> 01:06:40,590 English, yeah. 1040 01:06:40,590 --> 01:06:42,590 Thank you, thank you. 1041 01:06:46,550 --> 01:06:47,870 Very nice and comfortable. 1042 01:06:52,510 --> 01:06:54,190 Oh, really? 1043 01:06:54,190 --> 01:06:57,110 Yes, there they are. 1044 01:06:57,110 --> 01:07:00,310 So, that's your older brother? Yes. 1045 01:07:00,310 --> 01:07:01,750 What do you want to do? 1046 01:07:01,750 --> 01:07:04,630 Army? 1047 01:07:15,710 --> 01:07:17,150 Yeah. 1048 01:07:17,150 --> 01:07:20,670 Jang-hui offers to make me some food, 1049 01:07:20,670 --> 01:07:24,310 so I offer up my services as an English teacher. 1050 01:07:25,390 --> 01:07:27,070 And what's that? Clock. 1051 01:07:27,070 --> 01:07:28,310 Clock. 1052 01:07:28,310 --> 01:07:29,310 Brilliant. 1053 01:07:30,790 --> 01:07:32,430 And... 1054 01:07:32,430 --> 01:07:34,190 ..what's that? 1055 01:07:34,190 --> 01:07:36,710 Hand. Hand. 1056 01:07:36,710 --> 01:07:38,310 Put out your hand. Hand. 1057 01:07:38,310 --> 01:07:39,950 There you are, hand. Hand. 1058 01:07:39,950 --> 01:07:41,430 Yeah. My hand, your hand. 1059 01:07:41,430 --> 01:07:43,390 Hand. That's good, yeah. 1060 01:07:45,950 --> 01:07:48,110 And let's see... 1061 01:07:48,110 --> 01:07:49,870 What's that? 1062 01:07:49,870 --> 01:07:52,230 Tree. Tree. 1063 01:07:52,230 --> 01:07:53,470 Brilliant. 1064 01:07:53,470 --> 01:07:54,710 That's great. 1065 01:07:55,990 --> 01:07:57,950 Before I leave the farm, 1066 01:07:57,950 --> 01:08:01,350 my host is very insistent I try some local food... 1067 01:08:01,350 --> 01:08:03,070 Oh, this is your kimchi? 1068 01:08:03,070 --> 01:08:04,110 Yeah, kimchi. 1069 01:08:04,110 --> 01:08:07,070 Ah, lovely, yes. Thank you. 1070 01:08:07,070 --> 01:08:10,630 ..under the watchful eye of the great leaders. 1071 01:08:10,630 --> 01:08:12,190 Mmm. Tell me what... 1072 01:08:14,630 --> 01:08:15,870 Mmm. 1073 01:08:21,510 --> 01:08:22,550 It's very good. 1074 01:08:24,230 --> 01:08:26,590 But it's very fiery, very fiery. 1075 01:08:26,590 --> 01:08:28,750 It's like eating fire. 1076 01:08:28,750 --> 01:08:31,070 A lot of chilli in here, I think. 1077 01:08:33,070 --> 01:08:34,710 Yeah. 1078 01:08:42,830 --> 01:08:44,270 Thank you. 1079 01:08:44,270 --> 01:08:48,310 I've been charmed by this family home, but I can't help but think 1080 01:08:48,310 --> 01:08:52,510 this generous hospitality is partly to give me the impression that food 1081 01:08:52,510 --> 01:08:55,350 is in plentiful supply in the DPRK. 1082 01:08:57,590 --> 01:08:59,710 It's been a busy day. 1083 01:09:02,390 --> 01:09:05,870 So busy that it's easy to forget it's my 75th birthday! 1084 01:09:05,870 --> 01:09:10,270 But the guides and my crew are not allowing me to forget. 1085 01:09:10,270 --> 01:09:13,030 SINGING 1086 01:09:13,030 --> 01:09:14,510 CHEERING 1087 01:09:14,510 --> 01:09:16,630 Wow! That is wonderful! Thank you. 1088 01:09:18,230 --> 01:09:21,430 Happy birthday. You know, I never thought I'd make it to my 75th! 1089 01:09:21,430 --> 01:09:24,870 Let alone see... 1090 01:09:24,870 --> 01:09:27,790 Happy birthday. 1091 01:09:27,790 --> 01:09:30,270 ..do some planting in a field in... 1092 01:09:31,990 --> 01:09:33,630 Happy birthday! 1093 01:09:35,670 --> 01:09:40,030 However old you get, there's always a job for you in the DPRK! 1094 01:09:43,390 --> 01:09:45,510 Thank you. Oh, that's lovely. 1095 01:09:58,140 --> 01:10:02,740 The next morning, it's time to leave Wonsan and head to a place 1096 01:10:02,740 --> 01:10:06,500 that some say is the most beautiful in North Korea. 1097 01:10:06,500 --> 01:10:08,540 We're on our way to Mount Kumgang, 1098 01:10:08,540 --> 01:10:13,180 and the weather has sort of changed completely from yesterday. 1099 01:10:13,180 --> 01:10:15,700 In fact, Korean weather is a bit like British weather. 1100 01:10:15,700 --> 01:10:17,900 You get one day of sunshine 1101 01:10:17,900 --> 01:10:20,860 and the next day of gloom and drizzle. 1102 01:10:20,860 --> 01:10:24,740 But it's rather attractive along the coastline here. 1103 01:10:28,500 --> 01:10:31,580 We're driving to the Mount Kumgang region. 1104 01:10:31,580 --> 01:10:35,420 It's just 80 miles away, but with North Korean roads 1105 01:10:35,420 --> 01:10:38,580 it's another backbreaking three hour journey. 1106 01:10:41,460 --> 01:10:44,020 Now we're suddenly into the mountains. 1107 01:10:44,020 --> 01:10:46,540 I say fairly suddenly, 1108 01:10:46,540 --> 01:10:50,300 we have in the last few miles climbed a lot. 1109 01:10:51,740 --> 01:10:53,900 As we arrive in Mount Kumgang, 1110 01:10:53,900 --> 01:10:56,420 the rain clears allowing us to begin 1111 01:10:56,420 --> 01:10:58,700 a hike up the Kuryong waterfall. 1112 01:11:02,700 --> 01:11:06,740 After two weeks, Soo-young feels much more like a friend 1113 01:11:06,740 --> 01:11:08,380 than an official guide. 1114 01:11:09,500 --> 01:11:11,700 The colour of those boulders, 1115 01:11:11,700 --> 01:11:15,220 they're so white compared to all this. 1116 01:11:15,220 --> 01:11:17,180 It's beautiful. 1117 01:11:17,180 --> 01:11:19,220 The rocks are very unique. 1118 01:11:19,220 --> 01:11:20,820 They are, aren't they? 1119 01:11:20,820 --> 01:11:22,860 Do you like doing this, hiking? 1120 01:11:22,860 --> 01:11:27,580 Yes. I like to get some more fresh air 1121 01:11:27,580 --> 01:11:35,500 and relax and thinking of nothing else but nature, it's good. 1122 01:11:35,500 --> 01:11:39,220 For the first time since I arrived in the DPRK, 1123 01:11:39,220 --> 01:11:41,620 I feel a great sense of freedom. 1124 01:11:42,980 --> 01:11:45,700 Wow, look at that. I mean, you know... 1125 01:11:45,700 --> 01:11:47,620 The Rockies or North Korea? 1126 01:11:48,980 --> 01:11:50,420 Take your pick. 1127 01:11:58,860 --> 01:12:02,420 Kumgangsan means Diamond Mountain. 1128 01:12:04,740 --> 01:12:07,780 And even on this cloudy day, it is stunning. 1129 01:12:13,540 --> 01:12:16,260 That's nice, we'll stop down here. Shall we? 1130 01:12:16,260 --> 01:12:18,460 Whoops! Oh... 1131 01:12:18,460 --> 01:12:20,020 Ah! 1132 01:12:20,020 --> 01:12:23,620 I'm hoping this is a good place to have a more open conversation 1133 01:12:23,620 --> 01:12:26,260 about our two countries. 1134 01:12:26,260 --> 01:12:30,020 I find your country so very different from ours, 1135 01:12:30,020 --> 01:12:32,660 and yet sometimes very similar. 1136 01:12:32,660 --> 01:12:37,820 I mean, how do you get your news of what's going on in the country? 1137 01:12:39,540 --> 01:12:46,180 By mass media, TVs and radios and by newspapers as well. 1138 01:12:46,180 --> 01:12:48,540 What do they tell you about Britain? 1139 01:12:48,540 --> 01:12:50,020 How we live? 1140 01:12:50,020 --> 01:12:52,180 Be honest, you can be honest. 1141 01:12:52,180 --> 01:12:54,100 The British... 1142 01:12:54,100 --> 01:12:56,540 We feel... 1143 01:12:56,540 --> 01:12:58,260 Yeah, I mean... 1144 01:12:58,260 --> 01:13:01,660 By appearance, you look so different, but... 1145 01:13:04,940 --> 01:13:07,980 I was thinking about, you know, our way of life 1146 01:13:07,980 --> 01:13:13,060 which is really based on freedom of speech and freedom of thought 1147 01:13:13,060 --> 01:13:16,260 and people can wear what they want and they can dress what they want, 1148 01:13:16,260 --> 01:13:20,860 and they can be as rude as they want about their leaders, you know? 1149 01:13:20,860 --> 01:13:24,860 Presumably you think that's not a good thing. 1150 01:13:26,580 --> 01:13:28,580 It's your freedom, it's your freedom, 1151 01:13:28,580 --> 01:13:29,900 you can do what you want. 1152 01:13:29,900 --> 01:13:33,140 And we have got our own style 1153 01:13:33,140 --> 01:13:36,860 and you have got your own style. 1154 01:13:36,860 --> 01:13:42,860 And your citizens can do what they want, 1155 01:13:42,860 --> 01:13:45,340 and, yes, and... 1156 01:13:45,340 --> 01:13:49,860 And your citizens can do what they want, too? 1157 01:13:49,860 --> 01:13:51,900 Yes. 1158 01:13:51,900 --> 01:13:56,740 I mean, at home, one difference between I suppose your culture 1159 01:13:56,740 --> 01:14:02,860 and ours is that we can be very rude about our leaders. 1160 01:14:02,860 --> 01:14:06,820 Here, I feel you just have a different way 1161 01:14:06,820 --> 01:14:08,820 of looking at things. 1162 01:14:08,820 --> 01:14:12,340 Because our leaders are very great 1163 01:14:12,340 --> 01:14:16,060 and the leaders are not individual. 1164 01:14:16,060 --> 01:14:18,540 They are... 1165 01:14:18,540 --> 01:14:25,060 They represent us, the masses. 1166 01:14:25,060 --> 01:14:30,540 So, we cannot criticise ourselves, can we? 1167 01:14:31,900 --> 01:14:35,180 Criticising our leaders is offending. 1168 01:14:35,180 --> 01:14:39,700 It's like offending, criticise ourselves too. 1169 01:14:41,700 --> 01:14:43,220 What do you think? 1170 01:14:43,220 --> 01:14:45,700 Well, I think my leaders, that sometimes they're good, 1171 01:14:45,700 --> 01:14:50,180 sometimes they're bad and I think they make some wrong decisions 1172 01:14:50,180 --> 01:14:52,740 and occasionally some right decisions. 1173 01:14:52,740 --> 01:14:55,060 And, you know, they're... 1174 01:14:56,820 --> 01:14:58,500 That's the way they are. 1175 01:14:59,940 --> 01:15:04,580 Your leaders, if I may respectfully say, are very different 1176 01:15:04,580 --> 01:15:09,980 and I absolutely respect the respect that you have for your leaders. 1177 01:15:09,980 --> 01:15:12,380 Respect our feelings. Yeah, absolutely. 1178 01:15:12,380 --> 01:15:13,940 Our feelings on respect. 1179 01:15:13,940 --> 01:15:16,500 I wouldn't want to change your feelings at all. 1180 01:15:16,500 --> 01:15:19,820 But it's just been nice to talk about them, really. 1181 01:15:19,820 --> 01:15:22,220 I wouldn't want to change your feelings. 1182 01:15:22,220 --> 01:15:24,860 That's what you feel, and you're an intelligent person. 1183 01:15:24,860 --> 01:15:28,260 And that's why we are so different from you. 1184 01:15:28,260 --> 01:15:30,620 If you find... 1185 01:15:30,620 --> 01:15:33,380 Yeah. But you and I are not that different. 1186 01:15:33,380 --> 01:15:37,580 I mean, we can talk about things and we have a similar intelligence 1187 01:15:37,580 --> 01:15:39,780 about things, but that's good too. 1188 01:15:39,780 --> 01:15:44,140 So, I absolutely respect the respect you have for them and the way 1189 01:15:44,140 --> 01:15:46,460 you feel about them. OK? 1190 01:15:46,460 --> 01:15:47,740 Yes. I really do. 1191 01:15:51,300 --> 01:15:54,940 I know these conversations are not easy for Soo-young, 1192 01:15:54,940 --> 01:15:57,940 but what it has shown me is how every North Korean 1193 01:15:57,940 --> 01:16:01,380 ties their identity to that of the great leaders. 1194 01:16:02,660 --> 01:16:05,820 Although I've had many discussions, 1195 01:16:05,820 --> 01:16:11,100 and Soo-young, my guide, is very chatty 1196 01:16:11,100 --> 01:16:14,820 and she's very funny and we've had quite uninhibited discussions, 1197 01:16:14,820 --> 01:16:18,420 but it's so difficult whenever you get on to any subject 1198 01:16:18,420 --> 01:16:20,580 concerning the leadership. 1199 01:16:20,580 --> 01:16:22,420 I mean, they just stop. 1200 01:16:22,420 --> 01:16:25,180 I think it's just a very, very difficult thing for them 1201 01:16:25,180 --> 01:16:28,340 to talk about, because you don't talk about the leaders. 1202 01:16:28,340 --> 01:16:31,260 As soon as you talk about them, you demean them in some way, 1203 01:16:31,260 --> 01:16:35,420 I think that's what it is, and I'm finding that quite tricky. 1204 01:16:37,540 --> 01:16:42,220 But having said all that, we have been able to film every day, 1205 01:16:42,220 --> 01:16:45,460 we've picked up a lot of material, and I'm a great believer 1206 01:16:45,460 --> 01:16:49,540 that sometimes just seeing the way people look, the way people talk, 1207 01:16:49,540 --> 01:16:53,260 the way they eat, just little glimpses of that, and the way 1208 01:16:53,260 --> 01:16:56,340 they cultivate the farms or whatever, 1209 01:16:56,340 --> 01:17:01,020 it gives you a real insight into what's happening in the country. 1210 01:17:07,540 --> 01:17:11,180 The next morning, we make a speedy return to Wonsan. 1211 01:17:13,180 --> 01:17:16,780 Thankfully, this is my last North Korean road trip. 1212 01:17:18,060 --> 01:17:21,420 After this, I hope to catch a plane from Wonsan Airport 1213 01:17:21,420 --> 01:17:24,460 up to Mount Paektu, the place where the story 1214 01:17:24,460 --> 01:17:26,220 of the Kim dynasty began. 1215 01:17:27,380 --> 01:17:30,260 And when we arrive at the ghost terminal building, 1216 01:17:30,260 --> 01:17:32,780 things seem to have changed. 1217 01:17:32,780 --> 01:17:33,780 Ah... 1218 01:17:34,900 --> 01:17:37,700 There are people everywhere, and a gate. 1219 01:17:38,820 --> 01:17:41,940 Hey, a boarding card. Boarding pass. 1220 01:17:41,940 --> 01:17:43,860 Thank you. Thank you. 1221 01:17:43,860 --> 01:17:45,300 Bye-bye. 1222 01:17:45,300 --> 01:17:49,740 But after checking in, things seem to grind to a halt. 1223 01:17:53,300 --> 01:17:58,620 Well, there's been a bit of a hiccup here, because the mist you can see 1224 01:17:58,620 --> 01:18:01,380 is cloaking Wonsan Airport. 1225 01:18:01,380 --> 01:18:05,900 The plane that's taking us up to Mount Paektu cannot take off 1226 01:18:05,900 --> 01:18:10,140 from Pyongyang to come here until this has all cleared. 1227 01:18:10,140 --> 01:18:14,420 So, we don't quite know when we are going to actually 1228 01:18:14,420 --> 01:18:17,020 be seeing the plane and getting on board. 1229 01:18:17,020 --> 01:18:20,940 So, meanwhile, we just hang around the airport. 1230 01:18:22,140 --> 01:18:25,460 At least it's not going to get too crowded, because this is 1231 01:18:25,460 --> 01:18:27,380 the only flight of the day. 1232 01:18:31,260 --> 01:18:34,940 After our slightly awkward conversation yesterday, 1233 01:18:34,940 --> 01:18:37,700 I'm hoping Soo-young is not too annoyed with me. 1234 01:18:39,900 --> 01:18:42,140 Fish slapping dance. Fish slapping... 1235 01:18:42,140 --> 01:18:44,260 Maybe this might make amends. 1236 01:18:45,580 --> 01:18:50,140 This is what I used to do, a long time ago before I became... 1237 01:18:52,300 --> 01:18:54,020 ..a serious person. 1238 01:19:07,860 --> 01:19:09,140 That's it. 1239 01:19:09,140 --> 01:19:11,860 So is it a live fish or a dead fish? 1240 01:19:12,900 --> 01:19:14,900 Well, it was a dead fish, yes! 1241 01:19:14,900 --> 01:19:16,900 But a live human being. 1242 01:19:16,900 --> 01:19:19,100 I was alive, the fish was dead. It really hit? 1243 01:19:19,100 --> 01:19:20,700 Yeah. It hit quite hard. 1244 01:19:20,700 --> 01:19:22,020 It was a big pike. 1245 01:19:24,100 --> 01:19:25,380 So funny! 1246 01:19:28,540 --> 01:19:32,900 But suddenly the airport manager, who frankly has little else to do, 1247 01:19:32,900 --> 01:19:33,980 has some news. 1248 01:19:36,300 --> 01:19:40,300 HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE 1249 01:19:41,420 --> 01:19:43,140 Not yet taking off, but... 1250 01:19:43,140 --> 01:19:45,580 Yeah, it'll be 40 minutes. 1251 01:19:45,580 --> 01:19:50,220 After hours of inertia, there's a sudden rush of activity 1252 01:19:50,220 --> 01:19:52,820 and the plane arrives from Pyongyang. 1253 01:19:54,100 --> 01:19:56,900 Air Koryo, the country's national airline, 1254 01:19:56,900 --> 01:19:59,700 has one of the oldest fleets in the world. 1255 01:19:59,700 --> 01:20:02,540 This one was built in 1967. 1256 01:20:02,540 --> 01:20:04,860 Well, it's happening. 1257 01:20:04,860 --> 01:20:06,460 Here's our plane. 1258 01:20:06,460 --> 01:20:09,420 We think it's an Antonov, a Russian plane. 1259 01:20:12,100 --> 01:20:16,500 It says 6F, but there's no 6F. 1260 01:20:16,500 --> 01:20:19,580 So I think I'll just sit here. 1261 01:20:22,020 --> 01:20:23,900 Finally, we're on our way. 1262 01:20:32,060 --> 01:20:38,100 This 50-year-old plane is taking me 500 miles north, to Mount Paektu, 1263 01:20:38,100 --> 01:20:40,460 close to the border with China. 1264 01:20:43,660 --> 01:20:44,940 It's very comfortable. 1265 01:20:44,940 --> 01:20:47,140 I wouldn't say the seats are functional. 1266 01:20:47,140 --> 01:20:50,220 That's the wonderful thing about them, they've got 1267 01:20:50,220 --> 01:20:53,020 all these nice surfaces, it's carpet on the floor. 1268 01:20:53,020 --> 01:20:57,260 Look at this sort of wallpaper which is, you know... 1269 01:20:57,260 --> 01:21:01,340 This is 1960s travel, not 21st-century travel. 1270 01:21:01,340 --> 01:21:04,500 You actually feel quite comfortable here, in economy, 1271 01:21:04,500 --> 01:21:06,860 flying to Mount Paektu on Koryo airlines. 1272 01:21:09,060 --> 01:21:13,620 After a while, the landscape below becomes increasingly mountainous. 1273 01:21:20,660 --> 01:21:26,180 I'm relieved when the wheels eventually touch down. 1274 01:21:26,180 --> 01:21:30,380 As we disembark, I find myself in a very different looking part 1275 01:21:30,380 --> 01:21:32,020 of the country. 1276 01:21:35,820 --> 01:21:39,380 Well, Mount Paektu, the mountain we've come all this way to see, 1277 01:21:39,380 --> 01:21:43,060 is just there, just below where the sun is setting. 1278 01:21:43,060 --> 01:21:47,100 It's not one great peak, it's a sort of group of mountains. 1279 01:21:47,100 --> 01:21:51,100 But it's out over there, just where the sun 1280 01:21:51,100 --> 01:21:54,500 and the dark clouds are gathering. 1281 01:21:54,500 --> 01:21:56,860 So you can't actually see it. 1282 01:21:56,860 --> 01:21:58,380 But you can sort of feel it. 1283 01:21:58,380 --> 01:22:02,420 But as the sun sets, the clouds clear, 1284 01:22:02,420 --> 01:22:05,540 and the snowy peaks reveal themselves. 1285 01:22:09,300 --> 01:22:13,540 Ancient Korean legend has it that the mythical leader Dangun, 1286 01:22:13,540 --> 01:22:16,620 who created Korea, was born at Mount Paektu 1287 01:22:16,620 --> 01:22:18,460 thousands of years ago. 1288 01:22:18,460 --> 01:22:22,700 But this area is also home to a slightly more recent legend. 1289 01:22:29,020 --> 01:22:31,300 After we arrive at the hotel, 1290 01:22:31,300 --> 01:22:35,060 our taste buds are tantalised by a barbecue dinner. 1291 01:22:38,580 --> 01:22:40,780 Mm. Oh, good. 1292 01:22:40,780 --> 01:22:46,100 It's basically a potato that's been toasted on the fire. 1293 01:22:46,100 --> 01:22:47,940 So it's quite dark. You can see that. 1294 01:22:47,940 --> 01:22:50,660 Well, you can't see that, and I can't see it. 1295 01:22:50,660 --> 01:22:52,260 I could be eating a dead mouse. 1296 01:22:52,260 --> 01:22:55,060 But actually, I'm told it's a potato. 1297 01:22:57,660 --> 01:22:59,300 It's rather good. 1298 01:22:59,300 --> 01:23:01,060 Thank you. 1299 01:23:04,420 --> 01:23:08,180 It's hard to believe that these rustic surroundings 1300 01:23:08,180 --> 01:23:10,820 gave birth to the ruling Kim Dynasty. 1301 01:23:20,910 --> 01:23:25,670 The next morning, I wake up in the far north of the DPRK 1302 01:23:25,670 --> 01:23:30,950 and at a hotel which I'm not sure often sees actual guests. 1303 01:23:30,950 --> 01:23:35,710 But those who make it this far are probably here to see Mount Paektu, 1304 01:23:35,710 --> 01:23:40,110 a place where Kim Il-sung, the first leader of the DPRK, 1305 01:23:40,110 --> 01:23:42,150 made a name for himself. 1306 01:23:42,150 --> 01:23:43,670 Just a few miles away, 1307 01:23:43,670 --> 01:23:47,870 there are the remains of the camp where he lived with his family. 1308 01:23:53,150 --> 01:23:56,830 I'm given a military guide to show me around the rebuilt camp. 1309 01:24:09,070 --> 01:24:11,950 During the first half of the 20th century, 1310 01:24:11,950 --> 01:24:15,830 Korea was under hostile occupation by Japan. 1311 01:24:15,830 --> 01:24:18,310 Kim Il-sung first gained a reputation 1312 01:24:18,310 --> 01:24:21,190 as a heroic resistance fighter in the 1930s. 1313 01:24:21,190 --> 01:24:26,670 It was also here that the future leader of the DPRK, Kim Jong-il, 1314 01:24:26,670 --> 01:24:28,110 was apparently born. 1315 01:24:56,670 --> 01:24:59,070 Miraculous moment. 1316 01:24:59,070 --> 01:25:01,830 It's a great story, but it's widely thought 1317 01:25:01,830 --> 01:25:05,470 that Kim Jong-il was actually born in Communist Russia. 1318 01:25:05,470 --> 01:25:09,710 And how much fighting Kim Il-sung did here is up for debate. 1319 01:25:11,670 --> 01:25:15,550 But while the West sees the Kim Dynasty as a dictatorship, 1320 01:25:15,550 --> 01:25:19,110 here they're worshipped as heroes, defending their country 1321 01:25:19,110 --> 01:25:21,870 against Japanese and American invaders. 1322 01:25:21,870 --> 01:25:26,070 And it's this version of history that has helped them to hold on 1323 01:25:26,070 --> 01:25:27,550 to power for 70 years. 1324 01:25:29,750 --> 01:25:33,030 Well, that's a pretty sensational view of Mount Paektu. 1325 01:25:33,030 --> 01:25:36,470 This is a place where a lot comes together. 1326 01:25:36,470 --> 01:25:40,310 Thousands of years of Korean history, symbolised, enshrined 1327 01:25:40,310 --> 01:25:44,550 by Mount Paektu itself, and then just behind me here, 1328 01:25:44,550 --> 01:25:49,390 the monument of the founder of the DPRK, Kim Il-sung. 1329 01:25:49,390 --> 01:25:52,390 The past and present, coming together here. 1330 01:25:54,030 --> 01:25:58,870 As I look at Mount Paektu, a place that has been sacred to all Koreans 1331 01:25:58,870 --> 01:26:02,910 for thousands of years, I can't help but wonder if the great leaders 1332 01:26:02,910 --> 01:26:06,910 and their giant statues will be around for quite as long. 1333 01:26:08,550 --> 01:26:10,910 But it's time for me to leave. 1334 01:26:10,910 --> 01:26:15,070 Our plane is ready to take us back to the bright lights of Pyongyang. 1335 01:26:18,950 --> 01:26:22,430 A city that is starting to look towards the future. 1336 01:26:33,950 --> 01:26:36,630 It's my last day in North Korea. 1337 01:26:38,070 --> 01:26:41,590 For 70 years, this country has been hidden from the world. 1338 01:26:41,590 --> 01:26:44,950 But with international relations improving, 1339 01:26:44,950 --> 01:26:49,430 the DPRK is starting to reveal its talents on the global stage. 1340 01:26:50,670 --> 01:26:55,950 No more so than in one of its national sports, taekwondo. 1341 01:27:01,350 --> 01:27:03,670 Invented in Korea in the 1940s, 1342 01:27:03,670 --> 01:27:07,230 North Korea's taekwondo team has rarely been allowed 1343 01:27:07,230 --> 01:27:09,790 to compete at international events. 1344 01:27:09,790 --> 01:27:13,230 But in February, teams from North and South Korea 1345 01:27:13,230 --> 01:27:16,510 performed a joint demonstration of taekwondo 1346 01:27:16,510 --> 01:27:20,470 at the 2018 Winter Olympics, under a unified Korea flag. 1347 01:27:24,910 --> 01:27:27,430 It's not just self-defence, it's demolition. 1348 01:27:37,190 --> 01:27:40,990 Predictably, I've been offered a lesson in the basics. 1349 01:27:42,830 --> 01:27:45,470 My teacher is Kim Yong-sim. 1350 01:27:55,390 --> 01:27:59,710 Hana, dul. 1351 01:27:59,710 --> 01:28:02,630 Hana, dul. Hana, dul. 1352 01:28:02,630 --> 01:28:04,350 It's going to be a long time before I start 1353 01:28:04,350 --> 01:28:06,710 smashing boards, I tell you. 1354 01:28:06,710 --> 01:28:08,910 I can't even stand up properly. 1355 01:28:15,310 --> 01:28:19,110 Have you ever broken any bones or fingers, or toes? 1356 01:28:25,710 --> 01:28:32,910 How important is it to you that the skills of taekwondo 1357 01:28:32,910 --> 01:28:36,750 here in the DPRK are shown to the rest of the world? 1358 01:28:53,870 --> 01:28:58,990 I can see it's going to take a long time for me to learn. 1359 01:29:11,070 --> 01:29:12,870 It might be too late for me, 1360 01:29:12,870 --> 01:29:16,510 but hopefully taekwondo may yet help to open up the world 1361 01:29:16,510 --> 01:29:19,510 for the people of North Korea. 1362 01:29:19,510 --> 01:29:21,190 That's properly nuts! 1363 01:29:23,390 --> 01:29:26,350 During this trip, I've sometimes thought that Pyongyang 1364 01:29:26,350 --> 01:29:29,070 has a slightly dated feel to it. 1365 01:29:29,070 --> 01:29:32,270 But there's one area I've yet to explore - 1366 01:29:32,270 --> 01:29:35,950 A brand-new development of apartments, shops and restaurants 1367 01:29:35,950 --> 01:29:38,270 on the bank of the Taedong River. 1368 01:29:40,710 --> 01:29:44,430 This is the North Korea of the 21st century. 1369 01:29:44,430 --> 01:29:45,710 And it's changing. 1370 01:29:47,110 --> 01:29:49,350 This is called Mirae Street, which means, I think, 1371 01:29:49,350 --> 01:29:51,110 Future Scientists Street. 1372 01:29:52,710 --> 01:29:59,150 And it's one of the sort of miracles of the DPRK, because this street, 1373 01:29:59,150 --> 01:30:04,150 which contains these amazing blocks, was all built in a year. 1374 01:30:06,350 --> 01:30:10,590 It takes me about a year to get the bedroom painted, 1375 01:30:10,590 --> 01:30:14,750 let alone build an entire modern city street. 1376 01:30:18,190 --> 01:30:22,230 But even just to build this stuff that quickly 1377 01:30:22,230 --> 01:30:27,470 shows ambition and a kind of sense of national commitment. 1378 01:30:28,950 --> 01:30:32,590 Commitment to making this look like a modern city. 1379 01:30:33,990 --> 01:30:37,910 Since becoming leader, Kim Jong-un has promised to revitalise 1380 01:30:37,910 --> 01:30:40,430 the economy of the DPRK. 1381 01:30:40,430 --> 01:30:44,470 Many people say that free market forces are slowly taking hold 1382 01:30:44,470 --> 01:30:47,350 as the old ideals of communism slip away. 1383 01:30:48,430 --> 01:30:49,910 Maybe in five years' time, 1384 01:30:49,910 --> 01:30:54,790 this street will be full of McDonald's and adverts for iPhones. 1385 01:30:54,790 --> 01:30:56,990 If so, I'm glad to have seen it 1386 01:30:56,990 --> 01:30:59,870 before it becomes like everywhere else. 1387 01:31:09,190 --> 01:31:12,510 When I first looked out over Pyongyang, 1388 01:31:12,510 --> 01:31:16,750 I can remember feeling very wary, apprehensive. 1389 01:31:16,750 --> 01:31:22,110 It was all very unfamiliar and slightly threatening. 1390 01:31:22,110 --> 01:31:27,350 But now, two weeks later, I must say I feel much more relaxed. 1391 01:31:27,350 --> 01:31:29,710 I feel almost part of the city. 1392 01:31:29,710 --> 01:31:31,230 I feel I know it much more. 1393 01:31:31,230 --> 01:31:33,830 I certainly feel less threatened. 1394 01:31:33,830 --> 01:31:36,310 I know that the ideology here 1395 01:31:36,310 --> 01:31:39,670 permeates every single aspect of life. 1396 01:31:39,670 --> 01:31:44,430 And I know that we've not seen everything. 1397 01:31:44,430 --> 01:31:47,950 And yet, what I have seen feels... 1398 01:31:49,230 --> 01:31:51,150 Well, it doesn't feel grim. 1399 01:31:51,150 --> 01:31:55,590 It doesn't feel brutal as some would have us think. 1400 01:31:55,590 --> 01:31:59,830 It's actually, I would say, not an unhappy place. 1401 01:31:59,830 --> 01:32:04,230 But it feels to me this country is at a crossroads. 1402 01:32:04,230 --> 01:32:07,470 On the one hand, it wants to open up to the wider world, 1403 01:32:07,470 --> 01:32:10,070 to expand culturally and economically. 1404 01:32:10,070 --> 01:32:13,310 But on the other, the system here seems intent on keeping 1405 01:32:13,310 --> 01:32:16,990 the population under the type of authoritarian rule 1406 01:32:16,990 --> 01:32:20,950 that can only persist in a closed and repressive society. 1407 01:32:22,430 --> 01:32:24,750 At some point in the near future, 1408 01:32:24,750 --> 01:32:29,590 I feel the DPRK will have to decide which way it wants to go. 1409 01:32:32,030 --> 01:32:33,430 All right, thank you. 1410 01:32:33,430 --> 01:32:35,190 Thank you for everything. 1411 01:32:35,190 --> 01:32:38,190 Yes, yes, I'm sure you'll be a film star. 1412 01:32:38,190 --> 01:32:39,590 And you have been brilliant 1413 01:32:39,590 --> 01:32:41,190 My lovely companion. 1414 01:32:41,190 --> 01:32:43,350 I wish you all the best. 1415 01:32:43,350 --> 01:32:44,670 Thank you for looking after me. 1416 01:32:44,670 --> 01:32:46,550 You made an old man very happy. 1417 01:32:46,550 --> 01:32:48,910 Anyway, lovely. Hope to see you again. 1418 01:32:48,910 --> 01:32:50,430 See you again. See you. 1419 01:32:50,430 --> 01:32:51,950 Come to London. 1420 01:32:51,950 --> 01:32:53,190 We will. 1421 01:32:53,190 --> 01:32:56,070 I would love to show the guides my world, 1422 01:32:56,070 --> 01:32:58,430 to see what they would make of it all. 1423 01:32:58,430 --> 01:33:00,550 For now, that's not possible. 1424 01:33:01,750 --> 01:33:03,990 But events are moving fast 1425 01:33:03,990 --> 01:33:08,350 and I hope positive change is coming to the people of North Korea. 1426 01:33:37,670 --> 01:33:40,670 Subtitles by Red Bee Media