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Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:02,500 --> 00:00:06,380 Can there be a country more shrouded in mystery and fear 2 00:00:06,380 --> 00:00:07,620 than North Korea? 3 00:00:08,820 --> 00:00:14,500 It's a brutal dictatorship. Many say it's intent on nuclear war. 4 00:00:14,500 --> 00:00:18,700 A dystopian land of military parades, repression 5 00:00:18,700 --> 00:00:21,540 and barbaric prison camps. 6 00:00:21,540 --> 00:00:25,260 But I've been given an unprecedented opportunity 7 00:00:25,260 --> 00:00:28,260 to go beyond the politics, 8 00:00:28,260 --> 00:00:33,060 and visit the country 25 million people call home... 9 00:00:33,060 --> 00:00:36,140 CHEERING 10 00:00:36,140 --> 00:00:40,140 ..to travel 1,300 miles, across a land of colourful cities... 11 00:00:40,140 --> 00:00:42,300 Wow! 12 00:00:42,300 --> 00:00:44,500 ..and epic landscapes. 13 00:00:44,500 --> 00:00:46,780 The Rockies or North Korea. Take your pick. 14 00:00:48,220 --> 00:00:51,220 To understand the so-called hermit kingdom... 15 00:00:53,180 --> 00:00:55,340 ..I want to engage with its people... 16 00:00:55,340 --> 00:00:58,580 My name is Michael. Michael Palin. 17 00:00:58,580 --> 00:01:01,980 ..at a unique time in the country's history. 18 00:01:01,980 --> 00:01:07,300 There may be a change in relations between your side and America. 19 00:01:07,300 --> 00:01:10,580 Filming under supervision, I'll need to tread carefully. 20 00:01:10,580 --> 00:01:14,620 A good leader should be able to deal with criticism. 21 00:01:14,620 --> 00:01:18,860 That's where we are so different from you. 22 00:01:18,860 --> 00:01:23,260 But this will turn out to be the most revealing journey of my life. 23 00:01:29,820 --> 00:01:31,500 CAR HORN HONKS 24 00:01:31,500 --> 00:01:34,140 My journey begins in Beijing. 25 00:01:34,140 --> 00:01:38,140 China is one of North Korea's few allies in the world. 26 00:01:38,140 --> 00:01:39,860 And more importantly for me, 27 00:01:39,860 --> 00:01:42,740 it's the place where you can catch an overnight train 28 00:01:42,740 --> 00:01:45,540 to its capital, Pyongyang. 29 00:01:45,540 --> 00:01:47,900 Now, I have to find K... 30 00:01:47,900 --> 00:01:50,820 K27 is the platform. 31 00:01:50,820 --> 00:01:52,180 Ah, there we are! I see it. 32 00:01:54,860 --> 00:01:57,580 Two, four, five, six, seven... 33 00:01:59,620 --> 00:02:01,140 Two must be down there. 34 00:02:02,420 --> 00:02:03,940 We've lost platform two. 35 00:02:05,700 --> 00:02:08,580 Let's find another one like it. 36 00:02:08,580 --> 00:02:10,940 I'll just follow everyone, I think. 37 00:02:10,940 --> 00:02:13,660 I presume they're all getting the same train. 38 00:02:13,660 --> 00:02:16,780 Most of my fellow passengers are Chinese, 39 00:02:16,780 --> 00:02:22,060 and are travelling to Dandong, a city on the border with North Korea. 40 00:02:22,060 --> 00:02:23,580 The train is down here now. 41 00:02:23,580 --> 00:02:27,820 It was two, it was four. It's now six. 42 00:02:27,820 --> 00:02:30,940 And coaches 1 to 16... 43 00:02:30,940 --> 00:02:33,700 Oh, blimey! 44 00:02:33,700 --> 00:02:35,420 There we are. Number 11. 45 00:02:40,980 --> 00:02:43,620 HE MUTTERS TO SELF 46 00:02:43,620 --> 00:02:47,180 OK. HE GROANS 47 00:02:47,180 --> 00:02:48,180 Ah! 48 00:02:50,380 --> 00:02:51,380 Phew! 49 00:02:53,100 --> 00:02:57,340 Well, that was quite an ordeal, actually getting onto the train. 50 00:03:06,580 --> 00:03:09,420 We're on the move, and dead on time. 51 00:03:11,740 --> 00:03:14,180 I've even got a spittoon. 52 00:03:14,180 --> 00:03:16,700 HE CHUCKLES 53 00:03:16,700 --> 00:03:18,420 They never think of that on Virgin. 54 00:03:22,980 --> 00:03:27,140 This train will take me 500 miles to the North Korean border. 55 00:03:28,380 --> 00:03:30,300 After a quick change of train, 56 00:03:30,300 --> 00:03:33,540 I'll then travel a further 200 miles to Pyongyang. 57 00:03:36,340 --> 00:03:39,860 I'm about to enter a country that has essentially been cut off 58 00:03:39,860 --> 00:03:43,140 from the outside world for 70 years. 59 00:03:45,260 --> 00:03:48,580 It's quite different going to North Korea, I think, 60 00:03:48,580 --> 00:03:50,660 than anywhere else I've been. 61 00:03:50,660 --> 00:03:53,340 I've never been to one country where there's been quite so much of 62 00:03:53,340 --> 00:03:55,300 a sort of blackout on information. 63 00:03:55,300 --> 00:04:01,180 So, what I hope is that, although it will be controlled - I know that, 64 00:04:01,180 --> 00:04:03,980 all our movements and all that - that we'll get beyond that 65 00:04:03,980 --> 00:04:11,060 and actually get to know, or meet or just observe the people themselves, 66 00:04:11,060 --> 00:04:15,300 the North Koreans who live there and work there and play there 67 00:04:15,300 --> 00:04:17,740 and bring up their children there and go to school there. 68 00:04:17,740 --> 00:04:21,980 You know, if we can do that, if I can get beyond the politics, 69 00:04:21,980 --> 00:04:26,820 beyond - if you like - a very strict regime, I want to find, hopefully, 70 00:04:26,820 --> 00:04:30,220 the people who live this see us as fellow human beings. 71 00:04:31,300 --> 00:04:34,420 Cos that's the point of travelling and going around the world. 72 00:04:34,420 --> 00:04:37,860 It's to see that people, actually, are much closer to us than we think. 73 00:04:44,980 --> 00:04:46,740 After a bumpy night... 74 00:04:48,540 --> 00:04:50,900 ..the train pulls into Dandong Station. 75 00:04:54,780 --> 00:04:57,660 We're now only a few hundred metres from the border. 76 00:05:00,700 --> 00:05:05,580 After clearing Chinese customs, it's time to board the North Korean train 77 00:05:05,580 --> 00:05:07,580 that will take me to Pyongyang. 78 00:05:08,740 --> 00:05:13,020 Right, a lot of merchandise being loaded on down there. 79 00:05:13,020 --> 00:05:15,660 TRAIN HORN 80 00:05:15,660 --> 00:05:16,660 I think we're going. 81 00:05:18,340 --> 00:05:19,500 This is it. 82 00:05:20,700 --> 00:05:26,500 The Sino-Korea Friendship Bridge is all that separates us from the DPRK, 83 00:05:26,500 --> 00:05:28,980 the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. 84 00:05:32,740 --> 00:05:34,940 As we cross the Yalu River, 85 00:05:34,940 --> 00:05:38,500 a stark difference between these two countries becomes clear. 86 00:05:40,980 --> 00:05:42,300 I mean, you can just see... 87 00:05:43,860 --> 00:05:46,620 ..the Chinese shores full of tower blocks. 88 00:05:49,180 --> 00:05:52,580 So it is an extraordinary... That contrast is amazing - 89 00:05:52,580 --> 00:05:56,500 the sort of high-rise Chinese northern shore, 90 00:05:56,500 --> 00:05:57,940 and the southern shore. 91 00:06:01,620 --> 00:06:05,060 It's a completely different feel to it - much more open, low-rise. 92 00:06:06,860 --> 00:06:09,740 I suppose now, we are more than halfway across the river, 93 00:06:09,740 --> 00:06:12,180 so we're in North Korea. 94 00:06:19,340 --> 00:06:22,540 Immediately, everything looks different. 95 00:06:22,540 --> 00:06:25,140 It's as if we've stepped back in time. 96 00:06:26,300 --> 00:06:27,380 High security. 97 00:06:37,020 --> 00:06:41,500 North Korean military guards on the platform of Sinuiju Station 98 00:06:41,500 --> 00:06:45,740 remind me that I'm entering a country under totalitarian rule. 99 00:06:47,660 --> 00:06:49,820 And as they prepare to board the train, 100 00:06:49,820 --> 00:06:52,020 to check our visas and passports, 101 00:06:52,020 --> 00:06:55,740 we get our first taste of North Korean authority. 102 00:06:55,740 --> 00:06:57,860 We're told to turn off the camera. 103 00:07:01,180 --> 00:07:04,060 One hour later, I'm allowed onto the platform. 104 00:07:05,380 --> 00:07:08,140 A lot of papers had to be gone through and signed. 105 00:07:08,140 --> 00:07:11,660 One man would come in and take down all the details. 106 00:07:11,660 --> 00:07:13,980 People in very impressive big cats would come in 107 00:07:13,980 --> 00:07:15,980 and ask for exactly the same details. 108 00:07:15,980 --> 00:07:19,980 Questions I didn't expect, like, "Did I have a Bible with me?" 109 00:07:19,980 --> 00:07:22,940 And normally, you'd say, "Oh, yes, absolutely. I'm a good Christian," 110 00:07:22,940 --> 00:07:24,620 but, no, that's the wrong answer here. 111 00:07:24,620 --> 00:07:28,060 If you say, "I have a Bible," they'd want to know about that. 112 00:07:28,060 --> 00:07:30,380 So, you know, it's a little unsettling. 113 00:07:30,380 --> 00:07:33,300 But it's intriguing at the same time. 114 00:07:33,300 --> 00:07:37,180 I mean, they have my passport, so I can't leave. 115 00:07:37,180 --> 00:07:39,740 I've just been kept slightly unsettled, 116 00:07:39,740 --> 00:07:42,140 and this is probably deliberate. 117 00:07:44,020 --> 00:07:48,740 From now on, my fate lies in the hands of the North Koreans. 118 00:07:48,740 --> 00:07:52,900 But after a tense wait, we're allowed on our way to Pyongyang. 119 00:08:03,580 --> 00:08:08,220 Some people simply just washing their bicycles on the river. 120 00:08:08,220 --> 00:08:11,260 And along the side here, by the railway line, 121 00:08:11,260 --> 00:08:14,580 everywhere seems sort of cultivated. People have... 122 00:08:14,580 --> 00:08:16,980 It looks like very inhospitable ground has been dug, 123 00:08:16,980 --> 00:08:18,300 and something has been planted. 124 00:08:19,700 --> 00:08:22,940 With no Internet or international phone signal, 125 00:08:22,940 --> 00:08:27,180 I'm now effectively cut off from the outside world. 126 00:08:27,180 --> 00:08:30,820 And the world I've entered seems rather strange. 127 00:08:32,540 --> 00:08:39,500 I haven't seen a car in all this development, or bicycles. 128 00:08:39,500 --> 00:08:43,420 There we are, a road. Empty - completely empty of cars. 129 00:08:45,100 --> 00:08:49,020 It all seems of a very different time. 130 00:08:50,540 --> 00:08:54,820 Korea was divided in 1945 after the Second World War, 131 00:08:54,820 --> 00:08:58,660 and has been largely governed on Communist principles ever since. 132 00:08:58,660 --> 00:09:00,420 Closed off from the outside world, 133 00:09:00,420 --> 00:09:02,980 and now under strict international sanctions, 134 00:09:02,980 --> 00:09:05,220 it's seen little economic development. 135 00:09:07,700 --> 00:09:09,740 When it comes to the dining car, 136 00:09:09,740 --> 00:09:13,780 it looks like nothing has changed since the 1950s. 137 00:09:13,780 --> 00:09:17,060 Table for one. Lunch, please. 138 00:09:17,060 --> 00:09:18,540 Thank you. Thank you. 139 00:09:18,540 --> 00:09:20,820 HE SPEAKS KOREAN 140 00:09:22,700 --> 00:09:25,100 Ah, good! That's the first word I've used. 141 00:09:26,900 --> 00:09:30,420 Hello. 142 00:09:30,420 --> 00:09:33,860 HE SPEAKS KOREAN I've said it twice now, 143 00:09:33,860 --> 00:09:38,060 and look what I've got as a result of speaking Korean. 144 00:09:38,060 --> 00:09:39,260 It's beautiful, isn't it? 145 00:09:40,580 --> 00:09:42,900 And I think this must be... It's the kimchi. 146 00:09:43,980 --> 00:09:46,980 Made from fermented cabbage and chillies, 147 00:09:46,980 --> 00:09:50,820 kimchi is a staple of the North Korean diet. 148 00:09:50,820 --> 00:09:52,740 Wow! It's quite fierce. 149 00:09:53,940 --> 00:09:56,540 After the kimchi, I think you'd need something that sort of 150 00:09:56,540 --> 00:09:57,700 puts out the fire. 151 00:10:01,220 --> 00:10:07,580 There's a sort of video playing, and there's mainly missiles on it. 152 00:10:07,580 --> 00:10:12,100 Various shots of the great leaders, and applause. 153 00:10:13,260 --> 00:10:16,780 Lunch, with a side order of North Korean propaganda. 154 00:10:20,500 --> 00:10:25,820 Eventually, after six long hours, we trundle into Pyongyang. 155 00:10:37,860 --> 00:10:41,780 I'm told this is where I'll be met by the two guides who will be 156 00:10:41,780 --> 00:10:47,020 making sure that I don't step out of line for the next two weeks. 157 00:10:47,020 --> 00:10:49,900 Hello. Pleased to meet you. Are you Mr Michael Palin from Britain? 158 00:10:49,900 --> 00:10:52,460 I am, Michael Palin, yes, yes. Nice to meet you. 159 00:10:52,460 --> 00:10:55,660 Nice to meet you! Hello! How are you? Nice to meet you. 160 00:10:55,660 --> 00:10:57,900 Annyeong hashimnikka. Annyeong hashimnikka! 161 00:10:57,900 --> 00:11:00,500 I've been learning that on the train. 162 00:11:00,500 --> 00:11:03,700 You're a good student. Thank you very much. 163 00:11:03,700 --> 00:11:06,340 Hardly the threatening minders I was expecting. 164 00:11:09,900 --> 00:11:11,820 My name is Lee Soo-young. 165 00:11:11,820 --> 00:11:15,500 Lee is surname... Yeah? ..and Soo-young is given name... OK. 166 00:11:15,500 --> 00:11:18,820 ..so you can call me either way. What would you prefer to be called? 167 00:11:18,820 --> 00:11:22,180 If you want to be more friendly, then Soo-young. Soo-young. 168 00:11:22,180 --> 00:11:25,660 I'll be more friendly, with your approval. Soo-young... 169 00:11:25,660 --> 00:11:30,620 Lee Kyung-chul. Ah! Soo-young and... Kyung-chul. Kyung-chul, OK. 170 00:11:30,620 --> 00:11:34,380 Michael, just Michael. Yeah, yeah! Michael. Yeah, yes. 171 00:11:43,860 --> 00:11:48,460 As we drive to the hotel, I find it hard to believe I'm finally here. 172 00:11:51,900 --> 00:11:55,380 I know that there'll be restrictions on what I see, 173 00:11:55,380 --> 00:11:59,060 but despite this, I'm hoping Pyongyang will give me a greater 174 00:11:59,060 --> 00:12:02,500 understanding of a country once described as being on 175 00:12:02,500 --> 00:12:04,140 "the axis of evil". 176 00:12:12,940 --> 00:12:14,100 MUSIC ECHOING 177 00:12:20,060 --> 00:12:22,700 My first morning in Pyongyang - 178 00:12:22,700 --> 00:12:25,620 and the world's most unusual wake-up call. 179 00:12:29,340 --> 00:12:31,780 I first heard this, I think, at five o'clock this morning. 180 00:12:33,060 --> 00:12:36,220 It's like music emanates from the whole city. 181 00:12:36,220 --> 00:12:40,420 I don't know where it's coming from. No source of speakers. 182 00:12:40,420 --> 00:12:43,060 It's just this fusion of sound. 183 00:12:45,460 --> 00:12:47,780 It was quite menacing at five o'clock. 184 00:12:47,780 --> 00:12:52,900 Now it's... Sun's come out, it's just rather strange. 185 00:12:52,900 --> 00:12:54,740 Sounds vaguely Brian Eno. 186 00:12:56,140 --> 00:12:57,940 Oh, there he is. Hi, Brian! 187 00:12:59,380 --> 00:13:01,940 And the thing is that... 188 00:13:01,940 --> 00:13:06,340 The other sound, when you think of a city, is screaming sirens - 189 00:13:06,340 --> 00:13:10,380 you know, cars rushing around. None of that at all. 190 00:13:10,380 --> 00:13:12,140 So that's why this sound can really... 191 00:13:13,980 --> 00:13:15,900 You can't avoid it. HE LAUGHS 192 00:13:15,900 --> 00:13:18,020 I suppose that's the thing. You can't avoid it. 193 00:13:19,300 --> 00:13:20,980 It's just the sound of Pyongyang, 194 00:13:20,980 --> 00:13:25,580 which is not the sound of any other city I've ever been in, in my life. 195 00:13:25,580 --> 00:13:28,940 The track is called Where Are You, Dear General? - 196 00:13:28,940 --> 00:13:32,700 referring to the first leader of the DPRK, Kim Il-sung. 197 00:13:35,340 --> 00:13:38,740 And after breakfast, it's time to head out for my first appointment 198 00:13:38,740 --> 00:13:41,980 of the day with the great leaders themselves. 199 00:13:43,140 --> 00:13:45,780 While our growing group of minders are nervous about us 200 00:13:45,780 --> 00:13:47,260 filming on the streets, 201 00:13:47,260 --> 00:13:51,260 it gives me my first sense of daily life in Pyongyang. 202 00:13:51,260 --> 00:13:53,820 And it's all very normal. 203 00:13:53,820 --> 00:13:55,940 But I do notice one significant difference. 204 00:13:57,660 --> 00:13:59,980 That's interesting. That's the first poster I've seen - 205 00:13:59,980 --> 00:14:02,260 a kind of propagandist poster. 206 00:14:02,260 --> 00:14:04,180 All clutching, clutching their weapons. 207 00:14:05,420 --> 00:14:06,940 Cos there's no advertising here, 208 00:14:06,940 --> 00:14:10,220 you don't see any sort of consumer goods. Just ideas. 209 00:14:16,500 --> 00:14:17,500 Hello. 210 00:14:24,580 --> 00:14:29,020 The Pyongyang Metro system was built in the 1970s, 211 00:14:29,020 --> 00:14:31,580 but its grandeur is from a different age. 212 00:14:32,660 --> 00:14:35,220 It's quite something. That's quite something. 213 00:14:44,700 --> 00:14:47,380 This view of urban life is very different to what I saw 214 00:14:47,380 --> 00:14:50,780 from the train yesterday, possibly because Pyongyang 215 00:14:50,780 --> 00:14:54,580 is much more prosperous than the rest of the country. 216 00:14:54,580 --> 00:14:58,100 You could just stay here, really. Why bother to catch a train? 217 00:14:58,100 --> 00:15:00,460 You can watch the world go by. 218 00:15:00,460 --> 00:15:04,460 I've arrived in the DPRK at an historic time. 219 00:15:04,460 --> 00:15:08,300 State-controlled newspapers are covered with photos of a meeting 220 00:15:08,300 --> 00:15:11,340 between the current leaders of North and South Korea - 221 00:15:11,340 --> 00:15:14,300 one that heralds new hope for peace. 222 00:15:14,300 --> 00:15:16,860 KIDS SPEAK KOREAN 223 00:15:18,980 --> 00:15:22,140 Ever since Korea was divided in 1945, 224 00:15:22,140 --> 00:15:25,860 North Korea has been ruled by the Kim family. 225 00:15:25,860 --> 00:15:27,460 Their images are everywhere. 226 00:15:30,100 --> 00:15:33,700 And everyone seems to be wearing badges featuring their faces. 227 00:15:36,620 --> 00:15:39,780 I've been told that to understand North Korea, 228 00:15:39,780 --> 00:15:42,220 you need to understand the role of the leaders. 229 00:15:45,220 --> 00:15:47,860 So I'm heading to the Mansudae Grand Monument... 230 00:15:49,060 --> 00:15:52,100 ..one of the most sacred places in the whole country. 231 00:15:56,860 --> 00:16:00,260 These 22-metre tall bronze statues 232 00:16:00,260 --> 00:16:03,380 depict the first two leaders of North Korea. 233 00:16:07,500 --> 00:16:10,780 Kim Il-sung on the left was supported by the Russians, 234 00:16:10,780 --> 00:16:14,980 to lead the newly formed country in 1945. 235 00:16:14,980 --> 00:16:17,780 After he died, his son, Kim Jong-il, 236 00:16:17,780 --> 00:16:21,340 took over until his death seven years ago, 237 00:16:21,340 --> 00:16:24,500 leaving his son, Kim Jong-un, as the current leader. 238 00:16:26,860 --> 00:16:31,100 Well, there they are - the biggest leaders I've ever seen. 239 00:16:31,100 --> 00:16:35,140 And there's something about the size and the scale, 240 00:16:35,140 --> 00:16:37,340 which is, undoubtedly, incredibly impressive, 241 00:16:37,340 --> 00:16:41,100 and yet, there are very few statues to great leaders around the world 242 00:16:41,100 --> 00:16:43,980 where they're smiling, they're looking accessible. 243 00:16:43,980 --> 00:16:46,540 They've got this specs on, they've got their gear on, 244 00:16:46,540 --> 00:16:48,740 they're sort of embracing the country. 245 00:16:48,740 --> 00:16:52,740 I think that's what... Although it seems very grand and overpowering, 246 00:16:52,740 --> 00:16:54,540 they're actually trying to show the love, 247 00:16:54,540 --> 00:16:57,020 embrace the love of the whole country - 248 00:16:57,020 --> 00:17:01,620 by smiling and making themselves like the benign fathers, 249 00:17:01,620 --> 00:17:04,940 rather than the sort of stern rulers. 250 00:17:04,940 --> 00:17:06,380 That's how I read it, anyway, but... 251 00:17:07,700 --> 00:17:08,940 ..judge for yourself. 252 00:17:10,420 --> 00:17:14,100 In the West, the Kim dynasty is known as a brutal dictatorship, 253 00:17:14,100 --> 00:17:17,020 but here, the great leaders cannot be criticised. 254 00:17:17,020 --> 00:17:18,980 So I've been warned to tread carefully. 255 00:17:20,260 --> 00:17:25,420 I notice that you wear the badge - the party badge there - 256 00:17:25,420 --> 00:17:28,540 with the two leaders on. Yes. 257 00:17:28,540 --> 00:17:33,540 So, we say, our Korean nation is Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il's nation, 258 00:17:33,540 --> 00:17:35,860 and we are all members of the nation. 259 00:17:35,860 --> 00:17:37,660 So it's the symbol of that. And it's... 260 00:17:40,340 --> 00:17:45,100 The reason why we have them on our left-hand side is that it's... 261 00:17:46,340 --> 00:17:49,060 Where your heart is? Yeah, yeah. Yes, yes. 262 00:17:49,060 --> 00:17:52,820 Is it significant that they're smiling? 263 00:17:52,820 --> 00:17:56,300 Is that important, that they're seen to be smiling? 264 00:17:56,300 --> 00:18:01,700 Yeah. So, when you are smiling, they look very happy and very alive. 265 00:18:01,700 --> 00:18:06,300 So we Korean people think that they are still alive. 266 00:18:06,300 --> 00:18:09,580 They are alive in our hearts, even though they've passed away. 267 00:18:09,580 --> 00:18:15,180 They are more like fathers than just political leaders. 268 00:18:15,180 --> 00:18:17,580 We call it single-hearted unity. 269 00:18:17,580 --> 00:18:22,340 The popular masses are united around the leaders and the party, 270 00:18:22,340 --> 00:18:25,460 and with one will and one ideal. 271 00:18:25,460 --> 00:18:30,100 And presumably, when you're growing up, from fairly early on in school, 272 00:18:30,100 --> 00:18:34,500 you're learning about their work and what they represent? 273 00:18:34,500 --> 00:18:38,420 At school, of course, we learn what they have done. 274 00:18:38,420 --> 00:18:45,100 But we all have got our own outlook on the world. 275 00:18:45,100 --> 00:18:50,780 And so it's not like, what you call, you know, brainwashing? 276 00:18:50,780 --> 00:18:52,220 It's not like that. OK. 277 00:18:54,060 --> 00:18:58,860 We learn from our hearts that they have done really great things 278 00:18:58,860 --> 00:19:00,820 to all Korean people. 279 00:19:00,820 --> 00:19:04,700 The people who come here... I see people getting married. Mm-hm. 280 00:19:04,700 --> 00:19:06,100 How many times a year... 281 00:19:07,180 --> 00:19:10,660 ..should you come here? Is there a time everyone should come? 282 00:19:10,660 --> 00:19:12,860 Or... It's voluntary. 283 00:19:12,860 --> 00:19:17,180 It's open for everyone, and there is no, like... 284 00:19:18,620 --> 00:19:21,460 No-one tells us to do, what to do. 285 00:19:21,460 --> 00:19:24,540 "You should go there," or "You should go here." 286 00:19:24,540 --> 00:19:27,860 It's more, like, to our... 287 00:19:27,860 --> 00:19:30,700 Of our own volition. From your heart, OK. Yes. 288 00:19:30,700 --> 00:19:33,340 There are many more questions I'd like to ask, 289 00:19:33,340 --> 00:19:35,140 but now is not the time. 290 00:19:35,140 --> 00:19:38,740 It's made apparent by our minders that I've already crossed the line. 291 00:19:40,460 --> 00:19:43,500 North Korea claims to have no religion. 292 00:19:43,500 --> 00:19:46,260 But it's hard for me not to think that, for many people, 293 00:19:46,260 --> 00:19:48,420 the great leaders are filling that void. 294 00:19:49,860 --> 00:19:52,340 And in a country that has a widely reported 295 00:19:52,340 --> 00:19:54,540 appalling human rights record, 296 00:19:54,540 --> 00:19:58,140 I worry that they've put their faith in those who do not always act 297 00:19:58,140 --> 00:19:59,740 in their best interests. 298 00:20:03,620 --> 00:20:07,980 After lunch, it's a quick walk to the east side of the Taedong River, 299 00:20:07,980 --> 00:20:12,420 and a place that offers me the best view of the city, the Juche Tower. 300 00:20:15,060 --> 00:20:16,740 The tower? 301 00:20:16,740 --> 00:20:18,740 Annyeong hashimnikka. Annyeong hashimnikka. 302 00:20:18,740 --> 00:20:20,940 That's right, I'm learning. Annyeong hashimnikka. 303 00:20:20,940 --> 00:20:27,220 Annyeong...? Annyeong hashimnikka. Annyeong hashimnikka. Hm. 304 00:20:27,220 --> 00:20:30,180 Annyeong hashimnikka. Annyeong hashimnikka. 305 00:20:30,180 --> 00:20:33,020 Annyeong hashimnikka. Yes. Annyeong hashimnikka. 306 00:20:33,020 --> 00:20:38,620 Hashimnikka. Hashimnikka? Hashimnikka. Hashimnikka. Oh! 307 00:20:38,620 --> 00:20:42,100 Annyeong hashimnikka. Yes! Annyeong hashimnikka. Good! 308 00:20:42,100 --> 00:20:43,660 THEY LAUGH 309 00:20:43,660 --> 00:20:45,540 It's a good thing it's a high building! Yes! 310 00:20:47,620 --> 00:20:49,860 All that, just to say hello. 311 00:20:53,020 --> 00:20:55,140 OK. Please. Yes. 312 00:20:59,500 --> 00:21:00,500 Wow! 313 00:21:10,060 --> 00:21:14,860 The stunning view from this 170-metre tall tower 314 00:21:14,860 --> 00:21:19,020 gives me my first proper sense of the size and scale of Pyongyang. 315 00:21:20,260 --> 00:21:23,780 I shouldn't say "Wow," but that is the only thing you can say up here. 316 00:21:23,780 --> 00:21:25,700 It's astounding. 317 00:21:25,700 --> 00:21:29,580 The west side of the city is dominated by grand buildings... 318 00:21:30,620 --> 00:21:32,820 ..stadiums and new developments 319 00:21:32,820 --> 00:21:35,540 that look like something from a science fiction movie. 320 00:21:40,260 --> 00:21:45,700 The east is a sea of Soviet-style concrete apartment blocks. 321 00:21:45,700 --> 00:21:49,220 They used to be grey, but Kim Jong-il instructed 322 00:21:49,220 --> 00:21:52,260 that the buildings be painted in bright colours, 323 00:21:52,260 --> 00:21:54,100 transforming the skyline. 324 00:21:56,420 --> 00:21:59,220 One thing I do know is that Pyongyang was just bombed flat 325 00:21:59,220 --> 00:22:04,700 in 1953, during the Korean War, so what we are seeing here has - 326 00:22:04,700 --> 00:22:06,940 with, I think, the exception of one building - 327 00:22:06,940 --> 00:22:11,700 all been built in the last sort of 60 years. 328 00:22:11,700 --> 00:22:13,980 That's quite impressive. 329 00:22:13,980 --> 00:22:18,660 The name of the Juche Tower refers to Kim Il-sung's ruling ideology... 330 00:22:19,780 --> 00:22:24,340 ..one which has perpetuated the idea of self-reliance and isolation 331 00:22:24,340 --> 00:22:28,380 from the rest of the world for almost 70 years. 332 00:22:28,380 --> 00:22:31,820 Funny how cities all have a sort of name, a ring about them. 333 00:22:31,820 --> 00:22:34,740 And very often, countries are known by their cities. 334 00:22:34,740 --> 00:22:36,660 You know, Paris, France and all that. 335 00:22:36,660 --> 00:22:41,180 And this is Pyongyang, North Korea, which is a name I've known - 336 00:22:41,180 --> 00:22:45,420 a lot of us know - in always, slightly threatening context. 337 00:22:45,420 --> 00:22:48,900 This is Pyongyang. What comes out of here is vaguely sinister. 338 00:22:48,900 --> 00:22:51,380 What does it mean, a city's threatening, a city's sinister? 339 00:22:51,380 --> 00:22:52,980 A city's a city, and this... 340 00:22:56,140 --> 00:22:57,700 ..has its own grandeur in a way. 341 00:23:01,900 --> 00:23:04,820 Pyongyang also has a bizarre charm. 342 00:23:09,220 --> 00:23:13,940 And on my way back across the river, I find it hard not to be transfixed 343 00:23:13,940 --> 00:23:17,500 by the traffic police stationed at busy intersections. 344 00:23:21,660 --> 00:23:25,820 Their choreographed, robotic movements are strangely hypnotic. 345 00:23:29,700 --> 00:23:33,140 They also, I notice, all appear to be young women. 346 00:23:36,020 --> 00:23:40,180 There's a rumour that Marshal Kim Jong-un hand-picks them himself. 347 00:23:51,340 --> 00:23:54,100 It's Sunday... WHISTLE 348 00:23:54,100 --> 00:23:57,020 ..the one-day weekend in the DPRK. 349 00:23:59,820 --> 00:24:02,180 Volleyball, big thing here? 350 00:24:02,180 --> 00:24:05,460 Yes. Quite a big sport. Popular, yeah. Yeah. 351 00:24:05,460 --> 00:24:09,260 Soo-young and Kyung-chul are keen to show me what they would be doing 352 00:24:09,260 --> 00:24:12,140 if they weren't having to look after a British film crew. 353 00:24:14,620 --> 00:24:17,260 Have you ever shot a pistol? 354 00:24:17,260 --> 00:24:20,700 Well, not often, but I have, yeah. I've had a go. 355 00:24:20,700 --> 00:24:23,700 Shall we? OK. 356 00:24:23,700 --> 00:24:27,420 He's going to show me, first of all, what a hot shot he is, 357 00:24:27,420 --> 00:24:29,940 and why he has earned the name of 358 00:24:29,940 --> 00:24:33,780 the Wyatt Earp of the Korean Peninsula. 359 00:24:33,780 --> 00:24:35,340 Oh, good! Yeah, yeah, yeah! 360 00:24:40,020 --> 00:24:44,420 Oh! Yeah. I keep aiming at the yellow bit behind. 361 00:24:44,420 --> 00:24:46,100 I get that every time. 362 00:24:48,380 --> 00:24:50,180 Very close! 363 00:24:50,180 --> 00:24:51,180 Almost. 364 00:24:52,740 --> 00:24:55,660 Last one, OK? Cos I don't think I'm destined to... 365 00:24:56,700 --> 00:24:57,900 ..get one. 366 00:24:59,140 --> 00:25:00,780 Oh! Wow! 367 00:25:00,780 --> 00:25:03,060 Bravo! On camera or not? 368 00:25:03,060 --> 00:25:04,820 LAUGHTER 369 00:25:07,900 --> 00:25:11,500 To unwind after our efforts at the shooting range, 370 00:25:11,500 --> 00:25:14,780 we find ourselves somewhere I really wasn't expecting. 371 00:25:22,060 --> 00:25:24,460 A North Korean health spa. 372 00:25:26,740 --> 00:25:30,580 This is the state-run Changgwang Health Complex. 373 00:25:30,580 --> 00:25:33,460 It's about as far from prison camps and nuclear missiles 374 00:25:33,460 --> 00:25:34,620 as you can get... 375 00:25:37,900 --> 00:25:40,180 ..and includes a hair salon 376 00:25:40,180 --> 00:25:43,900 which has a rather prescriptive approach to hairstyles. 377 00:25:43,900 --> 00:25:47,820 Ah! These, I think, are the recommended haircuts. 378 00:25:47,820 --> 00:25:50,660 All the styles you can have here are up there. 379 00:25:52,060 --> 00:25:54,940 And these, actually, look remarkably similar. 380 00:25:54,940 --> 00:25:57,940 No, you know, mullets or ponytails 381 00:25:57,940 --> 00:26:02,140 or anything sort of disorderly like that. Very neat and tidy. 382 00:26:03,980 --> 00:26:08,580 Hello. Can you do a sort of massage, not haircut? 383 00:26:08,580 --> 00:26:11,140 No haircut, but massage, OK? 384 00:26:11,140 --> 00:26:12,900 Thank you. 385 00:26:12,900 --> 00:26:19,220 Ooh! Already, I feel the pressure slipping from my shoulders, 386 00:26:19,220 --> 00:26:25,020 down my back, and into this chair, which is vibrating slightly. 387 00:26:28,860 --> 00:26:30,380 That's just what I want. 388 00:26:38,140 --> 00:26:39,420 Hope it doesn't come off. 389 00:26:42,820 --> 00:26:46,580 Thank you. This is a relaxing end to a long day. 390 00:26:47,700 --> 00:26:48,740 Thank you very much. 391 00:26:51,780 --> 00:26:57,180 My hotel room gives me a rare moment away from prying eyes and ears. 392 00:26:57,180 --> 00:26:59,020 Well, at least, I hope it does. 393 00:27:00,460 --> 00:27:02,580 Filming isn't easy here. 394 00:27:05,500 --> 00:27:10,740 Everywhere we go, we're accompanied by an entourage of about five or six 395 00:27:10,740 --> 00:27:14,700 men and women in suits, 396 00:27:14,700 --> 00:27:17,620 who watch our every move and check everything we're seeing 397 00:27:17,620 --> 00:27:21,060 and everything we're doing and everything we're saying. 398 00:27:21,060 --> 00:27:24,620 But, you know, they do things completely differently here. 399 00:27:24,620 --> 00:27:26,820 That's the way it is. 400 00:27:26,820 --> 00:27:29,420 We can't just come blundering in and say, "We're from the West. 401 00:27:29,420 --> 00:27:31,180 "We want to see this, we want to see that." 402 00:27:31,180 --> 00:27:34,580 If you're going to learn anything at all, I think, about this country, 403 00:27:34,580 --> 00:27:37,660 you've got to prise the door open very, very gently. 404 00:27:39,780 --> 00:27:43,340 We need to keep their trust, and it's a slow process, 405 00:27:43,340 --> 00:27:46,700 but if we step out of line and we shoot things we shouldn't shoot, 406 00:27:46,700 --> 00:27:49,340 then the door will be slammed shut. That'll be the end of it. 407 00:27:49,340 --> 00:27:55,700 So it's really all about us trusting them and them trusting us. 408 00:27:55,700 --> 00:27:59,620 I mean, so far, it's working quite well, but we'll see in the end. 409 00:28:09,390 --> 00:28:14,310 Day two in Pyongyang, and it's time to go back to school. 410 00:28:14,310 --> 00:28:15,830 From a young age, 411 00:28:15,830 --> 00:28:18,990 children in North Korea are taught the revolutionary history 412 00:28:18,990 --> 00:28:22,670 of their country's battles against Japanese occupiers 413 00:28:22,670 --> 00:28:26,870 and American aggressors, and the heroic deeds of the great leaders. 414 00:28:26,870 --> 00:28:30,670 THEY SPEAK KOREAN 415 00:28:30,670 --> 00:28:35,190 What is more surprising is that learning English is also compulsory. 416 00:28:36,270 --> 00:28:37,550 Annyeong hashimnikka! 417 00:28:39,430 --> 00:28:41,550 ALL: Hello! 418 00:28:43,150 --> 00:28:46,150 My name is Michael, Michael Palin. 419 00:28:46,150 --> 00:28:49,750 I live in Britain. Anyone know London? 420 00:28:49,750 --> 00:28:52,590 That's it. Very, very good - capital. 421 00:28:52,590 --> 00:28:54,270 I'll tell you what I've got. 422 00:28:54,270 --> 00:28:57,550 I've been to lots of places in the world, 423 00:28:57,550 --> 00:29:00,950 and I travel with me with this - a globe. 424 00:29:02,990 --> 00:29:07,030 ALL: One, two, three, four... 425 00:29:07,030 --> 00:29:10,950 I'm intrigued to know how well these kids know the world around them, 426 00:29:10,950 --> 00:29:14,350 especially as international travel is effectively banned 427 00:29:14,350 --> 00:29:19,070 for all North Koreans. ..eight, nine, ten. 428 00:29:19,070 --> 00:29:21,070 Yes! 429 00:29:21,070 --> 00:29:23,630 APPLAUSE Very good! 430 00:29:27,870 --> 00:29:31,030 Who would like to show me where Britain is on this map? 431 00:29:31,030 --> 00:29:32,870 Who'd like to have a go? 432 00:29:32,870 --> 00:29:35,030 It's in Europe. Good, yes. It's in Europe. 433 00:29:35,030 --> 00:29:37,230 And it is...? 434 00:29:37,230 --> 00:29:40,590 No, that's... There we are. Yes, that there, yes. 435 00:29:40,590 --> 00:29:43,230 Now, throw it around. Have a look at the world. 436 00:29:43,230 --> 00:29:45,670 That's it. OK. 437 00:29:45,670 --> 00:29:48,430 You've got to name a country. India. India. Very good. 438 00:29:48,430 --> 00:29:52,110 Now you can throw it very hard at anyone you don't like! 439 00:29:52,110 --> 00:29:55,710 Russia! Russia! OK. Who are you going to throw it to? 440 00:29:55,710 --> 00:29:57,910 Japan. Japan. 441 00:29:57,910 --> 00:29:59,750 That's to me, OK. 442 00:29:59,750 --> 00:30:01,750 America. 443 00:30:01,750 --> 00:30:04,270 Canada. Canada. Canada. Canada. Good, yeah. 444 00:30:04,270 --> 00:30:06,710 Well done. Now, 445 00:30:06,710 --> 00:30:11,230 if there's anything they would like to ask me about my life? 446 00:30:11,230 --> 00:30:13,430 How many children in your family? 447 00:30:13,430 --> 00:30:17,670 I've got three children. How many in your family? Four. Four. 448 00:30:17,670 --> 00:30:21,150 What do you want to do when you grow up? 449 00:30:21,150 --> 00:30:23,550 I want to be a scientist. 450 00:30:23,550 --> 00:30:28,470 Anyone else? I want to enter the Korean People's Army. 451 00:30:28,470 --> 00:30:29,670 Good. 452 00:30:35,070 --> 00:30:37,030 Very good. 453 00:30:37,030 --> 00:30:39,510 I want to be a famous writer. 454 00:30:39,510 --> 00:30:41,870 You want to be a famous writer? That's good. 455 00:30:43,030 --> 00:30:46,150 Have you got a poem? Can you remember a poem that you've written? 456 00:30:47,270 --> 00:30:49,390 Say it in Korean. 457 00:31:32,430 --> 00:31:35,350 Aw! APPLAUSE 458 00:31:35,350 --> 00:31:39,670 Mount Paektu is a sacred volcano in North Korea, 459 00:31:39,670 --> 00:31:43,630 which Kim Il-sung allegedly used as a hideout while plotting against 460 00:31:43,630 --> 00:31:45,750 the Japanese in the 1930s. 461 00:31:48,270 --> 00:31:51,630 It's a beautiful poem, but I get the distinct impression 462 00:31:51,630 --> 00:31:55,510 that critical thinking is probably not on the school curriculum. 463 00:32:01,230 --> 00:32:04,830 But excelling at sport most definitely is. 464 00:32:04,830 --> 00:32:08,470 I'm told by my guides that Kim Jong-un wants North Korea 465 00:32:08,470 --> 00:32:11,230 to become a sports superpower. 466 00:32:11,230 --> 00:32:14,550 And judging by this lot, table tennis may be the way to go. 467 00:32:17,030 --> 00:32:21,270 It's like a factory farm for ping-pong champions. 468 00:32:21,270 --> 00:32:23,950 I was quite impressed, first of all, they were learning English, 469 00:32:23,950 --> 00:32:27,870 but also, the ideology was there, underneath everything 470 00:32:27,870 --> 00:32:30,670 but not pushed absolutely all the time. 471 00:32:30,670 --> 00:32:33,790 And yet, the poem was about Mount Paektu. 472 00:32:33,790 --> 00:32:37,350 The boy wanted to be a physicist to do things better for Kim Jong-un. 473 00:32:37,350 --> 00:32:40,190 It's always kind of there, very much embedded, 474 00:32:40,190 --> 00:32:42,990 that feeling of working together for one leader. 475 00:32:42,990 --> 00:32:45,190 But it wasn't pushed at me that hard. 476 00:32:45,190 --> 00:32:46,990 And the ping-pong was just incredible. 477 00:32:46,990 --> 00:32:49,750 The speed, ferocity with which they play, 478 00:32:49,750 --> 00:32:52,550 and the determination to be world beaters. 479 00:32:52,550 --> 00:32:55,910 What I'm learning is that the sense of unity and togetherness 480 00:32:55,910 --> 00:32:59,790 is incredibly strong here - if a little disturbing. 481 00:32:59,790 --> 00:33:03,350 After all, this is the land of mass military parades. 482 00:33:08,190 --> 00:33:09,190 Mm! 483 00:33:10,670 --> 00:33:13,110 Now, that is a really, really good cup of coffee. 484 00:33:13,110 --> 00:33:15,470 About the best I've had in Pyongyang. 485 00:33:15,470 --> 00:33:21,030 This rather nice, sort of intimate, almost Austrian-style cafe. 486 00:33:21,030 --> 00:33:22,630 This all feels rather pleasant. 487 00:33:22,630 --> 00:33:26,070 And yet, it's in quite an odd location, really. 488 00:33:28,390 --> 00:33:32,550 This intimate little place is actually right on the corner... 489 00:33:34,190 --> 00:33:38,030 ..of Kim Il-sung Square. 490 00:33:40,870 --> 00:33:46,110 A place where those vast processions of military might, 491 00:33:46,110 --> 00:33:51,470 it all takes place on this amazing, amazing area here. 492 00:33:52,510 --> 00:33:54,030 You can see, 493 00:33:54,030 --> 00:33:56,710 when they do these enormous ballets with thousands of people 494 00:33:56,710 --> 00:34:00,430 all doing the same thing at the same time, there are the dots. 495 00:34:01,670 --> 00:34:04,310 Little positions where people stand. 496 00:34:04,310 --> 00:34:07,070 So you've got somebody here, doing all that sort of stuff, 497 00:34:07,070 --> 00:34:09,670 and then you've got somebody here doing all that sort of stuff. 498 00:34:09,670 --> 00:34:12,430 So, you've got to sort it out. It's incredibly difficult - 499 00:34:12,430 --> 00:34:15,070 when you see it done - to actually get it done properly 500 00:34:15,070 --> 00:34:17,270 without bashing the person next to you. 501 00:34:17,270 --> 00:34:20,750 Of course, when the parades come along, it's along this roadway 502 00:34:20,750 --> 00:34:26,830 that the weapons and the missiles will come. 503 00:34:26,830 --> 00:34:31,670 It's just so... It's a strange sensation to walk across it, 504 00:34:31,670 --> 00:34:32,790 and here we are. 505 00:34:34,630 --> 00:34:38,590 At the moment, there's not many people here - just me at the moment, 506 00:34:38,590 --> 00:34:45,390 doing my own display of synchronised television presenting. 507 00:34:46,790 --> 00:34:49,630 It's never going to catch on. It's never going to catch on. 508 00:34:50,830 --> 00:34:55,270 The billboard showing a Korean soldier is just one of the many 509 00:34:55,270 --> 00:34:59,510 pieces of military propaganda I've seen in Pyongyang. 510 00:34:59,510 --> 00:35:02,910 Most of it is produced behind closed doors, 511 00:35:02,910 --> 00:35:05,070 here at the Mansudae Art Studio. 512 00:35:07,870 --> 00:35:11,670 But for the first time we are being allowed to film one of the country's 513 00:35:11,670 --> 00:35:14,150 leading propaganda artists at work. 514 00:35:16,910 --> 00:35:18,790 Can you tell me what this 515 00:35:18,790 --> 00:35:21,750 painting, what this work is about? 516 00:35:41,150 --> 00:35:45,470 This picture of pan-Korean peace and unity is very timely, 517 00:35:45,470 --> 00:35:47,670 and might be just for my benefit. 518 00:35:47,670 --> 00:35:50,590 But I think there's more to propaganda than missiles. 519 00:35:50,590 --> 00:35:54,190 It's another way to keep people united to the cause. 520 00:35:55,910 --> 00:36:00,390 What is the secret of making a good propaganda poster? 521 00:36:22,110 --> 00:36:26,270 There are over 1,000 artists here, producing art for the state. 522 00:36:27,630 --> 00:36:29,030 In this studio, 523 00:36:29,030 --> 00:36:32,350 a painter is working on a canvas celebrating the fishing industry. 524 00:36:33,830 --> 00:36:38,150 And this man has been responsible for sculpting the giant statues of 525 00:36:38,150 --> 00:36:40,190 the Great Leaders. 526 00:36:40,190 --> 00:36:43,910 I'm aware everything I'm being shown is designed to give me 527 00:36:43,910 --> 00:36:46,630 a positive image of North Korea. 528 00:36:46,630 --> 00:36:49,150 But what I'm also realising is just 529 00:36:49,150 --> 00:36:51,430 how tightly everything is controlled. 530 00:36:51,430 --> 00:36:54,310 There's no internet, no international phones, no freedom of 531 00:36:54,310 --> 00:36:56,390 the press. The government controls 532 00:36:56,390 --> 00:36:59,510 it all, and there are no voices of dissent. 533 00:37:00,750 --> 00:37:02,510 And, after a few days, 534 00:37:02,510 --> 00:37:06,070 you start to feel the propaganda seeping into your soul. 535 00:37:06,070 --> 00:37:08,470 KOREAN POP MUSIC PLAYS 536 00:37:11,670 --> 00:37:16,150 There's so much that is so different about North Korea that I find the 537 00:37:16,150 --> 00:37:19,470 offer of dinner and a few beers with my friendly guides refreshingly 538 00:37:19,470 --> 00:37:21,110 familiar. 539 00:37:23,150 --> 00:37:25,510 Have you ever done barbecue before? 540 00:37:25,510 --> 00:37:28,430 No, no, I haven't had Korean barbecue. 541 00:37:28,430 --> 00:37:31,390 Not like this. It's messy, is it? 542 00:37:31,390 --> 00:37:34,350 Is there going to be a lot of spray flying? 543 00:37:34,350 --> 00:37:36,270 Yeah, yeah. Oh! 544 00:37:38,110 --> 00:37:40,910 I think actually she's tied me to the chair! 545 00:37:40,910 --> 00:37:44,590 You look great in it. Do I? Is it my colour? Oh... 546 00:37:47,190 --> 00:37:50,790 So, this is the raw meat? Yeah. This is... Raw meat. 547 00:37:50,790 --> 00:37:52,750 Koreans like meat? 548 00:37:52,750 --> 00:37:55,190 We love it. You love meat? 549 00:37:55,190 --> 00:37:58,030 OK, I got the wrong verb, you Love meat, OK. 550 00:37:58,030 --> 00:38:01,030 You wrap.... Oh, you wrap it up? OK. OK. Mmmm. 551 00:38:06,470 --> 00:38:11,150 Mmm. How is it? Mmm. It's very, very good. Mmm! 552 00:38:11,150 --> 00:38:13,590 North Koreans enjoy a drink. 553 00:38:13,590 --> 00:38:18,070 Apparently, each man is given weekly beer coupons by the state, 554 00:38:18,070 --> 00:38:21,270 which provides them with five litres of beer a month. 555 00:38:22,990 --> 00:38:28,550 Thank you! In Korean, geonbae. Geonbae. Geonbae. Geonbae. 556 00:38:31,990 --> 00:38:34,550 It's nice to see the guides relax, 557 00:38:34,550 --> 00:38:37,710 but I'm told tomorrow is the day I'll really see the North Koreans at 558 00:38:37,710 --> 00:38:39,270 play. 559 00:38:50,060 --> 00:38:54,740 It's my last day in the capital of North Korea, and it's May Day - 560 00:38:54,740 --> 00:38:57,620 International Worker's Day - and it's a holiday. 561 00:39:01,620 --> 00:39:04,940 The parks of Pyongyang are filling up with the city's 3 million 562 00:39:04,940 --> 00:39:06,420 residents. 563 00:39:06,420 --> 00:39:08,220 WHISTLE BLOWS 564 00:39:08,220 --> 00:39:10,340 CHEERING AND CHANTING 565 00:39:15,580 --> 00:39:17,420 WHISTLE BLOWS 566 00:39:23,420 --> 00:39:26,220 The game is, people have to pick up bits of paper, 567 00:39:26,220 --> 00:39:29,300 and then the bit of paper will tell them they've got to take something 568 00:39:29,300 --> 00:39:31,740 and run around the ring. It might be a ball, it might be a hat, 569 00:39:31,740 --> 00:39:34,740 it might be a jacket, it might be a man, a woman or a child. 570 00:39:34,740 --> 00:39:36,860 And they race around with it. 571 00:39:43,940 --> 00:39:47,020 There's also music and dancing. 572 00:39:47,020 --> 00:39:49,620 UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS 573 00:39:54,100 --> 00:39:57,940 I suspect this gentleman is a frustrated Fred Astaire - 574 00:39:57,940 --> 00:40:01,460 office manager by day, who knows what by night? 575 00:40:15,300 --> 00:40:18,780 May Day seems to be giving me what I've been hoping for - 576 00:40:18,780 --> 00:40:22,580 an opportunity to mix with ordinary North Koreans when their guard is 577 00:40:22,580 --> 00:40:24,420 down. 578 00:40:24,420 --> 00:40:26,380 CHEERFUL YELLING 579 00:40:31,380 --> 00:40:33,300 Mmmm, that's good food. 580 00:40:33,300 --> 00:40:35,740 LAUGHTER 581 00:40:38,060 --> 00:40:40,620 KOREAN POP MUSIC PLAYS 582 00:40:49,620 --> 00:40:52,540 And as the day goes on, so does the dancing... 583 00:40:52,540 --> 00:40:54,540 HE YELLS CHEERFULLY 584 00:40:59,860 --> 00:41:02,020 ..and, I suspect, the drinking. 585 00:41:07,380 --> 00:41:11,660 To an inhibited Englishman, a sort of mass fun day like May Day in 586 00:41:11,660 --> 00:41:14,260 Pyongyang seems, at first, 587 00:41:14,260 --> 00:41:16,460 slightly intimidating. 588 00:41:16,460 --> 00:41:19,260 But actually you just have to join in. 589 00:41:23,420 --> 00:41:26,100 Everyone's out, and they're all in the centre of the city. 590 00:41:26,100 --> 00:41:28,100 They don't go out to the countryside. 591 00:41:28,100 --> 00:41:31,260 And they start with lots of little parties, then become bigger parties, 592 00:41:31,260 --> 00:41:34,140 and then become these huge occasions of spontaneous dancing 593 00:41:34,140 --> 00:41:38,900 and a bit of drinking the rice wine to keep you going. 594 00:41:38,900 --> 00:41:43,300 After a bit, the whole, sort of, hill is just humming. 595 00:41:45,780 --> 00:41:47,980 Are singing and dancing quite important? 596 00:41:47,980 --> 00:41:49,940 I mean, everyone seems to have a song or a dance. 597 00:41:49,940 --> 00:41:52,820 Yeah, every Korean knows how to sing and dance. Yeah. 598 00:41:52,820 --> 00:41:55,540 Except me, I have a poor voice. THEY LAUGH 599 00:42:07,620 --> 00:42:09,220 LAUGHTER 600 00:42:10,300 --> 00:42:11,900 Thank you. 601 00:42:16,780 --> 00:42:19,500 These people might live in a repressive system 602 00:42:19,500 --> 00:42:21,740 that I find hard to understand, 603 00:42:21,740 --> 00:42:24,940 but there is a joy and humanity to this that's undimmed. 604 00:42:26,260 --> 00:42:29,020 And this goes on all day, you know. 605 00:42:29,020 --> 00:42:32,060 We're only, kind of, well, it's about 2:30. 606 00:42:32,060 --> 00:42:34,300 What's it going to be like here at night? 607 00:42:34,300 --> 00:42:39,380 It's going to be, you know... "What is it going to be like here at night?" I ask myself. Oh. 608 00:42:39,380 --> 00:42:43,140 Thank you. CHEERING 609 00:42:43,140 --> 00:42:45,660 Thank you. 610 00:42:47,860 --> 00:42:51,780 Oh, dear. He's being dragged back by the family. 611 00:42:54,140 --> 00:42:56,860 Well, I'm off to be a tree somewhere else. 612 00:43:19,820 --> 00:43:24,660 May Day, and my time in Pyongyang has left me with more questions than 613 00:43:24,660 --> 00:43:26,660 answers. 614 00:43:26,660 --> 00:43:30,020 Much of me wants to take everything at face value, 615 00:43:30,020 --> 00:43:33,220 to accept the North Korea that I'm being shown, 616 00:43:33,220 --> 00:43:35,620 but I know there's another side, 617 00:43:35,620 --> 00:43:38,980 and I've seen enough to realise this is a country with none of the 618 00:43:38,980 --> 00:43:41,580 freedoms we in the West take for granted. 619 00:43:44,220 --> 00:43:48,620 Maybe I'll learn more outside the bubble of Pyongyang. 620 00:43:48,620 --> 00:43:51,980 After much negotiation, I've been given permission to 621 00:43:51,980 --> 00:43:55,020 explore parts of the country that are normally off-limits to 622 00:43:55,020 --> 00:43:59,780 outsiders. Tomorrow we start a journey that will take us into 623 00:43:59,780 --> 00:44:01,420 uncharted territory. 624 00:44:07,100 --> 00:44:12,540 'Next time...I come face-to-face with the North Korean military...' 625 00:44:12,540 --> 00:44:18,340 Warheads and nuclear missiles have cost your country a lot of money. 626 00:44:18,340 --> 00:44:21,860 '..explore rarely filmed areas of the country...' 627 00:44:21,860 --> 00:44:26,540 We remember hearing in the West that you had a very bad shortage of food. 628 00:44:26,540 --> 00:44:29,900 '..and push the guides to breaking point.' 629 00:44:29,900 --> 00:44:34,740 All right, I'll tell you what I think. A good leader should be able to deal with criticism. 630 00:44:34,740 --> 00:44:37,700 And that's where we are so different from you. 631 00:44:39,780 --> 00:44:42,380 Subtitles by Red Bee Media 52962

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