Secret Video of North Korea

Photographer Steve Gong has managed to shoot some video of Pynongyang in North Korea. This is quite a feat since they are pretty strict about what images are allowed outside of the country. There's plenty of video of people dancing in giant groups and marching soldiers and whatnot, but not much else.

What struck me most about the video was confirmation of earlier impressions that I got from other videos. The constant stream of marching soldiers, singing citizens, and a seemingly endless series of statues smacks of desperation. It is a country defined by a leader who's playing nation like a kid plays house. It's a city with the wrapping of a major western city but none of the content. Specifically, the building that is quite obviously intended to be a mall (at about 7:50) but doesn't have any stores. It's just filled with flowers and shrines to Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung. So strange.

Pyongyang Style - North Korean Haircut from Steve Gong on Vimeo.