The news in the last week has been dominated by the implication of President Kim Yong-Il's passing and television footages showing his body lying in state in the Kumsusan Memorial Palace brought back memories of my own visit to this location to view the body of his father, the late President Kim Il-Sung.
My visit in 2003 was undertaken while I was still working with the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and together with a team of tourism experts, we were studying the potential for North Korea (DPRK) to tap into inbound tourism. There definitely was potential, interestingly the shroud of secrecy and politics made this an even more desirable destination. I will attempt to share some of the images from this visit.
A group of military personnel pose for a portrait with Kumsusan Memorial Palace in the background - it was a totally serious and no-nonsense affair.
For the visit to Kumsusan Memorial Palace, one must be formally dressed in business suits and elaborate processes were in place to ensure that every visitor is appropriately dressed, suitably sanitized, emptied of cell-phones, cameras and other recording devices. It was however a very interesting experience and one that every visitor should not miss.
In the negotiation room, one could still see the divison of the two Koreas in the windows - the North Korean soldier on the right window and the South Korean one on the left.
Seen from the North Korean side, soldiers from both Koreas keep a watchful eye on one another across a divide that one could stop over without much effort.
The De-militarized Zone (DMZ) at Panmumjon Village is yet another surreal venue as soldiers from North and South Korea (along with their American counterparts) eye-ball, stare and size up one another across a line that even an infant could step over. In the room where negotiations have taken place in the past, the centre-line along a table marks the all-important divide. Both Koreas ensured that their over-sized state flags are clearly visible atop what must surely be some of the tallest flag-poles in the world.
A newly-wed couple along with their bride's-maid and best-man posed for pictures with the Juche Tower.
Juche - or self-reliance - is an aspiration here and a tower, aptly named Juche Tower constantly reminds its citizens of this ideal. With North Korea's current level of poverty and unpredictable harvest, this ideal remains a little more than arm's length away.
yet-to-be-completed 105-storey hotel building.
A gold-coloured statue of President Kim Il-Sung towers over a wall mural depicting Mount Paektu.
A snapshot of the platform level of the central metro station in Pyongyang at peak hour.
As can be expected in such a socialist / communist country, every important monument or show-case facility is built to one scale - GRAND. The towering statue of President Kim Il-Sung dominates the skyline who also is pierced by the then-uncompleted 105-storey hotel building. The central station in Pyongyang's metro system is a show-piece complete with a patriotic mural and ostentatious chandeliers. There certainly was not the traffic volume one is accustomed to in other subway systems in Singapore, Hong Kong or Tokyo.
Propaganda billboards serve two main purpose, either to glorify North Korean leaders or de-cry the West (mainly the US) and these are almost omni-present. Setting aside politics, these billboards are actually quite a colourful distraction from an otherwise very grey architectural landscape. Below are some examples.
Mural depicting Presidents Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il (above and below) are extremely colourful and vibrant.
The political statement of this mural is self-explanatory.
At the Student Palace in Pyongyang, your Koreans are trained in a multitude of cultural disciplines ranging from dances, mastery of various musical instrument, calligraphy to gymnastics, sculpture and pottery. They lay out grand performances to showcase the end result - and without prejudice, the standard of such performances (below) was extremely high.
When driving around the country, the countrysides were unremarkable - even in September, farmers were trying to squeeze out yet another crop of rice. Red chillies and yellow corn were spread on rooftops to be dried before the onset of winter. Poverty does however highlight one virtue - very little waste in the form of paper or plastics was seen - and the country was consequently remarkably litter-free.
Due to its isolation, much of the country is well-preserved and in the beautiful environment of the Myohyang Mountains, nature and traditional architecture stand shoulder-to-shoulder in a tribute to Korean traditions.
On 28 December 2011 and in the days thereafter, the world's attention will once again be trained on this nation as its people wail and cry in a final tribute and send-off for their deceased President Kim Jong-Il.
I am happy to have had the opportunity to visit this very interesting destination and hope that others who have previously missed out on destinations such as Vietnam and China prior to their opening to mass travel will endeavour to savour this final opportunity.
I have no training or interest in politics and am not keen to engage in any debate on politics. As a person with tremendous interest in people, aviation and the travel and tourism industry, I went in with an open mind and non-judgemental perspectives. For those keen on aviation, there is of course the chance to photograph some of the Russian-built fleet of Air Koryo.
Sunan Airport in Pyongyang is the gateway into North Korea with regular flights from Beijing and Shenyang. Air Koryo's fleet of Ilyushin IL-62s, Tupolev TU-154s (above) and Ilyushin IL-76s are visible as we taxied to and from the terminal on our arrival and departure respectively.
As a sign of the times, a North Korean travel agency is organising an aviation enthusiasts' tour of North Korea in May 2012 which include sightseeing and the opportunity to sample flights on Air Koryo's IL-62, TU-154, AN-24 and IL-18! Amazing indeed ... wish I could afford that.
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