Finishing up the library assignment today, I took the opportunity to watch (half of) the documentary "Pyongyang Diaries." It was filmed by an Australian team shortly after Kim Il Sung's death. It reminded me in many ways of that documentary we started watching in class on Thursday. It captured anti-American sentiment in the North and demonstrated the DPRK government's control over its people's interpretation of history. It truly is amazing to me how effective the DPRK's government is insofar as being totalitarian. In the film, one North Korean woman expressed her desire and vision for a united Korea all paying tribute to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il... I sincerely doubt that will ever happen.
On a secondary note, I enjoyed the beginning of the *new* North Korean documentary we watched in class and look forward to finishing it. It isn't very often Americans (or any other foreigners in that regard) can take a glimpse inside of the DPRK.
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One part that stuck out to me was the apparent spirit of "volunteerism" that grips North Korean workers. The author commented about how authorities would tell her that a certain soldier working a certain shift had volunteered for duty. Somehow I suspect that the government carries a big stick when it asks people to "volunteer."
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