[Michael Höft] North Korea. Isolated from the rest of the world. Ruled by a dictator.
A country whose people suffer from international sanctions because their ruler instills terror in the world. We are traveling through the world's most secretive country. Stopover in Beijing.
Our next destination is Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. There is tension in the air as we enter the Tupolev of the North Korean state airline, the only airline that still flies this route. [Höft] Hello.
-Sorry, no camera. -[Höft] Oh, sorry. [Höft] How do people live in this country, where so little gets out?
Dictator Kim Jong-un has tested a series of intercontinental missiles. Now he is threatening to reach any target within the United States with atomic warheads. Yet he is looking for rapprochement with South Korea.
A joint delegation at the Olympic Winter Games is supposed to point the way. On arriving in Pyongyang, we are being searched. Our laptops and phones are scanned, suspicious books are confiscated.
Afterwards, we are greeted by members of the Ministry of Culture. Mr Ham and Mr Pak will be our shadows for two weeks. Their mission: to control what we film and to follow us wherever we go.
Just a few streets are lit up. Suddenly, our car slows down. In view of the leader's statues, everybody must drive at walking pace.
Our minders move into the Hotel Pyongyang with us. The first rule is: We are not allowed to leave the building without them. Our first morning in the capital of Kim Jong-un's empire.
About three million people live on the banks of the Taedong River. It is a privilege to live in Pyongyang. The government controls who gets to move here and who doesn't.
[rousing Korean music playing through loudspeakers] [Höft] We encounter the so-called "Motivational Brigades" cheering up the capital's workers on their morning commute. Accompanied by Mr Ham and Mr Pak from the Ministry of Culture, we leave for our first excursion into Korean everyday life. Immediately, we learn that impromptu interviews are not allowed.
It's not just that we are not allowed to talk to anyone, it is not permitted for North Koreans to come in contact with foreigners. Volleyball is the most popular recreational sport in the country, our guides tell us. Tennis is another trend, they say.
Finally, they do permit us to talk to a player. We ask him why the sport is important to him. Our people have to become fit to be able to defend ourselves against the Americans.
Together, we will defeat the enemies. That is our people's first duty. [Höft] But is he really afraid that the US will attack?
We are not afraid. We are prepared. [Höft] Everywhere in the city, there are huge portraits of the big leaders: Kim Il-sung and his son: Kim Jong-il, the father of the Kim clan's youngest dictator, Kim Jong-un.
The Arch of Triumph is dedicated to Kim Jong-un's grandfather, "the eternal president. " We are welcomed by the official tourist guide. Mr.
Kim proudly tells us that this arch is five meters higher than its famous model in Paris. [Kim Yong-wol] Up here you can see the text of our beloved song of Kim Il-sung. [singing in Korean] [Höft] After this patriotic musical interlude, we visit the inside of the monument.
We are shown a film about the arch. It even has a German version. [female Höft speaking German in propaganda film] [Höft] The state's founder, Kim Il-sung, has created a cult around himself and his family, which resembles the dynasties of pharaohs more than it does a modern state.
Pyongyang looks a lot like a Russian city, but there is also a distinctive Chinese influence. Whatever the Kim family's youngest offspring announces in his capital is not only law, but also a promise. [Kim Yong-wol] Our respected Marshal Kim Jong-un has called upon us to establish a global power in sports, science and economy.
Sports is very popular at the moment, and we aim to become even better at it. [Höft] North Korea, a global power in sports? There are indeed numerous newly erected facilities.
"Think big" is the motto. At the Icedome, which seats 6,000 spectators, the national teams practice. Figure skating is the sport where North Korea's chances of international success are the highest.
Our Great President Kim Il-sung has visited this stadium twice, and our Great Leader Kim Jong-il was here seven times. Even our highly respected Marshal Kim Jong-un has visited us four times already. [Höft] Visits by the leader are honor and obligation at the same time.
Athletic achievements don't serve the pursuit of an individual career, but are a service to the nation and its leader. Thanks to our nation's fathers' great care, the working class can train hard for their success here. We are very well prepared in all winter sports, so that our athletes will achieve many victories for our respected Marshal.
[Höft] Mun Su-il has already competed in international competitions. [Höft] What is his biggest dream in sports? A picture with the respected Marshal Kim Jong-un.
[Höft] An 18-year-old is training with his 12-year-old partner, a lightweight, which facilitates lifts and throws. However, age differences like in this pair are not allowed in international competitions. The pair's coach has little appreciation for this rule.
In Austria, some time ago, we were not allowed to compete because of the age difference. We had to go with an older girl instead and did not win anything. [Höft] When he's out in the world, does he feel that the North Korean team is looked at strangely by Europeans or Americans sometimes?
I think that kind of question is off target. [Höft] OK. If it's about sports, ask about sports.
[Höft] An unmistakable rebuke, served with a polite smile. Our attendants lead us to another gem of Pyongyang: The Metro. Its stations are among the deepest in the world.
In the event of war, they are supposed to provide shelter from airstrikes. Sheltered, or rather shielded, is also what the population is from independent media. The internet is banned in North Korea.
There is no free press. The only source of information available are public newspapers, which only spread propaganda. The old Metro cars are from West Berlin: "Model Dora" was produced in the 1950s and 60s.
In 1997, they were sold to North Korea. Engraved into their windows are traces of the youth of Berlin. [male voice speaking Korean over loudspeakers] [Höft] In the Metro, commuters are constantly exposed to propaganda as well.
We are allowed to travel with them for one stop. At Yonggwang Station, we are told to get off again. The stations are named after themes of the revolution.
We ask whether it is possible to call home. We have been told North Koreans were not allowed to make international calls or to send email to other countries. However, we learn there are special rules applying to us foreigners.
Since 2007, SIM cards for smart phones can be purchased, our attendant tells us. [Ham] Originally, it's 300 dollars for the SIM card and internet. But they suggest you add another 50 dollars.
[Höft] With a service fee, it comes to 350 dollars. It's working, right? [Höft] I have to confirm in writing that I will not pass on my mobile phone to anybody.
So I will try it now. -Yeah. Please.
[Höft] It works. [Höft] But is it also possible for Korean people to buy this? -It might be possible.
-Or is it just for the foreigners? It might be possible, but we have the intranet, and we are fine with that. [Höft] OK, but do you think there's a gray or black market to sell them to Korean people?
No. You know. .
. Our country, as you can witness, is the safest place on earth. There is no crime, no murders, something like that, you know.
-There is no gray market for sure. -OK. -[Höft] So you don't need prisons?
-Yeah, of course. [Höft] North Koreans who have fled are telling it differently. And human rights organizations like Amnesty International believe there are four prison camps just for political prisoners, where at least 120,000 people are being held.
We are not allowed to talk to our guides about any of this. We are visiting the kindergarten Kyongsang. It is a privilege to be allowed to live in Pyongyang.
And it is an even greater privilege for your kids to attend an institution like this. After all, it's the future elite of the country that is educated here. We teach sports because it strengthens the body and makes it healthy and resistant.
This is how these children will continue to make our country flourish in the future. [Höft] The little ones are taken care of from 8 a. m.
until 5 p. m. Today, they are drawing snowmen.
Stock-still and disciplined. Nobody is disruptive. [woman speaking in Korean] [Höft] Suddenly, there is a blackout.
Everybody remains surprisingly calm, as this happens frequently. [woman speaking Korean] [Höft] Five-year-old Kam Kong-sun is the star of the Kyongsang kindergarten. [playing complex classical music on the piano] [Höft] Prelude in D minor by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Allegedly, she has only had classes for one year. Those who have talent are being nurtured and shown off. [playing a waltz] [Höft] Another highlight: the kindergarten orchestra is giving a special performance in three-quarter time, in our honor.
On the outskirts of Pyongyang lies the sports city. In huge arenas, athletes train for international championships. In basketball, for example, one of the favorite sports of North Korea's nemesis, USA.
Volleyball teams and table tennis players frequently achieve modest success. Things are different with basketball. But the coach knows, the Great Leader's hopes are pinned on his protégés as well.
I would like to compete in Asian and international championships with my team to honor the Great Leader. [Höft] Nothing is apolitical in North Korea. Everything serves a higher purpose, even sports.
My wish is to uphold the ideas of our Respected Leader in volleyball. I want to make sure our teams will become as successful as they used to be. [Höft] Rush hour on Chungsong Bridge, even though fuel and energy are scarce, due to sanctions.
Our next stop: science. At the center of the brand new science center is a rocket. It symbolizes how close science is to the leader's heart, we learn.
So as you see, the building itself is in a great atom structure. This building was designed by the respected Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-un. Many experts designed this building under the wise leadership of the Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-un.
[Höft] Science is defined by weapons technology above all. For North Korea's regime, national independence and the ability to defend itself are inextricably linked with each other. [tour guide] This is the model of a space rocket.
Originally [speaking Korean]. That means "galaxy" in English. [Höft] These workplaces provide access to the national intranet to those who are interested.
It is not to be confused with the internet, which is banned. [tour guide] This is the complex to disseminate science and technology. This is a comprehensive electronic library.
Every home and institution is connected with this complex through networks. So we have more online visitors than here. [Höft] Why no one is working here remains a mystery to us.
This is our electronic reading rooms with 500 seats where people can access two intranets. [Höft] There are only 28 providers offering their content on this internal network, among them various departments of government like the office for maritime affairs. The information it provides is innocuous.
It is more of a brochure than a library. The intranet is also supposed to give children an understanding of science. This is the children's dream hall, where children can go into the world of science.
[Höft] The kind of science that is seen as useful in North Korea. Our guides tell us becoming a soldier is the biggest dream of North Korean boys. Outside, the sidewalks have now filled up with people.
The entire city seems to be up and about. They are waiting for a convoy of busses. We have no idea what is happening and spontaneously decide to start filming.
Yet Mr Ham and Mr Pak are visibly nervous and have us get back in the car. No cameras allowed. We still manage to take some shots.
All roads are blocked. There is no getting through. Our shooting schedule, which had been planned for months by the ministry, has stalled.
What's happening here? After repeatedly inquiring with our guides, we learn that the scientists working with the nuclear program are just now being driven to the congress center in tour busses. And people on the roadside are cheering.
We are driven off, however. Quickly into a backstreet, facing a wall. One member of our team has stayed in the hotel today.
A lucky coincidence, as he watches and films what we are not allowed to see from his hotel room window. A convoy of busses being celebrated by the crowd, as their occupants are considered national heroes. In the hotel, the door suddenly opens.
The chamber maids enter and catch our colleague filming. Meanwhile the convoy has passed, the cheering is over. On our way back to the hotel, our guides are already being informed about our colleague's illegal recordings.
We are ordered to destroy the footage or else our safety could not be guaranteed. Secretly, we make copies of the pictures before we delete them. Even before the start of our trip, we knew we would be traveling in a surveillance state.
Now we've learned that chamber maids are watchful as well. One of the country's largest economic sectors is the clothing industry. North Korea used to produce merchandise for Chinese businesses that was shipped to the whole world.
Trade sanctions have hit factories hard. Including the Ryuwon shoe factory. A model company.
In the entrance hall, we see pictures of the Great Leaders and anti-American propaganda. Depicting the US as bogeyman strengthens national cohesion. And yet these shoes used to be exported to the US.
But those times are long gone. On the factory floor, more than 400 employees sew and glue in unheated rooms. We estimate the temperature to be below 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Protected from the cold by warm pants and gloves, people work here for eight hours, six days a week. We ask about their income. We live in a planned economy, and every worker gets what they need to live.
[Höft] That is: an apartment and about 110 US dollars per month. The working conditions are tough. There is the cold, and there is no breathing protection, even though the workers handle adhesives that make us feel dizzy during our fleeting visit.
We ask whether they do this kind of work by their own choice. There is no choice of career in our country. Every citizen is deployed where they are needed.
There is no good or bad work. The government decides where you are deployed. [Höft] Our guides probably suspect you could see things differently.
To prove how benevolent the government acts towards its workers, they lead us into the basement, where a sauna and pool are available to the workforce. The catch: the air and the water down here are ice cold. We suspect the spa area is not being heated because of the energy shortage as a result of the sanctions.
The residents of Pyongyang are doing splendidly, that is what they want to show us. Leisure activities keep them in good spirits, as Kim Jong-il, the current dictator's father, had already realized. Bowling alleys, ice rinks, indoor pools: all this is topped by the biggest water park in North Korea, the Munsu Water Park.
Workers from all over the country are being brought to Pyongyang to gaze in amazement at the achievements of the regime. The intended message is: "What you see here, everybody can have in the future. If you work hard enough, you will be doing just as well as the people in the capital.
" [Ham] I kindly ask you to not take any pictures. [Höft] Okay. After the statue, you can take pictures freely.
[Höft] In the entry hall: a statue of Kim Jong-il, deceased inventor of North Korea's theme park culture. If you like the statue so much, why is it not allowed to film it? That is what the house rules say.
[Höft] A pipeline supplies the water park with seawater, even though it is 25 miles from the coast. As always, our attendants try to keep a distance between the visitors and us. After some discussion, Mr Ham chooses an interview partner for us.
I'm from the country, and I'm visiting the capital with my delegation. After many other stops, we have come to this water park today. I can sense the love of our respected Marshal Kim Jong-un here.
Solely for our pleasure, he has built this water park. It moves me so much, I can hardly put it into words. [Höft] Praise that seems rehearsed for the leader and his love for the people, that manifests itself in everything.
We are shown the restaurant, the café and the hair salon. These are our beautiful haircuts the Korean ladies can choose from. At the salon, we only use the best equipment, because our respected Marshall wants our women and men to get nothing but the best.
[Höft] Eighteen haircuts for women, ten haircuts for men. If you wear one of these, you show your loyalty to the regime externally, too. The regime of a dynasty that has created its own world.
With its own chronology, even. In 1997, the regime introduced a new calendar that starts with the birth of Kim Il-sung, the country's founder. Thus, in North Korea, the year 2018 would be year 107.
The brave new world of Pyongyang even houses a riding club. As far as noblesse is concerned, it rivals Western premium stables. Again, we encounter groups of visitors from the countryside, having come here to have a look and to marvel.
Based on our observation, those who look on, are common people, while those on horseback seem to be members of a higher social class. This is the first and only riding club in our country, but we are planning many more in other cities. [Höft] The horses are Hanoverians from Germany and Quarter Horses from England.
How these noble animals came here despite the embargo remains a mystery. Our respected Marshal has opened this riding club to provide each and every Korean with the possibility to ride. [Höft] The population of North Korea is estimated at around 25 million.
It is highly unlikely that all of them will ever get to ride. This is probably more about keeping the idea of the ideal country alive in people's heads. [Ham] He's on a visit by the love of our respected Marshal Kim Jong-un.
Okay. He's not from Pyongyang. He's from the countryside.
Which is Koksan County in North Hwanghae Province. [Höft] Mirim Riding Club is beyond his reach. Only the country's elite ride here.
Through dark Pyongyang, we head back to the hotel. We keep seeing uniforms. With 1.
3 million soldiers, North Korea's army is the fourth largest in the world. The next morning, we leave Pyongyang through the Arch of Reunification, that is, the reunification with South Korea. On our way into the mountains, we hardly see any cars on the streets.
Our destination is the biggest and most modern ski resort in North Korea: Masikryong, with its luxury hotel built in 2014. The mountain range Masikryong lies at the foothills of the Taebaek mountains that stretch across the Korean peninsula. We pass several huge anti-tank barriers on the way.
The outside temperature is at minus four degrees Fahrenheit. Cold weather and poor energy supply. The international sanctions are really getting to North Korea, as is increasingly clear to us.
We also encounter several labor brigades like this one trying to clear the street from ice with the simplest tools. Every village maintains its own section. The local people's committee decides who has to go out on the street.
We want to get out of the car and talk to the workers, but that is, once again, not allowed. After five hours, we reach the main gate of the ski resort. Here we are told that we are not allowed to pass.
Even our attendants don't know why. We have been registered to visit this great flagship project for months. But something seems to be wrong.
After quite some back and forth, Mr Ham brings us the bad news. They say, there is no way we are going in. You cannot stay in the hotel because of some electricity problems.
[Höft] But is it just possible to see the hotel? Just to take some pictures of the hotel? They say the car cannot go.
[Höft] It sounds like a flimsy excuse. Yet we never learn the real reason why we can't see the ski area. The glitch in the schedule means we have to improvise.
As the way back to Pyongyang is too long, we have to spend the night in the nearest big city, Wŏnsan. Our attendants are stressed. Usually, no North Korean is allowed to enter another city without advance notice, let alone a foreigner.
Our visit has not been prepared. Wŏnsan is the provincial capital and is located on the Sea of Japan, that is called "East Sea" in both South and North Korea. First, our guides organize accommodation for us.
The lobby of the hotel is unheated and freezing cold. People are conducting hectic phone calls, as we need a permit for an overnight stay from the People's Committee, and it takes quite some time to get it. The only diversion available is watching propaganda films on the TV.
In the hotel room, we get to feel the effects of the sanctions. There is no oil, no gas from China and Russia. And that means: no heat.
Even though all the thermometers in the room show 30 degrees Celsius, 86 degrees Fahrenheit, the actual temperature is around 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Warm water is rationed to two hours a day. In Wŏnsan, we are not allowed to leave the hotel without attendants either, and witness a blackout of the entire new town.
The next morning, we meet Pak Song-ho of the People's Committee of Wŏnsan. His job today is showing us around the city for a few hours. Wŏnsan is to become a tourist capital, at least, that is the plan.
The city used to be a connecting port to Japan, which is about 370 miles away. But those times are over. [Pak Song-ho] Due to the sanctions, Japan stopped shipping traffic in 2006.
Since then, this ferry boat has been stuck here in the harbor. [Höft] Over the last months, so-called "ghost ships" have repeatedly been making headlines: North Korean fishing boats that were washed up at Japan's coast. Regularly, the crew's bodies were found on board, having run out of gas and food.
I have never heard of such ships. Ships from other ports are said to have floated to Japan by the current because of engine failures. Those crews were simply sent back.
[Höft] Many ships are in bad condition, as no spare parts can be delivered due to the sanctions. However, Pak Song-ho sees benefits even in this shortage. We are not bothered by the sanctions.
Even if the Trump administration sanctions us until the end of our days, we Koreans, led by our respected Marshal Kim Jong-un, will build our own production sites and continue to become stronger. [Höft] Wŏnsan's mussel farms were one of the main sources of income for the city before the embargo. Today, they only produce for the domestic market.
Pak Song-ho from the People's Committee wants to take us to one of the city's model companies. The Maebongsan factory. Once again, there are discussions about what we can film and even more important, what we cannot film.
The reasoning behind it is a mystery to us, as it often is. No shooting inside the history room. [Höft] On the factory floor on the other hand, we are asked to film.
The manager proudly tells us about motivated workers, grateful to have been assigned to this workplace by the government. Discontent or even protest don't exist in North Korea. There are posters and banners everywhere.
They are supposed to increase productivity. [Cha Jong-ok] "Beat the enemy without mercy. " "Rise up and keep the fire of the revolutions burning.
" "Work, so that progress cannot be stopped, and our country can continue to prosper! " [Höft] These messages are rammed down North Korean's throats all their lives. The manager denies that working with adhesives without any protection could be a health hazard.
That is totally harmless. [Höft] For one year, 19-year-old Kum-hui has been working on the assembly line. We wonder why she isn't wearing gloves.
Mr Ham, our attendant, finds this question superfluous. [Ham] Wearing gloves would only slow her work. It's better with bare hands.
But in generally, it'll only slow. . .
I even felt very. . .
unprofessional asking her. [Höft] We could ask her something else, like whether she was proud to work here. The answer comes as no surprise.
It is a great honor to work here. [Höft] And who are these shoes for? Until a few years ago, they were exported to Russia, we are told.
Since the beginning of the sanctions, all that is left is the domestic market. On our way back to Pyongyang, we pass the anti-tank barriers once more. There is no freedom of travel in North Korea.
Those who want to travel need a permit, especially in the capital. Going there on the spur of the moment isn't possible. Those who live here or at least can send their child to a boarding school, have achieved quite a lot in Kim Jong-un's system.
Right next to the huge 1st of May Stadium, there is a flagship project of North Korean sports: The soccer academy. Thousands of students each year are hoping for a place in this elite school. Only about 30 children are selected per year.
For those chosen few, it is maximum commitment and loyalty to the regime. Our Great Leader Kim Jong-il himself came up with the idea of founding this school. In 2013, it opened, and our respected Marshal Kim Jong-un has visited it several times as well.
[Höft] Schools like this one that are being watched by the leader enjoy preferential treatment. Kids here are between seven and 12. Not all of them are good enough to have a career in soccer afterwards.
Loyalty to the regime is something they all learn, however. We visit one of the dormitories. We are asked not to film any children in here.
[An Kyong-huva] Yeah, this is a room for boys, little boys. And they have bunk beds, not like girls and older boys. And what else?
So the bunk bed is more fun for boys, little boys. And more spacious. So they have a little rough time here and play around.
[Höft] Ten boys in one bed under the watchful eye of the Kim dynasty. The assistant principal still remembers the visit of the current dictator. [An Kyong-huva] We call it an indoor football area.
Actually, when our school was established, we didn't have a roof here. It was plain, you know. And when our Great Marshall Kim Jong-un visited our school, he came here and looked up, and he told us it would be great to have a roof here.
Then students here can train when it's raining or snowing. So it's not quite cold for little kids. So we built a roof.
[Höft] A roof for the students. Kim Jong-un even sees about such small details. The dictator as a caring father: that is how he wants people to perceive him.
And they should learn that they owe him special thanks and absolute loyalty. Five hours of practice in the morning and four hours in the afternoon. "Light snowfall" is considered good weather, so they are practicing outside.
Our request to speak to some of the boys is denied at first. Like I told you before, we have to provide all of the students normal conditions every day. The school doesn't want to break any routines.
It's not good for them. [Höft] Routine aside, the assistant principal makes an exception for us. We are allowed to ask one boy what he likes best about his school.
It's just great to be able to learn and practice at this school that the Great Leader built for us. It fills me with great pride. [Höft] A totalitarian state leaves no room for protest or even spontaneity during childhood.
After many days of total surveillance, something completely unexpected happens. Our guides allow us to walk around the city with our camera for one hour, without them, unobserved. Yet we cannot speak to anybody.
There are only few passersby who risk a furtive glance at us, the foreign TV crew. According to international relief organizations, food supply has improved over the last years in all of North Korea, but in Pyongyang especially. One of the reasons for that being the fact that farmers can sell a small part of their harvest on local markets themselves.
We are not allowed to film there, however. The next morning, we are taken to the Pothonggang department store, where food is being offered in addition to everyday commodities. But again, there's a problem.
[Höft] So what is allowed? This shop has a rule that no cameras are allowed inside the shop. [Höft] After some lengthy discussion, we are granted permission to film in the entrance area.
Price tags are off limits. Those who can pay in the currency of the big nemesis, the USA, in dollars. The others have to pay large sums in North Korean won.
Every citizen receives a certain amount of rice and cabbage for free, everything else is expensive, especially imported goods. Even pickled cucumbers and garlic. The shortage is not evident, but palpable everywhere.
We are told apartments were usually unheated, even in Pyongyang, and often have no electricity. We are driven to the city's first gym. We are curious as to what will await us there.
The interior is luxurious, but it is icy cold as well. The energy shortage doesn't spare anybody. Kim Jong-un himself has opened this gym.
Red stickers commemorate the big day by indicating which of the machines he looked at during his visit. I am a gym instructor and usually work on the second floor. [Höft] Employees act as guests for us, as there seem to be very few visitors here.
We have to train our bodies well to strengthen socialism and to be prepared for the war against the United States. [Höft] There it is again: the ubiquitous argument of a threat posed by the US that is injected in people from an early age. Every North Korean, we learn, has their apartment assigned to them by the state.
We suspect there are considerable differences between them. In this apartment building in the best location, we finally get to visit a private household. Of a selected family, of course.
Only Mr. Kim Mi-ran is home. Everybody else is absent.
With her children, her husband and her grandparents, Mr. Kim inhabits an incredible 2,350 square feet. Her grandfather is a professor who has been rewarded for his loyalty to the regime with this apartment.
The family does not pay any rent. Doubtlessly, we will only hear positive things about life in North Korea. Kim Mi-ran's husband played in the temporarily unified national soccer team of North and South Korea in the early 90s.
[Kim Mi-ran] He was the only one on the unified team to score a goal. [Höft] Souvenirs from his big performance in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. This is our kitchen.
[Höft] The big water bucket reveals running water is not an everyday reality here either. A can of Nescafé: a real luxury. It costs about 15 US dollars in North Korea, which is more than ten percent of an average monthly salary.
It's not only our attendants who monitor every word Mr. Kim says. The so-called "house manager" is part of the surveillance state as well.
My husband and my grandparents were abroad many times. Yet every time they come back, they say: Even though it might look beautiful and sparkle more elsewhere, our country is the best, because it is the only place where you can live well and happily. [Höft] Mr.
Kim and her family belong to the upper class. Someone like her has every reason to praise the regime. Many things are left unsaid or remain hidden.
To us as well as to North Koreans themselves. On this trip, we did not learn what is inside people's heads. Individuality is frowned upon.
Every citizen has to unconditionally submit to the values of the Kim dynasty, at least outwardly. That is the number one rule in this mysterious country.
