North Korea

I love receiving postcards. I collect them from the places I travel to and I bug all my globetrotting friends to send them to me when they are away. I’ve grown quite an impressive collection over the last five years from the far reaches of the globe, but my star postcard is the one sent from North Korea. My friend Polina travelled there with her mother in 2007. So few foreigners have been allowed into the country, that I imagine receiving a postcard from Pyongyang is a pretty rare thing.

The image on the front is apparently, “La fanfare feminine, un attrait du Festival de Pyongyang.” What is both hilarious about this postcard, but also deeply disturbing is the note written by my friend. Any foreign visitors to North Korea are closely watched, never left alone (even their hotel rooms are bugged) and all outgoing mail is, of course, read by the authorities. Polina’s message reads, “Angela! I am having such a great time here in North Korea! Pyongyang is unlike any other city in the world, and Korean people are incredibly welcoming. Today, we travelled into the countryside, where we visited mountain caves, and a Buddhist temple, both of which were visited by the Great Leader, King Il Sung, and the Dear Leader, King Jong Il, contributing to the site, Hope you’re well- love, Polina.”

This afternoon I watched a 2001 documentary about the North Korean dictatorship. It is seriously fascinating and disturbing. It is Orwell in real life. Once again, this is why I believe so strongly in the importance of exercising my right to vote in Canada. There are many things I dislike about Canadian politics, but I certainly value the fact that we can openly criticize our government without fear of being murdered, tortured or imprisoned.

I realize this is backwards, photobooth is stupid

Watch this documentary, thank your lucky stars you were born in a democratic country, vote in every election and lets all hope that one day North Koreans might enjoy the same freedom that we all take for granted.