A State of Mind Page #6

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as 30,000 adults

dance on Kim II Sung square.

Yet there seems little to celebrate.

50 years on from the war

a peace treaty has never been signed.

Korea remains divided, the North is still seen

as a pariah in the western world

and the Korean peninsula continues to live

with the threat of catastrophic war.

If war broke out in Korea, there would be

one million casualties with the first 24 hours'

Pentagon estimate 1993'

At the time of the war, there was nothing.

Everything was in ashes.

From that time onwards...

...we really started construction

with a new strong resolve.

The reason this was necessary...

...was in order to completely

transform our capital.

If you build somebody a house

they can live their life there.

As people live there, they feel their

life is more worthwhile...

...and they can work better, putting

more energy into production.

Therefore, we have to keep on

developing our construction...

...and not fall behind other countries.

I have been mobilised on construction

projects for 35 years.

It's tiring doing this kind of construction.

When you finish it, you feel pride

every time you look at it.

And you feel it was worthwhile.

So often I think, "In our lives,

we really have to build things."

We obey the slogan that "one is all

and all are one."

A team working on one project will

be of "one mind and one body."

We're making efforts to

solve every problem.

Hyon Sun's Grandfather's latest project is

North Korea's first ever officially

sanctioned market.

The market will be state owned but

some stalls will be privately run.

It is a wholly foreign concept to him.

As far as I know, I'm building

something called a market.

There's no question that it's being built...

...in order to improve people's

lives in the future.

But I don't yet know how it will be run.

We people are all curious

about such a market.

Our apartment is the best one I've built.

For a start, the interior is good.

And because everything else is good...

...the location, the quality of the

construction materials...

...the apartment we live in is a good one.

Central Pyongyang awakens to loudspeakers

playing revolutionary music.

The whole of the city, two million people, has

been mobilised for the September 9t celebrations,

which commemorate 55 years

of the founding of the republic.

The celebrations will be

of epic proportions.

On September 9th, there will be a

military parade, followed by a people's parade

both reviewed by Kim Jong II.

At night there will be dacing on Kim II Sung

square, and a youth torch light parade.

The Mass Games will take place the

following day, on September 10th.

Kim II Sung Square

An estimated one million people will take part

in the three parades of the day.

In North Korea, the parades are the ultimate

display of strength, unity, loyalty and devotion.

Although the images of the Parade will be

transmitted worldwide, the target audience

is internal.

The Parade reinforces the power

of the collective.

It is also the biggest opportunity for the

people of North Korea to see and pay homage

to their Leader.

As they march past, they cry 'Mansei'

which means "Long Live!"

At the climax of the two hour spectacle

all eyes turn to one man.

Only State officials are allowed to

film Kim Jong II

and when he comes to the balcony, security

personnel try to prevent even a snap shot.

The celebrations are far from over.

There is still a youth torchlight parade to

come and dancing on Kim II Sung Square.

And tomorrow is the first performance

of Mass Games.

Would there be an army as disciplined

as ours in any other country?

No!

Wow, they make perfect lines.

Their legs move like machines.

They're exactly the same height.

They move like one person.

Thank you.

Let's eat dinner.

Are you hungry?

Say hello to our guests first.

I just did.

Did you say hello to them

at Hyon Sun's room?

Yes, at the door.

They saluted first so I saluted back.

Let's watch her on the TV.

Let's see if your mum looks OK on the TV.

No, in the second row here.

No, I'm in the front, here.

Yes, in the second row from the front.

I thought I was in the very front row.

After this

Oh, After this?

No wonder even arrogant Americans

tremble with fear to see this.

As long as we have the

General, we are fine.

In less than fourteen hours time, it will be

Hyon Sun's turn to perform in front

of the General.

Until now, thinking of the glorious

day of serving the General...

...I have trained hard with loyalty

and sweated devotion.

Though I was selected to perform

in the centre, I got really upset.

I kept making mistakes.

So sometimes I practised until 10pm.

Watching the parades, which are

constantly repeated on TV

are an inspiration to her and

reinforce her will.

When I think that I will perform in front

of the General tomorrow...

...my heart trembles and pounds.

I don't think I'll even get to sleep tonight.

Father, have you also participated

in this kind of thing?

Me? Well... I'm sorry to say...

...that I haven'tjoined the review

in the presence of the General.

Your dad has done Mass Games

in front of the General many times...

...when he went to the primary school.

I did many ceremonies indeed

for Mass Games.

I'm wondering whether our

father, the General...

...will actually turn up for our performance.

If he can't make it, we will be

really disappointed.

Even if he can't, he may not come

he may be busy with his business.

It will be fine if you have that in your

mind while you perform.

"So perform well."

"Can you do that?"

Yes, I can.

I really hope the General will come...

It's 7 in the morning, four hours

before the performance.

This is the biggest day of the girls' lives.

Did you put everything in?

Yes, I did. I only need my lunch.

A snack!

Take an apple.

Or do you want biscuits?

Whatever...

I take them all.

You greedy pig...

It's 8.30am, two and a half hours

before the performance.

Every available area of the gymnasium

outside and in, is used for last

minute preparations.

Hyon Sun and Song Yon's performance is

the eleventh chapter of a 13 part

revolutionary story.

Their chapter is entitled 'Our country

which is glorified with independence'.

Each of the 6000 performers is

synchronised to the group

each group to its chapter and each

chapter to the whole.

Everyone will act as one, an embodiment

of the Juche philosophy of self-reliance.

The performance is entitled

'Army First Korea'.

It has been six months in the

planning and will last for 45 minutes.

Kim Jong II is unable to attend.

Song-yeon, at the tender age of 11, has got

the honor of performing on the second front line.

I had been wondering

whether I could perform...

...in front of our father, the General...

...but disappointingly, he couldn't come.

However, since the General

couldn't come...

...because he was busy

working for the country...

...my friends and I all understand.

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