Jennifer Dahnke

(Aspiring) Nuclear Wonk, Constant Explorer

Giddy over Propaganda

Filed under: Uncategorized — Jennifer Dahnke at 11:37 am on Monday, March 18, 2013

This last week marked Maslenitsa, the week of celebration before Orthodox lent. It’s similar to Mardis Gras in that respect, though celebrated very differently. I always look forward to Maslenitsa when I’m in Russia because it’s a great cultural experience and an excuse to eat blini for a week straight. This year I celebrated with colleagues from work at a board member’s dacha just outside of Moscow, where we enjoyed the fresh air, clean snow, enormous amounts of blini, great conversations, and a Russian banya. One particularly exciting aspect of the trip – I came across some magazines that are published and distributed by North Korea’s Embassy and are chock full of wonderful propaganda. Seeing as the US doesn’t have diplomatic relations with North Korea and therefore they have no embassy in Washington, I’m not sure if these exist in the US (they probably do and I just haven’t seen them). Therefore, what follows below is a selection of some of the more interesting parts in my opinion:

Successful launch of artificial satellite Kwangmyongsong 3-2

“Successful launch of artificial satellite Kwangmyongsong 3-2”

On December 12, 2012, North Korea launched a satellite into orbit. “The satellite is a domestic product of the DPRK, from its design, manufacture, assembling and launch to the monitoring after its take-off. The news of the successful launch has thrown all the soldiers and civilians to boundless ecstasy, and a festive mood now pervades the whole country.” Clockwise: images of the launch; Kim Jong Un overseeing the launch; Kim Jong Un et al celebrating the launch.

Considering People's Conveniences to Be Absolute and the Highest Priority (touring a tile factory)

Considering People’s Conveniences to Be Absolute and the Highest Priority (touring a tile factory)

 

Testing the water of the wading pool

Testing the water of the wading pool

“It is [Kim Jong Un’s] revolutionary creed to consider the people’s conveniences to be absolute and the highest priority… He felt the water in the wading pool of a kindergarten to know how warm it was and went up to the top floor of a high-rise apartment building under construction to examine if there was something imperfect…”

First Mother's Day Celebrated

First Mother’s Day Celebrated

“The DPRK designated November 16 as Mother’s Day last year and celebrated it as a holiday. Stamps and cards specially designed for the day were newly issued. All mothers across the country visited the statues of the great leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il… and the portraits of their beaming images to lay baskets of flowers and pay tribute to them…”

Evidence of History

Evidence of History

The crew of the USS Pueblo was taken hostage after purportedly entering DPRK territorial waters on January 23, 1968. After many deliberations and lots of posturing between the countries, the US finally signed a letter of apology in December 1968. The article then touches on various points of tension between the US/South Korea and North Korea since and how the aim of US foreign policy is to dominate the whole Korean peninsula. The article ends with, “The entire Korean nation, with a burning hatred against the US, is steadily building up its national defence capabilities to achieve victory in the anti-US confrontation.”

I will try to get some higher-resolution photos up later, as well as more information about the USS Pueblo (what’s here is taken from the magazine). Until then, happy reading!



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