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North Korean Bulletin

N_Korea.jpg
Mimeographed propaganda from the North Korean Embassy
When Chinese tourists visit North Korea, they often say that it's like going back in time to before the reform and opening up policy. North Korean media is also stuck in some kind of Cold War time warp.

One of the most humorous items that arrives regularly on Danwei's desk is the Korea Bulletin put out by the DPRK Embassy in Beijing. The most recent issue of this riveting periodical is titled: Kim Jong Il, Prominent Statesman.

Here is a short excerpt:

June 19 is the anniversary when Kim Jong Il, the supreme leader of the DPRK, started to work on the Central Committee of the Worker's Party of Korea.

For over 40 years since 1964 the leader has displayed ever victorious statesmanship.

He is a statesman who leads the revolution and construction to victory with cogent political philosophy and unique political mode.

His political philosophy is the Juche idea ... He systematized the man-centred philosophical principles and people-centred socio-historical principles authored by President Kim Il Sung and developed them in depth.

For more about North Korea and its media, take a look at North Korea Zone. Below is an exceprt from a North Korea Zone article by Andrei Lankov -- About Juche propaganda overseas:

Everybody who reads North Korean newspapers or watches North Korean TV knows all too well that the overseas news consists almost exclusively of two types of information. There are stories about abdominale crimes committed by the "U.S. imperialists" and their evil puppets, and also stories about the love and admiration enjoyed by the North Korean leaders across the globe.

This admiration for Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il is usually professed by suitably exalted members by the Juche study societies...

...The Juche promotion efforts began in the late 1960s. To a large extent it reflected a national vanity. Kim Il-sung fancied himself a world-ranking theoretician, on par with Marx or Lenin.

Want to visit North Korea and experience the Juche idea for yourself? Go to Koryo Tours.

There are currently 3 Comments for North Korean Bulletin.

Comments on North Korean Bulletin

Don't forget the official website of the Korean Central News Agency -- www.kcna.co.jp. Oddly enough, it seems to require a proxy to read it from Beijing.

My favorite description of North Korea was by Christopher Hitchens who said the country is essentially a cult, with Kim Jung Il at the top. The reason their propoganda is so absurd is because the people there actually believe it so they have no idea how ridiculous it looks to everyone outside the cult.

I began this thread to speak about public available web proxies:

Which are really anonymous?

Which can be used with facebook, myspace etc, in other words: are fresh ?

Which would you recommend?

Thanks for your help,
Dschibut

P.S.: In my land, the freedom of speech is somehow limited, please give me a hint, if you have doubts about your recommendation.

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