A lot of folks in my inbox and sundry social media are having a laugh at what they universally agree are the “forced” tears of mourners in North Korea:
And while I agree that there is certainly enough terror to go around in the DPRK that the average citizen (if you can call them that) is like to do everything in his or her power to weep harder than the next guy, I think we also have to consider a possibility much more disturbing: The tears are real.
North Korea can be looked at as the most successful cult in the world, and after bribing the military and other key allies, the vast majority of the state’s resources were dedicated to (1) raising the Kims to divinity and (2) hermetically sealing the state to outside discourse. After nearly three-quarters of a century of wholesale brainwashing, it is highly likely that a huge swath of the population of North Korea is in the grips of a kind of mass psychosis.
The mourners who are crying look pretty well fed and clothed. That constitutes a small fraction of the population. I doubt you'll see tears from those who are undernourished and poorly clothed.
The tears are real. As Leo Strauss put it, oppression that silences dissent paves the way for conviction by removing the only freedom of which most people are capable.
My in-laws were children in the former USSR when Stalin died. No coerced them to weep in the streets. Only later, having left the Soviet Union, did they understand the criminality of the man.
And an economics professor of mine who was an adult living in Egypt after the Six Day War, ran into the streets like others demanding that Nasser stay in power rather than resign after defeat.
These are genuine reactions fostered by years of oppression.
It may just be a matter of degree. I've seen many episodes of "mass psychosis" in the U.S.; fortunately our cultural attention-span has been so reduced they tend not to last long.
The cult seems to have given way to the flash mob.
They're crying because they have changed the devil they know for one they don't. New rules in effect today, and no one, not even the ruler, knows what they are.
As I posted to another comment, please watch the documentary "Inside North Korea" which you can find on YouTube if you don't believe the tears are real. Among many other amazing things you will hear the words of an elderly woman who is about to have an operation to restore her sight, compliments of a rare visit from a foreign eye doctor. What she says she is most thankful for is that after so many years of not being able to see the dear leader's face she will finally have the opportunity. Not only do the tears flow down her face but also all of those listening to her speak.
Incredible.
The documentary asks if it's fear or real love and concludes that at some point they quit knowing the difference.
You are right, the tears are real. Brainwashing over generations works. It's a sad truth. We like to think that we would be different... if we grew up in N Korea, we would see through the propaganda. The reality, I'm afraid, is that most of us would not.
N Koreans having their sight surgically restored rush up to pictures of the Dear Leader and thank him. "I promise I will work harder in the salt mines!!" Disturbing.
I think it's very hard to say whether this is real or not. These people are city-dwellers, and only the most "loyal" are allowed to live in the cities-- so maybe it's real. On the other hand, NK is awash in bootleg South Korean dvds, Chinese cellphones, South Korean bible tracts, and so on, and city dwellers are more exposed to the counter narrative agents than isolated peasants in the countryside, so maybe it's not "real".
Whether it's real or not, the people are clearly performing.
I prefer to think of this video as similar or identical to the future reaction of the Obama-Bots, if we are lucky enough to defeat His Lordship in November, 2012.
Whatever the reason, whether fear of reprisal or genuine remorse at the death of this awful little man, it bespeaks the terrible sickness in the Hermit Kingdom. And soon this twisted cult will have a new leader, one groomed by his tyrannical, evil father. His opportunity will be to reject the past that killed hundreds of thousands and impoverished far more. It will mean rejecting power and the prideful luxuries that Kim squandered on himself and his ruling class. Failure will mean even more suffering for the people of North Korea.
Either the tears are real, or the people photographed were just told how old Kim's son is. They're in for 60 more years of this terror.
I tend to agree with the former, not the latter.
A friend of mine is Korean, and we were in her office talking about the tensions there. This was just after those missile drills that NK launched at SK in 2010. "They are two totally different countries," she told me. "It's not like East and West Germany." I was fascinated as she gave me a quick history lesson back to the Three Kingdoms or Three Nations time of Korea 500 years ago. The cultural divisions are a lot older than the 38th parallel and the Cold War which our typically short memories tend to associate with the Korean peninsula.
I agree with all the comments above. Many people in the former USSR shed genuine tears for Stalin and it always seemed to me to be somewhat akin to a kind of "Stockholm Syndrome" where part of the victim's trauma involves a codependent identification with the oppressor. Is this simply an extreme example of the sickly codependency that government can have on its wards - reducing adults to frightened children? On the other hand, and not necessarily mutually exclusive to the aforementioned, the mourners depicted here look better dressed than the average North Korean, fur coats, colorful imported winter jackets... They are likely part of the Pyongyang nomenklatura, party appartchicks who depend heavily on sycophantic allegiance to the powers that be for their privileges. Are they crying for the Dear Leader or for the coming purges and shake ups that may signal hard times for many of them?
This very public ham acting seems preposterous. But no more preposterous than our almost daily dose of feigned outrage by the likes of Michael Moore and so on.
"He gazed up at the enormous face. Forty years it had taken him to learn what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark moustache. O cruel, needless misunderstanding! O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast! Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother."
Look closely, you'll see no tears, no one's face turning red from prolonged weeping. (The sole exception is the final girl interviewed on camera, which is why they focused on her at the end. Dig deeper and we'll probably discover she's the finest actress in North Korea.)
The banging on the ground with your fists -- how many times in real life have you seen this except in a bad Korean soap opera? (Bobby Lee on "Mad TV" used to mock those to great effect.)
Sure, it's possible some of them felt genuine grief or emotion. These are, after all, party apparatchiks. (Do you think anyone else would be allowed near the capital's center?) They benefit greatly from the system.
They also know that if they are seen on-camera NOT weeping, they will experience it for real. They are method-acting -- by summoning up feelings of what would happen to them if they don't exhibit the right level of grief.
I seem to remember citizens of England going crazy when Diana Spencer died. And she wasn't even a princess anymore, just a party-girl doing some charity work here and there. So it's possible that these N Koreans feel bad on some sincere level (if only shock and awe and hunger). We'll know they've really lost their marbles when they make giant piles of stuffed animals like the Brits.
The mourners who are crying look pretty well fed and clothed. That constitutes a small fraction of the population. I doubt you'll see tears from those who are undernourished and poorly clothed.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe tears are real. As Leo Strauss put it, oppression that silences dissent paves the way for conviction by removing the only freedom of which most people are capable.
My in-laws were children in the former USSR when Stalin died. No coerced them to weep in the streets. Only later, having left the Soviet Union, did they understand the criminality of the man.
And an economics professor of mine who was an adult living in Egypt after the Six Day War, ran into the streets like others demanding that Nasser stay in power rather than resign after defeat.
These are genuine reactions fostered by years of oppression.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYeah, I was put in mind of this, too:
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseExternal Link
It may just be a matter of degree. I've seen many episodes of "mass psychosis" in the U.S.; fortunately our cultural attention-span has been so reduced they tend not to last long.
The cult seems to have given way to the flash mob.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThey're crying because they have changed the devil they know for one they don't. New rules in effect today, and no one, not even the ruler, knows what they are.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAs I posted to another comment, please watch the documentary "Inside North Korea" which you can find on YouTube if you don't believe the tears are real. Among many other amazing things you will hear the words of an elderly woman who is about to have an operation to restore her sight, compliments of a rare visit from a foreign eye doctor. What she says she is most thankful for is that after so many years of not being able to see the dear leader's face she will finally have the opportunity. Not only do the tears flow down her face but also all of those listening to her speak.
Incredible.
The documentary asks if it's fear or real love and concludes that at some point they quit knowing the difference.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYou are right, the tears are real. Brainwashing over generations works. It's a sad truth. We like to think that we would be different... if we grew up in N Korea, we would see through the propaganda. The reality, I'm afraid, is that most of us would not.
A similarly scary video here:
External Link
N Koreans having their sight surgically restored rush up to pictures of the Dear Leader and thank him. "I promise I will work harder in the salt mines!!" Disturbing.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI think it's very hard to say whether this is real or not. These people are city-dwellers, and only the most "loyal" are allowed to live in the cities-- so maybe it's real. On the other hand, NK is awash in bootleg South Korean dvds, Chinese cellphones, South Korean bible tracts, and so on, and city dwellers are more exposed to the counter narrative agents than isolated peasants in the countryside, so maybe it's not "real".
Whether it's real or not, the people are clearly performing.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI prefer to think of this video as similar or identical to the future reaction of the Obama-Bots, if we are lucky enough to defeat His Lordship in November, 2012.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhatever the reason, whether fear of reprisal or genuine remorse at the death of this awful little man, it bespeaks the terrible sickness in the Hermit Kingdom. And soon this twisted cult will have a new leader, one groomed by his tyrannical, evil father. His opportunity will be to reject the past that killed hundreds of thousands and impoverished far more. It will mean rejecting power and the prideful luxuries that Kim squandered on himself and his ruling class. Failure will mean even more suffering for the people of North Korea.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseEither the tears are real, or the people photographed were just told how old Kim's son is. They're in for 60 more years of this terror.
I tend to agree with the former, not the latter.
A friend of mine is Korean, and we were in her office talking about the tensions there. This was just after those missile drills that NK launched at SK in 2010. "They are two totally different countries," she told me. "It's not like East and West Germany." I was fascinated as she gave me a quick history lesson back to the Three Kingdoms or Three Nations time of Korea 500 years ago. The cultural divisions are a lot older than the 38th parallel and the Cold War which our typically short memories tend to associate with the Korean peninsula.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI agree with all the comments above. Many people in the former USSR shed genuine tears for Stalin and it always seemed to me to be somewhat akin to a kind of "Stockholm Syndrome" where part of the victim's trauma involves a codependent identification with the oppressor. Is this simply an extreme example of the sickly codependency that government can have on its wards - reducing adults to frightened children? On the other hand, and not necessarily mutually exclusive to the aforementioned, the mourners depicted here look better dressed than the average North Korean, fur coats, colorful imported winter jackets... They are likely part of the Pyongyang nomenklatura, party appartchicks who depend heavily on sycophantic allegiance to the powers that be for their privileges. Are they crying for the Dear Leader or for the coming purges and shake ups that may signal hard times for many of them?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseBut...it looks so fake...the tears that is.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThis very public ham acting seems preposterous. But no more preposterous than our almost daily dose of feigned outrage by the likes of Michael Moore and so on.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"He gazed up at the enormous face. Forty years it had taken him to learn what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark moustache. O cruel, needless misunderstanding! O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast! Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother."
--George Orwell, 1984
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe cameraman may have slipped up a bit around 2min. 27sec., by showing a rather large number of apparently-unconcerned passers-by.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseLook closely, you'll see no tears, no one's face turning red from prolonged weeping. (The sole exception is the final girl interviewed on camera, which is why they focused on her at the end. Dig deeper and we'll probably discover she's the finest actress in North Korea.)
The banging on the ground with your fists -- how many times in real life have you seen this except in a bad Korean soap opera? (Bobby Lee on "Mad TV" used to mock those to great effect.)
Sure, it's possible some of them felt genuine grief or emotion. These are, after all, party apparatchiks. (Do you think anyone else would be allowed near the capital's center?) They benefit greatly from the system.
They also know that if they are seen on-camera NOT weeping, they will experience it for real. They are method-acting -- by summoning up feelings of what would happen to them if they don't exhibit the right level of grief.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI seem to remember citizens of England going crazy when Diana Spencer died. And she wasn't even a princess anymore, just a party-girl doing some charity work here and there. So it's possible that these N Koreans feel bad on some sincere level (if only shock and awe and hunger). We'll know they've really lost their marbles when they make giant piles of stuffed animals like the Brits.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThis is the wrong clip. These are American citizens who just realized they shouldn't have checked the "Asian" box on their college applications.
External Link
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI agree, which is very unusual for me when it comes to the National Review.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse