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decades on the topic of north korea remains a touchy subject. the world has passed judgment the country is beyond repair. our preconceived ideas about the democratic people's republic of north korea remain firmly in place the in a radical orwellian regime paranoid schizophrenic a place of modern day gulags. a red dynasty long headed by a despotic film buff and now by his son whose portly appearance is topped with a singular haircut. and then there's the country's nuclear arsenal a threat that makes the self-proclaimed innocent nations of the world tremble with fear. when it comes to north korea why do we so often resort to cliches in light of the difficult and often tragic situation the country's people find themselves in the hyperbole seems rather inappropriate.

we're often told that foreigners are not permitted into the country that those who do manage to visit are not permitted to see much of anything and that those who do manage to see something should remember it's probably fake. someone once insisted to us that there were no high rises in pyongyang. a disorienting claim given that one of us was living on the 24th floor of a building on quite a box street at the time. this film was shot over a period of 8 years by 3 people one of us is

a translator of korean. between us we made more than 40 trips to north korea. but the film does not show prison camps or rocket launch pads. that's for benton as are images of soldiers construction sites shopping malls gambling pictures of people who do not have enough to eat and pictures of people who are eating avoiding these images is harder than it might seem. entering north korea is still complicated but foreigners are permitted to travel and explore the country although they always have a local minder. visitors are not required to proclaim their loyalty to the state nor do they only see what the state permits them to see. and it's a myth that you'll never hear laughter in north korea.

or. the. law. as soon as we leave the city the roads are riddled with cracks and potholes. the bumpy journey is hard on drivers and vehicles. that could explain why broken

down trucks and buses are a common sight. depending on the season the workers in the fields might be harvesting wheat rice or potatoes although much of the country is mountainous the rest is primarily devoted to farming. north korea hopes to become economically self-sufficient someday every square metre of available land is put to use even on the steep hillsides. but only barely 20 percent of the land is arable. her and up her heart. this factory was not filmed in 1920 but in

2016 using a small camera while exploring the city of homs home. as so often in north korea appearances are deceiving. this is the country's largest fertilizer factory which kim il sung honored with more than 30 visits. it's recently been modernized in a bid to increase the productivity of the country's co-operative farms. co-operative farms like this one with its familiar oxcarts geese and ducks and the omnipresent red flags. another visit to a collective farm a year later it's raining and everyone has gone to seek shelter. the productivity chart proudly displays the farm's eels so. we

take shelter in the living room of one of the farm workers she tells us about the bitter cold winters hot summers and the fact breaking work in the rice fields her son is 14 small for his age she admits but the family has been through hard times. her son was born just as the great famine was ending. behind her one of the country's ubiquitous historical melodrama says playing on t.v. . then she launches into a vivid description of her visits to pyongyang. to send here was an idea in addition to the muslim of the great need as i visited the museum of the revenue she and the amusement park near the neatest birthplace the revolutionary mount to cemetery the science and technology museum and the grand people study house. i went everywhere because. it's.

anyone from the provinces who visits the capital comes here 1st the house where kim il sung was born the birthplace of the republic. and this is where it all started they say. the great leaders training as a revolutionary the resistance against the japanese the struggle against the evil landowners and collaborators. it's a story that's very familiar to people here. and as kim il sung was the son of an ordinary peasant he's also venerated as a role model. this is a place of pilgrimage year round in the winter the buildings and grounds are decked in sober white. during our visit and 2011 we 1st saw a local visitors wearing brightly colored winter coats imported from china.

by 2015 the classes of schoolchildren are wearing brand name sweatpants even though their sneakers don't quite yet make the grade. september brings the color of autumn and a pumpkin on the patched roof. who have the. everything is bigger more modern more beautiful we were told by the woman from the collective farm. the city has more of everything more light more shops more food more housing more work more education more culture who wouldn't want to live here. the capitol is more than the epicenter of the state it's an icon. our farmer would probably have been told that these exemplary buildings are home to exemplary citizens scientists soldiers civil servants. some of the

most eminent live on the glossy numerate or future scientists treat. for a farmer from a village without so much as a paved road this would be an impressive sight. and the people who live here seem to have plenty of time for leisure activities. our visitor from the collective farm couldn't help but be dazzled by these high rises the most famous of which looks like an atom when viewed from above. and by the new districts springing up around the city built with the labor of the country soldiers and workers.

but it would be very unlikely that our visitor would ever set foot in one of these apartments reserved for the most worthy citizens. it's perfectly neat and tidy for the residents have fled the camera there's a computer cell phone books and a sewing machine. the balcony offers a view across the city in the midst of a real estate boom there's an abundance of color quite the contrast to the gray that dominated here just 20 years ago. this real estate boom has given rise to a black market in pyongyang and other large cities. when the state awards a faithful follower with a new apartment they pass on the old one to the highest bidder for a choice location prices can easily top $100000.00 and only a fraction of that is tax that ends up in state coffers karl marx might have called this the primitive accumulation of capital. of visitors tour might end with

a trip to an amusement park or a water park one of kim jong un's priorities is building playgrounds for the people . the entrance fee equivalent of 2 euros isn't cheap by local standards but everyone mingles and enjoys themselves even the adults get into the swing of things. so do something like i came with my group but i don't know where my coworkers are. now i'm looking for them to go to court number and usually followed by some that.

has good mood on the united i work at a large coal mine an hour away from pyongyang i can't come often because of my work i. don't see let's hear a little today we visited the great leaders muscly i'm so i stop by here. i like to come to pyongyang. relax time after having fun like this work comes more easily i. want what are you looking at go play the fool. we've never been abroad but now we have lots of water parks even at home in our province north of the suv you lose more you didn't look more you know carnival modifies we will become the best in the world without anyone's help just by our own hands but with the title. i any more questions where the best the family. were. some of the rural visitors seem

a bit lost in the crowd home but since many people don't know how to swim no one really notices. but on state television nowadays people can even tune into swimming lessons. i. the sun is beginning to set a good time to visit the city's main amusement park beyond pyongyang's arch of triumph. like everywhere in north korea filming anything to do with the military is banned but hard to avoid because soldiers are everywhere. i some might call this nothing but bread and circuses but it's far more than that there's hardly a north korean who doesn't dream of living in pyongyang and every resident of pyongyang is terrified of being expelled from the city for some foolish mistake forcing them and their family to live in exile for

a few years or for the rest of their lives in a place where they'll have less of everything. with its lights and sights pyongyang. hires loyalty. people flock to the parks and swimming pools to enjoy what is the most attractive city in the country. and even the world for the people who live here at least since their world ends at the north korean border.

we've never witnessed a birth in north korea but we've seen plenty of weddings. for wedding preparations to be more precise like this professional photo shoot for the happy couple is posing in front of pyongyang most iconic locations. it's monsoon season which means 38 degrees celsius and a very humid. so susan has elicited the bride and groom 1st went to the statues of the great leaders. then we came to the flower park you see here near the water fountain so. soldiers usually like to pose in front of military monuments like the monument to the victorious fatherland liberation war. what the wedding video doesn't show are the many people who helped make this happy event possible.

war to 4 o'clock until they get up. in north korea most marriages are arranged through matchmakers it's their job to find the ideal marriage partner who will also be suitable to the families. although marrying for love is just starting to trend arranged marriages are still the norm one result is that people usually marry within their own social class. for many decades the country's elite was dominated by the revolutionary comrades of kim il sung and their descendants. at the bottom of the social order were the families of people who had collaborated with japan and their descendants. in between were some 40 subclasses who were not permitted to marry outside their rank. the end of kim il sung's regime the famine under kim jong il and the partial disintegration of both state and party that followed not only shook the country but also its traditional

social hierarchy. this helped loosen the stringent marriage rules. today the my. most desirable professions for a husband are scientist diplomat the military and of course business professionals . for years women traffic police were highly sought after on the marriage market but they're seen less often now with the installation of traffic lights. young couples are expected to have children and their education will be put in the hands of the state at an early age. the country boasts a reported literacy rate of 100 percent a success that is attributed to the revolution. the most important school subjects

are math physics music and singing korean and the lives of the great leaders. from kindergarten on children are subjected to a rigorous selection process the best students spend their holidays taking part in sports at the young pioneer camps. i must. have. fun. 7 c when we arrive at the stadium the competition is underway each side is cheering on its team. the young charges aren't wearing the standard lapel pins bearing the images of the great leaders there on holiday and children under 16 aren't obliged to wear them for a good at rider

a good idea i thought i would have to add ira. then it's time for the tug of war there are all took the evil american soldier in the middle is tough he's already made it through several tournaments era 6 6 6 of i i i. could. i'd i'm. finding a good husband having a successful career these topics are far more interesting to most north koreans than the endless propaganda they're exposed to getting married is important and

it's also the focus of the sitcoms that are broadcast on a giant screen at the central railway station the local stand here to watch them in the middle of december even in a chilly minus 15 degree celsius. where we were who who who who are people there's also an ad for automaker p.r. which means peace and curry and the company was founded by sun myung moon's unification. in church but has been fully owned by the state since 2013. was that of. the sitcom's betray a politically correct world the individual matters only as a part of the collective were being a good worker is what counts. in

the winter everyone is responsible for a stretch of road no matter how much snow has fallen it has to be cleared. that's why scenes of people scraping snow and ice off their patch of road before heading off to the office are a common sight in the winter. for some un known reason we had to wait for years before our guides allowed us to film in parks. more on bowling park is a popular place for sunday outings at something like north korea's central park and

. we wondered why permission to film here took so long. people drawing park scenes hardly seem like a state secret. then there are also shooting ranges. dancers. and lots of picnics. on public holidays the state sometimes distributes meat and beer. i. think that. kind of. like. what. these pensioners free of family and professional obligations are enjoying a day out. i say.

they're free style of dancing that's not easily defined and has the air of a show moniker ritual. in 1956 filmmaker chris marker who was part of the 1st french delegation to visit the north after the korean war recorded almost identical scenes of workers dancing by a train factory. only stands to more and bang park and you know you need to learn us how we can play with full mcconnell makes the game was only meet every sunday to down it's. not. like. the senate passed the thank

you. why don't you stand down with us. the district next to the park is nicknamed little dubai at 1st sight it looks like a kind of commuter suburb but appearances are deceiving. all sorts of things are hidden behind these tinted windows electronics stores pharmacies banquet halls supermarkets and huge. selection of bars and restaurants.

this television ad sings the praises of a luxury supermarket so heavily airconditioned the staff wear warm jackets it's well stocked with everything from swiss chocolate to olive oil french and italian wines and imported fruit. the elegant restaurants up stairs are popular with the don't jews the money masters as the newly affluent are called they serve up sushi cappuccino a $20.00 steak north korea is no longer an empty consumerist state quite the opposite for those who can afford it.

north korea's party newspapers don't publish restaurant reviews yet but given the number of restaurants barbecue joints and snack bars cropping up everywhere around the country that's probably not too far off. is the north korean obsession with food a remnant of the arduous march the famine that ravaged the country between $1942000.00 causing somewhere between. half a 1000000 and a 1000000 deaths. back then even the word restaurant was considered taboo. kim jong il came into power he promised the north koreans they would never face such deprivation again. now food has become a sign of success an important part of the culture almost as much as in south korea .

we come across a 2800 press release from the official north korean news agency. it reads from the 2nd to the 4th of april the 23rd cooking festival took place at the pyongyang noodle house marking the day of the sun the birthday of president kim il sung. if there's anything north koreans excel at it's. each time military experts around the world scrutinized the missiles mounted on the vehicles imported in violation of u.n. sanctions. others analyze the slogans ponder the differences between parades over 3 generations of rulers. his son and his grandson. but there's one constant over the years the images of north koreans cheering on their leaders. with.

the who takes weeks of practice to make these living mosaics. normally filming rehearsals is forbidden. north korea only likes to display finished products or a painting. missile or reform. but it's a tempting scene. since 5 30 in the morning the students have been out on every square in the city practicing for the upcoming parade. all of pyongyang its main roads pass through kim il sung square. it's obligatory to slow down when passing in front of the portraits of the great leaders so the temptation to reach for our cell phones and cameras as high. as.

we observe the portraits as they observe us. during our 1st visits here we were like many foreigners and treat by their omnipresence. but the more often we visited the less we noticed them. the same does not apply to north koreans cyclists are required to dismount from their bikes and look upon the statues of their leaders. cars must slow down. 6 passers by turn to gaze at the images. shortly after kim jong il's death by young upper class woman trying to explain what the leaders meant to her. it's a bit like you with your jesus she said except for us jesus would also be

a member of the family. in the heat of the summer we occasionally saw a fan cooling a portrait of the leaders. north korean art like this fresco near the entrance to a sports shoe factory is designed to protect the country as the party would like to see it it's not pure fiction but more often more an aspiration rather than a reality. the real one factory or weeping willow paradise has 700 workers 70 percent are

women they produce 1500000 sports shoes a year its assembly line work. for years local products were conspicuous in their conformity. now the factory is seeking to draw inspiration from foreign trends. in marketing jargon this is what's called benchmarking. so you know kitty after he visited our factory a respected marshall sent us 142 pairs of foreign shoe models but one thing he said all this. dismissed. he told is to display them at the workplace next to the ones which had been done incorrectly. but the point is should be that i was technicians and employees to

observe and compare them to ours so. our goal is to raise the quality of our shoes to an international level and that i just. copying foreign trends reducing imports and promoting local industry makes sense in a country that is often struck by sanctions but for the plan to work the products have to appeal to north korean consumers. one new brand is called body parts with a b. the shoes all sport 3 stripes. in north korea patriotism is still a key sales driver. fashions are changing slowly too. in the early 1990 s. a foreign ministry publication was still proudly defending the goal of a monochrome society something between grey and brown. the times have changed.

we pay a visit to a bowling alley bowling popular in the 1980 s. has become trendy again. up stairs people are playing the slot machines. downstairs we get a good look at some of the latest passions here to banners tell the party line. it reads let's advance the social revolution that ensures the happiness and well being of the masses. if it wasn't for the slogans on the walls we could be almost

anywhere in asia. this young woman is an office worker. but that's not everyone dresses to suit their body type and coloring some women have square shoulders and try to disguise them. even to cut you would see the heavier ones try to dress in the color there to stand . up and men do the same don't. ok. everyone knows best which clothes shoes and makeup to choose so they can look stylish it was to. make on friday have fun. in the curiosity we come here with friends and colleagues to get some exercise and relax. bowling alone is no fun is the atmosphere and good mood that counts when he she wanted a few more. it's

. just. at this rest area along the motorway a bus full of chinese tourists has stopped on its way to k. song the city at the border to south korea. and 2017 nice visitors had all but disappeared due to sanctions. and $28.00 team they returned nearly $1000.00 chinese tourists come each day drawn by the peace and quiet the unspoiled nature and perhaps a touch of nostalgia for a country that reminds them of china 40 years ago. though it might come as

a surprise the training for jobs in the tourism industry is very popular in north korea nowadays. over the long term the country is hoping to increase the number of visitors by 30 percent each year. in the fall one sun beach on the east sea is deserted. it's the off season here 2 soldiers have the beach to themselves. this time we're allowed to film them since they're not in uniform but. this is the same beach in the summer. on the right the premium beach for affluent visitors. on the left the public area

where admission costs just a few cents. whether it's a group of workers a gathering of students or entire families everyone's enjoying themselves. and. people arrive by truck or on bicycles some come for the day others for a week. many come from rural regions. ok everybody dig in. and. we come from the countryside north of pyongyang. the whole family has come here to relax it's the best place to rest and have tried. our leader kim

jong long encouraged us to come on. they're building another tourist site in one sun and this year we're enjoying the beach here. next year we plan to relax into a new comer tourist zone. but you know. in the distance we can see the construction site dozens of hotels are being built that's another priority for the current leader. when donald trump met with kim jong un the us president was enthusiastic about the area and said the location had a lot of potential for development. in 20152016 north korean delegation this discreetly inspected the french riviera and other mediterranean resorts for ideas that they could bring back to adopted home. but.

the manager of a famous local fish restaurant is pleased with what's happening. the madness of this so it's like a great opportunity to make one sound known around the world. i do but there are knots of guest houses and some will have towns i know some people even campaign because the sea is very. stressed because. because if i have many french people will come here to swim and try a famous soup of course see go look up. except in the mining and nuclear testing areas there's lots of unspoiled nature here. due to unbar goes farming uses very little artificial fertilizer. there's little light pollution due to frequent electricity shortages. it comes as something of a surprise that north korea has never thought to market itself as

a pioneer in sustainable development. and inhabited for the past 65 years the demilitarized zone has preserved a unique biodiversity. so far pyongyang doesn't seem inclined to take advantage of these natural assets. in the rest of the world north korea is seen as an anomaly. north korea also sees itself as unique which it certainly is as frequent visitors we are struck by the endless repetition of the same songs sung everywhere at schools and on public

transportation the same slogans decorate the streets the same films are constantly broadcast on t.v. north korea is a country under a bell jar a country marching to its own. face it's impenetrable frustrating exhausting. but it's people are open curious and full of life. north korea is changing rapidly. poly or fast fast is a favorite phrase and both north and south korea. north koreans tastes are changing as are their hopes for the future. perhaps one day our image of north korea will change to.

the south african saying a better environment than. 2 men are taking a new approach to waste recycling players' garbage was polluting their community but now and this dual have become recycling experts and they're planning a great future. for. minutes on d w. they

were forced into a nameless mass. of their bodies near tools. the history of the slave trade is africa's history. he describes for power and profit from it and an entire continent into chaos and violence the slave system created the greatest planned accumulation of wealth the world had ever seen up to that moment in time this is the journey back into the history of slavery. i think will truly be making progress when we all accept the history of slavery as all of our history. our documentary series slavery routs starts march 9th on d w. this

is news coming to you live from berlin global stock markets plunge as more countries are hit by the coronavirus and is china's censorship of the doctor who 1st warned about its outbreak to blame for the spread of the pirates will meet an activist who says free speech is fighting for the fight against disease also coming up a serious escalation in syria turkey files reprisals against president assad's forces after more than 30 of its troops are killed in an air raid in northwestern syria the u.s. .