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 inspires 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 or wedding preparations to be more precise like this professional photo shoot for the happy couple is posing in front of pyongyang as most iconic locations. it's monsoon season which means 38 degrees celsius and a very humid. day 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 one. minute soldiers usually like to pose in front of military monuments if you like the monument to the victorious fatherland liberation war. what the wedding. the oed doesn't show are the many people who helped make this

happy event possible. before it was existed. 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 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. last 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. there yet here are. by 7 7 c. the time when we arrive at the stadium a 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 period at it a priority and i think i would have to add ira. then it's time for the tug of war there are up to the evil american soldier in the middle is tough he's already made it through several tournaments are a 6 6 6 my. eye i read. 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 a central railway station the local stand here to watch them in the middle of december even in a chilly minus 15 degrees celsius. well who who . who are. there is also an ad for automaker p.r. which means peace and curry and the company was founded by sun myung moon's unification. church but has been fully owned by the state since 2013. who. was the one who. was the in the the sitcoms betray

a politically correct world the individual matters only as a part of the collective we're 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 unknown 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 it's 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. but i. think. most. of.

these pensioners free of family and professional obligations are enjoying a day out. i was. there free style of dancing is 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. and it was live only stands to more and beyond park and you know you need to learn how we can pay with full mcconnell makes. it more easily meet every sunday to down it's

. a mother nuts. and it doesn't thanks. why do you stand out 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 a 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 choose 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 1009 142000 causing somewhere between half a 1000000 and a 1000000 deaths. back then even the word restaurant was considered taboo. 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 scrutinize the missiles mounted on the vehicles imported in violation of u.n. sanctions. others analyze the slogan 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. the bid takes weeks of practice to make these living mosaics odd. normally filming rehearsals is forbidden. north korea only likes to display finished products be require a painting of a missile or a reform. but it's a tempting scene. since 5 30 in the morning 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 is high. 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. the 6 6 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. the i in the heat of the summer we occasionally saw a fan cooling the 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 that 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 it's assembly line workers. who. 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 guilty after he visited our factory a respected marshall said us 142 pairs of foreign shoe models but one time he said all this by getting them. to dismiss. you simply

told us to display them at the workplace next to the ones which had been done incorrectly. but the point is should be this that allows 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. 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 this cold body box 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 to say everyone dresses to suit their body type and coloring some women have square shoulders and try to disguise them well. how do you would see the heavier ones try to dress in the color there to stand. up and then do the same don't think. everyone knows best which clothes shoes and makeup to choose so they can look stylish. did you listen 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 what is the atmosphere and good mood that counts. none of the people. here. it's. just so. 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. in 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. 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 and they're building another tourist site in one sun and this year we're enjoying the beach here. next year we plan to rely simply newcomer tourists on. 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.

the manager of a famous local fish restaurant is pleased with what's happening. the mine is one of these so it's a great opportunity to make one sound known around the world. i do want us there are nuts of guest houses and small hotels some people even campaign because the sea is very close. just because. because it i hope many french people will come here to swim and try a famous soup of course see go look look look look look look what. except in the mining and nuclear testing areas there's lots of unspoiled nature here. due to embargoed 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. uninhabited for the past 65 years the demilitarized zone has preserved a unique biodiversity. and. so far pyongyang doesn't seem inclined to take advantage of these natural assets. am. i am. and 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 pace it's impenetrable frustrating exhausting. but its people are open curious and full of life. north korea is changing rapidly. or fast fast is a favorite phrase in 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.

from old to young. statistically speaking non-local has the oldest population in japan. but it's not going to die out. the program is trying to attract the young people it's been so successful that the country's oldest village has now become

a trendsetter. in 2000 and. 13 w. . 9 nobody is going green. kenya's capital city is transforming illegal dump sites into public parks al-ameen what you wish was a new make it a place where people want convenience and custom yesterday chance the path to becoming an environmentally friendly metropolis. col nairobi is bringing nature back to the city africa. 90 minutes w. it was the 1st international tribunal in history. the nurnberg trials. 75 years ago high ranking officers of the nazi regime of morning judging by the

allied forces. for the 1st criminals to be held accountable for their crimes for good. measure right now i am on building a very brutal pair using a gray shirt. to. our 2 court series the 3rd reich dark one starts nov 12th on d. w. . this is news and these our top stories european union countries have agreed to a common strategy for restricting travel from coronavirus hotspots it's a traffic light system showing regions as green and more of retched depending on the number of corona virus cases and assess how to avoid the kind of confusion that disruptive travel at the height of the initial outbreak and much. us

president nation for the vacancy on the supreme court says.