A Really Big Show

by Suki Kim

North Korea is something that always interests me. I think it's the fact that, even in the information age, we know so very little about what actually goes on in that country, and what it's like to live there. In this article, Kim follows the New York Philharmonic on their 'historic' trip to Pyongyang to perform for a North Korean audience.

What we learn, of course, is very little, as Kim and his fellow journalists are ushered from set-piece tourist sites to lavish banquets to over-heated hotel rooms. Their entire journey is managed, but he is still able to provide the odd insight into life in Pyongyang, mostly through analyzing what is absent in his interactions with the few people he is allowed to speak with freely.

There isn't much that's new in the article, and sadly, Kim Jong Il never makes an appearance, but it is a very interesting study of cultural diplomacy and journalistic standards and expectations.