After completing our obligatory visit to the Mansudae Grand Monument, we were off to the nearby Moranbong Park. Since it was a national holiday in North Korea, the park was full of Pyongyang locals enjoying one of their few days off. They were all gathered in circles, grilling meat on small barbecues, drinking beer and soju, and singing folk songs. There were several elderly women who had setup a table and were selling squid jerky, popcorn, beer, and, surprisingly, cans of Coke.
One of the pavilions in the park
Family posing for a photo
Our guides were incredibly relaxed at the park and allowed us to wander around and mingle with the locals. Since none of them spoke English, however, there wasn’t much conversation, just a lot of gesturing, nodding, and grinning. Asking permission to take a photo would inevitably end up with you being invited to sit down with them while they shoved meat in your mouth and handed you shots of whatever moonshine they had managed to acquire. Overall, an incredibly hospitable group of people.
One woman started banging on a drum she had brought along, which prompted one of the men to get up and dance. He was quickly joined by the other members of the group, who started grabbing random Americans as dance partners. We had suddenly found ourselves in the midst of an impromptu dance party.
This guy was absolutely hilarious.
I have absolutely no idea what I am doing here
The lady on the right grabbed me and twirled me around about 50 times. I am embarrassed to say that she completely wore me out. I blame the jet lag.
Our dance party attracted a rather large group of locals who looked on bemusedly as we tried to mimic the dance moves of our Korean partners. I’m glad we could provide them with a bit of entertainment.
More photos here. Video will be posted eventually.
Related posts:
- North Korean dance party at Moranbong Park And finally, here is the last of the footage I shot in North Korea. This was taken at Moranbong Park during North Korea’s national independence holiday. With plenty of beer and meat on the grill, it’s not that far off from an American 4th of July celebration (except for, you...
- North Korea’s Funniest Home Videos: U.S. Imperialists attempt to dance in Moranbong Park Apologies for the month long absence, but I spent June doing the following: laying in bed with a nasty bacterial throat infection, packing up all of my belongings, moving from Arlington to Alexandria, unpacking all of my belongings, looking for jobs, etc. etc. More on that later this month. Anyways,...
- North Korea: Mass Dance videos (aka massive dance party, Pyongyang style) Here are a few videos I took of the Mass Dance to celebrate the DPRK’s independence day. Our American guide informed us that this music and style of dancing is considered “modern/socialist”. Ain’t no hip-hop in the DPRK, that’s for sure. Also, I’m glad we aren’t required to do this...
From Richard:
Your success with the dance-off method brings to mind a number of alternative scenarios for high-level U.S.-NK diplomacy, including sending the Black Eyed Peas to Pyonyang rather than Amb. Bosworth and getting Obama to load up another iPod.
From Lindsay:
Agreed. If only the State Department would think outside the box more often this whole nuclear issue would be resolved quickly!
From Margaret:
Amazing. At least their freedom of movement is not 100% restricted there. Free your ass, and your mind will follow. Go people-to-people diplomacy!