Word: pyongyang
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Ordinarily, the arrival in Pyongyang of Mongolian President Jambyn Batmonh would scarcely register a blip on the radar screens of international diplomacy. But when Batmonh stepped off his jetliner in North Korea's capital last week, television footage of the welcoming ceremony was almost immediately flashed to eagerly awaiting networks and wire services around the world. Reason: the Premier was greeted by a man whose sudden and violent death had been widely rumored and, in some cases, reported as confirmed fact for two days. Yet there he was, Kim Il Sung, the "Great Leader," still paunchy and apparently hale...
...Pyongyang's glee at its neighbor's discomfort suggested that North Korea would have had no qualms about mounting a malicious disinformation campaign, although probably not one centering on rumors of its leader's death. Kim has spent nearly four decades creating a cult around his personality and accomplishments that is Pharaonic in its intensity. He has erected larger- than-life statues of himself in virtually every North Korean city, and inspired a school curriculum based on adulation of his teachings. Korea watchers in the U.S. doubt that he would trifle with his self-created legend merely to score...
Still, a dog's life is subject to cultural differences. What is adorable in Pasadena might be pronounced delicious in Pyongyang. Whether a cat ends up in a lap or a wok is a matter of local custom. There are moments when Serpell seems to harbor a hidden vegetarian agenda. His descriptions of the insensitive technology of pig farming and "porcine stress syndrome" take the fun out of a ham sandwich. Yet In the Company of Animals is not intended to change our habits but to open our minds. Historians, psychologists, sociologists and Lady Beaverbrook may resent Serpell's romp...
...fled from financial troubles. Shin apparently had not made a film since 1975. Years passed with no word of the pair's whereabouts. Then, in 1984, Shin and Choi showed up in Yugoslavia, claiming that they had voluntarily defected to North Korea. The South Korean government insisted that the Pyongyang regime was controlling their movements. But the couple, who produced perhaps as many as six films in North Korea, were apparently free to travel across Europe with incomes of $3 million a year...
...intransigence on Chun's part, however, is equally certain to foment national divisions and put the country at risk. As he looks toward Manila and Pyongyang, perhaps he can see that compromise rather than conflict holds out the hope of a happier outcome...