Imagine my delight upon learning that Rodong Sinmun (“Newspaper of the Workers’’), the official publication of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of North Korea, had suddenly become available in English, on the Internet. Rodong is like Pravda in the old USSR, the journal of record for the country’s ruling clique.
Oh, frabjous day! What perfect timing. We are traversing a brief North Korean Moment in world history, as 29-year-old Kim Jong-un, accedes to power after the untimely death of the incumbent, his father, Kim Jong-il. Jong-il, of course was the son of the long-reigning Kim Il-sung. Let’s face it, these are people who make Newt Gingrich look like an Eagle Scout heading for his first national jamboree.
By coincidence, I am traversing a brief Juche moment of my own. (“Juche’’ is a catchall term describing North Korea’s ideology, and even applies to the modern calendar. This year, for instance, is Juche 101, dating 101 years from the birth of the first Beloved Leader, Kim Il-sung.)
I just read my first Inspector O mystery novel, set in North Korea - not bad - and tried like the devil to appreciate Adam Johnson’s ambitious new novel about North Korea, “The Orphan Master’s Son.’’ In a gushy review, The New York Times let slip that “Orphan Master’’ was “long-winded.’’ Too much wind for me, I fear. I read only halfway through.
So what’s in the morning paper in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang? Here is the lead story: “Kim Jong Un Enjoys Music and Dance Performance’’ at the April 25 House of Culture. The show, “We Will Hold Our Supreme Commander in High Esteem for All Ages,’’ “included colorful numbers like brass band and mixed chorus ‘Comrade Kim Jong Il Is Our Supreme Commander,’ female solo and mixed pangchang of immortal masterpiece ‘Where Are You, Dear General?’ male solo and male chorus ‘Song of Comradeship,’ male chorus ‘Leader, Just Give Us Your Order,’ and mixed chorus ‘Strength of Korea.’ ’’
