Monthly Archives: February 2013

Video: North Koreans after a parade

on February 28, 2013 in NorthKorea

While we were stuck at the little state-fair-like celebration for foreigners, the elite and military of Pyongyang were participating in this: You may recognize the place as Kim Il Sung Square, where we were meeting and joking around with regular people just the day before. We did, however, get to see everyone streaming from the parade. Our bus couldn’t move because we got stuck behind a road closing. First we[…] Keep reading →

If you think you’re right and they’re wrong, you’re probably annoying someone, illustrated

on February 28, 2013 in Awareness, Blog

Two years ago I wrote about a movie clip that illustrates how we feel when we feel we’re right, the other person is wrong, and we have to convince them of it. https://joshuaspodek.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/The_Big_Lebowski_on_Right_and_Wrong_Versus_Not_Being_an_A-ho.mp4 I wrote recently how if you think you’re right and someone else is wrong, you’re probably pissing someone off. We’ve all been on all sides of such situations — aggressor, defender, third-party observer. You see something you[…] Keep reading →

Video: Reflections on the Revolutionary Martyrs’ Cemetery at the celebration for foreigners

on February 28, 2013 in NorthKorea

I interviewed Joe, who had been living in South Korea before visiting North Korea, about the experience at the Revolutionary Martyrs’ Cemetery, since it was such an emotional experience. At this point we are in a park just below the cemetery, which is on one of Pyongyang’s highest points, I believe. He talks about how surprising it was to be given such deference in the face of North Korea’s social[…] Keep reading →

Video: Revolutionary Martyrs’ Cemetery on the hundredth anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s birth

on February 27, 2013 in Freedom, Leadership, NorthKorea

A video of the Revolutionary Martyrs’ Cemetery on the hundredth anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s birth — roughly like being at Arlington on July 4, 1976. There were many soldiers and foreign tourists, making for an odd mix. Normally the government prohibits tourists from taking pictures of the military, but perhaps for the special day, since they were there ceremonially, and since there were so many of them they let[…] Keep reading →

Video: An amusement park in Pyongyang, North Korea and some cute girls there

on February 27, 2013 in NorthKorea

Would you expect an amusement park in Pyongyang, North Korea? Not only did we go to a big one, we saw remnants of old roller coasters and other rides in other parts of Pyongyang. We weren’t sure how many people got to enjoy the fun fair, but for most tourists it’s their best chance to interact directly with North Koreans untrained by the government to lead their tours. We had[…] Keep reading →

George Clooney on being yourself in the face of adversity

on February 27, 2013 in Blog, Leadership

For my third post on George Clooney’s Inside the Actors Studio interview, here he speaks on being yourself in challenging situations. I’ve written on the overlap I see between the art and craft of leadership and acting, how both deeply involve being aware of knowing and managing your emotions so you can know and evoke emotions in others. I think the training of leaders can benefit from the more mature[…] Keep reading →

Video: North Korea’s War Museum and differences between expectations and experiences

on February 27, 2013 in Freedom, NorthKorea

Before entering the War Museum (not sure the official name), I interviewed my friend and group-mate, Andrew, on the differences between our expectations — that the environment would be oppressive, we would be watched all the time, and so on — and experiences — communicating with the people and learning so much. Sorry about the sound, but as you can see it was windy. Here are details of painting of[…] Keep reading →

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