North Korea's strange propaganda slogan: “Love the future”

There was a time when it was possible to take pictures of North Korea by crossing the Yalu and Tumen rivers. After the borders were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it became impossible to cross the border. In addition, after China implemented the anti-espionage law, it has become difficult to take photos on the border between North Korea and China. We live in a time when taking pictures of the North has become a difficult task.

One day in late January 2024, when the sky cleared after a sudden drop to subzero temperatures, I took my telephoto lens and went to the Unification Observatory. It is very convenient to have an observatory near the border to view parts of North Korea. However, at some point, the name of the Tawhid Observatory was changed to the Peace Observatory. The same applies to Aegibong Peace Eco Park in Gimpo. Neither Korea has ever been at peace. Although peace cannot be achieved without reunification, the previous government renamed places such as the Tawhid Observatory to include the word peace. Aside from these bitter feelings, she looked across the frozen Han River towards the north. The raging winter winds made the frozen ground seem even colder. Although Mount Songak in Kaesong was visible, the mountain represented the other half of the nation that we could not enter.

In the place known as the “Propaganda Village,” there were a few dilapidated houses and North Koreans working in the rice fields. The fields abandoned after the harvest seem to reflect the desolation of North Korea today. At the entrance to the village there was the Tower of Eternal Life, a billboard of propaganda slogans, and a mosaic mural. When I zoomed in, I could see the slogans “Long live the revolutionary ideology of Comrade Kim Jong Un” and “Let us protect our revolution with rice.” Not long ago the slogan was “Let us support the party with rice.” The party changed its slogan to “Our Revolution.” It seems that the slogan “Long Live the Revolutionary Ideology of Comrade Kim Jong Un” has become a slogan that is easy to find everywhere in North Korea these days. The slogan “Long Live General Kim Jong Un, Sun of Juche Joseon” can be seen on the center buildings Culture in every village in North Korea.

There was another village visible behind Mount Songak. In the center of the village there was a school. At the foot of the mountain, next to the school, a large billboard bearing the slogan “Love the Future” was placed. The slogan “Future Love” was very strange to me. North Korea's regime sentences two 16-year-old middle school students to re-education for 12 years of hard labor. Certainly, such an act does not qualify it to put forward such a slogan. North Korea executes people for watching and distributing South Korean movies and dramas. Does such a place have a future? Is a leader who takes his nearly 10-year-old daughter to see missile launch sites qualified to talk about the future?

When I look at North Koreans across the border who have lost hope, I rekindle their determination that we must become their hope. A unified Korea is the hope of all Koreans.

The translator requested that his identity not be revealed. Edited by Robert Lawler.