A “hospital for children”

As anticipated, the KNPC had arranged for us to visit certain areas in which they believed would be of interest to the Nobel Laureates I was in company with. The first of which, as the days progressed, would be the most controversial site during our “tour” of Pyongyang, leading to the detainment of Rupert and his team at the airport six days later.

The Okryu Children’s Hospital located in east Pyongyang is a six-storey high complex that was constructed with the intention to combine children’s healthcare with scientific research under one roof. Immediately after walking through the entrance, we were requested to put on white coats and slip-on socks over our footwear. The building constructed in June 2013 looked relatively new and was well-kept – the floors were sparkling and the rooms were well-lit, as one would expect of a hospital. Fifteen minutes into the tour however, I had the sneaking suspicion that this was all a ruse.

The medical equipment was said to be brand new; they are gifts from Kim Jong-un, the Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea and the country's supreme leader. The staff at the hospital claimed that these medical equipment are used in daily procedures but they oddly show no sign of use or wear and tear.

There were also patients in the hospital, but something was not quite right with the way they seemed to hide from us. It was as though they were always waiting, not for treatment, but for nothing in particular.

An indoor playground for the young patients was put together on the ground floor, and as we walked by it was filled with children playing. When we proceeded upstairs, it became completely deserted. There were also patients in classrooms studying, all of whom were seated

almost too obediently, and a small gym where these children were again running about as if for us to see. Everyone of these patients looked to me completely healthy. I couldn't tell if this was all what it is supposed to be.

I had my suspicions but kept an open mind throughout the tour. I wanted to see the truth, or get as close to it as possible. No one seemed bothered by what they saw at the hospital and saw no reason to question the legitimacy of the practice there other than the people from the BBC. I felt however that there may have been some other truth behind what we saw, behind the disarmingly perfect façade.

this destination rather uncomfortable was that it seemed to be a tourist attraction of sorts, like Disneyland. Tour buses clogged up the usually traffic-less roads of Pyongyang and the hallways were filled with wideeyed visitors peeking into classrooms and clapping along to the musical performances.

I approached Mr Kim, one of our KNPC officials, and asked if this was a usual tourist stop and if it is a daily occurence. He contemplated the question silently before eventually responding that word had gotten out – even without the Internet – that the Nobel Laureates were going to visit, so the various tour groups made it a point to come by at the same time. Tours at the Children's Palace usually happen only once or twice a week.

We were all ushered into the preposterously large theatre to enjoy a performance put together by the students. The production value and quality of the show was astonishing; the stage had two treadmills moving

be ridiculed by the outside world as no country in the world functions the way they do. It is evident the DPRK is very much alone in their difference.

Do we impose our ideologies and capitalist culture upon the North Koreans simply because they are different from us? Exactly like what the colonial masters did in much of East Asia and Southeast Asia, this is an imposition fuelled by difference. It is difficult to understand the dynamics and mentality of a culture so closed off to the world, but it is easy to see why they would be afraid and paranoid – which takes me back to why we visited Pyongyang in the first place, and how the Children’s Hospital just seemed arranged a little too neatly.

Wayang is the Javanese term for an orchestrated performance and is a Singaporean slang word often used by soldiers in military service. It describes the change in behaviour when a superior is present. The intention is to convince on-lookers that you are carrying out the job well. This wayang could explain the strangeness that many may experience when they visit the DPRK – a country under heavy-fisted scrutiny and constantly trying to over-compensate. There are undoubtedly controversial issues with the way the country governs her people and values human life, but with time there could be ways to resolving these issues.

In a press conference a day after departing from the DPRK in Beijing, Israeli Nobel Prize winner Aaron Ciechanover pleaded for the relaxation of the sanctions held over their healthcare system. He said, “You cannot turn penicillin into a nuclear bomb.”

North Korea may be in a time capsule of a community, a society where people exist for others and their leader. Like ancient tribes or past great empires, we may all live for ourselves here in the “free world”, but how many of us actually feel free? ag

“We were nervous about entering such a different land, but the locals were equally unsure of our intentions”