The Saviours of North Korea — II
(Kim Jong Il, the Dear Leader)
Although Kim Il Sung was declared eternal
A living god, his body was not immortal
And the time came to shuffle his mortal coils
Leaving the country in chaos and turmoil.
He had named his healthy son Kim Jong Il
As his successor to rule the land in his will.
He had earned his stripes at Propaganda
A massive task with the clear agenda
Of telling the nation how lucky they were
To be living in socialist Northern Korea
Telling being different from showing
Made his task hell-hard and harrowing
Telling the North than they need not envy the south
That the folks there had no food to put in their mouth
They were under American occupation
Had lost Korean values, their sense of direction.
Though listening to foreign news was forbidden
On pain of arrest, torture or prison
The people were not unaware of the true facts
Albeit without possession of the brass tacks.
But they knew about colour television
About the people having proper housing
About the South’s habit of carousing
They knew about decadent films and music
Sore points with the young apparatchik
Who was an expert on world cinema
To whom Seoul’s success at Cannes was anathema.
He knew about the power of the image
Was aware that the films from Pyongyang’s studios
Were not worthy of film critics’ homage
He knew they were dull, drab, boring and tedious.
North Korea did not have the wherewithals
To make films that win prizes at festivals.
Lack of equipment, lack of trained pros
Actors, producers, directors or writers
Money was at hand for cameras and videos
But technical know-how one can’t buy or hire.
If with a juicy contract you cannot snap ‘em
Then you are left with no choice but to kidnap ‘em
Thought the son of God who always had his way
A chess player who had seen spy films galore
The opening gambit was set in Repulse Bay
Hong Kong, but more perfidy was in store.
Choi Eun-Hee had been one of the few A-listers
But was no longer the first choice for plum parts
As she began to lose ground to newcomers
But she did not doubt that she was still queen of hearts
How right I was, she thought when came a phone call
To go to Hong Kong to meet top producer
About the lead in his forthcoming blockbuster
But Choi was being primed to score an own-goal.
In Repulse Bay she met, with great alarm
A small group of people looking very odd
And the first thing they did was to stick in her arm
A needle which despatched her to the land of Nod.
She woke up in a de-luxe villa near Pyongkyang
On the dining table lay a massive spread
Of champagne caviar lobster, the whole shebang
Including imported French bread.
Like Latifa el Makhtoom many years later
She found her villa surrounded by twelve armed guards
With another three inside following her
Stony-faced like a bunch of retards
Everywhere except when she went the toilet
She was soon joined by a cheerful Kim Jong-Il
Who had invited himself to the banquet
He greeted her with effusion and great goodwill
Told her how much he admired her movies
He’d seen them all again and again
Saying that he had plans, that it would be a wheeze
With him at the helm to rekindle her reign
As film queen of Asia- nothing easier.
Choi tried but failed to control her anger
She will never submit to gangster tactics
She’d starve herself and first die of hunger
But in Mr Il’s box there were a thousand tricks
He’d often visited Hoeryong prison
Where the practice of torture was prevalent
Water torture, box-room, kneeling, pigeon
But promised his guest that he would make her relent
Without recourse to methods violent.
He was offering fame and a life of comfort
What’s an actress who cannot get to act?
Choi promised that she would never be bought
But after a week she was ready to backtrack.
To the Russian-born Il a no mean chess player
Choi was useful but more so she was a decoy
Shin Sang Ok was the real prize he was after
He was South Korea’s golden boy
Asia’s answer to legendary Orson Welles
To redefine Kim’s stagnant film industry
He needed Shin Sang Ok and nobody else
But first we need a little back story.
Choi and Shin had been the golden couple
The epitome of film glamour of Seoul
But when he cheated on her with a starlet
She threw him out and they went their separate ways
Something neither did without regret
Each hoping for a return to happier days.
When Shin learnt that Choi had disappeared
All fingers seemed to be pointing at Pyongyang
Which was the worst-case scenario he feared
But he’d move mountains so his yin could find his yang.
Hope in his heart he took the bait and booked his flight
And Kim Jong Il rushed to visit him that same night
And joyfully put his proposition to him
We’ll provide you with the means to make any film
Not mentioning that Choi was in the country
But director Shing Sang Ok was not OK
To work with North Korea’s film industry
And was slammed for four years in the pokey
On a diet of grass salt water and rice
His body covered in scabs and crawling with lice.
He had no idea if his beloved ex
Was still in the country or even alive
If she’s dead he feared that he’d be next
Might he even this calvary survive.
But one morning he was allowed to wash
Given a smart suit, a tie varnished shoes
Like he was going to attend a bash
And without a word, driven to Choi’s.
Kim played Cupid and urged them to re-marry
Promising a three million dollar salary.
Shin Sang had a studio with state-of-the-art
Equipment in place and seven hundred
Actors teccies secretaries for a start
And they injected in the industry the new blood
That Kim Il Song’s son Kim Jong Il had demanded.
Il met by moonlight some trusted spooks
Had been instructed to watch the famous guests
Embedded as gardeners, cleaners butlers or cooks
With the brief to report anything of int’rest
Whilst the cook was also asked to watch the cleaner
Who had to keep an eye on the gardener
Who in turn had to look into the cook.
Shin Sang Ok did not seek joys extra-marital
And the couple loved and lived in bliss connubial
As they missed friends and family in Seoul
They could not consider that their life was whole
But husband and wife did not remain idle
And together they created seven titles
Winning international prizes and awards
Albeit in China and the Eastern bloc
Kim heaping on them unwanted rewards
Their reputation in Pyongyang now firm as rock.
The immortal Kim Il Song sang his swan song
And lerft the country in the hands of his dear son
Kim Jong Il, now dear leader relaxed his guard
And allowed his prized pair some freedom, some space
Their films having attracted some attention
The pair was allowed to visit foreign places
To promote them and tout for world distribution.
Special agents were entrusted with the task
Of following them to stop them jumping ship
But in a Western city that was a big ask
In Vienna they were able to give them the slip.
They made some good films in Hollywood
But as they knew from the start that they would
They pined for home and went back to Seoul
Finally becoming unshackled free and whole.
