Modern North Korean propaganda is reminiscent of China under Mao Zedong, particularly the cultural revolution of the 1960s and 1970s.

North Korea and China share similarities: both are rooted in traditional Confucianism and more modern Marxist philosophy; both have had cult of personality leaders whose faces adorned buildings and made unsound economic decisions leading to the starvation of millions. Both use a distinctive communist propaganda style – bold red with thick block lettering over idyllic pastoral life.

In modern Pyongyang, though the most obvious is the smiling portraits of former leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, the country uses a wide range of media to define itself, including posters, music, murals and art to promote Juche (the political ideology of Kim II-sung that promotes self-reliance), military rights and devotion to the country.

Slogans on buildings and posters in Pyongyang encourage patriotism and  loyalty, such as “The U.S. is truly an axis of evil” and “Let’s develop Pyongyang, the capital city of revolution, into a world-class city.”

On state-controlled television, people wring their hands and weep for the plight of their country.

One reason North Korea continues with the propaganda is that Kim Jong-un, who has been supreme leader for three years, is worried about his power. He wants to eliminate those who are against the regime, a North Korea defector reported.

But although North Koreans have no legal access to the outside world, do people still believe the propaganda? One North Korean defector says about half of people inside believe it.

The slogan says “Be strong! Let’s build a strong country.” Similar banners stand all over Pyongyang. 

“Choson-labor party is the best!” Choson is the old name for the dynasty of  Korea that ruled for five centuries. North Koreans still use it.

by Mari Chow

by Annie Lee

A spotlight crowns the portrait of Kim II-sung, in the middle, of a mural in the metro, showing the nation's godlike perception of their former leader.

by Annie Lee

Vivid propaganda posters are ubiquitous on the broad sidewalks in Pyongyang.

by Annie Lee

By Annie Lee

Kim II-sung wears a school child's scarf in this mural.

by Annie Lee

Propaganda slogans line the street in Pyongyang.

Steering visitors towards the carefully planned path of monuments in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, two female tour guides proudly lecture on the divinity of their former leader, Kim II-sung, and his late son and successor, Kim Jong-il.

In a city of almost 3 million people, the main streets in Pyongyang are disproportionately spacious compared to the light traffic. Trees line the sidewalks next to brightly coloured propaganda posters and red signs with bold slogans.   On a hill hidden away in the city, two huge bronze statues demand enduring love for the fatherly marshals.

“The United States had dropped more than 70 devastating bombs on our motherland.  Our territories were sabotaged as ruins but under the leadership of our great marshals, we recovered quickly,” the more versed guide, with unmistakable awe, said again

Pointing an accusing finger at the United States for the division of Korea, the northern half of the peninsula holds a fresh and intact hostility over the Korean War, which lasted from 1950 to 1953. The South was supported by the US-led United Nations Command involving 16 countries.

The history presented at the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum and the Koryo History Museum denounce capitalism and make the United States accountable for the casualties and destruction in North Korea.

State-controlled North Korean media, distributed in English on its planes, souvenir shops, social media accounts and on its official website, sanitize reality.

Taught to deify and never defy, North Koreans live in one of the world’s most oppressive regimes and perceive, or at least pretend to, their leaders as the sun and air of their existence.

At a model school open for tourists, singing and clapping children dance under photos of the leaders. Just outside the classroom door are murals of cartoon children with guns. The playground has a tank.

The tour guide said the North Korean students have to attend a “revolutionary history” class in schools.

Cut off from the outside world, where foreign television can bring the death penalty, North Koreans live in a bubble blow by the elite leaders who control the country.

But the patriotic ambience and collective spirit, sometimes slips. More than 25,000 North Koreans have defected in the last twenty years, the BBC reports. In a country of nearly 30 million, the percentage is small.

“The strength of regime came from its ability to isolate citizens completely,” said Barbara Demick, journalist and the author of the award-winning book “Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea.”

But beyond the facade conjured by the news reports on nuclear weapons and human rights abuses, tourists to the country get a glimpse of uneventful daily life. But it’s only a surface look. Even we are standing on its soil, we are distant.