In the center of Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, a huge bronze statue looms above the city. It portrays Kim Il-sung, the late father of the country's current dictator, Kim Jong-il. Kim Il-sung is known in North Korea as "The Great Leader" and "The President for Eternity." I watched as groups of schoolchildren placed flowers in front of the statue and then, in unison, bowed their heads in reverence. As I turned to leave, I heard an odd sound. Behind the statue was a man whose job it was to prevent birds from defecating on The Great Leader's image by jumping up and down and waving his arms while yelling, "Whoosh."
For the past six years, I have written an annual article for Parade about the worst dictators currently in power. Every year, Kim Jong-il has earned the first or second spot on my list. I decided the time had come for me to visit North Korea and see the world's most repressive regime for myself. It is difficult for journalists and professional photographers to gain a visa to North Korea. Because the Internet is not available in North Korea, when I applied for a visa as the vice president of the International Society of Olympic Historians (which I am), no one seemed to notice the other side of my career.
I travelled to North Korea with my sons, Elijah (24) and Aaron (22) and three friends. There were seven other people on our tour, all of whom turned out to be, like me, journalists or photographers in disguise.
Often when I go to isolated countries I bring with copies of my book, The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics, to present to each country's National Olympic Committee. I soon learned this was not possible in North Korea. Our tour organizer had me autograph two copies not to Olympic officials, but to "The Dear Leader" (Kim Jong-il). She arranged for the books to be packed in silk-lined boxes. When we arrived at the airport in Shenyang, China, on our way to Pyongyang, officials of Air Koryo, the North Korean airline, were informed that I was bringing a gift for The Dear Leader. When we boarded the plane, my sons and I were given a row of three seats. In front of us were three Koreans. Flight officers bumped the Koreans from their seats and put my gift copies to The Dear Leader in their place.