Sunday, May 18, 2014




Semiotics 2
This image was taken in North Korea recently.  It is taken from a place called delphinium in Pyongyang, North Korea.  The picture is a crowd of people watching aquatic animals perform an entertainment show.  When I analyzed this picture some very interesting insights came to mind.  First of all, one of the rules at the park states that you can only take pictures of the animals and not other people.  Why is that?  Possible one of the reasons is that 95% of this audience is military personnel.  They make up a large part of the people that have access and financial means to attend such a place.  We can assume because of the extreme poverty in the country, that the rest of the people attending are either well off or politically connected.  The presence of the military suggests what is important to the North Korean government.  They seek control by physical force.  Everything, even such an event as this, is controlled and operated under the state.  

You will also notice that no women are present from the military.  Only men are allowed to participate in military arenas.  Each individual is told where to sit and what appropriate conduct is for the situation according to the state.  To me this picture speaks volumes about the role and position of government in North Korea.  

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