Trip to N Korea

[hp00]

This is an e-mail from Samuel Linton to Chuck Linton, November 2011, then Chuck forwarded to me.

Chuck was my boss briefly, his great grand father came to Korea as a missionary and his father did too. His

father went to N Korea with Rev. Billy Graham as the interpretator and both Rev. Linton were served in

JeonRaDo. I guess Samuel and Chuck are cousin.

TB: Tuberculosis
CFK: Christian Friends of Korea



Hello all,

As promised, here is a summary of my trip to North Korea:

Our Group:

· Heidi Linton – Executive Director of CFK
· Paul and Kay Rader –spent 20+ years in  Korea with the Salvation Army
· Ron Ward – pastor of a Church in Chicago that has many Korean-Americans
· Chris Rice – a former “Missionary Kid” from Seoul that is now a Theology professor at Duke Divinity school
· Ed Desmond – expert in TB that works at a lab in California. Member of the Bay Area TB consortium
· Jim McLaughlin – expert in TB that works for Nuclear Threat Initiative, an organization founded by Sam Nunn

that (among other things) works on global health issues.

The Pyongyang airport is a concrete structure about the size of a high-school gymnasium. It was relatively

easy for us to get through, though a bit time-consuming given that we were bringing in a lot of supplies

(tractor parts, water pumps, etc.) in addition to our own luggage. We were warmly welcomed by four

representatives from the Ministry of Public Health, the organization which invited CFK into the country. These

people have been working with CFK for a while, and have established a very productive relationship with Heidi.

The MoPH team had brought the Dwight Linton memorial vehicle, as well as a driver.  This vehicle is a large

diesel bus/van made by Iveco, a Chinese/Italian company that could carry 10 passengers and plenty of cargo. It

proved to be both comfortable and capable on the dirt roads.

I am told that visitors to the DPRK are always accompanied by two “minders” so that each minder can also keep

an eye on the other. Our group broke up into two different groups – one a technical team that worked at the

National Reference Lab, and the rest (including myself) who visited a number of hospitals and rest homes

outside of Pyongyang – so we required a total of four minders.

Our flight from Beijing into Pyongyang arrived after sunset, so we drove from the airport to our hotel at

night. The first thing that struck me was how dark it was. In this city with a population of more than 3

million, there were no streetlights, and no light coming from the buildings. At first glance, it seemed like

there were no lights inside any of the buildings, and I wondered if there was any electricity. But looking

closely, you could see that at least some of them are lit by extremely dim lights, too feeble to cast any

light onto the road.

The buildings of Pyongyang are for the most part grim utilitarian concrete structures. Off the main roads, the

buildings were even more run-down. Some were so bad that I actually thought they were abandoned burnt-out

buildings, but I later saw people entering them.  Every once in a while you will see a very nice building with

plenty of electric lights. Invariably these would have images of the Great Leader (Kim Il Sung) and the

General, or Beloved Leader (Kim Jong-Il). There is one enormous pyramidal glass structure, which I am told was

built to be just slightly higher than the tallest building in South Korea at that time. However, the building

is unlit. I was told that it was built crooked and is unsafe to move into. An Egyptian team was hired to

create a façade over the building to hide the imperfection, and is now trying to fix the defect.

By the light of the headlights, we could see that the sidewalks were full of walking people. It goes without

saying that private cars were rare. But to my surprise, bicycles were relatively scarce as well. (I was told

that six years ago there were almost no bicycles at all.) Neither the pedestrians nor the bicycles appeared to

have lights. It was nerve-wracking driving along the road, because jaywalkers were only visible when they

stepped directly in front of our vehicle where they were lit by the headlights. There were only a few traffic

lights. The rest of the major intersections were managed by uniformed female traffic cops directing traffic

with a dimly light wand. Another thing that surprised me was how few buses there were. The ones I saw were

electric, trolley type, with two cars, in horrible condition and absolutely packed with people. Some of these

moved without any lights on.

Our hotel in Pyongyang was very nice. It was clearly intended for visitors from abroad. There were no power

outages. CNN was available on the TV. We ate our meals in a large “ballroom” attended by a polite and friendly

staff. When we arrived for our meal, there would be only one table set in the room – always the same table.

Often we were the only ones there, though occasionally there would be people at one or two other tables. We

asked for and received permission from our hosts to take a walk along the river near our hotel. (I was told

that this was the first visit where the foreigners were permitted to leave the hotel without accompaniment. It

is an indication of the growing trust that our hosts have in CFK). I was very interested to know how people

would react to us after having been fed a steady diet of anti-Americanism for their entire life. At first

people would stare at us like we were from Mars. But I found that a quick bow and a smile were almost always

returned in kind. A few kids actually shouted out “hello” to us. In general, I found people to be courteous

and friendly. They would never approach us, but they would respond positively to friendly gestures.

Propaganda is ubiquitous in North Korea. There are billboards, slogans and images of The Great Leader and The

General everywhere. Every office has a portrait of both prominently displayed. Often there are additional

pictures and slogans. I couldn’t read the slogans, but was told some of the common ones were “Long live Kim

Jong-Il,” “Fight to the death,” etc. Images included one of the two leaders surrounded by happy children and

peasants, or standing in a field full of grain. I am told that anti-American slogans and bill-boards are

common, though I didn’t see (or was unable to read) many. One that we saw not far from the DMZ translated to “

Defeat the American Invaders.”

Sunday was our first full day in North Korea. We attended one of the few government-approved Churches in North

Korea. The small church building was full, including some of the western faculty of the Pyongyang University

of Science and Technology (PUST). It is difficult to know if the Korean attendees go to this Church willingly,

or are somehow assigned to go. Being in North Korea, there are just a lot of things that you don’t understand,

and have no way to find out. One thing that was strange was that after the service, the foreigners left the

service first. All the Koreans other than the pastor and a few of the lay leaders stayed in the building until

we left. It was clear that they were not permitted to mingle with us.

After church, we went to the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for TB. This is an ambitious project for CFK,

and has involved collaboration with Stanford and other organizations. I was impressed with the holistic

approach to fighting TB that CFK has pursued. They go way beyond only providing medicine, and work to make

sure that the patients get adequate nutrition, clean water and care that is important to fight the disease.

Here are some of the things CFK is doing, both at the lab and other clinics and rest homes:

·         Electricity Generators – the electricity supply in North Korea is highly unreliable.

·         Water wells, water pumps, filters – to supply plentiful and clean water. The water is pumped up to a

holding tank, and gravity fed into the buildings. CFK also provides taps for indoor access to water.

·         Greenhouses – to grow food for patients and staff. The greenhouses extend the growing season and

increase the diversity of food that can be grown. Nutrition is critically important in fighting TB. Without

greenhouses, the ability for the rest homes to provide food in the winter is reduced. This can mean that some

patients end up returning home, increasing the risk that they will not recover, and that they may spread their

disease.

·  Operating rooms – tile floors, operating lights, anesthesia machines. The anesthesia machines require

oxygen, so CFK has also installed oxygen generating systems.
·  Windows, doors, roofs  – the standard construction results in very poor insulation. Improved windows,

doors, and roofs add much needed warmth.
·  Medicine – medicine for the treatment of TB
·  Food – canned meat from the Mennonites
·  Other medical supplies – bandages, etc.
·  Tractors – Chinese tractors for farming and transporting supplies and people.
·  Knitted garments – such as hats or scarves made by volunteers
·  Bedding

At the NRL we had a brief dedication ceremony for the Dwight Linton Memorial Vehicle, attended by our group

and the staff at the NRL. After that we got a tour of the lab. We saw the equipment including microscopes for

viewing samples and incubators for culturing samples. We also saw the newly refurbished operating room. It was

very basic from our perspective, but it was clean, had good lighting, and the means to sterilize equipment.

There was also an anesthesia machine, but it was not yet in use because the staff had not yet been trained how

to use it.

The staff was very friendly and eager to show off their facility. The technical staff that were part of our

group spent their time training the staff and eval‎uating their abilities. The next major project for the lab

is to work towards accreditation. This involves putting in place appropriate document procedures and quality

control processes. With accreditation will come greater credibility from outside organizations, and likely

more aid will be available to them.

After our tour of the lab, we visited the birthplace of Kim Il Sung. The tour guide’s emphasis was on his

humble beginnings and his heroic struggle against the Japanese, not to mention his brilliance. As an example

of his precociousness, we were told that at the age of three he was able to write, “Freedom for Korea!” Kim

Jong-Il was no less brilliant: when he was three he was able to write, “Long live the Great Leader!” The

brilliance of both these men is a recurring theme. News articles often show one of the two touring a factory

or hospital or farm and providing insightful “on the spot guidance” that results in a huge improvement in

productivity. After I got back, I saw a quote from a North Korean news source claiming that Kim Jong-Il was a

renaissance man that has flown a fighter airplane, written an opera, and got 11 holes-in-one the first time he

played golf. The reverence to Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il is essentially a religion. People are expected to

bow to statues of the leaders. Kim Il-Sung – now dead – is referred to as the “Eternal President” who is

“always with us.” Credit for anything good is given to the General.

The next few days we left the capital and went to TB hospitals and TB rest homes. The rest homes in particular

tend to be far out in the country. This is in part to provide a restful atmosphere to the patients, who may

need 6-9 months of recuperation. But it is probably also partially due to the stigma that the disease carries.

Going to these rest homes, we quickly got past the fairly reasonable paved roads of Pyongyang onto very rough

concrete roads, then onto dirt roads, and finally onto roads suitable only for four-wheel drive vehicles.

The countryside was very different from Pyongyang. In many ways it was strikingly similar to the Korean

countryside I remember from my childhood in the 60’s and 70’s. Farmers were plowing using ox-drawn plows.

People were carrying kindling in A-frame “Chigehs.” There were a very few simple tractors. Women were washing

clothes on rocks by creeks. The country farm villages were a little different because the houses were laid out

uniformly and built at a single time. There were some pretty nice houses along the major road, but when you

got past them, you could see that most of them were very poor.  There appeared to be no running water. There

were communal outhouses and wells for water. The houses are heated by yuntan. Electricity is available, but

apparently for a few hours a day. At one place we stopped, the room had no lights or power outlets of any

kind. Some of the homes were surrounded by rock walls, carefully stacked by hand. At one location I saw a

group of children making mud bricks by hand. Interestingly, there appeared to be a higher proportion of

bicycles in the country then in the city. However, these bikes are single-gear, and everyone was walking them

up the hills.

One thing that I saw for the first time was wood/coal powered trucks. These trucks had a burner in the bed of

the truck that was billowing out smoke. Often times the truck was filled with supplies and people, who seemed

oblivious to the smoke.

The rest homes were very rudimentary, with simple rooms for 2-3 with bedding on the floor, heated by yontan.

CFK has made major improvements in many of these rest homes by drilling wells to ensure a plentiful and clean

supply of water, providing some in-door plumbing. All the rest homes we saw also had small farms or gardens to

provide at least some of the food for their patients. CFK has worked to put up greenhouses at many of these

rest homes. This extends the growing season and also increases the range of food that can be grown. The

directors of the rest homes stated that 20-30% of their vegetable supply comes from these green houses. Canned

meat has also been provided (by some Mennonite groups). This outside help accounts for between 40-60% of the

protein available for the patients.

Our welcome at the rest homes was always friendly. The staff would great us warmly, and we would be ushered

into a room with the ubiquitous images of Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il and offered snacks or at times, an

elaborate meal. I am sure that what we were offered was far beyond what they themselves ate. At the meeting,

Heidi would go over a list of questions to find out the status of the rest home, including their major

challenges and needs. She would also make sure that the supplies CFK sent were getting to the rest home. At

the end of the meeting, Paul Rader would present the director with a list of the donors that had contributed

to the effort.

After the meeting, we would tour the facility, including the storage rooms, pharmacies, green houses, and

patient rooms. Paul or Kay Rader would visit one or two of the patients.

[juneauatom]

Thank you HP00 for your great effort to convey the current situation in the North Korea. However, we need your own thought and opinion about the above e-mailed article from your former boss named Chuck, so we can understand more and better about your relayed message from Mr. Chuck Linton, your ex-boss. Thank you again for your input to this cyber cafe, Back2Korea.

[듀크]

잘 읽었습니다. 믿기 힘든 사실이지만 믿어야겠지요.