New Year's Eve in Pyongyang (Totally Unexpected!!!) | 4K
New Year's Eve in North Korea in 2019-2020 was the best New Year's Eve I've ever had.
It's just unfortunate that the rest of the year didn't carry on like it...
But I hope you enjoy re-living it with me through this video I finally managed to put together. And whilst you enjoy watching, feel free to read the excerpt of a longer blog I wrote on this event here... (it gets soppy in places). Link to the whole blog at the end.
During New Year in North Korea, I asked a few colleagues about their New Year’s resolutions, with one stating that he wishes to guide more groups in North Korea than ever before.
It’s certainly an understatement to say it’s a shame that he actually wouldn’t guide any groups in 2020 (and 2021...).
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- New Years North Korea Diary 2019-2020
It’s going to be a long day today, or a long night. So we make a trip back to the hotel to let everyone freshen up and get dressed up for some New Year’s celebrations.
And by dressed up, I mean wearing as many clothes as is possible and still able to move. It is COLD. Really cold. To the bones cold.
There’s a snowman display and a sign wishing us a happy 2020.
Happy 2020, huh?
And then it’s time to set off.
It’s my first time on the Rainbow Boat Restaurant. It’s a perfect mix of North Korean kitsch meets… I don’t know what else it meets. It’s just kitschy.
It sits right next to Kim Il Sung Square and the Juche Tower on the river Taedong, so there are some fantastic views around.
Once the groups have settled down to eat, me and my colleague take the opportunity to take some videos and explore.
We have arranged the tables to sit with the guides, and the manager has come for the occasion, too. It’s quite the celebration. There’s about 100 of us in total, and we’re sharing the main room with other North Korean families who are celebrating the New Year here. The atmosphere in the room is full of joy and celebration, which only gets more and more intense as the drinks start to flow over all the tables.
The TVs are on inside the boat and they’re showing the action that is happening live in Kim Il Sung Square right next to us. And my dreams have been confirmed. There is a massive stage. There’s a band singing on it. And yes, later, Moranbong Band are due to come out.
- NEW YEAR’S EVE COUNTDOWN - 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…
A few minutes of normality. Nothing is normal in North Korea. However, it’s more normal than you think, believe me. But you’re still in North Korea.
I forgot this for a few minutes. Because as the clock counted down and the crowd grew ever-more excited, I was in normality.
It was New Year’s Eve, we were tipsy, the crowd buzz was electric, there was live music, singing, dancing, strangers are suddenly friends, everyone is smiling. And I remember thinking that it could be anywhere in the world.
And I hope there are many more moments like that in North Korea.
The song faded down and the massive screens in front to either side of the stage started to project a video; the New Year’s Eve countdown. This was a one-minute production that counted down to midnight when the incredible fireworks went off and Kim Il Sung Square was lit with reds and whites, made only more magnificent reflecting off the smoke created by the fireworks. Pyongyang’s fireworks are some of the best I’ve seen around the world.
As the fireworks faded down, the Moranbong Band started playing ‘Let New Year’s Snow Fall’, and, truly as if by magic, I started to feel little drops of cool on your face. Snow!!!!
Of course, because it’s North Korea, and you must presume that everything is scripted and fake, everyone questioned this. To be fair, I did too. It was too well timed.
But it’s been checked. There were no signs of snow machines that evening.
- 12:10 am
After a few more minutes of enjoying the show, it’s time to get everyone back to the bus. Which was never going to be an easy task, when there’s thousands of people to filter through.
With hands like icicles, suddenly the few minutes of fun and games were over and it was time to get back to responsible tour leader mode (I never fully left it - promise).
Trying to shout amongst the crowd, I tried to let my group know we were heading back to the bus. They all knew the way. I tried to keep back to round up any stragglers, and only about 10 minutes later I was double and triple-checking the count on the bus. Everyone was there.
Phew.
[This description is taken from a clip of a longer blog I wrote on this experience. Read the full blog here: https://koryogroup.com/blog/a-new-year-s-eve-in-pyongyang]
Music: Moranbong Band - Let New Year's Snow Fall (설눈아 내려라)
(this song being played live on NYE whilst the snow was falling? yes please.)
#pyongyang #dprk #nye