This is what it's like to go undercover in North Korea | Suki Kim

Prevoditelj: Maja Covic Recezent: Ivan Stamenković

In 2011, during the final six months of Kim Jong-Il's life,

Godine 2011., tijekom zadnjih šest mjeseci Kim Jong-Ilova života,

I lived undercover in North Korea.

živjela sam tajno u Sjevernoj Koreji.

I was born and raised in South Korea, their enemy.

Rođena sam i odrasla u Južnoj Koreji, njihovom neprijatelju.

I live in America, their other enemy.

Živim u Americi, njihovom drugom neprijatelju.

Since 2002, I had visited North Korea a few times.

Od 2002. godine posjetila sam Sjevernu Koreju nekoliko puta.

And I had come to realize that to write about it with any meaning,

Shvatila sam da ako želim smisleno o njoj pisati,

or to understand the place beyond the regime's propaganda,

ili razumijeti tu zemlju izvan konteksta režimske propagande,

the only option was total immersion.

jedina opcija bila je da se potpuno uklopim.

So I posed as a teacher and a missionary

Pretvarala sam se da sam predavačica i misionarka

at an all-male university in Pyongyang.

na muškom sveučilištu u Pjongjangu.

The Pyongyang University of Science and Technology

Znanstveno i tehnološko sveučiliše u Pjongjangu

was founded by Evangelical Christians who cooperate with the regime

osnovali su evangelisti koji surađuju s režimom

to educate the sons of the North Korean elite,

kako bi obrazovali sinove sjevernokorejske elite,

without proselytizing, which is a capital crime there.

bez pokušaja da ih preobrate, što se kažnjava smrću.

The students were 270 young men, expected to be the future leaders

Tamo je studiralo 270 mladića, koji su trebali biti budući vođe

of the most isolated and brutal dictatorship in existence.

najizoliranije i najbrutalnije postojeće diktature.

When I arrived, they became my students.

Kada sam stigla, postali su moji studenti.

2011 was a special year,

2011. godina bila je posebna,

marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of North Korea's original Great Leader,

zbog stote obljetnice rođenja prvotnog sjevernokorejskog Velikog vođe.

Kim Il-Sung.

Kim Il-sunga.

To celebrate the occasion, the regime shut down all universities,

Kako bi proslavili tu obljetnicu, režim je pozatvarao sva sveučilišta,

and sent students off to the fields

i poslao studente na teren,

to build the DPRK's much-heralded ideal

da izgrade sjevernokorejski izuzetno naglašavan ideal

as the world's most powerful and prosperous nation.

kao najmoćnija i najnaprednija zemlja na svijetu.

My students were the only ones spared from that fate.

Jedino su moji studenti bili pošteđeni toga.

North Korea is a gulag posing as a nation.

Sjeverna Koreja je gulag koji se predstavlja kao zemlja.

Everything there is about the Great Leader.

Tamo se sve vrti jedino oko Velikog vođe.

Every book, every newspaper article, every song, every TV program --

Svaka knjiga, novinski članak, pjesma, TV program --

there is just one subject.

ima samo jednu temu.

The flowers are named after him,

Cvijeće se naziva po njemu,

the mountains are carved with his slogans.

njegove slogane urezuju u planine.

Every citizen wears the badge of the Great Leader at all times.

Svaki građanin u svakom trenutku nosi bedž Velikog vođe.

Even their calendar system begins with the birth of Kim Il-Sung.

Čak im i kalendar počinje rođenjem Kim Il-Sunga.

The school was a heavily guarded prison, posing as a campus.

Fakultet je bio dobro čuvan zatvor, kojeg se predstavljalo kao kampus.

Teachers could only leave on group outings accompanied by an official minder.

Nastavnici su mogli izlaziti samo u grupama u pratnji službenog čuvara.

Even then, our trips were limited to sanctioned national monuments

Čak i tada su naši izlasci bili ograničeni na nacionalne spomenike

celebrating the Great Leader.

koji slave Velikog Vođu.

The students were not allowed to leave the campus,

Studenti nisu smjeli napuštati kampus,

or communicate with their parents.

niti komunicirati s roditeljima.

Their days were meticulously mapped out, and any free time they had

Njihovi dani bili su utanko isplanirani, a svako slobodno vrijeme

was devoted to honoring their Great Leader.

posvećivalo se čašćenju njihova Velikog vođe.

Lesson plans had to meet the approval of North Korean staff,

Nastavne planove moralo je odobriti sjevernokorejsko osoblje,

every class was recorded and reported on, every room was bugged,

svaki sat se snimao i podonosio se izvještaj, svaka soba je bila ozvučena,

and every conversation, overheard.

a svaki razgovor se presluškivao.

Every blank space was covered with the portraits of Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il,

Svaki slobodan prostor prekrivao se portretima Kim Il-Sunga i Kim Jong-Ila,

like everywhere else in North Korea.

kao i sve ostalo u Sjevernoj Koreji.

We were never allowed to discuss the outside world.

Ni u jednom trenu nismo smjeli govoriti o vanjskom svijetu.

As students of science and technology, many of them were computer majors

Kao studenti znanosti i tehnologije, mnogima je glavni predmet bio kompjuter

but they did not know the existence of the Internet.

no nisu znali da postoji Internet.

They had never heard of Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs.

Nikada nisu čuli za Marka Zuckerberga ili Stevea Jobsa.

Facebook, Twitter -- none of those things would have meant a thing.

Facebook, Twitter, nijedno od toga im ne bi ništa značilo.

And I could not tell them.

A ja im nisam smjela ništa reći.

I went there looking for truth.

Otišla sam tamo tražeći istinu.

But where do you even start when an entire nation's ideology,

No gdje započeti kada je ideologija cijele nacije,

my students' day-to-day realities,

svakodnevnica mojih studenata,

and even my own position at the universities,

čak i moj posao na sveučilištu,

were all built on lies?

izgrađen na lažima.

I started with a game.

Započela sam s igrom.

We played "Truth and Lie."

Igrali smo "Istina ili laž".

A volunteer would write a sentence on the chalkboard,

Dragovoljac bi napisao rečenicu na ploču,

and the other students had to guess

a ostali su morali pogoditi

whether it was a truth or a lie.

je li ona istina ili laž.

Once a student wrote, "I visited China last year on vacation,"

Jednom prilikom je jedan student napisao da je prethodne godine posjetio Kinu,

and everyone shouted, "Lie!"

a svi su uzviknuli da je to laž.

They all knew this wasn't possible.

Znali su da je to nemoguće.

Virtually no North Korean is allowed to leave the country.

Nijedan sjevernokorejac ne smije napustiti zemlju.

Even traveling within their own country requires a travel pass.

Čak im za putovanje unutar zemlje treba putna dozvola.

I had hoped that this game would reveal some truth about my students,

Nadala sam se da će ova igra otkriti neku istinu o mojim studentima,

because they lie so often and so easily,

jer lažu vrlo često i vrlo lako,

whether about the mythical accomplishments of their Great Leader,

bilo da govore o legendarnim postignućima svoga Velikog vođe,

or the strange claim that they cloned a rabbit as fifth graders.

ili kako su u petom razredu uspjeli klonirati zeca.

The difference between truth and lies seemed at times hazy to them.

Razlika između istine i laži ponekad im nije bila jasna.

It took me a while to understand the different types of lies;

Trebalo mi je vremena da shvatim različite vrste laži;

they lie to shield their system from the world,

lažu kako bi zaštitili svoj sustav od ostatka svijeta,

or they were taught lies, and were just regurgitating them.

ili su ih podučavali lažima, pa su ih oni samo ponavljali.

Or, at moments, they lied out of habit.

Ponekad su lagali iz navike.

But if all they have ever known were lies,

No, ako je sve što su ikada poznavali laž,

how could we expect them to be otherwise?

kako bismo mogli očekivati da su iskreni?

Next, I tried to teach them essay writing.

Potom sam ih pokušala podučiti pisanju eseja.

But that turned out to be nearly impossible.

To se pokazalo kao gotovo nemoguće.

Essays are about coming up with one's own thesis,

Za eseje je bitno smisliti vlastitu tezu,

and making an evidence-based argument to prove it.

i dokazati je na temelju činjeničnih argumenata.

These students, however, were simply told what to think,

Međutim, tim studentima se govorilo što moraju misliti,

and they obeyed.

a oni su tako i činili.

In their world, critical thinking was not allowed.

Kritičko razmišljanje nije dozvoljeno u njihovom svijetu.

I also gave them the weekly assignment of writing a personal letter,

Kao tjednu zadaću zadavala sam im pisanje osobnih pisama,

to anybody.

bilo kome.

It took a long time, but eventually some of them began to write

Trebalo je mnogo vremena, no naposljetku su neki od njih počeli pisati

to their mothers, their friends, their girlfriends.

svojim majkama, prijateljima i djevojkama.

Although those were just homework,

Iako je to bila samo zadaća,

and would never reach their intended recipients,

i nikada nije dospjela do primatelja,

my students slowly began to reveal their true feelings in them.

moji studenti su pomalo počeli otkrivati svoje prave osjećaje.

They wrote that they were fed up with the sameness of everything.

Pisali su kako im je dosta sveopće jednoličnosti.

They were worried about their future.

Bili su zabrinuti za svoju budućnost.

In those letters, they rarely ever mentioned their Great Leader.

U tim pismima gotovo nikada nisu spominjali svoga Velikog vođu.

I was spending all of my time with these young men.

Cijelo svoje vrijeme provodila sam s tim mladićima.

We all ate meals together, played basketball together.

Zajedno smo objedovali i igrali košarku.

I often called them gentlemen, which made them giggle.

Često sam ih zvala gospodom, zbog čega su se smijuljili.

They blushed at the mention of girls.

Pocrvenili bi na spomen djevojaka.

And I came to adore them.

Zavoljela sam ih.

And watching them open up even in the tiniest of ways,

A gledati ih kako se otvaraju, makar i u najmanjoj mjeri,

was deeply moving.

bilo mi je jako dirljivo.

But something also felt wrong.

No, činilo se da nešto nije uredu.

During those months of living in their world,

Tijekom tih mjeseci života u njihovom svijetu,

I often wondered if the truth would, in fact, improve their lives.

često sam se pitala bi li istina poboljšala njihove živote.

I wanted so much to tell them the truth,

Silno sam ih željela reći istinu,

of their country and of the outside world,

o njihovoj zemlji i vanjskom svijetu,

where Arab youth were turning their rotten regime inside out,

gdje je arapska mladež preokretala cijeli truli režimski poredak,

using the power of social media,

koristeći se društvenim mrežama,

where everyone except them was connected through the world wide web,

gdje su svi izuzev njih bili povezani globalnom mrežom,

which wasn't worldwide after all.

što znači da i nije globalna.

But for them, the truth was dangerous.

No za njih je istina bila opasna.

By encouraging them to run after it, I was putting them at risk --

Ohrabrujući ih da tragaju za njom, izlagala sam ih opasnosti

of persecution,

od progona,

of heartbreak.

i od slomljenog srca.

When you're not allowed to express anything in the open,

Kada vam je zabranjeno išta otvoreno izražavati,

you become good at reading what is unspoken.

postanete dobri u čitanju neizgovorenog.

In one of their personal letters to me, a student wrote that he understood

U jednom osobnom pismu upućenom meni, student je napisao kako razumije

why I always called them gentlemen.

zašto ih uvijek zovem gospodom.

It was because I was wishing them to be gentle in life, he said.

Zato što sam željela da budu nježni (gentle) u životu.

On my last day in December of 2011,

Mog posljednjeg dana u prosincu 2011.

the day Kim Jong-Il's death was announced,

bila je objavljena smrt Kim Jong-Ila,

their world shattered.

i njegov svijet se srušio.

I had to leave without a proper goodbye.

Morala sam otići bez pravog oproštaja.

But I think they knew how sad I was for them.

No vjerujem da su znali koliko sam bila žalosna zbog njih.

Once, toward the end of my stay, a student said to me,

Jednom, pred kraj mog boravka, jedan student mi je rekao,

"Professor, we never think of you as being different from us.

"Profesorice, mi nikada ne mislimo da ste drukčiji od nas.

Our circumstances are different, but you're the same as us.

Naše su okolnosti drukčije, ali vi ste isti kao i mi.

We want you to know that we truly think of you as being the same."

Želimo da znate da vas zaista smatramo jednakima nama."

Today, if I could respond to my students with a letter of my own,

Ako bih im danas mogla odgovoriti svojim pismom,

which is of course impossible,

što naravno nije moguće,

I would tell them this:

rekla bih im ovo:

"My dear gentlemen,

"Draga moja gospodo,

It's been a bit over three years since I last saw you.

prošlo je više od tri godine od kad sam vas zadnji put vidjela.

And now, you must be 22 -- maybe even as old as 23.

Sada imate 22 ili čak 23 godine.

At our final class, I asked you if there was anything you wanted.

Na našem zadnjem satu, pitala sam vas želite li išta.

The only wish you expressed, the only thing you ever asked of me

Jedina vaša želja, jedina stvar koju ste me ikada pitali,

in all those months we spent together,

tijekom svih tih zajedničkih mjeseci,

was for me to speak to you in Korean.

bila je da vam se obratim na korejskom.

Just once.

Samo jednom.

I was there to teach you English;

Bila sam tamo da vas podučim engleski;

you knew it wasn't allowed.

znali ste da to nije bilo dozvoljeno.

But I understood then, you wanted to share that bond of our mother tongue.

No shvatila sam tada da želite podijeliti tu posebnu vezu našeg materinjeg jezika.

I called you my gentlemen,

Zvala sam vas gospodom,

but I don't know if being gentle in Kim Jong-Un's merciless North Korea

no ne znam je li nježnost u nemilosrdnoj Sjevernoj Koreji Kim Jong-Ila

is a good thing.

dobra stvar.

I don't want you to lead a revolution --

Ne želim da vodite revoluciju,

let some other young person do it.

prepustite to nekim drugim mladim ljudima.

The rest of the world might casually encourage or even expect

Ostatak svijeta može ležerno poticati ili čak očekivati

some sort of North Korean Spring,

neku vrstu sjevernokorejskog proljeća,

but I don't want you to do anything risky,

ali ja ne želim da napravite išta riskantno,

because I know in your world, someone is always watching.

jer znam da u vašem svijetu netko uvijek promatra.

I don't want to imagine what might happen to you.

Ne želim ni zamisliti što bi vam se moglo dogoditi.

If my attempts to reach you have inspired something new in you,

Ako su moji pokušaji da doprem do vas u vama potaknuli nešto novo,

I would rather you forget me.

radije bih da me zaboravite.

Become soldiers of your Great Leader, and live long, safe lives.

Postanite vojnici vašeg Velikog Vođe, i živite dug i sretan život.

You once asked me if I thought your city of Pyongyang was beautiful,

Jednom ste me pitali smatram li vaš grad Pjongjang predivnim,

and I could not answer truthfully then.

i tada vam nisam mogla iskreno odgovoriti.

But I know why you asked.

Znam zašto ste to pitali.

I know that it was important for you to hear that I, your teacher,

Znam da vam je bilo bitno čuti da ja, vaša učiteljica,

the one who has seen the world that you are forbidden from,

koja sam vidjela svijet koji vam je zabranjen,

declare your city as the most beautiful.

smatram vaš grad najljepšim.

I know hearing that would make your lives there a bit more bearable,

Znam da bi vam to učinilo tamnošnji život podnošljivijim,

but no, I don't find your capital beautiful.

ali ne, ne mislim da vam je grad predivan.

Not because it's monotone and concrete,

Ne zato što je monoton i izbetoniran,

but because of what it symbolizes:

već zbog toga što on predstavlja:

a monster that feeds off the rest of the country,

čudovište koje se hrani ostatkom zemlje,

where citizens are soldiers and slaves.

gdje su građani vojnici i robovi.

All I see there is darkness.

Jedino što tamo vidim je tama.

But it's your home, so I cannot hate it.

No to je vaš dom, tako da ga ne mogu mrziti.

And I hope instead that you, my lovely young gentlemen,

Umjesto toga se nadam da ćete vi, moja draga gospoda,

will one day help make it beautiful.

jednoga dana pridonijeti tome da je on predivan."

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)