PYONGYANG TRAFFIC GIRL AWARDED TITLE "HERO OF THE DPRK"
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Dear Leader Divine Administrator
Posts : 626 Join date : 2008-03-30
Subject: PYONGYANG TRAFFIC GIRL AWARDED TITLE "HERO OF THE DPRK" Wed May 08, 2013 6:18 pm
OK, The basic story here is that some unspecified incident happened, and the traffic girl provided assistance. For performing such a sacrificial duty, she was awarded the title Hero Of The Republic, the higest honor a civilian can receive in North Korea, and also was awarded 2 additional medals - all in a ceremony that was conducted in the Presidium of the Grand Peoples Assembly, with full honors and much congratulatory speechmaking.
Update: Widespread internet rumors are that the incident involved Jim Jong-Un, and that she "saved his life". But other stories are emerging that she actually only saved a Kim Jong-Un propaganda poster from being destroyed by fire.
Read continuing updates to this story in the follow-up posts in this thread.
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Here are the original North Korea English language news announcements:
May. 7, Juche 102 (2013) Tuesday DPRK Hero Title Awarded to Traffic Controller
The DPRK awarded the title of the DPRK Hero, a gold star medal and Order of National Flag First Class to Ri Kyong Sim, a traffic controller of a district branch of the Traffic Command Corps of the Pyongyang City People's Security Bureau.
The Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK promulgated a decree on it on May 4.
Ri dedicated herself to ensuring the traffic order in the capital city and displayed the heroic self-sacrificing spirit of safeguarding the security of the headquarters of the revolution in an unexpected circumstance.
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May. 8, Juche 102 (2013) Wednesday Heroine, Pride of the Country
Ri Kyong Sim, traffic control girl belonging to the traffic control Center under the Pyongyang City People's Security Bureau, was awarded the title of Hero of the Republic, the highest honor of a citizen of the Republic.
Infinitely faithful to the Party and the leader, she carried out her duty to the best of her ability, contributing to the traffic safety in the capital city; she is a laudable traffic officer and a true daughter of the Party, who at an unexpected moment displayed a heroic self-sacrificing spirit of defending the leader and secured the safety of the brains of our revolution.
She is 22 years old, recruited on April 30, 2008.
Still young as she is, she has become a shining example for all our army men and the people.
All the streets crisscrossing the capital city are permeated with the sweat of the devoted service of the traffic controllers.
Rain or shine, they stand at their posts.
Heroine Ri would often give a lively expression to the rain, snow and street lights, calling them "sweet rain, sweat now and sweet lights".
Drivers would call her "the ruly" or "bigotry", intimate terms attached to the girl so strict to the rules and making no allowances for those "unrulies". In other sense, it was an expression of drivers' respect and love for the girl.
Ri volunteered to be traffic controller.
In her dreamful girlhood, she heard a lot of moving stories about traffic control girls, and later that became the motive for her to make another choice for her future -- to be a traffic control girl.
One day, it was raining cats and dogs. Immediately after shift of her duty, she was rushing somewhere through the rain.
"Where are you going?" yelled a pal of hers.
"A car pulled up there!" came a reply. Sensing what it meant, the girl ran up to Ri. She saw Ri helping the driver to fix the car, holding a spanner in her hand. It was late autumn and raining hard. Shivering from cold in the rain, Ri stood still there till the car started the engine again. Smiling she said goodbye to the driver.
She is always aware that defending the safety of the brains of revolution is the way that promises well for the welfare and future of the country and the happiness and security of the people.
She pledges to herself, "I'll stand at my post as firm as ever, like a shield protecting the leader of revolution and safety of my dear people."
Ri Kyong Sim, now hero of the Republic, still stands at her post on a crossroad of the capital city.
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Watch the North Korea TV (KCTV) news story of the event:
Last edited by Dear Leader on Fri Sep 11, 2020 11:15 pm; edited 17 times in total
1312JLZ Guest
Subject: Good job! Thu May 09, 2013 1:45 am
Both to the Pyongyang traffic girl, and to you, the poster, for finding this out. It's pretty awesome!
Dear Leader Divine Administrator
Posts : 626 Join date : 2008-03-30
Subject: Re: PYONGYANG TRAFFIC GIRL AWARDED TITLE "HERO OF THE DPRK" Thu May 09, 2013 7:45 am
UPDATE: Western news reports are currently speculating that the incident involved Jim Jong-Un, and that the traffic girl "may have saved his life." Ahhh, the internet.
Some reports:
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North Korean traffic cop may have saved Kim Jong-un's life A North Korean traffic policewoman has been awarded the rare 'Hero of the Republic' award, sparking speculation she make have saved the life of Kim Jong-un.
South Korean media suggested that Ri Kyong-Sim may have rescued the North Korean leader from a traffic accident, while others speculated about a possible assassination attempt.
In a brief dispatch, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) announced that Ms Ri "displayed the heroic self-sacrificing spirit of safeguarding the security of the headquarters of the revolution in an unexpected circumstance."
The phrase "headquarters of the revolution" is often used to refer to the country's supreme leadership.
The "Hero of the Republic" award is usually reserved for heroic acts during wartime, although it is also given to individuals who have made a major contribution to the country's advancement.
Recently, a large number were given to scientists and technicians involved in the North's long-range rocket launch in December and February's nuclear test.
Park Kun-Ha, secretary general of NK Intellectuals Solidarity, a North Korean defector group, said it was "very rare" for such a prestigious award to be handed out to a low-level functionary.
"I suspect it might have been linked to an assassination attempt disguised as a traffic accident," Park told AFP.
Speculation that Kim Jong-un was involved in some way was fuelled by hints in state media reports that followed the initial KCNA announcement.
"Comrade Ri's action was not made possible by pure accident, but made possible because she had always harboured this longing for the respected leader day and night," her superior officer told state TV in an interview.
Her former teacher said: "She was always such a responsible person ... that explains why she could achieve such a heroic feat for the safety of the brains of our revolution."
State TV showed hundreds of soldiers and traffic police attending the award ceremony, during which Ms Ri wept uncontrollably.
"I couldn't feel more grateful for the mercy shown by our respected leader in awarding me this highest honour," she said.
The hundreds of guests applauded her as she laid a floral tribute before joint statues of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, the current leader's grandfather and father.
A female North Korean traffic police officer has been presented with one of the country's highest awards, apparently for assisting leader Kim Jong Un. There is speculation that Kim's car was recently involved in a traffic accident.
In Pyongyang, North Korea's parliament on Tuesday awarded the 22-year-old police officer the title 'hero of the republic'.
The Supreme People's Assembly said the officer risked her life to assist the revolutionary leader in an "unexpected situation".
What 'the unexpected situation' was is not clear. North Korea watchers are speculating that Kim's car was involved in a traffic accident in Pyongyang, and that the police woman attended to Kim at the scene.
The police officer has been on the job for only five years. It is rare for such a young person to receive what is considered an honorable title.
State-run Korean Central Television extensively covered the award ceremony, while the ruling Workers' Party newspaper ran an editorial on Thursday calling on readers to follow the police officer's example.
Pyongyang Traffic girl given mystery hero award Traffic warden said to protect "leader" in a "death-defying...unexepcted" situation
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A Pyongyang traffic warden has received a prestigious “DPRK Hero” award for “death-defyingly” protecting the leader in an “unexpected situation,” a North Korean TV news broadcast reported yesterday.
“For doing what any traffic warden could do, the dear marshall generously let me join the party yesterday, and awarded me the title of the republic today,” a visibly emotional Ri Kyong Sim told North Korean state TV after the award ceremony.
While no details of the events leading to the award have been revealed by North Korean media, a continuous focus on the news in recent days has led some observers to speculate that traffic warden Ri Kyong Sim may have warded off an assassination attempt targeting Kim Jong Un.
“I suspect it might have been linked to an assassination attempt disguised as a traffic accident”, secretary general Park Kun-ha of NK Intellectuals Solidarity told AFP Thursday.
“If there was a direct power challenge or assassination attempt, it is likely that Ri Kyong Sim may have stopped a suspicious vehicle for a search,” NK News leadership specialist Michael Madden said. Ri interviewed by state media (KCTV)
SOVIET AWARD FOR A MODERN ERA
The “Hero of the Republic,” originally a Soviet-era award, is one of the most prestigious medals in North Korea. It is usually reserved for heroic acts during wartime or to acknowledge major contributions to the country’s development. Such a high level award suggests Ri was involved in an action that helped protect key members of the North Korean leadership.
Throughout reporting, North Korean media have made ambiguous references to how she helped “safeguarded” both the “leader [suryong - 수령]” and “headquarters of the revolution.” No direct link, however, is made between her action and the personal security of Kim Jong Un.
Internal security were present in strong numbers (KCTV)
Footage from Ri’s award ceremony shown an audience packed with domestic security heavyweights that include the Vice President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly Yang Hyong Sop, People’s Security Minister Choe Pu Il, and director of the Political Department of the Korean People’s Internal Security Forces (KPISF) Ri Pyong Sam.
MYSTERY EVENT
The seven minute feature also includes interviews with acquaintances of Ri including colleagues, friends and family. Her former school teach and school principal are also interviewed.
“Teachers of our school are so excited for the first hero of the republic among the alumnae,” Hong Man Song, Ri’s middle school teacher told state media.
Although all express delight at Ri’s award and praise her conduct, none of the interviewees detail what it was that she had done to be awarded the prestigious title. She remained calm and did her job in what were “urgent and chaotic” circumstances, a fellow traffic girl explains, one of the only references to the event.
North Korean media have featured stories about Ri Kyong Sim extensively in recent days, mentioning her in eight individual broadcasts since she was first introduced on 4 May. But despite a strong focus on Ri in domestic news, Michael Madden cautions that the story could be a deliberate attempt to mislead observers.
“It’s difficult to say whether Pyongyang is toying with Western observers who like to call attention to the women traffic officers, or if they are playing with the rumors of an assassination attempt against Kim Jong Un,” he said.
Pyongyang “Traffic Girls” have become a cult icon for frequent visitors to North Korea, thanks to their bright uniforms, pretty appearance, and the state’s reliance on human–rather than electronic–signals to control traffic.
In March an unnamed “intelligence source” told South Korea’s JoongAng Ilbo that Kim Jong Un had faced an assassination attempt in a gun-fight that was related to growing discontent within North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau. North Korean media made no reference to the alleged assassination and foreign nationals living in the city did not report hearing news, or sounds, indicating a gun battle.
Rumor grew about an assassination attempt during a visit to Beijing shortly after Kim Jong Un assumed power in 2012. The story later turned out to be a hoax.
The closest news from North Korea about direct attacks on the leadership came last year when Pyongyang asked the UN to condemn an alleged terrorist plot by the U.S. and South Korea to blow up a statue of Kim Il Sung.
Additional reporting by James Pearson and Subin Kim in Seoul (Picture: KCTV)...
Subject: Re: PYONGYANG TRAFFIC GIRL AWARDED TITLE "HERO OF THE DPRK" Thu May 09, 2013 7:23 pm
Update, May 9:
North Korean ‘traffic girl’ may have won military award for saving Kim Jong Un poster
Posted by Max Fisher on May 9, 2013 at 2:25 pm
A video released by North Korean state media shows a North Korean “traffic girl” accepting the state’s highest medal. (YouTube)
North Korea caused even more bafflement than usual when, on Wednesday, it announced that a lowly traffic cop would receive the state’s highest honor, a medal called “The Hero of the Republic.” The award is typically reserved for military derring-do or nuclear scientists. More confusing still was the official announcement, which stated with conspicuous vagueness that the “traffic girl,” as they’re typically called, was being honored for “safeguarding the security of the headquarters of the revolution in an unexpected circumstance.” What circumstance? What does “safeguarding” mean?
An official state video showed the traffic cop, a young woman name Ri Kong Sim, convulsing with emotion as she received her award.
The conspiracy theories flowed quickly, with a North Korean defector organization suggesting that she may have saved leader Kim Jong Un from an assassination attempt. According to some thinly sourced reports, North Korean agents may have staged car accidents in the past to kill their targets.
It turns out, though, that the explanation may be considerably more modest. New Focus International, a North Korean news organization that sources from defectors and from volunteer citizens within the country, says that its sources in Pyongyang indicate that Ri “received the award for putting out a fire that broke out near a propaganda poster.” The poster allegedly bore the name of leader Kim Jong Un.
This explanation might sound absurd, but it’s not implausible. I suggested this could be the case in my original post on Ri’s mysterious award, noting that North Korea often grants high honors to people who simply save official portraits of its national rulers. Those omnipresent portraits, like the Eucharist at a Catholic mass, are considered quasi-holy symbols of everything that’s supposed to matter in the North Korean state ideology.
New Focus International’s story also notes that North Korea is still technically in a “Grade 1 War-Readiness State,” owing to recent tensions with the United States. This state includes special, heightened rules requiring citizens to protect images and icons of the leaders. That’s partly about propaganda and ideology – Kim is the embodiment the state, after all – but it also has the nice effect, probably comforting for Kim, of making it the personal duty of every North Korea citizen to care so much about their leader that they’ll even self-sacrifice to protect a banner carrying his name.
“The Real North Korea,” a new book by the highly respected scholar Andrei Lankov, also discusses the degree to which official state ideology treats posters and banners of the Kim family as holy relics, the embodiment of the semi-divine leaders themselves. In this clip, Lankov discusses an unsettling incident in which a father was rewarded for allowing his 5-year-old daughter to drown so that he could save a poster of former leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il:
In an emergency, statues and portraits are to be protected whatever the cost, as any sacred object should be — and North Koreans are reminded that they must safeguard the images. For example, in 2007 the official media widely reported an incident that allegedly occurred in August of that year.
During a severe flooding, Kang Hyong Kwon, a factory worker from the city of Ich’on, was trying to make his way to safety through a dangerous stream. While leaving his flooded house, he took the two most precious things in his life — his five-year-old daughter and portraits of Leaders Generalissimo Kim Il Sung and Marshal Kim Jong Il. Suddenly overwhelmed by the current, he lost grip of his daughter, who fell into the swollen waters, but still managed to keep hold of the sacred images. The media extolled North Koreans to emulate Kang Hyong Kwon, a real-life hero.
Think about that for a moment. If North Korean officials are going to promote this man as a hero for saving a poster of the Kims while his daughter drowned, would it really be so surprising if they granted a top military honor to a traffic cop who saved a burning banner bearing Kim Jong Un’s name?
Last edited by Dear Leader on Fri May 10, 2013 1:10 pm; edited 1 time in total
Dear Leader Divine Administrator
Posts : 626 Join date : 2008-03-30
Subject: Re: PYONGYANG TRAFFIC GIRL AWARDED TITLE "HERO OF THE DPRK" Fri May 10, 2013 1:08 pm
update, May 10: The real story is starting to come out:
Exclusive: Why North Korea Handed a Bravery Award to Ri Kyong-Sim May 9, 2013
On May 8th, Rodong Sinmun revealed that Ri Kyong-Sim, a 22 year-old traffic policewoman from Pyongyang’s People’s Security Department, was named a ‘Hero of the Republic’. The story was publicized in South Korean media and internationally by AFP news agency, who suggested that “she might have intervened in an incident that had threatened the life of leader Kim Jong-Un”.
But according to our North Korea correspondents and sources in Pyongyang, Ri Kyong-Sim received the award for putting out a fire that broke out near a propaganda poster.
One New Focus correspondent in North Korea told us, “A fire broke out opposite the cross-roads traffic-post where Ri Kyong-Sim was on duty. When the propaganda poster with Kim Jong Un’s name caught on fire, Ri went to put it out.” He continued, “The action had already been recognized at various Party speeches. This latest award is being conferred at Kim Jong Un’s explicit orders.”
It appears that Ri Kyong-Sim’s bravery was singled out in this way by Kim Jong Un – under the pretext of having “saved the executive of the revolution” – because it occurred during the Grade 1 War-Readiness State.
While the Grade 1 War-Readiness State remains in force, stepped-up efforts to protect icons and statues depicting the Kims have not been relaxed. The suggestion that Ri Kyong-Sim thwarted an assassination attempt on Kim Jong Un’s life likely arose due to a misinterpretation of the term ‘executive of the revolution’ as referring directly to Kim Jong Un’s person.
According to North Korean defector Kim Ji-ho*, “The North Korean regime must feel insecure about the growing sense of dissatisfaction among the North Korean people. Ri Kyong-Sim’s award appears to be an attempt to redirect public perception towards support of Kim Jong Un.”
Significantly, this is not the first time that North Korea has conferred the title of ‘Hero of the Republic’ to a citizen who has saved a Kim icon or portrait from flooding or fire. Unusually, no reason for the award has been offered on this latest occasion.
North Korean defector Park Ji-chul* offered a suggestion for this anomaly: “Information flow across the Sino-North Korean border is much freer than it was a few years ago. Perhaps the North Korean state has chosen to remain silent on why it has conferred its latest title of ‘Hero of the Republic’ because it realizes how silly this would look on the international stage.”
Subject: Re: PYONGYANG TRAFFIC GIRL AWARDED TITLE "HERO OF THE DPRK" Sat May 11, 2013 5:38 pm
Here's a few more articles on this from North Korea official media.
The first one is a May 9th editorial, in English, that they posted.
The May 10th article they posted both in Korean and English versions. The English text versions have somewhat different content than the Korean text versions - I post here the only English text version, and then the links to the Korean text version - I can't make out exactly what their point is even with a translator. (google transle, micrsoft translator) It's too much of that common North Korea flowery and dramatic poetry prose - It reads as gibberish to me, which is why I won't even bother posting the Korean translated text here.
May 11th & 12th articles - they only posted Korean text versions as far as I can tell. I only post here the links to those and not the translated text, for reasons stated above.
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May 9: Official North Korean English editorial:
Follow Ri Kyong Sim's Example of Devotedly Defending Leader
Ri Kyong Sim, traffic controller of a district branch of the Traffic Commanding Corps of the Pyongyang City People's Security Bureau, was awarded the title of Hero of the Republic, the highest honor of citizen of the Republic, for her example of devotedly defending the revolutionary headquarters in an unexpected situation.
Her heroic feat encourages all servicepersons and civilians in their struggle to win a final victory in an all-out confrontation with the U.S. imperialists and build a thriving nation of Juche on this land under the Songun leadership of the respected Marshal Kim Jong Un.
What merits attention in her ideological and spiritual qualities is that she made it a rule to practice loyalty to the leader.
Her heroic feat clearly shows that we can be single-mindedly loyal to Marshal Kim Jong Un only when we follow him on his field guidance tour day and night and feel his noble affection for the people.
Another example in her ideological and spiritual qualities is that she always carried out her duty with revolutionary devotion and high responsibility.
Her spirit of devotedly defending the leader is a concentric expression of the noble ideological and spiritual traits of young people of our era who are advancing straight along the road indicated by the Marshal.
All the party members and other working people should actively learn after her heroic self-sacrificing spirit in defending the leader and powerfully demonstrate the great feature of single-minded unity of our society in which all the army and people firmly unite around the headquarters of revolution.
We should perfectly do the work with a thoroughgoing viewpoint that no carelessness or defect can be allowed in safeguarding the security and prestige of the revolutionary headquarters.
The main mission of the people's security organizations is defending the leader, the socialist system and the people. The People's Security organs and the internal security forces should successfully carry out their mission as a guard of political security of the Party, a strong supporter of socialism, striking guard and reliable protector of the life and property of people.
All the officials and other working people should follow the example of Ri Kyong Sim and responsibly carry out their revolutionary tasks with pride in their unit and job.
"Let us defend with our very lives the Party Central Committee headed by the great Comrade Kim Jong Un!", this is an unchangeable confidence and will and eternal motto of our army and people.
May 10 article: This is the official North Korean English language version:
Blessed Family
Some days ago the family of Ri Kyong Sim, a hero of the Republic moved from Mangyongdae District into a flat on the 26th floor of a high-rise apartment house in Central District, Pyongyang.
Many people visit the flat to congratulate them on their removal to a new house.
A certificate of Hero of the Republic is hanging on the front wall of the sun-lit living room.
In her school days Ri was interested in swimming.
When she had to finish secondary school, her mother thought of many things over her future.
But Ri wanted to become a traffic controller wearing military uniform like her father.
In a neat traffic controller uniform, she posed for photographs, single and together with her family members.
But it was not easy to fulfill her duty at the crossroads in all seasons, exposed to severe snowstorm, heavy rain and strong sunshine.
In those days she won official commendations from the C.C. of the Youth League for her high responsibility and devotion.
Safeguarding the street even in quiet night, she longed for the respected Marshal Kim Jong Un.
Well aware that a perfect traffic order is directly linked to the safety of the headquarters of the revolution, she could fulfill her revolutionary task with high responsibility.
Recently she safeguarded the headquarters of the revolution in an unexpected situation by displaying her heroic self-sacrificing spirit of defending the leader resolutely.
But she did not tell of it even to her parents, regarding her job as common honesty to be displayed by any traffic controller in military uniform in the capital city.
When her heroic feat was known after a few days, many officials and residents visited her post and family. When she was admitted to the Party and awarded the title of hero, all servicepersons and people sent warm congratulations to her.
"I will always keep in mind the great trust and affection of the respected Marshal and add brilliance to my life on the sacred road of defending the leader, the socialist system and the people."
Ri Kyong Sim, traffic controller, is hero of the Republic. She set a fine example for all of us, particularly for her fellow traffic men and girls.
Her self-sacrificing spirit for the defense of the leader of revolution and her high sense of responsibility for her duty inspire great admiration of the people. Her heroic deed now has great repercussions all through the country.
Ri Sun Hak, an officer of the Pyongyang city traffic control unit, says.
"She has always been true to her duty, and in a most critical moment -- that was never expected, and called for anyone's heroism, she responded to the occasion as quickly as required. She was sure of one thing not a moment should be lost for the safety of the leader, and she did what she had to for the moment. She is indeed a model for all traffic controllers. She always likes to sing a song "We Wait for You on Crossroads". The song goes something like this -- The dear General thinks of us always, and sent us all we need; rain coats and sun-glasses, padded jackets and trousers and boots. Out in the streets we are not wet in rain, our eyes protected by glaring Sun. We never feel cold in cutting mind. The General's love always watches over us."
A traffic girl Ro Jong Hyang pledged to learn from the example of heroine Ri Kyong Sim who would often say, "the street we stand on duty extends as far as the roads the General goes for his on-scene guidance tour for the wealth and glory of the country and for the happiness of the people." With this thought always in mind, Ri could do such a heroic deed. Her ardent loyalty to the leader is the finest quality all the traffic controllers in the capital must learn from.
Last edited by Dear Leader on Mon Jan 20, 2014 6:39 pm; edited 2 times in total
Dorking Out party member
Posts : 2 Join date : 2013-06-12
Subject: Re: PYONGYANG TRAFFIC GIRL AWARDED TITLE "HERO OF THE DPRK" Wed Jun 12, 2013 12:40 am
Last month, I was in Pyongyang and asked an official about this story. Specifically, I asked who or what "brains of revolution" referred to.
I was told that "brains of revolution" refers to Kim Jong Un. The term is visible on many posters and slogans posted around the city. It was also on a postcard I bought. The official pointed these slogans out to me on several occasions since I had expressed an interest in it.
The story I got was that Ri jumped in front of a tram that was on course to hit a car carrying Kim, forcing the tram driver to slam on the brakes and stop.
Dear Leader Divine Administrator
Posts : 626 Join date : 2008-03-30
Subject: Re: PYONGYANG TRAFFIC GIRL AWARDED TITLE "HERO OF THE DPRK" Thu Jun 13, 2013 4:10 pm
Dorking Out wrote:
Last month, I was in Pyongyang and asked an official about this story. Specifically, I asked who or what "brains of revolution" referred to.
I was told that "brains of revolution" refers to Kim Jong Un. The term is visible on many posters and slogans posted around the city. It was also on a postcard I bought. The official pointed these slogans out to me on several occasions since I had expressed an interest in it.
The story I got was that Ri jumped in front of a tram that was on course to hit a car carrying Kim, forcing the tram driver to slam on the brakes and stop
The jumping in front of a tram story sounds a bit suspect. Wouldn't his security detail, driver and route planners be more aware? They left him so vulnerable that the only thing saving him from a collision is a traffic girl jumping in front of a tram? And the tram operator was not made aware of the motorcade? If all that is true then many people responsible for his security have surely been executed by now.
I'd love to see pictures of your visit to NK. Do you have them posted anywhere?
Dorking Out party member
Posts : 2 Join date : 2013-06-12
Subject: Re: PYONGYANG TRAFFIC GIRL AWARDED TITLE "HERO OF THE DPRK" Thu Jun 13, 2013 4:50 pm
There is a difference between accepting an assertion as fact, and understanding the fact that an assertion has been made.
With that in mind, I don't know if the story I was told about Ri jumping in front of a tram is factually true, but it is fact that an official said that's what happened. I'm not in a position to say what a security detail (if any), driver, and route planners (again, if any) would or would not have been aware of. There is no mention of a motorcade anywhere in the story. As for executions, there is nothing in the story mentioning that either. One could read this story as an account of a security success, not a failure. After all, Ri "secured the safety of the brains of our revolution."
My guess-- and that's all it is-- is that Ri jumped in front of a tram to force the driver to stop, not that she actually put herself in danger. Nor, I imagine was anyone else in actual danger.
These kinds of stories are part of the national mythology. Speculating as others have done that Ri was given the highest national award for "rescuing" a poster or other nonsense is not helpful to understanding a complex society. Yet such stories are picked up and passed around until they creep their way into documented reality in the minds of westerners.
Dear Leader Divine Administrator
Posts : 626 Join date : 2008-03-30
Subject: Re: PYONGYANG TRAFFIC GIRL AWARDED TITLE "HERO OF THE DPRK" Sat Jun 15, 2013 7:07 pm
Yes, concerning the tram story, I don't have first hand knowledge whether true or not either, but I am just assuming some things - first, that it is highly doubtful to me that Kim Jong Un would be driven through Pyongyang in a lone car as he is the supreme leader of the DPRK, the nucleus of the cult of personality that drives the society. Revered and glorified as he is, there would no doubt be accompanying security personnel, which would require other vehicles, thus some kind of motorcade. And the lead cars would not be aware of a tram bearing down on the focus of their protection? Such a breakdown in security would unquestionably lead to reprimands - and again I am assuming, given the nature of the regime, that could include executions.
Also I don't think it's exactly nonsense that in North Korea the rescue of a portrait could be the source of the attention given to our traffic policewoman.
There are previous instances of North Koreans being praised in their media for rescuing portraits or propaganda featuring one of the Kims. Andrei Lankov at Asian Times wrote about that subject in a long article last year: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/NE03Dg01.html "Portraits are treated with great reverence, and stories of heroes who risked or even sacrificed their lives to save the sacred visage are a staple in North Korean media."
In any case, something happened that resulted in our traffic lady receiving ultimate accolades from the regime.
I find it curious that nowhere in the official statements do they explain exactly what it was that Ri Kyong Sim did. But with a strictly controlled media you only know what they want you to know. And apparently that is that she "secured the safety of the brains of our revolution" whatever that means. The tram story is as possible as any other explanation, and I agree with your guess that if that were the case, that she or others may not have been in any actual danger - but still was something sacrificial that was an excuse for the regime to publicly reward.
And that would be somewhat more of a noteworthy incident than the usual "saving a propaganda poster" stories that come from North Korea. But Ri Kyong Sim's "saving a poster" story could also be considered as the source, silly as it may sound to us, because as reported by New Focus International http://newfocusintl.com/exclusive-why-north-korea-handed-a-bravery-award-to-ri-kyong-sim/ from claimed sources inside North Korea, the traffic girl had put herself in danger of being burned while saving the portrait, so that dangerous "sacrifice" could be what they consider worthy of their highest national award and the accompanying media praise. They also claim that the awards were being conferred at Kim Jong Un’s explicit orders.
That being said, perhaps other visitors to North Korea will inquire about exactly what it was that Ri Kyong Sim did that resulted her award, and we can get more confirmation - either one story or another.
I'd still love to see the pictures of your trip to North Korea. Ray Cunningham(Zaruka) has travelled there many times, and has come back with quite a lot of interesting photos. http://www.flickr.com/photos/zaruka/sets/
w511 * party member *
Posts : 28 Join date : 2009-02-18
Subject: Re: PYONGYANG TRAFFIC GIRL AWARDED TITLE "HERO OF THE DPRK" Sat Jul 06, 2013 3:35 pm
She must have done something very heroic to garner such attention and awards. I can believe the tram story as the country can be so disorganized, with lack of communication, that a motorcade moved without proper planning [or it was a spontaneous move without announcement for security or secretive reasons].
Whatever the reason, maybe just propaganda, she is heroine of the State and probably set for life!
Dear Leader Divine Administrator
Posts : 626 Join date : 2008-03-30
Subject: Re: PYONGYANG TRAFFIC GIRL AWARDED TITLE "HERO OF THE DPRK" Sun Jul 28, 2013 2:03 am
w511 wrote:
She must have done something very heroic to garner such attention and awards. I can believe the tram story as the country can be so disorganized, with lack of communication, that a motorcade moved without proper planning [or it was a spontaneous move without announcement for security or secretive reasons].
Whatever the reason, maybe just propaganda, she is heroine of the State and probably set for life!
Yes, the tram story may possibly be the source of the awards... There are also rumors of her preventing a car accident, or helping thwart an assassination attempt... I just wish the DPRK media would say definitively what the whole story is. And I would think that Ms. Ri is no doubt set for life. No worries, she.
Dear Leader Divine Administrator
Posts : 626 Join date : 2008-03-30
Subject: Re: PYONGYANG TRAFFIC GIRL AWARDED TITLE "HERO OF THE DPRK" Fri Nov 29, 2013 5:14 am
Update 2013/11/25: Still no reliable source on Jong-Un assasination attempt, or event that resulted Ri-Kyong Sim award.
From PIIE.com - An article that addresses all the speculation.
I highlighted relevant passages in bold type.
Article below...
.... but we can’t restrain comment on the weird echo chamber that North Korea generates. Follow the bouncing ball.
On November 21, the Chosun Ilbo reported—and we quote–“North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was subject to an assassination attempt last year and security has since been drastically beefed up, the RAND Corporation claims.” The International Business Times also ran a long feature on the assassination story, much of it devoted to Bennett’s speculation about how assassinations have occurred and might occur again.
RAND and Bennett in fact have no information on such an assassination attempt; rather, they cite in a footnote a Joongang Daily from March of this year by Chang Se-jeong and Ser Myo-ja which is a issue of speculation based on the standard-issue unidentified “Seoul-based intelligence source.”
In sum, a South Korean newspaper cites RAND as an authoritative source, when the “authoritative source” is an unidentified source in a South Korean newspaper story.
That said, the reports are not utterly implausible, but they are vague and hard to follow. They center on two bits of “evidence”: the ups and downs of Kim Yong-chol, director of the Reconnaissance General Bureau; and an award given to a Pyongyang traffic cop.
Kim Yong-chol was promoted to four-star general in February 2012 but was demoted to two-star lieutenant general in November, possibly in connection with // internal conflicts. The source claims that the move against Kim Jong Un came prior to and in anticipation of Kim’s demotion. The near-miss apparently led Kim Jong Un to cater to the hardliners in both policy and personnel matters; the source attributes the provocations earlier in the year as an effort to appease the military and notes that it was a resuscitated Kim Yong-chol, who appeared on television in March of this year to say that North Korea could annul the Armistice.
And then there is the mysterious story covered well by The Wire–of the young female traffic officer named Ri-Kyong Sim who was given a “Hero of the Republic” award in an emotional over-the-top ceremony in Pyongyang. How could a lowly Pyongyang traffic cop win such an accolade? According to the the KCNA coverage, “Ri dedicated herself to ensuring the traffic order in the capital city and displayed the heroic self-sacrificing spirit of safeguarding the security of the headquarters of the revolution in an unexpected circumstance.” The HQ of the revolution is Kim Jong Un, and the secretary general of defector group NK Intellectuals Solidarity, Park Kun-Ha, speaking with the AFP, was thus simply connecting the dots: “I suspect it might have been linked to an assassination attempt disguised as a traffic accident.”
Its North Korea, so arguably anything is possible; we are certainly sympathetic to a model of North Korea riven at the top by court intrigue. But when reading accounts such as these, caveat emptor; they rest on surprisingly thin reeds and echo chambers
Portal FORUM 
Subject: PYONGYANG TRAFFIC GIRL AWARDED TITLE "HERO OF THE DPRK" 
Wed May 08, 2013 6:18 pm
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A Pyongyang traffic warden has received a prestigious “DPRK Hero” award for “death-defyingly” protecting the leader in an “unexpected situation,” a North Korean TV news broadcast reported yesterday.
