A State of Mind:
An Interview with Daniel Gordon

	WATCH a video of the Mass Games (Wide Angle and Thirteen/WNET)

The documentary A State of Mind by British filmmaker Daniel Gordon is a rare glimpse into North Korean daily life. Gordon followed the lives of two North Korean schoolgirls, 13-year-old Pak Hyon Sun and 11-year-old Kim Song Yun, as they train for the Mass Games.

North Korea's Mass Games are a spectacle of extravagant proportions: 100,000 people participate in elaborately choreographed, dazzlingly colorful, jaw-dropping gymnastic displays, after months of daily, grueling rehearsals. It’s all for the delectation of Kim Jong Il, often referred to as “Dear Leader Kim” or “Dear General.” Whether the reclusive dictator will show up on the day of the performance is a matter of constant speculation.

Gordon's film paints a candid portrait of these two young girls' difficult (though by North Korean standards, very privileged) lives in this fascinating look at one of the world’s most hidden societies.

Do you find that the world of sports seems less threatening to North Korea as a subject matter for films? What attracts you to doing sports stories?

I am a sports fanatic and sports themes can tell great human stories, and remain neutral, even when the subject matter may be quite political. What fascinated me about the [North Korean] football team was how they emerged from a nation absolutely devastated by the Korean War to be at the World Cup just 13 years later. For A State of Mind I wanted to use the theme of daily life in Pyongyang [the capital] through the eyes of these two schoolgirl gymnasts.

How did you find the two schoolgirls Kim Song Yun and Pal Hyon Sun?

We asked them for the best gymnast and met Pak Hyon Sun and her family in September 2002. Having found Pak Hyon Sun we began filming in February 2003. She told us of her friend, Kim Song Yon and we got a feeling that we could develop their friendship as a theme. Pak is an only child, and loves going to Kim’s house, as there are three girls there. Kim learns gymnastic moves from Pak, so their relationship is mutually dependent.

Your film captures the strong and disturbing devotion that these children and adults have for their leader, Kim Jong Il. Did you get any sense from the people you met that there might be fear of punishment if they said anything on camera against the government?

No, one of the surprising and encouraging things was how open they were with us. No one looked at our footage or tried to edit it before we left the country.

Were you required to show the North Korean authorities the final version of the film before releasing it to the public?

People find it hard to believe but the North Koreans had no editorial control. The first time they saw the finished version was after its first broadcast on the BBC. In essence, they trusted us to make an impartial film.

It is striking how much animosity North Koreans expressed for the United States in the film. The media, the memories of the Korean War, as well as the current relationship with the US seem to keep that momentum going. But one woman in the film spoke about how it was almost tiring to continually hate the United States and keep that enemy constantly present in their lives.

Do you feel these hostile sentiments and blame toward the US have become emptier the more it’s expected of everyone to feel this way? Or did you find the opposite, that they just keep perpetuating the same anger?

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Just before we went in February 2003, Donald Rumsfeld said America could
fight a war on two fronts, which clearly meant Iraq and North Korea. In this way, all North Koreans could legitimately be told by their government “Look, we told you, they are still planning to invade us.” They are very clear about Bush labelling them evil. It’s hard to think how this mutual animosity can stop.

It is revealed in the film that even during the hardest years of the famine in the ‘90s, which even affected Pyongyang, North Koreans withstood everything for the preservation of “juche” or self-reliance.

There were so many predictions at the time that the fall of North Korea was imminent, but it never happened. After your current experience in North Korea, what is your sense of the possibility of North-South reunification?

One of the saddest things about making these two films is to understand how devastating the divide is to all Korean people regardless of background or beliefs. The prospects looked brighter five years ago when we embarked on The Game of Their Lives but now seem more remote than ever.

A very tragic aspect of the story is when Kim Jong Il does not make it to the performance. The girls show disappointment and yet there is still a quiet understanding that their leader is busy helping their country. Do you feel that this will eventually wear on these kids’ devotion?

No, and I think the fact that since we finished filming two years ago they have practiced every day for two hours in readiness for this coming Mass Games (August-October 2005, though they never knew the date) bears this out.

Excerpted from an interview conducted by Cindy Yoon, AsiaSource.

Images and video courtesy of Wide Angle and Thirteen/WNET