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THE PROPAGANDA Most billboards in North Korea carry slogans, not advertisements, that carry the leader's main messages. Recent slogans focus on construction and the economy, such as: "Everything in the name of improving the people's daily lives" and tout the goal of building a "strong and properous nation." Pillars inscribed with "juche," the national philosophy of self-reliance, line country roads. North Korea has only one state-run TV channel, which shows cartoons in the late afternoon, the news, and soap operas and films in the evening. Major national announcements
-- including the news of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il's deaths -- are made on state TV. The Korean Central News Agency (http://www.kcna.kp) is the official news agency of the state while the Rodong Sinmun is the newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party. The leaders' names appear in a larger font than the rest of the text. ___ THE LOOK Kim Jong Un bears a startling resemblance to Kim Il Sung during his early years as president. Some North Koreans say they were moved to tears after seeing Kim Jong Un for the first time last year because he so resembled his grandfather. ___ THE NICKNAMES The Kims ruled North Korea under the title "suryong," or "leader," but are often referred to by other titles as well. Kim Il Sung, who remains the nation's "eternal President," is also commonly called the "Great Leader." Kim Jong Il known as the "Dear Leader" until taking power; during his rule, he was called "Great Comrade," "Supreme Commander" and often "Father." Kim Jong Un was dubbed "Young General" after being made a four-star general in September 2010. He became "Respected General" in 2011, and was elevated to "Great Successor" after his father's death. On Thursday, KCNA referred to him as "Outstanding Leader." ___ THE ARTS The Arirang "Mass Games" are a stunning spectacle of choreography and synchronicity involving 100,000 dancers tumbling and leaping in unison while students use placards to create a huge, cascading wall of images as a backdrop. The performance also is a key tool for broadcasting the North Korean leadership's main political and economic messages. In 2010, a new section was added paying homage to ally China that featured somersaulting panda bears. ___ THE SONG "Tramp, tramp, tramp! The footsteps of our General Kim!" So go the lyrics of the song "Footsteps," released as the leadership began rolling out the succession campaign for Kim Jong Un
-- the first hint to the outside world that a heir had been chosen. In October, young women in traditional Korean dresses and men in Western-style suits danced to the song, clapping their hands above their heads and stomping around the plaza in front of a huge hammer-and-sickle monument. Another popular tune is the catchy "Song of CNC," an ode to digital technology, which Kim Jong Un is widely credited with pushing as part of North Korea's economic reform. While North Koreans learn many of the same traditional Korean songs as children in the South
-- such as the popular folk tune "Arirang" -- they have their own patriotic tunes, including "Song of Gen. Kim Jong Il," "Glory to Our Great Party" and "We Live in the Embrace of the Leader."
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