A tale of dictionaries and cosmetics

"Do young lovers in Pyongyang dare to hold hands in public?" I put this question to my guide, Cha Yun-ho, a 26-year-old from the foreign affairs ministry of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. That was one of the many stories - along with "Do people eat meat every week?" and "How can you build so many tall buildings?" - that we foreign reporters wanted to investigate.

The young diplomat, who is fluent in Chinese, immediately became animated: "How can you think such a thing? That's very insulting. Of course we can do everything here."

Cha wore a perpetual expression of grief when members of the foreign media - in the country to cover the satellite launch - asked about daily life in Pyongyang. Except for the 100 or so foreigners who work here long-term, we were told that every visitor from overseas would be accompanied by a guide while away from the hotel. Even if visitors simply wanted to walk out of their hotel, they had to notify the guide first. So the guide is one's primary source of information about how the ordinary people live and the country's policies towards foreigners, especially the foreign media.

Cha apparently comes from a well-off family in Pyongyang, wearing a watch worth hundreds of dollars. He proudly pointed out landmark buildings as our bus passed by and translated the songs when we were taken to the large-scale rallies arranged to mark what would have been the 100th birthday of the nation's founder, Kim Il-sung. This serious young man would occasionally take out a small notebook and jot down one of our colloquial Chinese expressions to decipher the correct meaning of the phrase.

A graduate of the Pyongyang Foreign Languages University, Cha said many of his middle-school classmates chose to enlist in the army instead of studying at university. In this country, which follows a military-first policy, he said the experience of being in the army is beneficial in later life.

When he caught a glimpse of the country's new leader, Kim Jong-un, while accompanying us during an interview, Cha became very excited and later solemnly informed us that we would have to use the word "Comrade" whenever we discussed Kim Jong-un with him.

Although he currently lives with his parents, Cha is planning to marry his long-term girlfriend in the next couple of years, when the young couple will be provided with a house by the state. He told us that his monthly salary is 2,000 DPRK won ($15), but claimed that he never worries about money, because citizens get free medical treatment, education and houses. Food is also issued by the government through a quota system.

However, despite his assertion, Cha was indeed worried about money. He asked why women use cosmetics and perfume. "It really burns money," he sighed.

I told him, "If I have the opportunity to come to Pyongyang again, I will get you some perfume or cosmetics as a gift for your girlfriend".

"No, thanks," he replied. "Can you bring me the latest edition of a Chinese dictionary, instead?"

Posters of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il are reflected in a bus window at night in Pyongyang. Wang Jing / China Daily

Primary school pupils on their way home after school in Pyongyang. Wang Jing / China Daily