North Korea Weird Wake-Up Call with Michael Palin | Michael Palin In North Korea | Channel 5

North Korea's Pyongyang has a very distinctive sound that can be heard every morning. Michael Palin is there in this documentary to hear the weirdest wake-up call in the world. 5am Michael hears the "Where are you, dear General" song of Pyongyang.
Michael Palin In North Korea starts Thursday 20th September at 9pm on Channel 5.
#MichaelPalin #NorthKorea #channel5
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[@autistictechgirl]

That music is really scary

[@tonyfg2001]

@Eternal President Kim il Sung thank you for this information, i weirdly like the song.

[@alexlee7168]

the version that doesn't sound like its playing one one of those keyboard things is better, like wayyyyyy better, those speakers make it like 1000x worse

[@olgajastrzebska5607]

It is the country of horros, so they should have horror music

[@Krypton1x09]

It’s no scary it’s just disturbing

[@olgajastrzebska5607]

@@Krypton1x09 It'sreally scary

[@ayy2193]

Eerie. Sounds like a perfect soundtrack for a strange dystopian land, played throughout the city like that creates a fitting vibe

[@ivorharden]

Imagine if Gangnam style started playing.

[@ticklethypickle6368]

Miss Piggy That would have lifted their spirits, so definitely not a option 😂

[@felias8271]

Of course i will dance💃💃

[@olgajastrzebska5607]

Immediately wake up!!

[@timmystresss]

That's oky

[@LightLife4]

Now that would be interesting :-)

[@LightLife4]

I thought it was just incidental post-production music. But when you learn that it's being played through a sound-system throughout the city it becomes creepy. It takes on a bizarre life of it's own. There's also something weirdly hypnotic about it to

[@johnwise8433]

Too not to

[@alanrogs3990]

What's more creepy is that people in other countries (USA, England, Germany....) think that their gov't isn't evil or hostile against them.

[@shouygui4955]

@@alanrogs3990 Yeah, Europe + NA played V&cc&ne propaganda over their city speakers in robot voices instead. Then our internet gets astroturfed by bot comments calling North Korean music creepy. They play the music seemingly outside that one hotel. Every video of NK I've seen showing this music is from this same hotel.

[@vaudevillian7]

@@shouygui4955it’s because it’s the only hotel foreigners can stay in. The speakers are at the train station, there’s no traffic to drown out the music so it can be heard quite a distance away

[@raw_dah]

I'm not trying to offend anyone, but I used to get wake up call from my ancestral temple in my home town. That song about lord Ganesh was annoying. But now I am suffering same annoyance, with some level of creepiness - a Muslim speech that is a wake up call. Evenings are soo creepy I won't even stay outside alone.

[@ticklethypickle6368]

The song itself is from a Korean opera written By Kim Jong Il, the original itself is actually quite good but for some reason they’re using a creepy version instead. If they played the original people would probably be way more optimistic about waking up that early.

[@koishybox4220]

It's because they're still using speakers from the stone age which makes the music sound heavily distorted

[@smokeymcbongwater4141]

I don't think the regime wants people to be optimistic. It makes their job easier if the people are worn down.

[@IWishIDidntExist2333]

@EveLang1 I agree, but it's also pretty eerie

[@kamitsoglouuu]

@@smokeymcbongwater4141 what you said makes no sense.

[@smokeymcbongwater4141]

@@kamitsoglouuu Really? How so?

[@talkaboutwacky]

It’s so haunting but also beautiful

[@sealmz4888]

That music would leave me dead inside every day waking up, my heart goes out to the people in North Korea🙏🏼

[@alanrogs3990]

Where are you living?

[@V0YAG3R]

@@alanrogs3990 With your mom! 😏

[@alanrogs3990]

@@V0YAG3R Noice!

[@extrachannelyt6528]

nothing is scary. they kids are just playing hide and seek with their general dad who got killed in war.

[@Kris.G]

What a scary dystopian place. To think that some of our Western leaders would love this kind of power.

[@joopiedelange8463]

So true..

[@EsperantoDelta]

I loved this documentary because instead of just saying "NK bad", we actually see for ourselves how dystopian the life there is

[@joeb2860]

What western leaders? Democrats?

[@alanrogs3990]

In the West it has become beyond political, it is social/corporate. For example here on youtube my comments can be censored or removed because of wrong think.

[@joeb2860]

@@alanrogs3990 yup. Democrats / liberals want control here. We think they’re clowns

[@kingsurgaleo1]

If I woke up to this opera every single day...... I would probably be self destroyed by my own Depression.

[@LightLife4]

Just get some earplugs

[@alanrogs3990]

I guess your depression is different in the "Free" West?

[@V0YAG3R]

@@alanrogs3990 Says the pathological sociopath using Western tech and inventions to freely post on a Western website, in a Western country, all while sarcastically quoting the word “free”. Tras de ladrón, bufón.

[@Widdekuu91]

Nobody is saying that the West is amazing, but you have to agree that it is better in the Netherlands than NK.@@alanrogs3990

[@GuyIncognito_]

@@alanrogs3990I'm not from the West but this would still make me incredibly depressed. What a dystopia.

[@gillespariseau6297]

Watched the N Korea Documentary tonight and was a dumb founded for Michael to ask the woman what she felt like to not be able express her thoughts on Kim Jong young....WTH would he ask such a dangerous question???

[@kariptis]

Do you really think she is in danger? She could have told the government the questions as well. And North Korea could deport Palin. Nobody from outside knows what's really going on in North Korea. Everything is based on assumptions and fantasies. Unfortunately, one can not trust the reports of the defectors. Too often they change stories or get caught lying. In addition, you will be severely punished in South Korea if you say something positive about North Korea. Google for "National Security Act" I am sure that the girl is not in danger. A state of total and absolute oppression works only in a movie. Much about North Korea is Western propaganda. btw A Swiss who has lived in North Korea for seven years (worked at ABB) says that the North Koreans know more about us than we do about them.

[@speedfreak2030]

@@kariptis 너는 바보 야, 분명히 잘 여행하지 못한 사람!

[@Cassxowary]

gilles pariseau they had someone with them at all times to make sure they didn’t do or say anything not allowed so it’s fine

[@cw1774]

@@kariptis you only have to read about the case of otto warmbier to know what's going on in korea the guy was given 15 years in a hard labour camp for taking a poster of a wall and he ended up dieing because of the harsh conditions

[@LightLife4]

There are people who live in North Korea who know the truth of the regime in charge, trouble is if they speak out the get arrested, torchured and quite possibly executed. And that's for anyone who dares (and is brave enough) to speak out

[@sandifav]

Wow! I was in exactly the same hotel, one floor up, almost 31 years ago (as part of a music 'Spring Friendship Festival' event) and that view brings back memories!!! -- same amount of people in the city as well - barely any..... only they didn't play that music as the first leader was still alive! -- am reading Michael Palin's book 'North Korea Journal' and sounds like they haven't changed a thing (so far!)

[@kimjong-un6096]

😈

[@sandifav]

@@kimjong-un6096 why this face? I actually enjoyed my time there

[@kimjong-un6096]

@@sandifav Ok, that sound well, thank you for coming then.

[@hvadskalvihedde2512]

@@sandifavi refuse to believe that. Ain’t no way you enjoyed being followed 24/7 whenever u go, having the fear of saying something negative.

[@stumass6433]

What a fantastic programme. Mr Palin keeps getting younger!

[@ticklethypickle6368]

Steve A Blink twice if they’re holding you hostage

[@boomerhgt]

What a scary place shows what can go wrong with humanity

[@mistah6898]

Reminds me of my first stay in the Arab world, I woke up to the sound of an azan singing al Fajr into my room from just next door at 4 30 in the morning. There's a haunting quality to it, the first time it happened I was frozen in my bed wondering if I was dreaming or awake

[@M.A.A9524]

Azan is not a song its a call for all muslims to pray

[@arcane1282]

First of all, not all arab countries play the athan. Mostly every middle eastern country has an athaan because Islam is the majority of the people's religion. It's not forced upon them like North Korea. Besides, that is a prayer call for them to come to the masjid and pray. It is OPTIONAL, even though most Muslims do go and pray every morning. It's nothing like this, North Korea has no freedom of anything and should not be compared to a religious prayer call.

[@arcane1282]

Mistah the azan is also called by a real human being, not a audio played.

[@DJizdawikidzt]

Why are people worked up about this comment? Clearly a timed song/sound reverbing through a city in the morning can remind someone of the Azan through the feeling you get of hearing it, the feeling of being woken up by it. Obviously the reasons and context is much different.

[@Ukraineaissance2014]

yeah I love that

[@Emma-yg2uf]

It seems like a song that would play if you walk around in a foggy forest under the watchful eye of a mystical predator creature.

[@ronaldsprowal9978]

I'm watching right now

[@spaced4448]

Beautiful.

[@patrickfarrell5615]

For just once I would like to hear led Zeppelin playing

[@M.A.A9524]

"Well am gonna use this wake up song during sleeping."

[@tedgemberling2359]

It's so eerie.

[@danielutz2]

Klaus Schwab: taking notes

[@1AstralKing]

It really should be the Lumberjack Song.

[@MarkanVaran7]

Michael Palin wakes up in Silent Hill.

[@octobersun221]

I hope they have a revolution

[@Mathin3D]

Nice music!

[@Abdullah79568]

The song is called "Where are you dear general" and its absolutely beautiful.

[@blpil]

It's a hypnotizing song lol

[@ackland1979]

I made it my alarm

[@jamiepreston1490]

That wake-up call is beyond creepy. The fact you can hear it in a city is telling. You shouldn't be able to hear crazy music in the morning in a city with all the hustle. This place is just a upgraded concentration camp. Depressing music in a depressing city = depressed citizens. It's all about controlling the 25 million depressed people in a depressing country. There's only one person who gets what he wants and is not depressed. Can you guess who?

[@RoskinGreenrake]

I find it beautiful that it seems that there's less frivolous work to have to do - like with other influences stamped out they could afford to be lazier. However I'm certainly not a morning person presently. At least they don't forbid fully opening windows high up like they do in the Western developed world zone.

[@Sebastian-lo3hn]

I love this music

[@n3utral496]

Welcome to city 17

[@bnegs521]

5 o'clock in the morning. Where ya gonna be? Outside on the corner.

[@richardmullins1883]

When they remake the movie 1984, this should be the opening music.

[@saucysven1505]

Lavender town

[@Chaziltasm]

People starving to death have to wake up to this intentionally depressing, caretaker-esque music every day.

[@Russ811]

Big brother is watching you

[@blitztherescuepup4110]

Kim il sung most underappreciated man he lead nk into a golden age his son starved millions and started the directorship

[@daktarioskarvannederhosen2568]

it's beautiful.

[@barryisland5942]

How long does it play for?

[@diambangfajar5776]

Song of apocalypse

[@JSP_1147]

i like this music

[@brat_paq]

You can use that music as an OST to a horror movie.

[@Bitrey]

This is so scary

[@sinclair2469]

It is, yes, to make you feel bad. If you're weaker, you're easier to control.

[@Charlito732]

The music is kind of scary and eerie. More than a wake up call is a suicide call.

[@hansblitz7770]

Now they play the Baby Shark song

[@Mister0707]

This is sick

[@edwardvictormartin7511]

That's the opening song to the movie The Shining XD 😆 🤣 ahahahahaha!

[@georgevavoulis4758]

Creepy music ,sounds like " polite yet ominous"

[@VentiladorGil]

Givin Dying Light vibes

[@MasterKenfucius]

That's the sound of DEATH.

[@ivankuznetsov8177]

Imagine Distorted Trumpets from half Life 2 start playing instead

[@sotiriabotsi701]

Are you living in a dystopian series or something over there ?

[@diegokiwi1854]

I actually really like the song

[@BigBrotherTheWatcher1984]

Same

[@StickyKeys187]

username checks out@@BigBrotherTheWatcher1984

[@altt-check1-2]

Weird to think that a country likes this actually exists.

[@roykale9141]

Clean audio please.

[@keefsmiff]

Gary Numan gets about...lol

[@CaptainGrimes1]

Sounds like Lavender Town in Pokémon

[@alexnordh]

So Kraftwerk / Tangerine Dream / Neu! had a collaboration with Le Corbusier

[@user-dg2lp5zc6c]

I should set it up as a ringtone for my alarm clock

[@fernandovergara3119]

Espieza muy dificil local

[@AlexVictorianus]

1984

[@acadia5898]

this is straight up sci-fi dystopian shit right here or just North Korea itself is really a sci-fi dystopian shit. i've heard so many stories about North Korea that are so much stranger than fiction or stories that are horrific. as an artist you tend to get interested in these type of strange and horrific shit. horrifying

[@mychannel-xx5de]

There are many videos on KZbin from people who have visited as tourists, it actually looks very nice there, streets clean, people respectful to others, not like in the west, where there's no respect and filthy streets.

[@kajmak64bit76]

@@mychannel-xx5de well maybe because... they can't really make the streets dirty... and cleaning is kinda enforced... it looks very similar to Stalin's Soviet Union in 50's... everything is just... clean... oddly clean... but then you realize... plastic bags were not invented yet xd

[@naveeeeeeeen]

Ive seen this on NGC

[@Gitaujosephgithuku]

Pyongyang city of Death

[@NxDoyle]

It's the N Korean equivalent of the muezzin calling people to prayer, except not as harsh. Eerie. But I get the distinct impression that NK would appear eerie to anyone visiting. All those buildings and roads, largely empty.

[@WhatAreColors]

people must never forget who thier true masters are even if they do not watch tv or read newspaper

[@Kaziriasatalve.]

Very creepy!

[@LWYRUP05]

He should’ve looked out the window and shouted PEOPLE OF JERUUSALEM WOME IS YOUR FWEND

[@pushi1735]

I don’t understand why anyone would go there?

[@kingofrannoch]

As creepy as lavender town

[@gueimem8133]

0:02 this wake up call playing these songs : ''Bubuy....bulan, bubuy bulang sangrai bentang'' panon...poe, panonpoe di - sa - sa - te.......''

[@ghostmane6668]

Lmaooo

[@LardLardos-nt5sx]

So creepy and scary

[@user-tv6vz3xu2g]

Poor North Korean people

[@JerryBear712]

Should've played Soviet Anthem, definetly wakes you up😅

[@privatebandana]

The entire country is like one giant cult. But I still want to go there badly just to experience it.

[@gladiatorking2.0envoyofthe95]

Not worth it at all, do one thing wrong and the authorities will find a reason to sentence you to years of hard labor

[@wojtas2524]

​@@gladiatorking2.0envoyofthe95it's not like it's hard to follow the rules there though, you just have to be nice and pretend to believe their fake stories

[@tyonyy]

Sounds like Dark Souls boss music

[@unn_4024]

Honestly lol.

[@tyonyy]

@@abovethelaw4417 your name makes me think that you are just trying to have an unpopular opinion therefore having a one man army, but I’m going to act like you aren’t. Dark souls music normally only happen during boss fights, and they are trying to make the boss fight against a giant demon sound epic. They accomplish this by having a whole choir singing making the fight feel more epic than they actually are.

[@hackerjamsjustwegamer1568]

@@tyonyy No one gonna read that 💀

[@thisone981]

​@@abovethelaw4417​ Dark Souls music is actually great. Too bad the games themselves are actually trash. The story and the game world are disgusting. The games' lore doesn't make sense and is full of contradictions. Dark Souls games are just so depressing and grim it's actually unbearable.

[@FedorEmelianenko1]

People think this is dystopian, what’s scarier is that Pyongyang is where only hardcore Kim supporters can live. They are all privileged and novel people living especially in that centre of city.

[@tomithino456]

so its like the azan except its to make people wake up not to make them go pray

[@AlminaInaMemic]

What does this MUSIC have to do with Azan

[@tomithino456]

@@AlminaInaMemic my bad

[@AlminaInaMemic]

@@tomithino456 💙💙💙

[@bobe2933]

this is what brainwashing looks like

[@sik2185]

Half life 3 made by Kim. He couldn't wait to wait the new game so he made it on real life

[@benzo2762]

Prefer Heavy metal 🤘😂😂😂

[@michaelburman2108]

iron man by sabbath.. that'll wake em up

[@fredscratchet1355]

I just watched this on TV. The main thing that came over to me is the lack of happy smiling faces and fear of their "glorious leaders". Just a normal communist state.

[@anguscovoflyer95]

its sir galahad of camelot

[@speedfreak2030]

@Steve A 너는 바보 야, 분명히 잘 여행하지 못한 사람!

[@ticklethypickle6368]

Steve A You’re just copying and pasting your comments in multiple places now. Clearly they’re holding a gun to your head.

[@IxiaClover]

@@speedfreak2030 why are you using google translate😂 just say it in english

[@FATHOLLYWOODB123]

They don't have earplugs? hahaha

[@bluewizzard8843]

Useless and dumb comment.

[@patrik1684]

Reminds a bit of the morning prayer in Islamic countries.

[@ParadisumOfficial]

Gregorian Chant is much, much healthier. But then you'd have people wondering what it was and who wrote it. Can't have that.

[@nietzschesno-things523]

So North Korea is like totally in on the joke of their country, right? Don't get me wrong, I feel so bad for the people stuck in NK, but that music playing ltierally is out of dystopian sci fi movie. Like, there is zero way someone in charge hasn't seen one movie like 1984 or Fahrenheit 451. It'd be hilarious if it wasn't maybe true that they're going for a dystopian kind of feel on purpose.

[@rotcivtilems7228]

x100 less dystopian than having a million billboards and advertisements littering the city, with marketing everywhere you look. They have their own culture.

[@tomizatko3138]

@@rotcivtilems7228 bruh billboard = shoot in the head for disobedience and starvation

[@thisone981]

It's actually unbelievable.

[@thisone981]

​@@rotcivtilems7228No, it really isn't.

[@camilodominguez1760]

Que adecuado ponerle la banda sonora de Blade Runner a una ciudad distopica,para que luego digan que no son modernos en Corea del Norte.

[@natemcdaniel2874]

I just watched this on the NG Channel, while I found it interesting and watched the whole show which I don't normally do, it's still just a propaganda piece. I'm sure every movement of his was carefully planned to include happy places and happy people. While he did mentioned he had observers, he only briefly mentioned the horrors known to be going on in NK and didn't expand enough on that fact it all was a show by the NK Government. He seemed to be easily overcome by all of the propaganda, which most probably would be as it all seemed to be delightful then again maybe all of the horrible things said about NK is just western propaganda, I suppose one needs to keep an open mind on that as well...you never know

[@dungcheeseMORK999]

I did feel there wasn't much dwelling on the darker side on NK. I think Palin wanted to, but the NK government and guides wouldn't have allowed it.

[@jameskirton3168]

It's 5am what do u expect rush hour, I think our random on hold call music is more creepy. Its a neutral song to wake everyone up. Funny u don't use the same filters on the Uk

[@GlobBucket]

Imagine if someone on the inside changed the music to Katy Perry Firework

[@BigBrotherTheWatcher1984]

Based

[@Tewthpaste]

*still more united than the united states of america thats for a fact.* 🤣

[@Iraqi_Potato_Chips]

Don't get me wrong guys, North Korea is not the best place to live but why are people acting like a 5am wake-up song is somehow dystopian or unique to the DPRK? I fail to see how this is different from Church bells, apart from the fact it sounds a bit eerie because of the bad audio quality. It's eerie sure, but dystopian? Not really, it's no different than the function of church bells

[@NickV-ez4be]

Church bells don't ring at 5am, they don't wake people up and if you're at home you can barely hear them

[@Iraqi_Potato_Chips]

@@NickV-ez4be you're response to me explaining how you're all culturally ignorant is that your specific tradition doesn't take place at 5am and irs not as loud? Yeah I'm sure it's not as loud for north Koreans living on the outermost part of Pyongyang either

[@NickV-ez4be]

@@Iraqi_Potato_Chips Stoning women for not wearing hijab is also a tradition, not all traditions are worthy to be respected. If the all-city 5am alarm clock is a beautiful tradition to you, great, to me it's a barbaric symbol of oppression and totalitarianism. We come from different cultures and don't have to agree with each other.

[@danielback2541]

Based and Kimpilled