{
  "id": 18128552,
  "title": "Farmer tells party official to change first",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/04/farmer-tells-party-official-to-change-first",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-04T13:48:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Daily NK",
    "slug": "daily-nk",
    "url": "https://www.dailynk.com/english/north-korea-propaganda-drama-farmer-rebuffs-party-official/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "At a threshing ground in North Korea's Hwadae county, a Workers’ Party official faced a moment of awkwardness after a local farmer rebuffed his push to adopt the virtues of a state propaganda series. The official, representing the Hwadae County Party Committee, was conducting a political education session on the farm when he quoted the TV drama \"A New Spring in the Field of Manchurian Cranes.\" He urged the farmers to emulate the honest, diligent characters in the show.\n\nHowever, a middle-aged woman working on the farm interrupted the official, pointing out the glaring discrepancies between the drama and real life. She noted that \"A drama is fine for passing the time, but that's a different world where the officials are different and I'm different too. If we really have to follow its example, the main character is a village party secretary, so shouldn't officials be the ones to change first?\" The other farmworkers burst into laughter, clearly agreeing with her sentiments.\n\nEmbarrassed, the official hastily concluded the session and departed the farm. Later, he criticized the village party secretary for failing to maintain strong ideological control over the farm's workers. The 2025 drama series, which follows a newly appointed village party secretary in a struggling North Korean farm, has been used by authorities to boost ideological education among farmers during the farming season. However, North Korean farmers have largely dismissed these campaigns, asserting that the drama's portrayal of officials and rural life is far removed from their own experiences.\n\nDespite the show's attempt to highlight the need for integrity and hard work, cases of corruption and poor living conditions persist. North Koreans are skeptical of demands for change from officials, who they often regard as disconnected from their daily struggles. The farmhouses depicted in the drama, the source noted, appear grand in the series but are often shoddy and poorly built in reality. This disconnect fuels cynicism and resentment among farmers, who see no reason to imitate the polished scenes of the propaganda drama.",
  "summary": "A Workers’ Party official in North Hamgyong province was left red-faced after a middle-aged farmer openly rebuffed his call to emulate the heroes of a state propaganda drama, in a confrontation at a threshing ground in Hwadae county. The official from the Hwadae County Party Committee used the farmers’ rest break to hold an on-site […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}