#cinema

The song “They Will Remain in the Motherland” (어머니조국에 남아있으리) written by Ri Hyok Su and composed by People´s Artist So Jong Gon in Juche 77 or 1988 is the theme song of the Korean feature film “Ask Yourself”(자신에게 물어보라), one of the Korean people´s favourite films. The film gives a deep explanation about where a man has to find his genuine ideal and happiness. The thematic and ideological content of the film gives a great impression, expressing itself through the emotional theme song.
The words of the song read:

  Look back upon the bygone days
  What have you left on this land?
  Have you devoted unchangeable purity
  To the motherland?

  Look back upon the bygone days
  What have you shed sweat for?
  Did you devote burning enthusiasm of youth
  To the motherland?

  Look back upon the bygone days
  Didn´t you live for yourself?
  The traces printed in cold wind, snow and rain
  They will remain in my motherland

  Kim San Dong, conductor of the Pyongyang Film Music Recording Studio, says:

  “I think the song sings well of the mentality of the heroes of the film who devoted their pure conscience to the motherland. The emotional melody of the song ´They Will Remain in the Motherland´ represents the genuine looks of people in our era always living and working with the invariable and pure minds and with the enthusiasm of youth shedding sweat for the motherland and the spirit of the people sincerely working for the motherland which warmly embraces them.”

  The song emotionally represents the ideological content of the film that when a man leaves traces of genuine life with the spirit of devoted service for the motherland and people, his life will be worthwhile and happy. The song “They Will Remain in the Motherland” is loved and widely sung by the Korean people as it gave philosophical explanation about the human conscience devoted to the motherland and its value.
  Now you will appreciate the song in female solo of People´s Artiste Kim Kwang Suk.

Voice of Korea

The Korean Film Studio was set up in February Juche 36 (1947) and covers a vast area in Hyongjesan District.

The studio has an artiste corps, as well as production rooms for direction, photographing, fine arts and recording and indoor photographing grounds which are furnished with various remote-controlled illumination, recording, film edition and special photographing equipment. The typical feature films produced by the studio include My Home Village(내 고향)created in Juche 38 (1949), Star of Korea (조선의 별),Mt. Paektu(백두산),The Sun of the Nation (민족의 태양),Guarantee(보증),Hong Kil DongandThe Nation and Destiny(민족과 운명).

Hey everyone! I’m here to say I like MASH’s freeze-frame endings, which began very early on in the series’s run. Many cantankerous fans in the past—if forums are anything to go by—have found them too corny for a show that contained healthy amounts of pathos. True, the freeze-frame is an old sitcom trick, used in some of the more tiresome shows out there (“Hogan’s Heroes” is one that did it before MASH came along). However, in the case of a series whose episodes are all neat little pieces of cinema, the freeze frame functions beautifully—as does the slideshow of the episode’s other notable moments, shown with the closing credits. For me, seeing this is like watching stills from a good movie, and it’s not hard to imagine that this is what MASH’s creators had in mind.

In short, the device is yet another example of MASH’s ability to have it both ways: punchy and corny like a sitcom, elegant and reverent like a film. The final moment of each episode is almost always comic, but even when it isn’t the technique can be employed well. For instance, here’s the freeze-frame at the end of “The Interview.” Truffaut might have liked it.