Bread and circuses

摘要

Peals of laughter rise from the front-row seats of the capital's Pyongyang Circus. Army troops have been treated to its signature slapstick: a Korean peasant posing as a mannequin torments an American soldier (big-nosed, blond-wigged). Troops are the state's ready labour, and the show is their reward after being ordered to do months of toil on the city's newest construction sites. Since Kim Jong Un came to power following the death of his father in December 2011, North Korea's Young Leader has shown a passion for construction projects, with the emphasis on leisure-a pursuit he promised his subjects early on, along with prosperity. Mr Kim swiftly ordered the renovation of Pyongyang's two main funfairs. A new water park, a 4D cinema and a dolphinarium have followed, along with riverside parks, residential skyscrapers and a new airport terminal, which opened last month. Now an underground shopping centre in the heart of the capital is being constructed to cater to a small class of newly monied Pyongyangites.