A first-time visitor to Pyongyang's restaurants could be forgiven for thinking she was in the most pro-Christmas town in Asia. Just kidding, that person would not be forgiven for being interminably stupid. Indeed, while such a person may not exist, it is clear that Christmas trees are everywhere in Pyongyang, year round. In the DPRK, they adorn mostly 'fancy' places.
Its a great example of Saussurean semiotics. The arbitrariness of the tree itself is clear: the meaning for us is bound up in our cultural and personal histories, while a Korean sees a pretty tree with lights acting (I suspect) as a form of shorthand for classy, cosmopolitan and bright. Certainly nothing to do with the birth of a baby in Bethlehem 2000 years ago.
All these pictures are from August.
O Tannenbaum
Two for one.
Oh Christmas Tree
how lovely
are your branches?
Christmas bulgogi, no need to carve.