(plane engine roaring) (performers singing) (plane engine roaring) (performers singing) (plane engine roaring) (audience clapping) (epic music) - I've been to many great air
shows in the world such as Paris Air Show, Farnborough
Air Show, and Dubai Air Show but if you ask me "What's the
best air show I've ever been?" I would tell you it was an air show in North Korea five years ago. - During the festival,
you will have lots of fun. (plane engine roaring) - It feels like turning 50
years back in time there. (plane engine roaring) To enter North Korea by air,
there's only two gateways. One is from China and
the other is from Russia. (plane engine roaring) So in September 2016, about
200 aviation enthusiasts gathered at Beijing International Airport. We were boarding onto an
Air Koryo Tupolev 204. Air Koryo is the national
airline of North Korea. We're bound for Pyongyang, then we'll be transferred onto Wonsan to
attend the first air show in the country, the Wonsan Air Show. (plane engine roaring) Air Koryo used the Tupolev 204, which is a modernised version
of Soviet Russian aeroplane, comparable to a Boeing 757 or Airbus A321 from the external fuselage. (plane engine roaring) Air Koryo was also the
world's only one star Skytrax airline, but
is it really that bad? Is it really one star? Take a look at the service. Take a look at the food, the drink, the entertainment we had on board. (plane engine roaring) When we reached Pyongyang
Airport immediately we were transferred across the
terminal and boarding onto a Russian Soviet time
machine, a Tupolev 154. (plane engine roaring) (passengers talking) Oh, full house. This is first. (Asian music) - [Flight Attendant] To
fly Eastern, 173 kilometres and the speed is 520 kilometres per hour. For the safety of the flight-- (drowned out by plane engine roaring) - It was just amazing to
hear the engine starting at the back of the Tupolev 154. It was just a far cry from
the modern day of aviation. (plane engine roaring) And after 30 minutes of flying, we reach our final destination, Wonsan. We were one of the first
aeroplane to touchdown at a brand new international
airport that was built and maybe for specifically
for the air show. Our group spend the rest of the day at the airport tarmac filming
all the Soviet aeroplanes in the Air Koryo fleets that is coming in to participate for the
air show the next day. (epic music) (camera shutters clicking) (plane engine roaring) (camera shutters clicking) (plane engine roaring) Now this is not aviation, but I felt this is really interesting and funny. We didn't spend in any tourist hotel, we were actually taken
to a children hotel. If you look at the room,
there were three or four beds, all dressed in pink colour sheets, and I actually slept quite
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the air show starts, we were actually taken to two
giant dear leader statues. All the tour guide accompanying
us are probably political binders and they're
watching all our moves. (upbeat music) As soon as we arrive at the air show, we saw this massive crowd. (crowd talking) - During the festival,
you will have lots of fun, including sizing fly over by
different planes of choice, of your own choice, enjoying
music and dance performance and soiree, and tasting different brands of famous Korean beer. - (speaking in Korean) - I hope all the festival
makers from all over the world will have a great and memorable
time during their stay here. - (speaking in Korean)
- Thank you! - Just right after the opening speech, the very first aeroplane
to on the air show is a 1969 Ilyushin 18. - [Translator] (speaking in Korean) (epic music) (plane engine roaring) What's interesting and
rare about this air show is that this is not a
pure civilian air show, they also combine military. It is very rare to see the North
Korean air force in action, at least showing to the Western world. (plane engine roaring) So right after the Air Koryo Ilyushin 18, there's the Korean people's
army air force MiG 29 in action. (plane engine roaring) (crowd clapping) - [Charles] And indeed, it
really was like an air show in any other country. The whine of jet engines, the
thump of distant pop music. (crowd talking) - [Charles] Flags flapping, and the smell of cooked meat on the breeze. The pace of the display was impressive, with one aircraft displaying
while the next sat at the holding points, ready for takeoff, and the one after that starting
engines in the parking area. We ask the organisers how they
did such a slick job on their first ever air show and they
said they watched videos and DVDs of Riyadh, Farnborough, and other famous events abroad. They did a fantastic job. (helicopters roaring) - The crowd are so excited
every time when there's a helicopter flying over
past them or whatever. And with all the music going
on and cheering, you know, it could be anywhere, but
we have to remind ourself we are in North Korea. The airshow is in North
Korea, and this is unreal. (plane engine roaring) The afternoon was kicked off by another smashing hit, the MiG 21. A pair of female pilots
were piloting the MiG 21. (plane engine roaring) - (pilots speaking in Korean) - [Sam] And this was followed
by the low flight paths of a four engine Ilyushin 62. (plane engine roaring) And then there are Mil 17
helicopter, Ilyushin 76, and M 24. (plane engine roaring) And when they pass by, you
smell the jet fuel in the air. It smells great. It is raw aviation, mega fun. (plane engine roaring) - [Charles] The air
show was also an insight into North Korean life as
tourists had never really been allowed to mix with locals before, but we were free to roam in the crowd of 20,000 North Koreans. I was impressed by the
pavilions selling souvenirs, clothing, soft furnishing, toys, showing a degree of commerce
and private enterprise, not usually apparent. (crowd talking) - And this is a great
opportunity and the only time we are actually allowed to mingle freely with the North Koreans
there at the air show, because normally your tour
guide will separate you and the local people. You were not able to
talk directly with them in any other places, so
this is the first time ever. Of course, they were not able
to understand each other, so we can only use simple
hand gesture, hand sign, and a smile, international diplomacy. What really impressed me is
at the end of the air show on day one, there was a
mass crowd marching back, walking in the dark, going back home. Of course we were privileged westerner. We were on the bus, but
watching these tens of thousands of people walking on the
street like soldiers marching, it was incredible. And that night, there
were a great performance in the local theatre, showcasing
the North Korean arts. (performers singing) (crowd clapping) (Asian music) (crowd clapping and speaking Korean) So the next day at the air show, it was mainly joy riding on
many Soviet's rare aeroplanes type from Air Koryo's fleets. (epic music) (helicopter engine roaring) There's not many airshow actually
allow you to buy a ticket and to go on for a joy ride, so this is why it's so unique
and such a great experience. My favour is always the Ilyushin 62. It was Soviet's premier
Intercontinental aeroplane back in the 1970s and eighties. (plane engine roaring) Sitting at a very end of the Ilyushin 62, listening to the different
pitch of screaming sound from the D30 Soloviev engine. It was just beyond amazing. It was nothing like it. (plane engine roaring) The next interesting joy
ride was an Ilyushin 76. This was used as a transporter, so it has a bench
sitting across each side. Each of these joy rides were very short. They were about 15 minutes
circuits, a takeoff, a long circuit, and come back to land. (plane engine roaring) Another rare aeroplane to
fly on is the Ilyushin 18 four turboprop engine, 1969 made. This aeroplane in Air
Koryo fleet recently had a refurbish in interior. It certainly looks better than it was over a 50 year old aeroplane. (plane engine roaring) In the evening, as we
thought the show was over, we were wrong. We were taken to a square. There were 5,000 people
dancing and 10,000 spectators. Foreigners like us were
invited to dance together with the North Koreans,
all going for a very happy dance together. Obviously, the air show
was a smashing hit. Not only we get to see the
Soviet's aeroplanes , the military, and also we get to joy ride
on some of these very rare aeroplanes you wouldn't
able to do so in the West, but there are also lots of
great humanities and goodwills in this air show. Foreigners, for the first
time, are able to freely mingle with North Koreans. I think aviation really unites people and bring the world closer. - [Charles] This was the biggest
event in the North Korean Events Diary of 2016
and there was much hope that it would become an annual event, but alas, international tensions
that rose with the election of Donald Trump as president
of the United States meant there was no tourism
at all to North Korea in 2017 and after that, the momentum was lost, making the 2016 Wonsan Air Show a one-off and surely the most exotic
air show of all time. (epic music)
