When the tearful broadcaster broke the news to North Koreans that their leader, Kim Jong Il, had died, the audience in the hall gasped. 

Then the hysterics began, along with the bawling and sobbing. 

"Father!" mourners cried. A wailing woman pounded her fist against her chest to signify heartache. Some appeared to go into physical convulsions. Other North Koreans sobbed so hard, they barely maintained their balance. 

"Our leader endured all the hardships," one mourner told state-run Korean Central News Agency in a televised interview. "I can't believe it. Our leader, he's still with us." 

Even the reporter holding KCNA's microphone bowed his head and trembled. 

In North Korean media videos viewed by CNN, people wept in fitful, theatrical proportions. Whether the mass grieving was genuine is up to debate. 

Cultures grieve differently. For instance, in South Korea, it's acceptable to express sorrow vocally, said Sung-Yoon Lee, a research fellow at the National Asia Research Program. 

But North Korea presents a unique case. 

"It's such a regimented, uniform society, people are conditioned from their early years to praise and adore their leader," he said. "The passing of their leader would be an indication to grieve properly so they are not to be stigmatized by failing to grieve properly. There are always people watching you -- if you are not devastated by the news, you may get in trouble." 

While some may exaggerate, for others the grief is authentic, Lee said. 

"I think there would be great deal of sincerity, because they're so programmed and conditioned and have an incentive to outperform their families, neighbors in grieving properly," he said. "North Koreans are raised to praise their leader, as are Christians for God. For North Koreans, it's part of the rhetoric to thank the fatherly leader. For them to learn the death of a near God-like leader, it certainly has an emotional reaction." 
Did the newsman remain composed?
Even the reporter holding KCNA's microphone bowed his head and trembled