North Korea

so we're told, but that's bound to be a generalization, and doesn't get at how such a society sustains itself or functions internally - what do people do all day? is everyone starving to death except for some narrow upper-class echelon of rulers? if things are so horrible, why don't the people rebel? is there any resistance at all, any underground, black market? what is holding everything in place, etc.?

umm....the blood of the proletariat? Guns?

But it does have an esperanto section, unlike KFC's.

Oh absolutely. I still think that--unlike the USSR or China--shit is really, really bad in N. Korea. Someone already linked through this article (the nighttime pic), but it's still worth reading.

you only just now found out about this, strongo?!?

i don't think that's *completely* true. a number of journalists have managed to get in and get some information out despite having to be herded around by government "translators."

i sort of imagine there not being any public dissent, at all. as for private dissent, well... i get the sense that the people of north korea have been fed a very strict regimen of limited info for over 50 years and thus don't really have much sense of the outside world, or other ideologies they could counterpose to that of their nation's. so if there is private dissent i'm guessing it takes a weird intra-ideological form that we wouldn't recognize or be very happy with.

He left to Japan. His wife was kidnapped from Japan in the 1970s along with about a dozen others. She came from a town next to the Japan Sea, and she was abducted by North Korean agents and whisked back to North Korea. It's another completely bizarre episode.

The American was in the army serving in South Korea in the 1960s. He claims that he was afraid of being sent to Vietnam, so defected to the North. The U.S. army convicted him of dissertion a few months ago, and he served a very lenient sentence that was like community service.

He did an interview with Japanese TV and described his life in North Korea in general terms. His most memorable quote was saying, "I lived like a dog." He also blasted the North Korean government for all the obvious reasons.

(ok, I'll stop now)

I assume this is the Harper's piece mentioned upthread. It's a pretty hard read.

http://www.jonhs.net/freemovies/welcome_to_north_korea.htm

This is good - it's from 2001 so some may have already seen it.

also good:

http://www.yhchang.com/CUNNILINGUS_IN_NORTH_KOREA.html

N. Korea Says It Is Holding Reporters

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea confirmed Saturday that it had detained two American journalists on charges of “illegally intruding” into the North through its border with China.

The journalists, Laura Ling, a Chinese-American, and Euna Lee, a Korean-American, both working for Current TV, were on a reporting trip along the border when they were detained by North Korean border guards, according to human rights activists and a South Korean news report. Their colleague, Mitch Koss, and their Chinese guide were reported to have been detained by Chinese border guards.

“A competent organ is now investigating the case,” the North’s official news agency, KCNA, said.

http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/2667/jong.jpg

http://www.smh.com.au/world/north-koreas-kim-jongil-a-skilled-and-ruthless-ruler-20090405-9t1l.html

Getting less hilarious.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8066615.stm

This used to have many good photos, but they've all gone. Can anyone dig it up?

um this http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=82755

Good North Korea pictures here:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/04/peering_into_north_korea.html

ever timely
How To (Sp)read a Rumor About North Korea

Top North Korean official reappears days after purge report

that link doesn't but here it is https://www.apnews.com/502b038c1720487294e8ea43f5b39d9c

https://twitter.com/spectatorindex/status/1252419687775744000

North Korea does not have an official line of succession. If Kim Jong Un were to pass away, there would likely be an immediate & intense power struggle.

History also teaches us that totalitarian states don’t end if the leader dies. But it could provide opportunities for change. https://t.co/VVQLVDmwZq

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) April 21, 2020

As if this year couldn't get any crazier...

"I Dream Myself Alive" by A-ha, performed by a student accordion trio of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in Pyongyang 💙 pic.twitter.com/etiKiSHvEa

— Comrade Natalie 🇰🇵 (@NatalieRevolts) September 17, 2020

I don't know how something like this comes to be (the A-ha > N Korea > specific accordians > my eyes journey) but I like it.

Love to see Kim defy traditional masculine gender roles of what a leader should look and act like. Between him and Jacinda Adern, the millenial generation looks set to defy stereotypes and deliver progressive government across the globe 🤝 https://t.co/9NSr6C1VXD

— doug (@heardougtweet) October 12, 2020

Kim Jong Un had his uncle assassinated. But all is forgiven now that he shed tears in public, thus becoming an icon for progressive values.

This fit crazy pic.twitter.com/FqvBBB57P9

— eĺe💃 (@LesbianDrakeFan) April 16, 2021

No skinny jeans for Kim

that's how you dress when you are a 100pts ahead.

That's a solid look I would like to emulate

*takes notes by hand*

yes, JNCOs sir, yes

Cool.

This demonstration at the Defence Development Exhibition was bit intense. Video broadcast today on North Korean TV. pic.twitter.com/zehpI6EAEd

— Martyn Williams (@martyn_williams) October 12, 2021

So I guess our new intercontinental brick missiles won't have the desired effect

You don't go to war with the bricks you want, you go to war with the bricks you have.

this will hold me over until the new jackass movie comes out

Just being the usual wet blanket here, but I don't think the point of that demonstration was that brick-breaking is a useful military skill.

You're saying you want to fight that guy? If North Korea had a dozen more dudes that tough we might as well just surrender right now.

you got my point, while missing my point

That look from Kim at 0:38: "Tssst, that guy thinks he's so tough... he's not all that."

Lol Josh giving Kim exactly the reaction he wants

lol that guy going aggro was as choreographed as a Jackie Chan movie. But I do love the idea of Kim thinking anyone would really find that intimidating. Like, oh shit, this guy broke a concrete bar with a flying headbutt! Better not mess with North Korea.

would have been better if it was Kim doing the head butting though.

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/BareBaggyLiger-max-1mb.gif

imo, the NK military putting on that show in front of Kim was not meant to intimidate SK or the USA nearly so much as to show their dear leader how unflinchingly loyal they are to him. they are saying, "see how we will gladly butt through walls with our foreheads and have rods broken across our backs for you." which explains why Kim was kind of bored by it, since that kind of fealty is demonstrated to him constantly.

Yet also demanded by him constantly. Be careful what you wish for, I guess!

But I think the display is part of a larger PR campaign about NK's military might.. like all these boss new gadgets:

https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/north-korea-shows-off-new-weapons-at-mil-idUSRTXIGLY4

Just wait until North Korea reveals it's got the atomic elbow.

The way they loop the applause in all these videos is a lot like laying down in glass.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxXZF60EPdM
lil palate cleanser

this is just bollocks isn't it https://t.co/yDEYlL0LGo

— jamie k (@jkbloodtreasure) November 25, 2021

This looks like an FBI photo of a Serbian gangster outside his stone mason shop in Wicker Park, 1978 @ericzieg https://t.co/Jdwa0D0j8n

— Justin Sherin (@wychstreet) March 10, 2022

Surprisingly high production value for NK:

BREAKING: North Korea's state-run television shows edited footage of Kim Jong Un guiding the test-launch of what the country referred to as the Hwasong-17 ICBM.

Latest story: https://t.co/belL7EdPUl
(Video: KCTV) pic.twitter.com/APifRhtJVr

— NK NEWS (@nknewsorg) March 25, 2022

All I can think of is "Elvis impersonator, with missles"

The bit with the watches can't be real!

Well having been extensively exposed to NK video productions when visiting back in 2015 (?), it looks completely legit to me, just with fancier cinematography and better picture quality.

Well having been extensively exposed to NK video productions when visiting back in 2015 (?), it looks completely legit to me, just with fancier cinematography and better picture quality.

I seriously can't stop watching it.

If they are calling it an ICBM, the implication is that it can reach other continents. I suppose they could be cheating slightly, if it can only reach Australia.

NK is quite a bit closer to North America than to Australia, though. "Only" the remoter bits of Alaska, granted.

Ok

I CANT BREATHE 😭😭😭😭😭😭

she had to come up with something real quick pic.twitter.com/6uVnDX1QDY

— Dame Fagatha Christie, PhD (@FagathaGagatha) May 10, 2023

We had to buy replacement badminton shoes or a racquet or something, and the salesman told us they weren't available anymore. We asked what happened, and he said the company got busted working with North Korea or something!

A person who said they witnessed the event and was part of the same tour group told CBS News they had just visited one of the buildings at the site when "this man gives out a loud 'ha ha ha,' and just runs in between some buildings."

I guess someone still thinks the place is hilarious.

Defecting soldiers used to have some propaganda value during the Cold War, and a few settled down in the North. But I imagine now this is more of a headache than anything else for the North.. the guy probably doesn't have a lot of intelligence value, but maybe some diplomatic value if they want something from us. But I don't think he's going to be pampered like they were in the past

It was either this or go back to Texas.

Lol

I wish they would let Google street view cars in there