This sounds stupid, but I wasn't aware about how terrible this place is.
I just became informed recently, when this US/North Korea summit hysteria started popping up in the media. I want to get these thoughts out of my head, and talk with other people about it. What a f*cking meme this country is.
Here's a quick-rundown for those not informed:
On the surface, they seem like a very militaristic country with extremest traditional values. But, when you pull off the layers: you find an oppressive sh*thole with draconian laws, and a decade-spanning enforced cult of personality that's seeped into the very essence of the people (even when it's by gun-point). It's far beyond any typical form of communism or authoritarianism that I can think of.
From the time you are born you are fought propaganda about this leader, and his father, and his father (who founded the nation). Schools there are required to teach only things that glorifies the leader. Most people don’t have anything like cell phones. But if you do, your calls are monitored by the government. Then, when you are three or four, you are forced to work in the fields, or you're automatically given a job by the government after high school. And you're stuck with that job for life. Not to mention that the system is breaking down continuously, which probably means you're going to have to earn money on your own; god only knows how you're going to do that.
There isn't even an economy to speak of. In all measurable aspects: It's completely failing. Exports are virtually nonexistent due to their reluctance to interact with foreign markets, as well as the fact that they struggle to feed everyone living within their own borders. The current population of North Korea is about 25 million, and the average GDP per person is about $500 (for comparison, in the US it hovers around $50,000). To supplement their ailing economy and bring in more money, North Korea has been known to turn to international crime. One of these crimes is global insurance fraud (for example).
Aside from the dead-end farm life, It's the absolute worse in Pyongyang. Everything is controlled, people ride bikes or walk to school or work since only the Elite can own cars (or afford it for that matter). The few frequencies on the radio is chock full of praise to the glorious leaders. Citizens mainly try their best to blend in to the crowd. Every room has a picture of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il Food is bland, and usually with minimal meat. Entertainment in all forms ranging from books, broadcasts, and radio: are all propaganda.
There’s an amazing internet accessible by a small group of elite citizens that can access about thirty websites - all North Korean propaganda.
And if you try to leave North Korea, well, good luck: they'll shoot you. If you're lucky!
They currently operate about 16 labor camps; massive compounds scattered across the mountainous terrain and enclosed by electrified barbed wire fences. It’s estimated that somewhere around 200,000 prisoners are held in these camps at any given time.The prison cities are often compared to the Gulag camps of Soviet Russia - forced labor camps in which prisoners are held in brutal working conditions and executed for crimes as petty as stealing a few kernels of corn. Prisoners are usually a mix of defectors, traitors, and ex-politicians who ran afoul of the government.
But, I'm pretty sure you majority of you Mofos already know what kind of isolationist/reclusive fantasy this absolute hell hole of a "nation" this is. It's a tragedy something like this exists today. I never felt I took my rights and freedoms as an American citizen for granted this strongly ever before in my entire life.
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Last edited by Cynema De Bergerac; 01-08-19 at 08:07 PM.