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My favorite book about the DPRK is Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea (http://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Envy-Ordinary-Lives-ebook/dp/B002ZB26AO/ http:/
by ggreer 13y ago
My favorite book about the DPRK is Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea (http://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Envy-Ordinary-Lives-ebook/dp/B002ZB26AO/ http://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Envy-Ordinary-Lives-ebook/dp/B...).
I'm hopeful that the DPRK is moving toward modernity, but if the stories from that book are anywhere close to the truth, they are still by far the most evil regime on the planet.
- tassl 13y agoI would add "The cleanest race: How North Koreans See Themselves and Why It Matters" (http://www.amazon.com/The-Cleanest-Race-Themselves-ebook/dp/B004EWETZW http://www.amazon.com/The-Cleanest-Race-Themselves-ebook/dp/...). I have been reading about North Korea for a while, and I find this book to open a new perspective on the way north korean people see themselves and their leaders. While I haven't had the pleasure to meet any person born and raised in North Korean (or at least, not as far as I know) I find that some of the contents of the book can be applied to South Koreans. Obviously, only up to a certain degree. Previous discussion on NK: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5817014 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5817014 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3368310 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3368310
- radicaldreamer 13y agoUnder the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader was a great read.
- pyre 13y agoI read that as: Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader! What a great read!
- dominotw 13y agoEven though I liked the book. I was not a big fan of story telling style. > far the most evil regime on the planet. That should be reserved for The American Empire. IMHO.
- Karunamon 13y agoBah in the general direction of your false equivalence. Call me when we have forced labor camps and generational punishment. The USA sucks, but others most definitely suck more.
- dominotw 13y agoCall me when we stop sending drones to kill school children on their way to school. Also, we have indefinite detention without trail. Guantanamo . North Korea is a result of American Empire( Korean War). They are not going to disarm and be foolish like Libya ( who was silly enough to sign away its nuclear program)
- nether 13y ago> North Korea is a result of American Empire( Korean War) It's a good thing you posted this from the US and not the DPRK. Don't think you'd fare as well over there (assuming you could smuggle in a cell phone with a data plan).
- steveklabnik 13y agoActually, they'd be fine saying that in the DPRK, as it's pretty well accepted that American imperialism _did_ cause the split-off of south Korea. Then again, maybe not posting on this site. But their post is certainly right along the party line.
- steveklabnik 13y agoDon't expect reasonable discussion of the DRPK here, of all places. :/ There's a reason that one of the HN guidelines is 'stay away from politics.'
- NoPiece 13y agoThere are 46 indefinite detainees at Guantanamo. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_detention_camp#Detainees http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_detention_camp#D... There are 200,000 in North Korean political prison camps. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea#Political_prison_camps http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea#Political_prison_ca... I think reasonable people can distinguish which is worse.
- trebuch3t 13y ago> What if the nightmare imagined by George Orwell in 1984 were real? What if you had to live in a country where radio dials were fixed to a single government station? Where the surroundings were entirely black-and-white except for the red lettering of the propaganda signs? Where you were required to keep a large portrait of the president on your living room wall and bow to it on national holidays? This sounds like an incredible read. I just ordered a copy from Amazon. Thanks for the recommendation!
- auctiontheory 13y agoWhat if the nightmare imagined by George Orwell in 1984 were real? In the absence or near-absence of Facebook and email and internet browsing and private cars and smart phones, I suspect (in fact I'm certain) that North Koreans have far more privacy from their government than we Americans do.
- Wingman4l7 13y agoJust because those things exist and can be used to track you doesn't mean you have to use them. Just because US privacy rights are being eroded doesn't mean that not having them at all is better.
- drcode 13y agoFYI available on audible.