3 ms·

"US is empire of the devil": A visit to North Korea

44 points by lionhearted 17y ago

wizardofoz 17y ago
Very interesting story.
rms 17y ago
A documentary filmed covertly during a trip to Korea (similar to the one described in this article): probably the bravest and most stupid journalistic stunt of all time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6ixGYzbLz0&feature=PlayList&p=F5BEFE1AFB1DAFD1&index=0&playnext=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6ixGYzbLz0&feature=PlayL... It makes for an Oscar quality documentary.
- fgimenez 17y ago
  I'm up to part 6, and this documentary is awesome. The only problem I have with it is that any of the North Korean citizens depicted have probably been sent to "re-education" camps for letting this filming happen. The makers of the film have essentially killed anybody they interacted with them.
  - rms 17y ago
    It's possible, but I wouldn't estimate the possibility as "probably." Odds are no one from North Korea has any idea this film exists.
- joshz 17y ago
  If you like crazy, here's a blog of a guy who went from Vienna to Pyongyang by train, entered North Korea through the border with Russia and spent 36 hours without a guide...until he got to Pyongyang http://vienna-pyongyang.blogspot.com/ http://vienna-pyongyang.blogspot.com/
  - kingkawn 17y ago
    This guy's blog is so much better than the Vice video. Even when alienated by whats going on, they continue to try to be respectful of the people they are with. What a novelty.
gchucky 17y ago
> And yes, they even use Windows in North Korea. Though one doubts Microsoft ever sees their cut! > Oddly enough the students were using the English version of Windows 98 rather than the Korean one. Heh, interesting. I was trying to figure out how North Korea would have gotten their hands on a copy of Windows. My guess is someone ran across the border to China and picked up a pirated copy..
jacquesm 17y ago
The North Korean leadership would have never been able to get this much traction with their populace had it not been for the Korean war. The long term effects of such actions are often very hard to predict.
spamizbad 17y ago
To their credit, half of that propaganda is right: The United States is most definitely an empire- albeit one in denial.
hapless 17y ago
My favorite N. Korea travelogue is this fellow's, done by train: http://vienna-pyongyang.blogspot.com/ http://vienna-pyongyang.blogspot.com/ He's a train hobbyist, a touch obsessed with timetables. He noticed that Moscow-Pyongyang routes were hypothetically opened. He secured a travel visa through the normal routes, and as it turned out, his visa was valid for any entrance to N. Korea. As a result, he entered the DPRK through the Russian border. He was able to walk around in normal N. Korean train stations and talk to the locals, without any government guides or monitors.

44 points by lionhearted 17y ago

Very interesting story.

rms 17y ago

A documentary filmed covertly during a trip to Korea (similar to the one described in this article): probably the bravest and most stupid journalistic stunt of all time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6ixGYzbLz0&feature=PlayList&p=F5BEFE1AFB1DAFD1&index=0&playnext=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6ixGYzbLz0&feature=PlayL... It makes for an Oscar quality documentary.

fgimenez 17y ago
I'm up to part 6, and this documentary is awesome. The only problem I have with it is that any of the North Korean citizens depicted have probably been sent to "re-education" camps for letting this filming happen. The makers of the film have essentially killed anybody they interacted with them.
- rms 17y ago
  It's possible, but I wouldn't estimate the possibility as "probably." Odds are no one from North Korea has any idea this film exists.
joshz 17y ago
If you like crazy, here's a blog of a guy who went from Vienna to Pyongyang by train, entered North Korea through the border with Russia and spent 36 hours without a guide...until he got to Pyongyang http://vienna-pyongyang.blogspot.com/ http://vienna-pyongyang.blogspot.com/
- kingkawn 17y ago
  This guy's blog is so much better than the Vice video. Even when alienated by whats going on, they continue to try to be respectful of the people they are with. What a novelty.

gchucky 17y ago

> And yes, they even use Windows in North Korea. Though one doubts Microsoft ever sees their cut! > Oddly enough the students were using the English version of Windows 98 rather than the Korean one. Heh, interesting. I was trying to figure out how North Korea would have gotten their hands on a copy of Windows. My guess is someone ran across the border to China and picked up a pirated copy..

jacquesm 17y ago

The North Korean leadership would have never been able to get this much traction with their populace had it not been for the Korean war. The long term effects of such actions are often very hard to predict.

spamizbad 17y ago

To their credit, half of that propaganda is right: The United States is most definitely an empire- albeit one in denial.

hapless 17y ago

My favorite N. Korea travelogue is this fellow's, done by train: http://vienna-pyongyang.blogspot.com/ http://vienna-pyongyang.blogspot.com/ He's a train hobbyist, a touch obsessed with timetables. He noticed that Moscow-Pyongyang routes were hypothetically opened. He secured a travel visa through the normal routes, and as it turned out, his visa was valid for any entrance to N. Korea. As a result, he entered the DPRK through the Russian border. He was able to walk around in normal N. Korean train stations and talk to the locals, without any government guides or monitors.