4 ms·

At Marathon in North Korea, Curiosity Goes a Long Way

74 points by pmcpinto 12y ago

explosion 12y ago
Fascinating. Curious what it would take to register, I found the Pyongyang Marathon signup form here: http://www.pyongyangmarathon.com http://www.pyongyangmarathon.com Apparently they accept amateur runners and you can do a 10k, half marathon, or full marathon.
- sebastianavina 12y ago
  > Please Type 12345 in the field below that's the best captcha I've ever seen.
  - amolgupta 12y ago
    the google captcha just says click to confirm you are not a robot. https://www.google.com/recaptcha/intro/index.html https://www.google.com/recaptcha/intro/index.html Maybe the second best.
    - Roodgorf 12y ago
      Actually the movement of your cursor alone can go a long way to telling whether someone is a bot or not[0]. The ACM linked a better article a while back that went more in depth about it, but there is more going on with that click that meets the eye. [0]http://www.wired.com/2014/12/google-one-click-recaptcha/ http://www.wired.com/2014/12/google-one-click-recaptcha/
- EliRivers 12y ago
  Many DPRK tour companies will take care of this sort of thing for you; they run specific marathon tours. They take care of visas and travel and hotels and all the rest of it, like every tour they run, and also get you a slot on the marathon. I could suggest the tour group I went there with, but suffice to say if you search you'll find a handful of good groups that come with recommendations.
Mikeb85 12y ago
This is an interesting quote: > Not everyone’s reaction could have been staged on the course, said Roeland Loof, 33, a fellow Dutch runner. Especially the children. Children do what they want. > “In the U.S. and Europe, we’re as brainwashed” about North Korea, Mr. Loof said, “as they are here.” Interesting the article didn't elaborate on this more, but it's true. People need to spend more time meeting, talking to people and experiencing life, and less time in front of the TV digesting everything the media (under the direction of the government) tells us to believe.
- Aloisius 12y ago
  I'm not actually sure I understand why children couldn't be brainwashed. I've seen extremely well controlled children to do exactly what their parents want.
  - Mikeb85 12y ago
    The article jumps around and isn't particularly well-composed, but the point about the children is merely making the point that some of the North Koreans' emotions, reactions to the event, etc..., are genuine and not 'staged', as we are often led to believe. As for the brainwashing, he's not saying they aren't brainwashed, only that we are as well.
- cbd1984 12y ago
  I hate this kind of false equivalence. It prevents anyone from discussing the actual problems, because, well, "You do it too! You're just as bad!" No. The West is not just as bad as North Korea. The West has more freedom of speech, freedom of information, and general freedom to be human. Saying otherwise denies what North Koreans suffer, and is precisely what the North Korean government would say in a PR stunt.
  - Mikeb85 12y ago
    > I hate this kind of false equivalence. It prevents anyone from discussing the actual problems, because, well, "You do it too! You're just as bad!" >The West is not just as bad as North Korea. The West has more freedom of speech, freedom of information, and general freedom to be human. On the flip-side, what you propose prevents us from seeing the problems with our own society. "At least we're not as bad as North Korea" So many times when things go bad here, when the government takes away more and more freedoms, all we hear is that at least we still have it better than Russia/North Korea/Iran/insert bogeyman. I'm not proposing brushing their problems under the rug (nor ours). I'm simply proposing that we see people in these countries as people. There are real people in North Korea, in Iran, in Russia, who grow up, get married, have kids, have celebrations, and generally live life. So much of our propaganda is about dehumanizing our enemies, turning them into subhuman bogeymen in order to justify whatever our governments decide to do to them/us. And no one said anything about the west being as bad as North Korea. The only comparison made was that we're brainwashed in our perceptions of others. Which we are. Your response shows that very well, which basically parrots everything our media ever says about North Korea.

74 points by pmcpinto 12y ago

Fascinating. Curious what it would take to register, I found the Pyongyang Marathon signup form here: http://www.pyongyangmarathon.com http://www.pyongyangmarathon.com Apparently they accept amateur runners and you can do a 10k, half marathon, or full marathon.

sebastianavina 12y ago
> Please Type 12345 in the field below that's the best captcha I've ever seen.
- amolgupta 12y ago
  the google captcha just says click to confirm you are not a robot. https://www.google.com/recaptcha/intro/index.html https://www.google.com/recaptcha/intro/index.html Maybe the second best.
  - Roodgorf 12y ago
    Actually the movement of your cursor alone can go a long way to telling whether someone is a bot or not[0]. The ACM linked a better article a while back that went more in depth about it, but there is more going on with that click that meets the eye. [0]http://www.wired.com/2014/12/google-one-click-recaptcha/ http://www.wired.com/2014/12/google-one-click-recaptcha/
EliRivers 12y ago
Many DPRK tour companies will take care of this sort of thing for you; they run specific marathon tours. They take care of visas and travel and hotels and all the rest of it, like every tour they run, and also get you a slot on the marathon. I could suggest the tour group I went there with, but suffice to say if you search you'll find a handful of good groups that come with recommendations.

Mikeb85 12y ago

This is an interesting quote: > Not everyone’s reaction could have been staged on the course, said Roeland Loof, 33, a fellow Dutch runner. Especially the children. Children do what they want. > “In the U.S. and Europe, we’re as brainwashed” about North Korea, Mr. Loof said, “as they are here.” Interesting the article didn't elaborate on this more, but it's true. People need to spend more time meeting, talking to people and experiencing life, and less time in front of the TV digesting everything the media (under the direction of the government) tells us to believe.

Aloisius 12y ago
I'm not actually sure I understand why children couldn't be brainwashed. I've seen extremely well controlled children to do exactly what their parents want.
- Mikeb85 12y ago
  The article jumps around and isn't particularly well-composed, but the point about the children is merely making the point that some of the North Koreans' emotions, reactions to the event, etc..., are genuine and not 'staged', as we are often led to believe. As for the brainwashing, he's not saying they aren't brainwashed, only that we are as well.
cbd1984 12y ago
I hate this kind of false equivalence. It prevents anyone from discussing the actual problems, because, well, "You do it too! You're just as bad!" No. The West is not just as bad as North Korea. The West has more freedom of speech, freedom of information, and general freedom to be human. Saying otherwise denies what North Koreans suffer, and is precisely what the North Korean government would say in a PR stunt.
- Mikeb85 12y ago
  > I hate this kind of false equivalence. It prevents anyone from discussing the actual problems, because, well, "You do it too! You're just as bad!" >The West is not just as bad as North Korea. The West has more freedom of speech, freedom of information, and general freedom to be human. On the flip-side, what you propose prevents us from seeing the problems with our own society. "At least we're not as bad as North Korea" So many times when things go bad here, when the government takes away more and more freedoms, all we hear is that at least we still have it better than Russia/North Korea/Iran/insert bogeyman. I'm not proposing brushing their problems under the rug (nor ours). I'm simply proposing that we see people in these countries as people. There are real people in North Korea, in Iran, in Russia, who grow up, get married, have kids, have celebrations, and generally live life. So much of our propaganda is about dehumanizing our enemies, turning them into subhuman bogeymen in order to justify whatever our governments decide to do to them/us. And no one said anything about the west being as bad as North Korea. The only comparison made was that we're brainwashed in our perceptions of others. Which we are. Your response shows that very well, which basically parrots everything our media ever says about North Korea.