Full-time, look up "thevicechannel" guide to travel and watch Shane's trip to North Korea, it's very enlightening, if your stomach is up to it, he goes to Liberia, Pakistan, and some places most sane travel experts stay away from. Shane has balls, his trips are never boring!
Is North Korea Changing ?
by fulltimestudent 44 Replies latest social current
-
-
fulltimestudent
A New Zealand scientist, the first Western Astronomer to do so in 60 years recently visited North Korea:
Is impressions are at:
He's a Professor, so he has a lot to say, but I focus on his words; "the north Koreans are a very smart people, very friendly ... and they want to stop (end) their isolation.
-
fulltimestudent
Arbolesdearabia: Thnx for reminding me of the vice channel- I've posted some of their stuff elsewhere:
here's an interesting video - vice channel calls it a 'labour camp' giving an impression that its a 'forced labour' camp. Its not, as far as western sources can determine. The workers are there voluntarily. Why, in such a harsh place? Simply because they can earn more working therer than they can at home. The logging camps split the profits between the Russians and DPRK governments.
-
fulltimestudent
When it comes to North Korea, the general theme of narratives is very negative. A lot of that surely emanates from western governments, who if they think they may one day wish to blast the sh*t out of a country, peddle as much disinformation as they can about the place.
But every now and again along comes a story that runs counter to all we believe (have you been there before? grin). You can find one such story in the GlobalPost, of October 31, 2012.
The story is head-lined, " North Korea's Not as Crazy as Everyone Says." It's written by a Swiss businessman who lived there for 7 years. Well, right off, that arouses some curiousity, does it not? Does he have some hidden ulterior motive for the article? Or, (just maybe) is the USA about to start a new narrative about NK? I recall about 18 months before the recent changes started in Myanmar there suddenly was, "New light" about the place.
You can find Felix Abt's article at:
www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/commentary/north-korea-defectors-real-life
And, I'll finish this post with the opinion, that if, in 1948 I'd had to go an live in Korea, I would have preferred NK, to South Korea. Why? The evidence is plain, that at that point in the game, NK was better run that SK. The US had imported Syngman Rhee, a poisonous rattle-snake if ever there was one, to run SK. It cost the South Korean people a lot of blood to get rid of him in 1960, but for those years SK was a much worse place to live than NK, excepting for the war years.
Of course, it didn't stay that way, but that's another story.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sat for an exam on Korea today, thats the end of the academic year for me. (smile) - 40 questions, I knew most, but had to guess the answer for five of them. My late friend, who was a long term academic, told me - always make an educated guess - you just may guess correctly.
-
fulltimestudent
Hey! Somebody tell them, its supposed to be the other way around.
Seriously the National Security Law, passed under the dictatorial rule of South Korea's first President, Syngnam Rhee has some extremely onerous provisions.
This story concerns the arrest of a young man, Park Jung-geun. He was charged with supporting North Korea by re-tweeting some tweets he recieved from North Korean tweets.
North Korea still has a good number of supporters in South Korea.
Full story at: www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/sentenced-for-pronorth-korea-twitter-posts-20121122-29rld.html
-
blindnomore
Thank you for posting this thread, Fulltimestudent! I am from South Korea. Marking it for later.
-
fulltimestudent
Thnks blindnomore. Did you grow up in the South? What are your memories? Did you become a JW in Korea?
I remember the Korean war and a "tear-jerker" experience in the WT. In the beginning of the war (as you will know) as the NK Army pushed down hard, the SK Army was confined to that very small area around Pusan, and life was very difficult for civilians. The experience concerned 3 refugee boys living in a cardboard box (as the WT told the story). Somehow (my memory fails) they "got" the truth, and became witnesses, and even though often hungry turned up at meetings and went witnessing. I used the experience often in talks and it sticks in my memory. I sometimes wonder what happened to these young boys and how their lives turned out?
I hope my selection of things to post remains of interest to you.
And maybe, my teacher's facebook page may be of interest to you? It's at www.facebook.com/leonid.petrov
---------------------------------------------------------------
My Korean studies have been interesting for me, I've really learned a lot?
My results are filtering back to me. My class presentation received a mark of 92%, high distinction territory in the classification system used here in Aust. That presentation was a powerpoint on the (set) topic of Kim Il-sung and his Personality Cult.
I'm waiting (most eagerly) for comments on my 2500 word essay. I chose the topic, "Traditions in Conflict: The Persecution of Catholics in Nineteenth Century Choson" (Choson was the traditional name for Korea) . I argued that the persecution (and deaths) had to be seen, not as an argument over attitudes to ancestors, as is most often the reason given, but as part of the general East Asian reaction to western intrusion into the sovereign territories of China, Korea, Japan.
From the time of the Spanish conquest of the Philipinnes, plots were hatched to try and take over the East Asian nations, convert them to Christianity and systematically tax them. This led to resistance and restrictions (hence the China as a closed nation idea) and where Catholicism (as the leading missionising church) made gains, to the eventual extermination (massacre) of Christians
-
fulltimestudent
A brief essay on Human Rights in NK appeared in an edition (16-11-2012) of The Kyunghyang Shinmun. Written by Professor Hazel Smith (Cranfield University, UK), it argues for a more pragmatic approach to ending the stand-of between North and South Korea. Presently both sides paint a bleak picture of the other side. In South Korea, the National Security Law instituted by the former South Korean Dictator, Syngman Rhee, makes it a crime to say anything supportive of the North, and in the DPRK the propaganda flow misrepresents life in the south. In the west generally, lazy (I'm being nice) journalism also presents a distorted view of both Koreas.
Professor Smith raises the question, that if DPRK government is so brutal, how do we explain the good points of its National Health Scheme?
I suggest that Professor Smith's essay is worth reading. Let's hope that the world can forget ideology (both western and N/Korean) and focus on pragmatic solutions to the problems.
Find it at : english.khan.co.kr/khan_art_view.html?artid=201211161141317&code=790000
-
blindnomore
Fascinating! I finally got to read the whole thread. I am impressed by your knowledge on Korea. You've learned a lot. And from your posts I've learned some of the related issues I wasn't aware of. It's also interesting in learning outsiders' take on North and South Korean situation. Without a doubt, the people from both NK and SK are heavily indoctronated by their own governments' propaganda. I remember through out childhood, how frighten I became every time I was told about North Korea communist spies. Our Government censored the Media, Reading Material, and the Education System.
I visited the DMZ in SK side for the first time in 2009. It's interesting to hear the situation on DMZ from a North Korean soldier. I also noted the uneasy situation of North Korean defactors in South Korea during my 2009 visiting. North Koreans were struggling in adjusting to South Korean's systems and cultures. They were also facing discrimination and indefferance by the materialized South Koreans.
You've made a good point on your report on "Tradition in Conflict" I agree with you.
You've brought out so many interesting information! I enjoyed watching the links you posted as well. Excellent Job!
I was born and raised in the South. And yes, I become a JW in Korea. So, English is not my first language.
-
nancy drew
The onion newspaper did a spoof and named north korea's leader the sexiest man alive.