Five Things You Learn Growing Up In (And Escaping) North Korea
July 30, 2014 10:17 PM   Subscribe

Cracked interviews a NK escapee, an ambassador to NK's grandson, and a journalist covering NK. Want more, without any humor (Cracked is pretty restrained for their piece)? BBC on the people smuggling industry, Yeonmi Park on growing up in North Korea, the Guardian on an ordinary day in Pyongyang, Al-jazeera explains how the Kims rule with an iron fist and some recent photographs of ordinary people in North Korea.
posted by viggorlijah (11 comments total) 24 users marked this as a favorite
 
aaah the teeth
posted by elizardbits at 10:33 PM on July 30, 2014 [3 favorites]


Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Spoiler alert - there aren't any. It's pretty long, so here's the NPR precis with the showstopper quotes.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 10:38 PM on July 30, 2014




Pretend there's a joke here, and not a sobering reminder of unspeakable tragedy.

Cracked is David Wong and David Wong is, and has always been, the tits.
posted by Sebmojo at 10:55 PM on July 30, 2014 [4 favorites]


FYI, that last link with the photos caused my Antivirus program to have a fit.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 11:35 PM on July 30, 2014


Sorry Ray Walston! I'm on a mac with a bunch of safety programs, so it didn't trip anything for me. Here's an alternative link from The Guardian.
posted by viggorlijah at 11:43 PM on July 30, 2014 [1 favorite]


It wouldn't load in firefox for me and then chrome was like "eh, why not". I better not have cooties now.
posted by elizardbits at 11:58 PM on July 30, 2014


FYI, that last link with the photos caused my Antivirus program to have a fit.

Well, it is Glenn Beck's "news" site.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:47 AM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]


Wait But Why also had a good listicle/travel journal about being a tourist in NK recently: 20 Things I Learned While I Was In North Korea.
posted by pie ninja at 5:25 AM on July 31, 2014


I just read Dear Leader: Poet, Spy, Escapee by a high level "court poet" who escaped. Has lots of good info on the life of the upper ranks including a bizarre scene in which he dined with Kim Jong Il on his secret island in the ocean, including a little dog. He lived in a bubble of fantasy created by the secret police and praetorian guard (his personal guard is 100,000 strong, separate from the military and sub-servant to no one but Dear Leader. They run the country. AKA Organization and Guidance Department of the Workers' Party of Korea).

The last 75% of the book is about his escape through China which is nearly as harrowing as North Korea. The Chinese authorities co-operate with North Korean authorities. It reads like a slave narrative going through an underground railroad. All going on now.
posted by stbalbach at 7:15 AM on July 31, 2014 [2 favorites]


I wish my employer would stop blocking sites linked by Mefi...I wonder if the DPRK is blocking Cracked too.

Probably getting publicly executed for thinking this at standup tomorrow.
posted by Fezboy! at 9:31 AM on July 31, 2014


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