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.
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
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
Cracked's interview articles have been amazing lately.
8 Things I Learned as an American Governor in Occupied Iraq
5 Terrifying Things I Learned as a Drug-Addicted Nurse
5 Things I Learned Sneaking Over the U.S.-Mexico Border
5 Horrifying Things Only Garbagemen Know About Your Town
5 Adventures I Had as a Cam Girl With a Niche in Sex Puppets
7 Things I Learned as an Accomplice to Mass Murder
5 Harsh Truths You Learn as a Doctor in the Third World
5 Insane Things I Learned About Drugs as an Undercover Agent
They're singlehandedly rescuing the listicle format.
posted by figurant at 10:43 PM on July 30, 2014 [32 favorites]
8 Things I Learned as an American Governor in Occupied Iraq
5 Terrifying Things I Learned as a Drug-Addicted Nurse
5 Things I Learned Sneaking Over the U.S.-Mexico Border
5 Horrifying Things Only Garbagemen Know About Your Town
5 Adventures I Had as a Cam Girl With a Niche in Sex Puppets
7 Things I Learned as an Accomplice to Mass Murder
5 Harsh Truths You Learn as a Doctor in the Third World
5 Insane Things I Learned About Drugs as an Undercover Agent
They're singlehandedly rescuing the listicle format.
posted by figurant at 10:43 PM on July 30, 2014 [32 favorites]
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]
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
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]
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
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]
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
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]
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
Probably getting publicly executed for thinking this at standup tomorrow.
posted by Fezboy! at 9:31 AM on July 31, 2014
« Older A raccoon of my own | TL;DR Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by elizardbits at 10:33 PM on July 30, 2014 [3 favorites]