There was a big black market for foreign films, I learned from videos smuggled out. Imported from China or recorded with satellite dishes.
I'm sure the current leader saw that also.
Wow. Imagine killing people, publicly, for what they watch. I hope this fat PoS gets taken out. Quickly.
Kim Jong-Un, too, while they're at it.
the former Ugoslaviain police were infamous for dragging youth of "to beat the Zappa out of them", but on.the fall of communism uncle Frank was greeted in Ugodlavia by thousands at the airport was given special honours and a very strong offer to be part of there government, they very much wanted to keep him perhaps something similar is taking shape in.NK
I find some of the claims made about North Korea rather fanciful and unbelievable.
The most plausible explanation that those people who escaped NK were sentenced for something else and use excuse of watching foreign films to look good to Western researchers. I believe that media landscape is restricted in NK, but getting a death sentence for a watching movie? No way it is possible.
You find them to be, do you have any insight that would help us understand your point ?
How many times have Western intelligence services claimed that the Kims had killed one of their relatives or some high rank politician only for the person to reappear a few months later?
I really don't know, can you share some times they claimed definitively that it happened ?
It's usually claimed to "be believed to have murdered X" - His brother for example.
But Kim himself has admitted to murder so it's not really some 'exaggeration' [0].
So unless you have something that would confirm otherwise, which would make interesting reading I will have to take my grain of salt from what we do already know.
I know it's controversial to say here, but Korean people are human too. They are not stupid insects groomed to follow some great leader as if it were the queen of the hive. Most of what you assume to know about Koreans and likely Chinese or Vietnamese people is false. It's pure propaganda.
Also lol for linking the BBC. To me it's like linking Radio Free Asia or the New York Times and pretend those are freedom fighters.
> Also lol for linking the BBC. To me it's like linking Radio Free Asia or the New York Times and pretend those are freedom fighters.
It's not really when the reporting is reporting what was done. But here's some more articles saying the same thing ?
> Most of what you assume to know about Koreans and likely Chinese or Vietnamese people is false.
You are assuming I am making assumptions. But I can see this discussion isn't going anywhere fast.
https://www.reuters.com/article/world/asia-pacific/north-kor...
https://abcnews.go.com/International/north-korea-issues-rare...
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/foreignaffairs/northkorea/20200...
https://www.npr.org/2020/09/25/916807251/kim-jong-un-apologi...
There is just a lot of bs being spread about NK. Westerners, for example, genuindely believed all koreans had to get a haircut that is approved by the government.
I'm not even saying this country is not paranoid, but its nearly not as bad as everyone is imaging, and frankly, considering what Americans have inflicted unto the korean people, its fairly understandable.
Oh I'll take the firsthand reports of escapees over your thoughts on the matter, any day.
North Korean defectors are well known for being unreliable sources. They rarely have skills nor social connections and thus are massively incentivized to join the existing markets for anti-NK propaganda in both the West and India.
The kind of obvious propaganda like "it's a crime to have the same haircut as Kim Jong-Un" (or to not have it, depending on the source). No one is saying life there is great, but there is a track record of fantastically untrue stories.