North Korea

Scythe

<div class='codetop'>CODE</div><div class='codemain' style='height:200px;white-space:pre;overflow:auto'>
for (int i = 1; i < 15; i++)
{
you.watch(http://www.vbs.tv/newsroom/vice-guide-to-north-korea-i-of-14);
}
you.read(this);
you.post(this);</div>

Wow. Some of the stuff in that video is just downright surreal. There's a fair amount of spin on it by the presenter, but a lot of what is seen can't really be interpreted any other way.

It got me thinking about what would be possible if the NK general public were made aware of what their government is doing and how much of a joke their country has become. From that thought, I started coming up with ways of doing so. My mind first went to a book, but I don't know about the accuracy of the "99%" literacy rate reported by the authorities. I then thought that the best way would be a small, plainly-coloured, waterproof, robust, simple electronic device with a single earpiece, a few buttons and an internal battery good enough to last years.

Onto this device would be a carefully-written body of text read by a NK escapee. It would detail the world situation, how everyone regards NK, the lies their government tells to them, and instructions on concealing/destroying the device if their homes were searched. "There are many things that North Korea can be proud of, but there are also many things she should be ashamed of."

The device would be airdropped by the thousands into NK from cheap helium baloons launched from international waters. The device would be wrapped in brightly-coloured waxproof paper. Easy to find on the ground, but easy to burn the wrapper in order to hide evidence.

I wonder how much good this would actually achieve, over any timeframe.

--Scythe--

P.S. I know that C++ isn't correct, the URL should've been in quotation marks and various characters escaped, but I'd've had to concat the value of i into the middle of it and I wasn't about to write a heap of code for array concatenation for the purpose of a throwaway joke.

tjosan

Yes. Evil North Korean dictatorship is evil. What? What is this topic about again? Oh, something relevant like the recen Israeli attacks on the relief shipments to Gaza you say! Neat I always wanted a topic like that.

That_Annoying_Kid

China is what keeps DPRK going....

aeroripper

^^^

Bingo. I doubt NK would start hostilities with the south until China gives their blessing. China has the influence and trade to keep NK at bay, and use the situation as leverage against the overburdened U.S.

Kalabalana

<!--quoteo(post=1773275:date=Jun 4 2010, 12:12 PM:name=Scythe)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Scythe @ Jun 4 2010, 12:12 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1773275"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->...
It got me thinking about what would be possible if the NK general public were made aware of what their government is doing and how much of a joke their country has become.
...<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Your intentions are noble, but if you actually look at North Korean society you'll see how fruitless making the public "aware" of what their government is doing would be. They live in corrupt communism. Most people just try to survive in the government sanctioned concentration camps. Do not try to compare anything you know about life to what a person in North Korea thinks about it. They will be completely, <u>completely</u>, different.

On the plus side, this Korean fiasco will most make more of the world aware of the societal conditions of North Korea. The DPRK, corruptions of power over generations, slave labor. It's pretty big.

Dread

I watched a document about N-Korean refugees. Guess what? Many of them wanted to(and eventually went) back to N-Korea, because they weren't satisfied with how S-Korea works. They felt, that in the west, people valued things too much over other people, family and friends. Simply put, when you don't have internet or tv, you'll bond with your friends and family deeper than we do. By we, I mean the ones with tv's and cool phones. Once placed in to an environment where this is no longer the case, the N-Korean refugees started to yearn to go back. They understood fully what their government was. They understood completely what modern marvels they were missing. They simply wanted more human contact.

I'm not saying N-Korean people are doing well, or that we shouldn't hope for their liberation. I'm just saying don't assume you know anything how they actually feel.

That_Annoying_Kid

They are told the rice that the US gives to them (for humanitarian aid) is actually tribute, they are told the rest of the world is way poorer than DPRK

Radios must be soldered to the state frequency, possession of free tuning radio is severely punished, as is cellphones

Jiriki

There's a great book called: Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea

http://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Envy-Ordinary-Lives-North/dp/0385523912

Its a great read. Tells stories about different North Koreans.

Rich_

Swelek should go balance north korea

Blarney_Stone

Interesting fact - North Korea is one of only two countries (and two U.S. states) where recreational use of marijuana is legal.

1dominator1

They would call it propaganda and not believe it. Besides, I bet many of them already know but are unwilling to make the massive personal and social commitment to do anything about it. This is the age of miniaturization and wireless communication. EM fields respect no borders, nor does the black market.

As for north korea, it is interesting to see a truly old model country where the people revere the state, pity their government is not very good.