this post was submitted on 23 Jan 2025
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I feel a bit sad for the NKs, you really have to wonder how much the world they know and if they’re really aware of what they’re even doing over there.
I heard some of them are able to have South Korean TV shows and movies smuggled in on flash drives. I only know this, because there are also stories of people being caught watching/in possession of the media and being sentenced to prison. Most recently I think 2 teenage boys were given 12 years hard labor
The ones they let out of the country are probably die hards that would turn in a friend who had one of those
from what im aware of those who are slightly more wealthy or live in border cities are more aware than ones who live off in the middle of nowhere. many of the North Koreans who live closer to the chinese border are related to or know a person whose greenlit to do business in China and return. Even theough chinas reletive censorship, its hard to not be able to learn about the rest of the world.
Usually the ones sent to war are poor people
Here's an interesting perspective that might answer those questions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CBh8N5v648
North koreans vacation in China and Russia.
I doubt that a large portion of north koreans is spending any time outside the country. It sounds to me like only the elite gets to spend time in foreign resorts.
Everybody is coming from their own little North Korea. How much do you actually know about the world? Do you know everything about everything you're a part of? More than some, less than others.
Empathize with the man, but remember empathy is borne of understanding. Pity is borne of contempt.
I have access to the Internet, can communicate freely with people elsewhere, travel freely, and have not been force fed propaganda to the same degree.
It’s not really the same, all they know is what they are told. I am free to explore truths and oppose my state.
All true and all good things. And you spend a lot of time opposing your state? You avoid supporting oligarchs who profit from slavery and ecological exploitation? Your government fights for freedom and your representatives act in your best interest? Everything you buy is ethically sourced, and all the information you consume is unbiased? Your food is fresh and free of microplastics? You've traveled to every destination you'd like?
Suffering and oppression is not a competition. Yes, North Korea is ruled by a third generation megalomaniac who censors all speech and makes life hell for his people. North Koreans starve to death without understanding the larger world around them. That's bad, and the world would be better with fewer tyrants.
My point is that the lesson here is not that North Korea is the one bad place. The lesson is how easy it is to be indoctrinated, to be exploited without knowing more than they want you to know. You see him and think how much better off you are because you have Google and a frequent flyer credit card. You should be thinking how much you have in common, because it is a lot more than you would expect.
Youve been force fed plenty of propaganda, you just don't realize it.
Finish reading the sentence.
But how could they totally own you if they have to read what you're saying?
Don't downplay NK's isolation. It's incomparable to most nations'.
I'm not downplaying anything.
Yes, you are. You're comparing their insane policies to the comparatively okay ones in the rest of the world.
No, I'm pointing out that they are analogous to the rest of the world, and that none of it is okay, comparatively or otherwise.
Cultural ignorance is different to being forcibly isolated from the modern world by a dictatorship.
I'm not talking about cultural ignorance, either.
Are you American? You sound like one.