21–30 of 33 posts
Regardless, looking at these photos I only think: Kim is looking really old.
Gotta love how the only photo where he is smiling is where he is holding a bottle of vodka :) http://inapcache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bi...
Explains why he wears shades even indoors? Christopher Hitchens wrote an interesting piece on NK recently http://www.slate.com/id/2243112/pagenum/all/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolae_Ceauşescu#Tensions
I'm curious if this is also the case in North Korea.
I posted this a few days ago but didn't get any attention: A Year in Pyongyang: The fascinating account of a British guy who spent a year in North Korea working as a literary reviser for their totalitarian government http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1178719 I've started reading the book since then and it really paints a full and seemingly realistic picture of N Korea.
I always found it interesting how he was constantly in fear of getting ripped off by the government, and moreover, how the North Korean people he worked with never really talked to him about how they felt.
I found the story about the girl who was impregnated by an African student and forced to have an abortion to be incredibly fascinating.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Explains why he wears shades even indoors? Christopher Hitchens wrote an interesting piece on NK recently http://www.slate.com/id/2243112/pagenum/all/
I was wondering if he wears shades so you can never know for sure if it's him or a stand-in.
Gotta love how the only photo where he is smiling is where he is holding a bottle of vodka :) http://inapcache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bi...
I find these pictures sad. There's a lot of people working like slaves in NK for whom these pictures document the most important day in their lives. Awash in propaganda, many of them probably sincerely believe they're engaged in a noble mission of freedom. Sometimes I wonder if Kim himself believes he's the only think holding it together.
The regime in North Korea seems to have a desperate need to convince others of its legitimacy, unlike, say, that in Myanmar where the junta holds the country in a equally tight grip but seems to shun all outside scrutiny. Whereas any educated person can recognize Kim Jong Il, even Google has only a few photographs of Myanmar's leader.
(in case you were wondering: http://1763coventry.com/burmeses/index.php/TOC_-_Leaders_%26...)
An excellent (and short) analysis of North Korea from Banyan, the Economist's excellent new Asia columnist.