211–220 of 307 posts
The original title of the article ("How To Survive 3 Years In North Korea As A Foreigner") sounds unnecessarily hyperbolic to me considering that the author led a relatively comfortable life (having a swimming pool, being able to play tennis and golf) with only minor inconveniences, while some North Koreans were actually starving at the time...
The original title of the article ("How To Survive 3 Years In North Korea As A Foreigner") sounds unnecessarily hyperbolic to me considering that the author led a relatively comfortable life (having a swimming pool, being able to play tennis and golf) with only minor inconveniences, while some North Koreans were actually starving at the time...
I don't think having access to luxuries detracts from the danger he was in of being in a country where public executions take place for things as minor as 'fortune telling' or watching South Korean movies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_North_Ko...
I wish to know more about this time-capsule country. Currently the country seems to experience an extraordinary construction boom (modern apartment buildings). All we have are 20 years old pictures.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Meanwhile instead of some fancy building, their embassy over here is... Well, a little more domestic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embassy_of_North_Korea,_London
Kind of reminds me of some of the embassies of smaller countries in Ottawa when I lived there. There are quite a few in houses like this along Somerset Street if I'm remembering correctly.
In Dublin there are a few big embassy compounds (US, Russia, UK, Germany are the only ones I can think of). Everyone else, even big dogs like China and India, has a converted house or a floor in an office block. Lots of pictures on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_diplomatic_missions_in...
The post never mentions a date, but this must have been around 2000-2004, since that is when the UK embassy was established. [1] Some things have probably changed since then. A fascinating read regardless. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embassy_of_the_United_Kingdom,...
I wonder who works in those embassies. Are there some British dudes just living there that go to the embassy every day for work? Where do they buy food? What do their residences look like? Do have spouses and children? Where do they work and go to school? Do they enjoy life there?
The original title of the article ("How To Survive 3 Years In North Korea As A Foreigner") sounds unnecessarily hyperbolic to me considering that the author led a relatively comfortable life (having a swimming pool, being able to play tennis and golf) with only minor inconveniences, while some North Koreans were actually starving at the time...
> A 2014 UN inquiry found evidence for "systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations" and stated that "the gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a state that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world" I don't think having access to luxuries detracts from the danger he was in of being in a country where public executions take place for things as minor as 'fortune telling' or watch…
The last paragraph talks about being cut-off and isolated. He didn't mention Internet or phones for private use, so I wonder if they didn't have that. I can imagine smartphones being disallowed, and even if allowed, limited to home WiFi...
I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't have internet but I know little of North Korea. They definitely didn't have smartphones as this was the early 2000s.
Kwangmyong has been around since the latter half of the 90s, and is famously 'home grown' as a deliberate security feature.
NK also has some access to the regular internet, but it's very limited and tightly controlled. Meaning it is a luxury reserved for a few members of the upper echelons of NK society, or certain entrusted to people who need it for work (intelligence agencies and whatnot).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> A 2014 UN inquiry found evidence for "systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations" and stated that "the gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a state that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world" I don't think having access to luxuries detracts from the danger he was in of being in a country where public executions take place for things as minor as 'fortune telling' or watch…
Allegedly, supposedly... About 60 years ago, Hunter Thompson called out these words as propaganda devices that let you say anything about anyone you don't like without taking any responsibility for it. Nothing has changed in the journalistic standards since then.
However, given the overwhelming consistency and volume of testimonies, supported by satellite imagery, investigations by international bodies and leaked internal documents, it's clear these types of acts do occur.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Obviously the average citizen don't have Internet, but an embassy without Internet (most probably through satellite) is unthinkable, they need to be able to talk to their home government. But if we go back 20 years (others have said this is written in the early 2000's), satellite communication was probably worse than 28.8k modems and really expensive, so yeah, it could've been there but only for official and not pers…
20 years ago Americans had no smartphones. Only some tech savy Europeans had Symbian phones.