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Three years in North Korea as a foreigner (2021)

mydiplomaticlife.com

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Re: Three years in North Korea as a foreigner (2021)

#221
post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean a shameless North Korean propaganda video with a ridiculously twisted version of history and reality?

Worth keeping in mind that NK has one of the most active / visible cyber teams on the planet, presumably including astro-turfing and propaganda. Which means any conversation on the internet about NK is likely to be polluted with propaganda, even if none of the participants themselves are operatives - all it takes is someone unwittingly ingesting a bad fact once for that bad fact to get circulated.

Would you care to elaborate with any source for this claim? Otherwise I have to crown this the dumbest thing that I've read on the internet this week. I see the HN moderation is doing a great job at keeping the triple digit IQs away.

Re: Three years in North Korea as a foreigner (2021)

#222

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

The impression I got, from attending a school with a lot of diplomat kids, is that a lot of countries have embassies as a sort of foreign holiday for their ruling classes. Now NK being a bit antagonistic and paranoid might be an exception, but I distinctly got the impression that there were a lot of countries that didn't really do a lot of diplomatic work with the host countries, but the embassy meant they could send…

The embassies are not my ballgame but I get the impression they are not there because a lot of diplomacy needs to be done all the time - but to already exist when the need for diplomacy arises.

Open channels of communication and all that.

An alternate explanation to your point is that countries would like to have the appearance of being as shadowy and influential as what the CIA has going on. I'll quote (AFKA) mos def [0] and also link to the 99% invisible episode in number stations [1]. Some countries broadcast codes nonstop A in case they ever need to, no one can tell they just started and B to have the appearance they have covert agents behind enemy lines, just to be spooky.

  Mentioned that he worked for the embassy
  People seem to find that interesting
  High status, intrigue and mystery
  Special code name on the hotel registry
  I love it when they say
  "Enjoy your stay"
  They say it how they mean it
  'Cause that's the way they been trained
  Show you to your room
  A suite with a view
  When, if anything at all
  Do not hesitate to call
  ...
  Salutations, congratulations
  Reservations, exclusive arrangements
  Dinner with the patrons, the scenery is amazing
  It's so outrageous, they whisper when they say it
  When it's really real it's even realer than "The Matrix"
  Classic, modern, ancient, flagrant
  Get a special thrill every time they get to say it
  Peace! I work with the embassy
  On behalf of imagination industry
  I come visit, you come visit
  Such a pleasure, official business
  La, la, la, la...
  (Boogey, boogey, man, man)
[0] https://genius.com/Yasiin-bey-the-embassy-lyrics

[1] https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/numbers-stations/

Re: Three years in North Korea as a foreigner (2021)

#223
post #96
post #9

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,...

Curious if anyone knows of any more recent descriptions about what life is like in North Korea, like in the last 5-10 years. Most things I've read including this article are decades old. How much have things changed there in terms of technology, food security etc?

Honest and unpaid North Korea influencers (apparently trying to influence South Korea) can tell a bit :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzFoNe5rNMo

Re: Three years in North Korea as a foreigner (2021)

#224
post #193
post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also most of the work is done by the CIA and NSA.

The NSA stays at home. There are some diplomatic normal folks to do the consularic work (visa, lost passports), the rest is secret service (recruiting agents, influencing the press, police, "diplomatic" ie secret communication, contacts to other embassies and the host).

And if it's a cross border offensive it's more likely to be Air Force Space Command (since, you know, cyberspace is right above regular space which is just a little higher than airspace :p)

(its just that electronic warfare is a natural extension of long range, lets call it, interference)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Space_Operation...

Re: Three years in North Korea as a foreigner (2021)

#225
post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Curious if anyone knows of any more recent descriptions about what life is like in North Korea, like in the last 5-10 years. Most things I've read including this article are decades old. How much have things changed there in terms of technology, food security etc?

this is a group from Brazil (so portuguese - you can use yt's autotranslate) who supports and studies NK - they have visited and on this live they show the pictures/videos and talk about life there, food, etc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQNQWwXA6_0

I clicked that and skipped through it and now YouTube's algorithm thinks I want to watch a whole bunch of Brazillian neo-hyper-Stalinist-cult tankie videos.

Re: Three years in North Korea as a foreigner (2021)

#226
post #190

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...

Overly sensationalist comment. Everything is perspective; If you're use to certain standards, and the readers are use to certain standards, expressing the travel to a country where such standards are known not to exist, then you might view the situation as something to overcome —survive (to carry on despite hardships).

Living as a Foreigner in North Korea: A Contrasting Experience

Re: Three years in North Korea as a foreigner (2021)

#227
post #181
post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you’re going to be anal, explain why: “Whisky (no e) refers to Scottish, Canadian, or Japanese grain spirits. Whiskey (with an e) refers to grain spirits distilled in Ireland and the United States.” Johnnie Walker Black Label is Scottish, hence no ‘e’.

I'm not sure if that is the whole story. It is as much a case of where the person writing is from. According to Wikipedia both are used. I, as a non-USAnian, would definitely not spell it Whiskey, but Whisky, unless I'm talking about a brand name, no matter if it is from the US or not. It would be like me writing Color instead of Colour when writing in English. One is English, one is not.

In Canada we're amazing, we have both British and American conventions mixed together in a seemingly random way:

E.g. "Colourize" is Canadian English (vs American "colorize" or UK "colourise")

Re: Three years in North Korea as a foreigner (2021)

#228

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

The impression I got, from attending a school with a lot of diplomat kids, is that a lot of countries have embassies as a sort of foreign holiday for their ruling classes. Now NK being a bit antagonistic and paranoid might be an exception, but I distinctly got the impression that there were a lot of countries that didn't really do a lot of diplomatic work with the host countries, but the embassy meant they could send…

The social and cultural dynamics you mention are indeed present in some cases.

Re: Three years in North Korea as a foreigner (2021)

#229
what an amazing read!

slightly unrelated to the post: does anyone know any similar blog posts as such about people writing about their life? especially in areas of the world that is less known of?

another one that i really like is https://brr.fyi/ where he posts life working at the antarctica

Re: Three years in North Korea as a foreigner (2021)

#230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's just diplomacy.

Long history of it, too. The US made special clear coke in nondescript bottles for Marshal of the Soviet Union Zhukov so he could look like he was drinking vodka instead of the illegal Western drink. https://www.businessinsider.com/us-secret-clear-coca-cola-fo... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Coke

How cultural sensitivity and creative diplomacy have been used throughout history.
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