So, yesterday evening when I was in the young and hip Hyewha district of Seoul, I saw a documentary called A State of Mind which was really very interesting
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I am definitely catching that documentary now. But god, talk about Stalinist regime. Actually, come to think of it, Stalin has *nothing* on these people. What a nightmare...
It's really worth seeing. About 1 hour and a half of major culture shock.
Also, seeing these two girls - I especially liked the youngest one, absolutely adorable - who are smart, nice, talented and enthusiastic you really regret the way their lives are being limited in scope.
I just hope they're still alive and well. You never know in that country.
"There we were treated to a lesson on Kim-Il-Son's visionary powers" [snip]
His son's no slouch in the supernatural abilities department either. Kim Jong Il is reputed to be able to stop rain and predict the discovery of natural resources.
Damn, I wish my country's ruler had magic POWERZ!!1
There are a great many things in our lives that we should be thankful for, and that we never notice until their lack is pointed out. Democracy happens to be one of them, at least for me.
I mean, seriously. It's basically a little island that exists by itself in the middle of nowhere, and contains the world's fourth largest army, which appears to be held together by propaganda and duct tape. It has almost no resources or heavy industries, and has spent the past fifty years sinking deeper and deeper into a mass of delusion.
One day, either they're going to get impatient and invade someone, or the walls are going to fall down. Either way, the aftermath is not going to be pretty.
In the meantime, the world gets on just fine without them, and I bet that drives Kim Jong Il up a wall.
Strange is even an understatement. Yes, it's really enormous mass delusion. They even named their national flowers after the Kims, and gave them legendary locations like Paektu-san as birth places.
One day, either they're going to get impatient and invade someone, or the walls are going to fall down. Either way, the aftermath is not going to be pretty.
In the movie, they said that according to Pentagon plans, if war started in the Korean peninsula, 1 million people would die in the 24 hours. So I really hope my parents won't be in Seoul anymore if it ever happens.
One million sounds about right, most of them South Korean civilians in Seoul. Seoul itself would get devastated, but North Korea lacks the ability to push southwards, and then it would be their turn to get massacred by the US. It's been a conundrum of sorts, North Korea can destroy Seoul, but they can't move south without the US destroying them.
How they'll respond to that has become a source of a great many questions from the Pentagon.
I really have to get more info on military things, I've been intellectually lazy. I got some book recs and i plan to get a couple of them back in France.
Meanwhile, NK continues to slightly freak me out. *eyes the DMZ* Do landmines really work?
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Also, seeing these two girls - I especially liked the youngest one, absolutely adorable - who are smart, nice, talented and enthusiastic you really regret the way their lives are being limited in scope.
I just hope they're still alive and well. You never know in that country.
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It's so hard to believe that now in the 21st century, especially considering that North Korea isn't a 3rd world country, you know?
How terrifying and how true.
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This whole movie weirded me out also, because as I'm typing this I'm only 50 km to the south of North Korea. O_o
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His son's no slouch in the supernatural abilities department either. Kim Jong Il is reputed to be able to stop rain and predict the discovery of natural resources.
Damn, I wish my country's ruler had magic POWERZ!!1
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Me too. Man, if Chirac could turn water into wine, it would be so fricking awesome! ;)
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It's evil but they don't know it's evil. That's worse than...
I don't know what to say.
*likes America a bit more*
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Yes, for all our countries defaults, I'm so glad I was born in a democracy.
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I mean, seriously. It's basically a little island that exists by itself in the middle of nowhere, and contains the world's fourth largest army, which appears to be held together by propaganda and duct tape. It has almost no resources or heavy industries, and has spent the past fifty years sinking deeper and deeper into a mass of delusion.
One day, either they're going to get impatient and invade someone, or the walls are going to fall down. Either way, the aftermath is not going to be pretty.
In the meantime, the world gets on just fine without them, and I bet that drives Kim Jong Il up a wall.
Reply
One day, either they're going to get impatient and invade someone, or the walls are going to fall down. Either way, the aftermath is not going to be pretty.
In the movie, they said that according to Pentagon plans, if war started in the Korean peninsula, 1 million people would die in the 24 hours. So I really hope my parents won't be in Seoul anymore if it ever happens.
Reply
How they'll respond to that has become a source of a great many questions from the Pentagon.
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Meanwhile, NK continues to slightly freak me out. *eyes the DMZ* Do landmines really work?
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