North Korea's undercover journalists reveal misery of life in dictatorship

[Adsos Letter]

SOURCE: The Telegraph
By Julian Ryall in Tokyo 12:01AM GMT 28 Nov 2010

With its ruthless dictator, network of forced labour camps and iron grip of its ruling party, North Korea is the last country one might expect to see a middle-aged woman berating a policeman for demanding a bribe.

But extraordinary video images smuggled out of North Korea, combined with reports of graffiti and posters critical of the regime, indicate a growing willingness among a previously cowed public to speak out and demand change.

Such dissent would once have been unthinkable in the reclusive state, but now hunger and plummeting living standards are now triggering demands for freedom - something that no North Korean has ever experienced.

Evidence of the rising tide of discontent has been captured on film by a small group of "citizen journalists", who newsgather at great personal risk to themselves. They then carry the footage across the heavily guarded border into China.

VIDEO and STORY AT LINK: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/southkorea/8165274/North-Koreas-undercover-journalists-reveal-misery-of-life-in-dictatorship.html
_______________________________________________

I had no idea any journalism was getting out of North Korea. I wonder how the prospect of internal dissidence that this author asserts plays into what is going on now?

[JVS]

1. Oh boy. The "They'll welcome us with roses" part of the dance is here.

[NuclearDem]

2. Yeah, I wonder where we've heard this before...

[Adsos Letter]

3. You doubt the accuracy of the reporting on conditions in the North?

[JVS]

4. Yes. North Korea is an area from which almost no reliable news can come.

[Adsos Letter]

6. Do you think the Telegraph piece is intended to support a war against the North?

[NuclearDem]

8. It just seems too convenient, doesn't it?

Now that we're on the verge of bringing hostilities back, the media gets all up in a frenzy about how totalitarian the regime is and how poor the Ira--er, North Koreans are...

[Adsos Letter]

10. I admit it seems convenient, and the naming of names gave me cause for pause...

I was more surprised by the ability to get news out of the North, and wondered how/if the possibility of internal unrest, as posited by the author, might factor into what is happening now.

[brooklynite]

33. Ther is a slightly porous border with China

The young journalists who got arrested for "spying" recently basically walked in; no "Berlin Wall" frontier.

[HEyHEY]

7. I don't know about that

I do believe in the legitimacy of these tapes... but, yeah, I could see this being used for "rah, rah, sis boom, bah" purposes.

[Warpy]

11. So far only lunatics on the far right have ever suggested invading

and they've been getting nowhere.

However, the news that the population is approaching the point at which it feels it has little left to lose is interesting.

I do know the police and army are the only well fed parts of the population. How long they'll watch their extended families slowly starve before they too revolt is anyone's guess.

[JVS]

14. I've seen the idea of invasion tossed around here, although I wouldn't go so far as to label those..

DUers lunatics on the far right. :-)

[Adsos Letter]

20. I've never promoted an invasion of the North, and I'm certainly not on the right of the spectrum...

...lunatic is up for grabs, though, apparently.

[JVS]

32. I was referring to some other posters.

Roses was also directed at the article and not you.

[Adsos Letter]

35. No problem; I was already overly sensitive because I was uncomfortable about the article...

I didn't realize the Conservative tone of The Telegraph, and was unaware of their role in the run-up to GW1. I also had some doubts about an article which would name names, and the ability to film in that manner also set off some alarm bells.

Difficult as it may be to believe, I actually hold an advanced degree in History, and I was doubly embarrassed by not checking the context of my sources (ALWAYS do that), and by overlooking the alarm bells in the article.

Kind of you to set me somewhat at ease, however, and I thank you for it. :toast:

[Adsos Letter]

17. I never suggested invading the North; I was simply interested in the degree to which

internal dissidence might be factoring in to what is currnetly happening. I have wondered what kind of internal response might accompany the succession in the North.

I was also surprised that any information might be getting out of the North, especially film. Thinking about it after having posted, the naming of names does seem questionable, although the condition of the population seems in line with what has been known for a long time.

[Puregonzo1188]

5. Yes, we know life in North Korea is horrible and that most people don't have electricty, Kim is nuts

there's a totalitarian cult of personality, etc. It's all very bad.


But do you what else is bad?


A second Korean War.

[Adsos Letter]

9. I don't want a second Korean War; I was interested in the ability of some reports to make it out of

the North, and I wondered what potential civil unrest, which the author alluded to, might play in the current events.

[Renew Deal]

13. So you prefer the suffering to continue as long as it's someone else suffering?

:shrug:

[Union Scribe]

28. What do you propose?

Surely you're not objecting to someone saying they don't want another war?

[-..__...]

12. Not like it hasn't been done before.

Check out the "Vice Guide to North Korea".

It's an eye opener as well...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6ixGYzbLz0&feature=related

[HEyHEY]

16. No, NO, NO! Do not watch that piece of shit

The guy who made that is an idiot and absolutely wasted his time there. Watch "inside North Korea" Most of his "facts" are completely wrong. Plus, he just films the basica Koroyo tour, nothing nitty gritty. It isn ot the same as these journalists.

The vice guy even referred to the DMZ as "Checkpoint Charlie" total fucking moron. Watching that made me angry.

[Catherina]

15. The Telegraph is the last place you want to get your information n/t

[Adsos Letter]

18. OK; I checked it out. I didn't realize it was a Conservative publication

which certainly needs to be factored into its content. Thanks for the heads-up.

[liberalpragmatist]

22. It's the most RW of the major UK papers

And British papers (including more left-wing ones) generally have poorer reporting standards than the U.S., in that they're more liable to run rumor or conjecture as real news. (Of course that happens in the U.S. press too, but it's a little less blatant.)

[Adsos Letter]

24. Thanks. I checked it out, and wish I had done so before posting.

[JonLP24]

23. It typically leans conservative

but I'm not aware of inaccurate reports made by them. I do know they have a conservative slant.

[Adsos Letter]

25. Thanks; I didn't realize that, but thankyou for making me aware.

[Catherina]

26. You're welcome.

I'm glad other people were able to answer sooner than I could.

:hi:

[Adsos Letter]

27. No problem; I should have checked the source.

I wasn't familiar with The Telegraph, but I doubt I'll ever forget it at this point. :blush:

I really appreciated that you didn't misconstrue my OP, or make any rude comments. :) :hi:

Being labeled as the "welcome us with roses" crowd in the first response wasn't exactly what I was thinking.

[Catherina]

29. You're a very nice person Adsos

Now I wish my reply had been more explanatory and less curt.

About the roses thing, I think that was aimed at the Telegraph because that was their big line for the Iraq War run up.

Thick skins, going 2 for a dollar :)

Nice to meet you :hi:

[Adsos Letter]

30. Thanks, Catherina...

Yeah, I need to remember to put on another layer of skin when on DU. :) I was completely unfamiliar with The Telegraph...made doubly embarrassing by the fact that I hold an advanced degree in History, so I should have checked my sources. :blush: Plus; there were some things about the article that seemed a bit "off" (such as the naming of names). Ah well....

Your reply was fine; not even the suggestion of a barb in it. :D

Nice to meet you, Catherina. :hi:

[liberalpragmatist]

19. A great book on North Korea...

... Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick. She's a former Korea correspondent for the LA Times, who interviewed numerous North Korean defectors. The book reads like a novel, and tells about the lives they lead before leaving North Korea.

It's a really, really fascinating book. Highly recommended.

Of course, I don't support going to war, and think we simply have to plan for the North Korean regime's eventual internal collapse. But the book isn't political - it's just an account of how people in North Korea have actually lived.

[Adsos Letter]

21. Thanks for the link! I'll check it out.

[ConsAreLiars]

31. The fact that ordinary people are suffering under some regime, corporatist or nuttist, is never

a justification for causing them more suffering. Although US policy seems to be based on the premise that those people who live in regions controlled by those they want eliminated are nothing more than potential collateral damage, most humans still see them as human.

On the Kim Il-nutters and NK. way back then my to-become life partner and I volunteered at a left bookstore. Somehow (a faction within the Weather Underground) Juche! ended up on the shelves. (Collectives add diversity.)

I, best sarcastic tome, said that was something really worth reading. She, sweet and kind, bought it for me. Unopened, but if you are curious enough to want a copy in your library, PM me. The next most likely destination is a pulp mill.

[Adsos Letter]

34. Thanks for the offer, ConsAreLiars, but I'll pass...

I've so much in my library now that I've yet to get to; it would simply end up taking space.. I will admit to being interested in the writings of various movements/groups as a way of hearing them in their own words (and also observing the actual actions they engage in, the US included). I think it has value from an academic perspective, if nothing else.

Good to run in to you out on the boards! Hope your family is doing well; is younger son still out on the island taking fine photos? :)

[ConsAreLiars]

36. Good to see you around.

My impression is that you've succeeded in keeping DU appropriately low on your list of priorities. Both kids a my SO are doing well. STILL grad school at UCB for the firstborn. The second, the "artist-in-residence" at the San Juan Islands resort is also leading plant walks as well as continuing with photography. Sold some. See http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonnyhayseed/

(edit to add one word)