this post was submitted on 08 Apr 2024
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Then there's the part where they are so deep in paranoia and racism they think you are a foreign spy if you say anything sympathetic about the country. (I actually had this happen to me once online.)
Only once? I have been accused of being a Russian agent, a DPRK agent, a Chinese agent, and once a CIA agent for some reason.
Interestingly I hear the DPRK one the most. Maybe because I live in Asia, not sure. You can sometimes get away with saying something positive about China, but absolutely no positivity is ever allowed about the DPRK. I think I said I had a pretty good pizza there (I did) and people lost their shit.
I must be pulling quite the paycheque for all the world governments I work for.
Please tell us more about this DPRK pizza.
Nothing too special, I went to an Italian restaurant when I was living there.
Good, traditional Italian style margherita. People just lose their shit that not only does food exist, but that there are a variety of cuisines.
Did you live in DPRK as a student?
I spent a few months there (and ROK) when I was a grad student. I was studying international security and my thesis was about korean peninsula security.
Could you tell us a bit about your experience in the DPRK? I would be very interested and I'm sure many people on lemmygrad would as well.
Hi, sure, be glad to. Pretty sure I have talked about it here before somewhere, but it was a while ago.
I went when I was in grad school, which was about 18 years ago at this point (Yes, you can do the math and figure out my age pretty well if you care to). I was there for a few months to do research back when it was maybe a little bit more feasible to make that kind of arrangement. I spent a few months there, at Kim Il Sung University. There were a number of other foreigners there working as faculty as well. Most people I talked to were fairly friendly, my Korean is not amazing but I got by (and many students at the university were studying foreign languages). They generally provided a lot of the materials I asked for, though since I was studying security there was obviously some military documents I requested that were denied. Which you get used to hearing in that particular field of study anyway.
To answer some common questions, I didn't really have a government minder following me around or watching what I took pictures of/who I talked to. Basically as long as I behaved like a sane human being, there were no issues and little oversight was required. They did check what I brought with me out of the country, but literally nothing was a violation. I was notably, not considered a tourist because well...I wasn't one. Pyongyang is a generally nice city, I loved a lot of the mosaics painted around, but I actually enjoyed the areas in the countryside I visited more, lots of really beautiful spots around the country. Paekdu is gorgeous and worth visiting. A lot of things have locally made versions because of sanctions, but like afforementioned pizza it does all exist.
Work-life balance is night/day compared to ROK, which has one of the worst in the world. People finish work/classes generally on time, a lot of adults go to community centers after work to learn different skills. Several people were excited to practice English with me. The ROK on the other hand (I spent a few months here as well, a bit longer overall) is basically work until late hours, drink until you pass out, and repeat.
If you have any specific questions I would be glad to answer them.
That's great to hear! 18 years ago would be in 2006, which I recall as during the recovery period for the Arduous March and a time when marketization was widespread. During your time there, were you able to visit any of the markets or understand how markets were affecting people's lives? As a foreign student I'm guessing you mostly worked with hard currency, but did you get an understanding of peoples' wages and relative costs of living?
Sorry comrade for the slow reply, I try not to look at my PC too much on weekends. Those are the "spend time with partner and/or community organising" days.
A large part of my daily living arrangements were provided for, including the dorm I stayed in, but I did have some time to head out a bit on my own. Mostly was dealt with DPRK won when I did have expenses to pay. I didn't try to pry into anyone's personal situation in great detail, my research was on security policy more than economics, but at the same time nobody seemed unduly burdened by their costs of living. I won't try to say that everything was utopian, they are a country suffering under western sanctions after all and some things that were harder to manufacture locally were harder to get, but people seemed to have enough. My understanding is that a lot of people were participating in informal markets as a matter of course, especially in the countryside areas. Whether that was something they did out of necessity or not, I am not entirely sure on.
or a bot. you are always a putin or chinese bot if they dont have any actual arguments.
they sound in denial.
I got called a vatnik irl for pointing out there are neonazis in Ukraine and that Western media reported on them before 2022
When they do this to me online they get the wall (of text):
also add the documentary made by the guardian on azov battalion training camps for youth.
Never heard of that one. Thanks and 😭
'I want to bring up a warrior': Ukraine's far-right children's camp – video
An Operation Gladio stay-behind cell, you know, for kids!
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
Thank you!
Amazing, been looking for something like this. Thank you!
Saving that to my faves for copy-pasting later
Remember how they started editing a lot of those after the invasion to "fight russian propaganda?"
Or they will start using reactionary "humor" like eg. the social credit thing
i could probably go on but
Pooh bear so verboten in China that they gave him a ride at Shanghai Disneyland.
Supreme Leader Xi is informed of your transgression. CCP agents will arrive at your home in ~233 minutes. Please leave door unlocked, do not leave your home in this time.
Reply STOP to quit.
But I haven't even received my Xi bucks this week! And I have to take my pet Chicken for a walk at the Shanghai park!
16. Some lib just came at me with “social credit score”
I think that's all of them actually. That is literally every 'joke' they have.
Oh man how did I forget them? copypasta tiem
The US’s “Uyghur genocide” (“cultural” or otherwise) disinformation campaign has already been debunked several times over.
Ngl, your lists are lit
I hear that shit like 8 times a week. I'm most frequently getting called Russian tho; which I mean. If any of y'all know Black Russians who are comfortable and love their country; put me in contact, the spite has been rising for years and I'd very much like to leave Amerika.
Or any YouTube channels featuring Chinese people living ordinary lives is somehow Chinese propaganda.