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newenglandredshirt3001 karma

404: hoe not found.

newenglandredshirt603 karma

Not a question, I just want to tell you that I loved your book. I'm a social studies teacher and North Korea comes up a lot, and I find the government's methods fascinating (not to mention terrifying). But to get it through the eyes of someone there to teach really put things into perspective for me. Thank you!

Edit: Fascinate, according to dictionary.com, definition #2: to arouse the interest or curiosity of; allure. That was the definition I was using. Why do I find North Korea fascinating? Because in a world that is so dominated by modern communication, where dictators in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East have had serious trouble keeping the internet under control, the Kims have been able to resist all modern communication from infiltrating the country. Suki Kim (if you actually read her book) talks about her difficulties with censorship and communication outside of North Korea. She marvels at how the people of the country still live like it's the 1950s, when Korea was hardly a technological powerhouse to begin with. But what is most fascinating to me is the cult of personality they have been able to build. It surpasses Stalin's cult of personality, which is no small feat, and the people of North Korea basically worship Kim Il-Sung, Kim Jong-Il, and Kim Jong-Un in a way that is almost deification. Add on top of that the fact that there is virtually no opposition to the regime (something not even Stalin or Hitler could claim), and yes, it's fascinating from a sociological, psychological, and political sense all at the same time. I probably read more about North Korea more than I read about any other country other than my own, and I can't think of a more appropriate word than fascinating. I also said "terrifying" in my original post, that isn't part of this edit, so how anyone could have interpreted me as being pro-North Korea is beyond me... unless /r/Pyongyang has changed a lot since I was there last.

newenglandredshirt53 karma

Woof

newenglandredshirt5 karma

What was the severance that was so bad people just said "fuck it"? How bad was it?

newenglandredshirt1 karma

The best kind of correct.