r/ThatsInsane • u/turkish__cowboy • 4d ago
An actual interview with students in North Korea and a musical
279
u/jupiler91 4d ago
So are we gonna talk about why they nuked a field of sunflowers at the end or nah?
44
32
1
83
u/Mahaloth 4d ago
I watched the entire documentary and of course, he had almost no contact with your everyday regular citizen. He went up to one man and shook his hands, but otherwise the handlers kept him away from everyone.
These students aren't scripted, but they are rich and come from loyal to Kim families.
33
u/Kizaky 3d ago
Best part is when they went to the "factory" and Mike asks where the workers are and the guide was kinda lost for an answer.
15
u/ProbablyNotPikachu 3d ago
Don't they have fake factories and grocery stores to show visitors? Places that look normal and clean with good conditions- to hide the details of the real ones?
8
1
u/abbassav 2d ago
Wait, i thought that was a joke from the movie The Interview, you're telling me it's real?
298
u/starsky1984 4d ago
Dystopian and just sad really
80
u/LikeAChikaCherryCola 4d ago
As someone who has been nearby, it is closer to "ignorance is bliss."
You don't know what you don't know.
-1
4d ago
You know...I'm actually starting to wonder if I envy them. It must be kinda wonderful to be unaware of the entire dumpster fire that is global politics right now and to be completely oblivious to the meth addicts at the helm of the western world.
44
u/KevlarToiletPaper 4d ago
Live in a country where large portion of population is constantly malnourished and lacking most basic products, not to mention any of the more luxury ones, with severely lacking access to modern healthcare, living your life basically filled with parasites you injest from dirty water and poorly fertilized crops, you have no access to any international content and the rest is heavy controlled, saying wrong thing can cost you your life and the life of your family, there will never be a chance for you or anyone you know to improve their conditions or move BUT you don't have to read about Trump on Reddit.
God, if we could harvest the power of Americans victimizing themselves we would already conquer the Solar System. Ignorance truly is a bliss.
8
6
u/systemfrown 4d ago
What’s insane is that I can see a third of my own fellow countrymen falling for and doing the same shit.
129
u/fatkiddown 4d ago
Everything I see about North Korea reminds me of that dog sitting in fire “this is fine” meme..
16
119
u/LP_Link 4d ago
Recently a youtuber from my country went to N.Korea to do vlog. After watching some videos i feel very sad for these people. N.Korea is no less than a giant prison. People are afraid of saying fobidden things. There will be a supervisor following tourists everywhere and filming their activities. Tourists basically allowed to see a giant movie set.
20
u/Practical_Ad_500 4d ago
Exactly, you can see the facial expressions of the girl next to the one speaking and how telling it is that she doesn’t agree, but knows it’s better to allow her friend to say what they’ve been taught to say otherwise who knows what would happen.
7
u/Acceptable-Major-575 3d ago
in Russia it is almost the same, people scared to say something wrong, they also scared to write something online even in private groups and they ask me not to write certain things and sometimes ask me to delete some messages, because they are also scared to be near someone who talk something wrong according to the government.
87
u/Tiny-Mulberry-2114 4d ago edited 4d ago
No pressure
One wrong word and your whole family gets sent to a labour camp.
22
u/prestonpiggy 4d ago
Sure we all agree that the one young girl was educated how to anwer etc. But same time they can't deny the whole lot of Japanese anime and Korean K-pop music smuggled there illegally by that song. Sad to see that these bright children have no real future. When the ,am talk about his travels their faces shift as they know it's not possible.
68
u/FineGripp 4d ago
“Blink twice if you’re forced to say all this” should be one of the interview questions
50
u/futureman07 4d ago
She's not forced to say this, it's more like she doesn't know anything else. Brainwashing starts from day 1 in school and no other way of getting any information from around the world.
22
u/turkish__cowboy 4d ago edited 4d ago
no other way of getting any information from around the world.
There's access to illegal "Western" media (through China or South Korean intelligence - USBs, disks and other ways). Most people (except for the ruling core class within the Songbun, as they're happy with the luxurious life) at this point are aware that the Juche stories are lies and that a better life exists. They just have to pretend or they're fucked up.
In the past years, a woman was executed with anti-air weapon for allegedly watching an American romance (?) movie.
6
u/futureman07 4d ago
Right, im sure more adults are aware of this but you think, a what 12 year old, has had access to any of that? Unless parents have taught them otherwise, everything she knows is from her state sponsored school.
9
u/turkish__cowboy 4d ago edited 4d ago
Yeah she probably doesn't know anything. Just wanted to debunk the claim that North Koreans are blind as a whole. It's quite certain that the South Korean government maintains dedicated propaganda units working for the north.
Also the loyal class has access to the regular internet (probably under heavy surveillance) and they may enjoy the western media freely. They at the end of the day are happy with the privileges and won't rise up despite what they see (Tae Yong-ho, North Korean diplomat who defected to the UK is an exception). There's a subreddit consistently run by the NK government lmao: r/Pyongyang
5
2
1
u/Umbroboner 3d ago
Lol, some master level trolling in there!
1
u/FlyLikeHolssi 2d ago
That was the most fascinating, weirdest dive I've done into a subreddit.
Just wow.
3
u/ranchojasper 4d ago
Right but I think you're not understanding how effective effective propaganda is. I mean right here in America I have a neighbor who watched Jan 6 riots unfold with her own eyeballs and today completely denies that it ever happened. A man my dad golfs with is adamant that inflation was 18% through Biden's entire term (it went from 9% to 2.9% during Biden's term).
Right here in America where everyone has access to every piece of data, there are people so effectively propagandized that they reject basic reality for the fantasies their propaganda has fed them. They do this every single day, for going on nine years now. It is not difficult anymore at all for me to believe that the entire country of North Korea is totally brainwashed into complete subjugation
2
u/NotNotLitotes 4d ago
For sure. And of course, if you go to a good school like this, you’re going to be from a privileged background, ie your family will have benefited from the system.
Really not so different from like young conservatives in western countries.
2
u/ranchojasper 4d ago
This is the craziest part. I didn't really understand how this was possible until it started happening in America. I mean Trump supporters have access to the whole Internet and still they've somehow been convinced to live in a completely sealed echo chamber totally divorced from observable reality. They actually believe the they're saying
20
u/jupiler91 4d ago
Anyone know why that one girl is so pink?
Intresting video all around.
7
u/whoreforchalupas 4d ago
The placement of the pink patches is nearly identical to the “butterfly rash” associated with rosacea. Could be wonky lighting or makeup I suppose, but my immediate thought was rosacea.
3
u/ProbablyNotPikachu 3d ago
It's def the lighting and camera exposure in combination with a biological condition or makeup (or makeshift makeup).
She could also be flushed from being nervous that she is able to speak with someone from another country/nervous to try and speak English/scared she might say something wrong and be punished or sentenced to death.
I'm exaggerating a bit here- but tbh I wouldn't be surprised if something similar were true.5
u/Practical_Ad_500 4d ago
I think it’s makeup. I remember there being rules about how they should dress themselves and makeup being a problem or certain kinds so they use other things.
2
4d ago
I'm surprised I had to scroll this far down to see that, it was like an instagram filter...wtf?
28
u/turkish__cowboy 4d ago
20
u/Bubsy7979 4d ago
I think I enjoy Mike’s travel vlog more than some of the other travel guys I follow.. especially because a few of them travel together but release separate videos of the same travel. At least he’s the only one that got the NK travel visa during the three weeks they were available, all the other guys just went to the border and filming in China.
10
u/adod1 4d ago
I love his videos but he’s absolutely psychotic lmao. “I’m going to X region where crime is 100% and journalists are NOT allowed to visit, but I’m just a YouTuber not a journalist 🤷🏼♂️. Oh and I know 0 of the language and am only hitchhiking.” Dunno how he hasn’t disappeared yet but I love it so keep it up I suppose.
8
u/Bubsy7979 4d ago
I mean it just goes to show you don’t alway listen to what the news tells you and people all over the world are generally good. It seems like that’s his main mission statement for his channel and I’m totally all for it.
I think the travel vlogger who popped up on my algorithm that I occasionally watch that I like the least is either that Katz something South African guy or Small Brained American. The other ones that I do enjoy is Sabbatical and Bald & Bankrupt, although I’ve seen that he’s kind of scummy behind the scenes.
4
u/retardjoeyb 4d ago
Yeah subscribe to his channel and enjoy it. He actually hitch hiked across China.
19
u/CrowKet 4d ago
This video is from one of my favorite youtubers Mikeokay! He has some great content about travelling through countries like China, India and Vietnam. In these video's he talks about the history of places and mostly interacts with locals. It really teaches us about the kindness of people and how we are all different, but still the same.
1
8
u/stevenwheels 4d ago
I feel like whenever I see North Koreans speak they look like they have think about what they are saying. It’s sad. I hope we dont suffer the same fate in the United States
43
u/OjibweNdN 4d ago
This is maga's future
9
u/hellspawner 4d ago
The tariffs really fixed the national industry in the fatherly guidance of finger puppet.
27
u/Pinksamuraiiiii 4d ago
Trump is going to have little conservative girls sing anthems about him soon! Just y’all wait and see lol 😂
22
u/Sindigo_ 4d ago
9
u/NeverTrustATurtle 4d ago
I forgot about this
1
u/ProbablyNotPikachu 3d ago
Funny to me that the harsh overhead lighting makes it look like the shorter girl on the right has a Hitler stache. Accurate asf.
2
u/ranchojasper 4d ago
Glad someone else already linked it so I don't have to. Literally the first thing I thought of when this post came up in my feed
1
5
2
2
1
1
u/hoping_to_cease 4d ago
My heart breaks for these children and people. There is nothing they can do. They were dealt the shittiest deal by the universe being born there. It’s unfathomable to me what their lives are like.
1
1
1
1
u/Scarboroughwarning 3d ago
Hostages gonna hostage.
The first bit, not particularly insane. The musical number....pure Mel Brooks.
1
u/yojifer680 3d ago
The lyrics of that song were unbelievably cringeworthy. How far back in time would you have to go in a Western European country to hear something so cringe sung unironically? I feel like even a thousand years ago people would've rejected at such mindless adulation.
1
u/theterrible0ne 3d ago
I’m waiting for Mike to get detained in one of these countries.. he is a fucking nutter.
1
1
u/12-7_Apocalypse 3d ago
I wonder if all songs the come out of North Korea are all about Kim Jong Un.
1
u/LosHtown 3d ago
That's part of Mike Okays video on youtube. Its like 30min long. It was an interesting watch.
1
1
u/Gimme_yourjaket 3d ago
Maybe someone should try and kill him in his sleep, I don't think that someone will face any repercussions
1
u/Digwater 2d ago
This is Mike okay on YouTube. I very much recommend checking out his YouTube channel. Super awesome guy with a good outlook on life imo and super interesting seeing different perspectives of different cultures.
1
1
u/betacaretenoid 2d ago
This is what Trump wants in US. For all folk to worship him. Keep wishing, buddy.😂
1
u/hunchbacks001 2d ago
Someone check to see if these girls and their families are still alive or have been seen since after this interview.
1
u/CopyPasteRepeat 2d ago
Even when one girl agreed that girls are nicer I winced knowing that the leader of that gang (the one of the right) likely didn't think that was the correct answer. She will be punished.
1
u/stop-doxing-yourself 2d ago
The Nasser future for the US with the direction the current leadership is going
1
u/Colonel_Moopington 2d ago
MikeOkay's channel is amazing. Really loved his cross China trip with truckers.
1
1
1
4d ago
[deleted]
3
u/turkish__cowboy 4d ago edited 4d ago
Fuck Trump but it's an insult to the North Korean people suffering from lifelong persecution and agony to compare with the Trump presidency. Look at the first world countries under democratic backsliding for decades (Hungary, Turkey, Georgia, etc.) - it won't happen.
1
u/ranchojasper 4d ago
Hey quick question, how do you think it started?
How do you think it started, because you know it didn't go from freedom to this overnight, yeah?
Some of us are starting to really freak out here because we can't seem to get the point across that when every day is getting a little bit worse than the day before, we are marching in the wrong direction and we need to set the alarms off now because this is how all of this shit begins. This. What is happening right now is the beginning of the road to North Korea
1
u/turkish__cowboy 4d ago edited 4d ago
The US has a longstanding democratic tradition. Yet Trump is just another stupid populist. There's no proper indoctrination (I don't mean barring out LGBTQ+ rights from education, but rather building a regime/cult of personality), nor public support for his ideals.
I suggest you read some political science. For instance, authored by the MIT Professor Daron Acemoglu, The Narrow Corridor provides an extensive analysis regarding democratic backsliding, mainly in third world countries. That's just not how it works. Trump would sign some presidential decree, and it would happen (if not blocked by the SCOTUS or so). It doesn't mean the military, public servants and people actually support him to death.
Trump is just a paper tiger, thus I wouldn't take him serious. He doesn't have a loyal class, it's just some businesspeople playing political games. If he goes too serious in which it endangered the vital structure of the United States and its people, he would have been impeached. Abolished the Congress or formed loyal militias? Military would intervene and overthrow.
Comparing Trump presidency to what's happening in North Korea is indeed an insult to the North Korean people. It's not "just how it begins", no. It won't happen under any circumstance. The Nazis, Salazar's Portugal, Franco's Spain and the Mussolini were the last instances of something close to North Korea.
Yet if you're not a Jew or from an unwanted group, Nazi Germany was still centuries ahead of NK - even then, they just gassed people to death, eventually freeing them from the torture. People in North Korea receive 15-20 years of "labor camps", I urge you to research what happens there. It'd take too long to describe. But it isn't any better than Auschwitz. Stop comparing with the US under GOP office, seriously.
-1
u/TheCommonKoala 4d ago
You're kidding, right? He's illegally disappearing random people to gulags in El Salvador. Chill with the American exceptionalism trope
1
u/ranchojasper 4d ago
Right??? These past few days I have lost the ability to maintain my simmering panic underneath a veneer of pretending, because they have officially sent two innocent legal residents to a prison on another continent, admitted it, and then flatly stated that they don't give a shit and won't do anything to get these people back, and these idiot Trump supporters are still fucking supporting this administration and acting like the rest of us are fear mongering
Like this is it. This is the fucking line. This is the line. I'm in line for the majority of us was thousands of steps back, but anyone who is still actively supporting this administration and pretending like we are not marching towards literal Nazism after this is a fucking Nazi
1
u/omnompoppadom 4d ago
It’s funny how for Americans every video is really about America. Such narcissism
-1
u/ranchojasper 4d ago
Yes isn't it strange how when people see something that reminds them of something they're watching in their own country right now they think of that. Gosh how weird that people relate to media with their own personal experiences. It's all says that that's literally what every single person does
0
u/CrimsonGlyph 4d ago
Don't be. It won't. That's so crazy to think that way. He's only there for four years. Relax.
1
4d ago
!remind me, 4 years
4
u/CrimsonGlyph 4d ago
If it's as bad as you people think it is you won't even be here in four years since he's such a bigot lol
3
4d ago
I can't speak for everyone, but yeah - I think he's that bad. He's threatened to invade at least three allies in the last four weeks - even if nothing happens, it will be generations before anybody forgets this. Personally I will never consider the US an ally ever again, especially after seeing the content of that signal chat.
2
u/RemindMeBot 4d ago
I will be messaging you in 4 years on 2029-04-01 22:39:53 UTC to remind you of this link
CLICK THIS LINK to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam.
Parent commenter can delete this message to hide from others.
Info Custom Your Reminders Feedback
-1
1
u/cocacola_drinker 4d ago
What is this? Genuine videos in North Korea? Not expecting anything but orientalism on the comments, of course, but congratulations for the honesty!
0
u/ember1690 4d ago
Don't show this to Trump, he'll have his own version being performed at the Kennedy center
-3
u/therealdeathangel22 4d ago
The craziest shit is the whole time I was just thinking about how these people seem very MAGA....... the song at the end really sealed it for me, iv heard a few songs about trump like that already
-3
0
0
u/SallyNoMer 3d ago
I remember watching this. Two of the school girls were looking at him like he's stupid bc he dumbed down the way he spoke I'm assuming as if it were for their benefit. Some/They spoke English ( I'm not unmuting this guy annoyed me the whole time) at a higher level than the way he portrayed himself. He kept saying NK is open for tourists even tho it was explained to him in depth that the area he stayed in was for ppl from other countries that were engaging in business with NK. I couldn't take it seriously at all after he filmed himself rolling around in bed w messy hair talking to the cam as if it were a tiktok. I think he was allowed in bc he's too dumb to pick up on even half of what was going on around him.
-5
u/morganational 4d ago
You all know they are on a script, right? Reddit is pretty delusional, so I wanted to make sure this fact was known.
6
u/ranchojasper 4d ago
Yes that's literally what makes it so horrifying. Like are you not understanding that that's part of what stuff like this is pointing out?
-3
u/morganational 4d ago
Lol, are you for real? Yes, obviously I realize that which is why I stated it. You replied to the comment, lmao. 🤣🤦🏽♂️
1
u/turkish__cowboy 4d ago
It indeed is still quite exciting as it offers a close look into North Korean society. From almost not being allowed to record natives/public servants to interviews with students.
625
u/FireInPaperBox 4d ago
NK is like a giant commercial.