Eating dog is whatever, I would try it. Paying your respects to two of the worst men of the last 100 years is gross.
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Giant Bomb Thread 2: A thread on a popular internet message board
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Eating dog is whatever, I would try it. Paying your respects to two of the worst men of the last 100 years is gross.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
If you want to condemn eating dog you also might as well condemn eating meat altogether too.
If I was in that country, I would do as little as humanly possible to rock the boat as well. Maybe it was the only way they were able to see the resting place.
thunker 9000
Member
I dont think he was in ANY position to decline. 0_o
XANDER CAGE
Member
When in Rome, etc. North Korea probably isn't the best place in the world to get stubborn about your personal political beliefs.
Yeah, hard to say what the situation was, I definitely wasn't there. He didn't seem to indicate that he was forced to do it though.
chickdigger802
Banned
clapping and waving are common techniques used in hypnosis...
StopMakingSense
Member
The Vice dudes had to do it too in their video piece, i don't think it's very optional.
StevePharma
Member
It's part of the deal. You know this if you go to the country and if you don't do it in N. Korea you are in trouble. If you have issues with it then don't go.
Same thing when going to the Vatican or a mosque as a woman, except without the totalitarian regime checking you out every second
Yup. Vinny asked if he had to, and Drew said "yes" and that he also had to wear a tie, it sounds like they informed him of it well ahead of time.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
Presumably if you have ideological differences, you wouldn't be taking a tour to the country in the first place.
Friend of mine went to NK last year and from what he told me, they don't directly force you to do stuff but they make it very clear what the appropriate behavior looks like.
Drew knew about that before he went and the fact that he did everything to not try to do anything that would rub them in the wrong way isn't really an indication for anything. He said he didn't want to do anything wrong because he didn't want the company to get into trouble so I think that plays a huge part in it as well.
giantbomb are terrorist sympathizers confirmed
firehawk12
Subete no aware
You mean CBS!
The Dutch Slayer
Member
Here we go see you all in 2 hours from now!
slaughterking
Member
Watched the DPRK vid last night. Totally cemented Drew's position as a top tier Giant Bomb dude.
Yeah and just the discussion with the other guys was great to listen to. Vinny cracking up some jokes, Brad bringing in some knowledge and Ryan asking great questions. Really neat stuff. I find that listening to them talk about stuff completely unrelated to games is more often than not much more entertaining.
"And then they gassed the crowd"
EarsOfASnake
Member
I see it has been recommended already but the 'Vice Guide' video series on North Korea is a great watch even just to soak in the atmosphere that photos can't capture.
I find the way that NK likes to think it is giving outsiders an experience that is so superior to everything else completely fascinating, it really is like being sent back in a time machine. Representatives from NK for sporting events outside the nation must have their minds blown when they see life elsewhere.
I find the way that NK likes to think it is giving outsiders an experience that is so superior to everything else completely fascinating, it really is like being sent back in a time machine. Representatives from NK for sporting events outside the nation must have their minds blown when they see life elsewhere.
I should be doing hw
Member
Are premium videos forever premium? Or do they become free after a set period of time?
I really think people should sign up for the premium just to watch this video. It's not video game related, but I'll be damned if it's not one of the most interesting piece of content I've seen on the internet. I am still surprised to hear about what Drew saw when he went there. I've heard stories of people who actually managed to escape North Korea, it's weird hearing what he experienced when he was over there.
I can't help but still be in awe from some of those pictures though. Never seen North Korea from that perspective before. From what Drew said, the whole idea of doing things on their own, and keeping out outside influence is understandable to a point. It's just flawed because of the fucking assholes that have been running the country for decades.
I can't help but still be in awe from some of those pictures though. Never seen North Korea from that perspective before. From what Drew said, the whole idea of doing things on their own, and keeping out outside influence is understandable to a point. It's just flawed because of the fucking assholes that have been running the country for decades.
The asssholes only want to keep outside influences out so they can stay in power. Kind of the same with the whole 'reunification' thing. From an outsider point of view, it's very obvious that people who actually believe that are completely brainwashed by propaganda.
It's almost as interesting as if the curtain was completely lifted, in my opinion. Seeing such a carefully constructed version of a country, specifically one that westerners are meant to be able to relate to, seems like it would be just as telling as the cracks and minor missteps that foreigners aren't supposed to see. Nonstop waving and mushroom shaped potatoes are funny in of itself, but they also speak volumes about what they think we value and the extremely limited resources available to meet that vision. So many contradictions, it would be even more fascinating if the DPRK wasn't such a human rights nightmare underneath the facade.
Edit: This look inside North Korea from National Geographic really struck a chord for me. They follow a doctor on a goodwill mission who heals an incredible number of patients from cataracts, and in the end when the bandages come off they all run up to thank a picture of Kim Jong Il for helping them, each more forcefully than the next. It's like they're trying to convince themselves as much as the cameras and party officials. Chilling stuff.
The Dutch Slayer
Member
@ the drew vacation video =
This was amazing and fascinating to watch god dam I'm proud to be a premium member!
This was amazing and fascinating to watch god dam I'm proud to be a premium member!
The 'reunification as the ultimate goal' thing was interesting/tragic because -- and excuse my speculation! -- the assumption there is that it's reunification under DPRK's terms and vision. Which is, just, never going to happen with the current regime. The country's population are entire generations into it now and the place just screams liminality (a term describing getting caught, frozen, in a transition period and being especially susceptible to accepting poor leadership without question).
Also, might this be the crazy-talented percussion girl that Drew mentioned?
Xylophone
Drums
Also, might this be the crazy-talented percussion girl that Drew mentioned?
Xylophone
Drums
EarsOfASnake
Member
It would be interesting to know what the regimes understanding of western, hell, world culture actually is. Are they as disconnected from the world as they demand 'their' people be or do they 'enjoy' parts of our culture on the sly? I can't imagine that being the case seeing as their societal framework is still stuck with the 50's era paranoia that encourages 'togetherness' through military strength but it wouldn't surprise me.
From what I can tell, privileged members of the government and military likely enjoy all sorts of things ordinary citizens cannot even know about - Kim Jong Il was a huge fan of Hollywood movies and Hennessy for example, and would spend fortunes on DVD's and liquor. He had a bunch of odd vices. One of the few things we know about Kim Jong-un is that he liked videogames and basketball while being schooled abroad. They're a bunch of hypocrites.
Pyccko
Member
Totally. Didn't Kim Jong-Il's other son get caught going to Tokyo Disney, and deported out of Japan? He was on track to succeed Kim Jong-Il as leader until that incident. What a silly bunch of dudes.
If you live in an area where a western tourist is likely to visit, chances are that you're not the kind of people that the government is actually all that worried about.
EarsOfASnake
Member
Yup and after a little research (wikipedia) he and his other siblings were educated abroad and one seen at an Eric Clapton concert.
What are you referring to?
Everyone needs to watch this. It should be in schoool, it's probably already in some. That chick, or her sister or something, later got arrested and was held in NK for a long ass time... I think it was Bill Clinton who negotiated for her to come home...
this is off the top of my head, I could be totally wrong.
Anyway they showed that to us during military training.
The whole area foreigners are allowed to visit is basically a real life version of the Truman Show.
The annexation.
EmCeeGramr
Member
To get an extreme contrast to what they showed Drew, here's a story about a man who escaped from a prison camp when he was 23 years old. He was born in the camp: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/mar/16/escape-north-korea-prison-camp
SteveWinwood
Member
My one complaint is that Ryan never shut up. He was never funny (unlike Vinny), never steered it anywhere it wasn't going already or anywhere interesting, and his constant cursing cheapened the whole thing. I'd love to show that to my parents as they'd find it super interesting, but after the second Ryan fuck I can already hear my dad saying 'what's with this jackass?'
He didn't do anything other than bring a near perfect video down.
It was still super awesome.
He didn't do anything other than bring a near perfect video down.
It was still super awesome.
What a fantastic video - and props to Drew for not wanting to speculate. Yes, he's technically not a journalist, but sharing your experience live with 2000+ people could easily be considered a journalistic thing to do. Koryo Tours' FAQ clearly states what potential issues it could cause, so I'm glad Drew didn't risk ruining the opportunity for anyone else who would like to go - even if the chances of any NK official watching this video is miniscule. Also, you could tell Brad was really eager to ask more great questions, but knew it was probably best off-camera. Dude seems to have a genuine interest in east Asia.
Also, you guys should check out the latest Tested podcast - Brad is always at his best when he gets to talk about other subjects like space and tech (probably appreciates the change after having to talk about video games for all these years).
Also, you guys should check out the latest Tested podcast - Brad is always at his best when he gets to talk about other subjects like space and tech (probably appreciates the change after having to talk about video games for all these years).
CrunchinJelly
formerly cjelly
"Hello my name is Ryan Davis and during this 2 hour video I will mostly be talking for the sake of talking"
Foliorum Viridum
Banned
It's what makes Ryan a shit Bombcast/TNT host too.
Jeff makes the Bombcast/TNT better and would have handled the NK thing better too, I bet.
Jeff makes the Bombcast/TNT better and would have handled the NK thing better too, I bet.
Yeah, Ryan really bothered me during the first half hour or so as he didn't seem to realize we were there to hear from Drew, not him, but thankfully he settled down a bit in the second half. He came across very excited/giddy, which is understandable, but there were a couple times when he would cut Drew off mid-thought (which is the worst thing a host can do IMO) causing him to get sidetracked and never finish said thought.
Hopefully more of the crew will learn how to use the studio as there are certain types of content that better suit the other personalities.
B_Rik_Schitthaus
Banned
''I though of something I though was funny, but it isn't!!!!''
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