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[SUPREME1]

Pyongyang has a nicer public pool than my town.

Public? Guaranteed only a select few can visit this place.

 

[hym]

You know, I've never been to America. Maybe the North Korean video is the first time I actually saw what's really going on over there :O

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7Kq78G2nxA

In case that somebody does again believe this is legit North Korean propaganda.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/...korea-fake-video_n_2868121.html?utm_hp_ref=tw

An English-dubbed version of an apparent North Korean propaganda video that went viral online this week turned out to be a big joke.

The man behind the farce? British travel writer Alun Hill, who doesn't speak a word of Korean.

Hill told The Huffington Post over the phone Wednesday that he received the original video from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, which said it depicts the failure of European democracy.

Although Hill's version was published by a range of media sites, including Mediaite, Wired, BuzzFeed, The Week, Slate, The Daily Caller, Yahoo, Telegraph and The Washington Post, it seems none of them traced it back to Hill's YouTube page.

There, Hill clearly titled the video "North Korea Comedy Show: How Americans Live Today, Survive By Eating Birds And Snow." The video is also listed in the "Comedy" and "Entertainment" sections on YouTube, rather than as "News."

Public? Guaranteed only a select few can visit this place.

I assume you were denied entry or are simply guessing?
22 Students swim and play on a water slide at a pool facility at Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang, North Korea, on April 13, 2011. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

 

[Nekofrog]

Not trying to start something, but looking at metrics such as (admittedly outdated) HDI numbers and life expectancy rates, it doesn't seem like North Korea is that bad compared to many of the world's developing countries. Obviously South Korea is more advanced, but North Korea's HDI in the last reported figures (1995... so yeah) was .766, which in 2013's ranking would put it at 66th in the world, above the likes of Brazil and Turkey. In terms of life expectancy as of 2011 it's 123rd of 198 at 69 years from birth, which again although not great isn't too shabby.

I guess we have to question the validity and reliability of the metrics and the data pretty strongly in this case. That said, the media seems to perpetuate the idea that North Korea is practically hell on earth, but is that really true? (well I guess if you get sent to one of the camps it is, but anyway...)

nice try, kim jong un...

 

[Kinyou]

In case that somebody does again believe this is legit North Korean propaganda.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/...korea-fake-video_n_2868121.html?utm_hp_ref=tw

Oh, didn't know that.

 

[ultim8p00]

Yes and do you think that means they instantly think it's a better way of life?

They're gonna think South Korea (and the rest of the west) are controlled by Americans, subjected to propaganda, programmed by capitalism to make other people rich, obsessed with image to the point that they modify their bodies with surgery, subject to crime and disorder, etc.

There is a video on the internet, purported to be from North Korea (for an audience of Westerners), that depicts everything from people lining up for iPhones to Fox News as evidence that America is the worst place on earth (even if they are better fed).

I'm not sure if this actually is from NK, but in any case, it shows how it's perfectly possible to spin a western lifestyle as the most depraved... and how N. Korean life could be spun as preferable.



Interestingly, that's exactly the same as the US. 0.743% of Americans are in jail.

This video, despite being propaganda, has a lot of truths in it actually.

 

[bonercop]

This video, despite being propaganda, has a lot of truths in it actually.

It isn't actually NK propaganda. It was just a clever way to frame the documentary.

Which, like you said, raises a lot of very valid points.

 

[RedSwirl]

Japan emerged, rebuilt and expanded itself from WW2 with financial backing from the US. North Korea emerged from the Korean War relying on industrialisation of it's resources to expand as a nation. It grew quicker than the South initially but then stalled because it has no real industry or vast amount of resources to speak of. And since neither China or the Soviet Union could support it in a meaningful way, it's growth has basically stalled for about 40 years. Like the person who compared it to Greece, the differing economic situation of the country's are much too different to make a valid comparison.

That's kind of my point though. You can't blame lack of development on geography.

 

[Slayven]

This has been an interesting thread. Big ups to Chitown and Talon for their informative posts.

 

[DanteFox]

I'm going to start using "sampling bias" as a counter argument anytime someone presents evidence that counters my claim.