I don't full understand this whole North/South Korea thing - can someone explain it to me?

[KenAdams]

And why have America got involved. And what is the big deal about Chinas position?

I feel very thick

[currentbuns]

North Korea also has a State-sanctioned list of permissible hairstyles

[thebestpossibletaste]

very interesting thread, thanks for posting all the summaries, reading them with interest and will order the book for my Kindle.

[EmmaBemma]

"this whole North/South Korea thing"?! what are you - ten? Educate yourself. You shouldn't need someone off mumsnet to explain it in simple words for you.

To that end, I agree with Nothing to Envy recommendations. Also - Aquariums of Pyongyang, which was written by a concentration camp survivor. All the sniggering about North Korea you get in the west shamefully minimises the horrors suffered by the people who live under that evil regime.

[MarmaladeTwatkins]

Oh do piss off Emma. Every time I see you post, you're trying (and failing) to be ascerbic and to the point. You just come across as nasty and a bit of a bully.

[EmmaBemma]

eh? I think you might have got me mixed up with someone else, MarmaladeTwatkins. But, if not - pleased to meet you too!

[Uppatreecuppatea]

I think we all feel sorry for North Koreans. Those poor souls are probably the most suppressed people in the world.

This all looks like beaucoup bad shit though..

I clocked this a few weeks ago and said to DH, the world is only days away from Armageddon.

Doom, I know. But this is bad.

[MarmaladeTwatkins]

No, definitely not. I've been on the receiving end of your gob and I've seen you do it to others.

If you don't want to help or talk about the subject then just sod off. If we all just fucked off to Google instead of asking questions on MN, then it would be very quiet on here.

[EmmaBemma]

Really? Care to link me up, because I really don't recognise your name at all, and I can't even remember the last time I got into a ruck on here.

[MarmaladeTwatkins]

Why would I trawl through your millions of posts to link to one? I used to post under a different name and you were a bit of an arse to me then, for no reason at all. I'm not making it up, why would I?

Anyway, I just don't see the point in coming on to a thread to belittle the OP. There are plenty of us that don't mind explaining things so it's your problem!

[wintertimeisfun]

emma fwiw i thought your post for aggessive for no reason :)

[EmmaBemma]

I can guarantee that if I really was "a bit of an arse" to you, there would have been a bloody good reason. Even the briefest trawl through my posting record (as I don't change my name) would show I very rarely snark, and never just for the hell of it.

I wasn't "just" belittling KenAdams. I suggested helpful books! It does annoy me when people in the west show such perfunctory interest in the rest of the world - so yes, I guess I was exasperated. I'm sure KenAdams will get over it.

[CheerfulYank]

I agree, there's nothing wrong with not knowing something; at least the OP is trying to learn.

I started a thread asking someone to explain the whole Israel/Palestine thing to me not long ago.

God, it's all so scary. Most of us (Americans) just want all our soldiers to come home and the fighting to stop and for us to keep our beaks out of everything, seeing as we have enough going on in our country to keep us busy for quite some time.

[alcibiades]

Your comment, EmmaBemma, makes you sound a bit silly. The OP is already doing exactly what you're suggesting. She's educating herself by asking here.

[EmmaBemma]

"the whole Israel/Palestine thing"

Have you any idea how insultingly glib that sounds? This is my problem with this sort of thread really, in a nutshell, so thank you for illustrating it for me.

Basically, the OP is saying "I can't be bothered to find out any more about this hugely complex situation than ten minutes on a chat board can tell me". Though I suppose you could argue: why should she? I assume it doesn't affect her directly. I'm sure people in Seoul aren't finding time to get cross about the bedroom tax.

[HazeltheMcWitch]

In response to the latest statement from NK, that they have 'ratified a possible nuclear strike', the US have now announced that they are expediting the movement of a missile system to Guam*.

*In case anyone doesn't know what/where Guam is, it's a tiny island in the Pacific close to Japan. It's an 'unincorporated territory' of the USA, and its 2nd biggest revenue stream comes from the US military - it houses/hosts lots of US troops and firepower.

[MarmaladeTwatkins]

No, I distinctly remember. You were a twat for no real reason.

Anyway, it isn't up to you, or any of us, to dictate who can ask what on the internet. Mumsnet posters are very good at giving a potted history on things like this. Nothing wrong with asking at all. No need for the aggression and snarkiness just because the thread title wasn't worded to madame's liking, either.

[CheerfulYank]

Sigh.

Would you prefer I called it a conflict, or "horrendous shit happening overseas"?

Or should I continue on in ignorance and never ask?

[MarmaladeTwatkins]

Oh take no notice, Cheerful. There's always one, on every thread.

[PeneloPeePitstop]

I have that book I think. Or one similar. Was very informative, though I wasn't as aware of NK's historic close links with former USSR and China so have learned something.

[CheerfulYank]

I do realize how it could sound glib, and I apologize if it was taken that way. It wasn't my intention; I truly didn't know much about it and read conflicting viewpoints/information online. So I asked.

[PeneloPeePitstop]

I always find potted histories like this really useful as a starting point to y own research too.

[ckwkatie]

FWIW, by the OP asking this "glib" question, it has started an intellectual conversation with several people going on to order a book to educate themselves even further.

So, I don't really get why you've climbed onto your high horse on this one, either, Emma, other than the obvious "ooh this is AIBU, so I must top everyone in my narkiness and make people feel belittled and silly!"

[KenAdams]

Emma just deleted the long post I wrote to you to summarise with this

[ivykaty44]

what are you - ten? Educate yourself. You shouldn't need someone off mumsnet to explain it in simple words for you.

I have learnt a lot from this thread and I was already searching around for information about NK

it is surprising when someone comes along and asks a question how many people can come to a thread and add lot so informative links and excellent info about a subject that we wouldn't find on our own in an hour of googling but do when we all club together.

There is no need to be mean with comments to op about being ten years old and it does make you look like a school ground bully trying to put people down for not knowing something. Possibly you don't know how you come across but this is how it appears

[alcibiades]

Yes, the situation in Korea is very complex, as is the case in other parts of the world. One of the problems with understanding that, though, is that most history that's taught in the UK is focussed on the British Isles and incorporating the study of Western civilisation. Most history that's taught in the USA is focussed on the USA and incorporating the study of Western civilisation. There's very little or no focus on world history or, for that matter, on world geography.

Anyone who wants to learn more about what is going on in other parts of the world, and the historical/political reasons for that, has to start somewhere. Mumsnet isn't simply a chat board, it's also a very good resource for just about anything. There are many experts/academics/autodidacts who are more than willing to share their knowledge with anyone who wants to understand more.