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

[MarmaladeTwatkins]

Very well said, alcibades.

[HoHoHoNoYouDont]

Everything ivykaty just said. I've found this thread really interesting and have just bought one of the recommended books.

[Itsaboatjack]

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

^^ me too. I couldn't have picked North or South Korea out on a map if you'd asked me earlier tonight. Now I can, Ive read all the links so i understand more already and I've just downloaded the book on my Kindle and about to go off and read it. So thank you for posting this Ken.

And also Cheerful I learnt a lot on your Israel/ Palestine thread as well.

[HoHoHoNoYouDont]

I reckon sales of that book will go through the roof tonight

[QueenOfCats]

I've found this thread really interesting and will be getting the book on my kindle too.

[Pigsmummy]

YABU to put this in aibu and not chat

[BadgersNadgers]

I have two hundred questions

1 if Japan were occupying NK at the end of WWII, how did Russia/China gain control?

2 This is probably silly but how can Kim Jong Whatevs afford all this nuclear stuff? Presumably he's living off the backs of his subjects (?) but how does the country make money?

[ivykaty44]

The same way russia gained control of half of germany - USA took there eye of the ball and let them walk in to Korea, plus they didn't have enough man power to be in germany pushing one way and in the eat pushing in the other way.

at the end of ww2 USA wasn't aware the push for land that Russia was goign to make and that was why they got half of germany - the wall went up - it was pretty much the same the other side of russia

Japan fell after the bombs came down and russia and china walked in as Japan wasn't there to stop them

[ScrambledSmegs]

A couple of things from the book that I found really interesting about N/S Korea - the border was pretty much just drawn on a map by someone. No natural borders ie river, mountains. Just a line, drawn across the middle of the country . How dumb is that?

And N Korea is not an undeveloped, 3rd world country. It is a developed country that became 3rd world. The remnants of that former relatively advanced life are everywhere in N Korea, according to the testimonies of those former North Koreans living in exile.

Emma - come on, people are interested. Why is that a problem?

[ivykaty44]

Kim Jong Um

he gets his diplomats to sell drugs - or maybe that is propaganda from europe, but it was in the press last week....

[DollyTwat]

I've learnt lots from this thread. I didn't take much interest in history at school, but now I'm a bit of a news hound so tend to learn my history backwards. If that makes sense.

I only learn from real situations, so I find out what's happening now and then how we got here

Please don't stop explaining. I will download that book too

[ivykaty44]

www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/08/11/139556457/drug-dealing-counterfeiting-smuggling-how-north-korea-makes-money

[DollyTwat]

I have many Iranian friends, the way they explain the us involvement in the conflict there is very interesting. If you don't ask you don't get all the info

[KenAdams]

HoHoHo I'm going to keep an eye on the Kindle chart and see how great the power of MN really is!

[tethersend]

My friend runs tours to NK if anyone's interested?

Although they might be off for a bit...

[KenAdams]

After watching that propaganda video, I do wonder if what our media is reporting is 100% accurate now.

[cocolepew]

Very interesting thread. I'll download the book on payday

[DollyTwat]

Interesting isn't it! Because the video, whilst most of the narrative is laughable, does show how 'some' people live

If you show how the poor, homeless are treated then its true. Even in the UK you could put together a completely factual video that showed a similar story

So is what we believe about NK correct?

[vivizone]

The book 'Nothing to Envy' is fantastic. I have also read 'Escape from Camp 14', which is also another good book.

Great thread op. When I want to learn about something I deem complex, I use the children section on the BBC to explain it to me in simple terms. I then move on to adult literature.

Learn in any way you're comfortable in. Do not let people try to shame you when you're trying to learn. It is just ignorance on their part.

[tethersend]

I'm reading Escape from Camp 14 at the moment, vivizone... It's unrelentingly awful, isn't it?

[vivizone]

It is. I became quite obsessed with NK after reading it. I then felt so powerless/depressed about the misery that is NK, I had to stop reading about it.

[BadgersNadgers]

Thank you Ivy and Scrambled. It's fascinating and horrifying to learn about this kind of oppression, I guess it is like China twenty years ago - not that I'd want to be in China right now.

[PeneloPeePitstop]

Hmm... How many people drink snow?

[ivykaty44]

dolly - what do your Irainian friends have to say about NK and USA?

[DollyTwat]

Lol I didn't mean that Penelope!
If you didn't have the narrative at all, well, yes some people in the us do live rough
It's meant to show that's how all Americans live PBS with a laughable story to go with it, yes. But. There are homeless and poor. We can't deny that. I don't know enough about NK to know how their homeless live.

Or are most people pretty destitute? In guessing the video is meant to show life is WORSE