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Are these facts about North Korea true?
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I came across this article on Stumbleupon.com, and it really surprised me.
Are these facts actually true, or are they exaggerated? I understand that the country is very different from the US or Europe, where I live, but some of those seem very extreme.
Does anyone have any confirmations or so?
Thank you!
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the army numbers may be a little light. last I was tracking, they have 900,000 active duty servicemembers along the DMZ. usual rule of thumb when it comes to armies is to have at least 2-3 times that in reserve. the U.S. army stands right now at approximately 550,000 active duty, and we have about twice that for a reserve force. Numbers aside, the DPRK has the largest active armor and artillery forces in the world. in 2005, they had twice as many tanks(6,000 to our ~3,000) and somewhere in that neighborhood when it comes to artillery pieces.
However, most of their equipment is outdated garbage. If the north ever came across the DMZ, U.S. Forces Korea, and the ROK army would make the battle of 73 easting look like a fair fight in comparison. though that has to go with the asterisk attached that the allied forces survive the ungodly artillery barrage that would precede any such attack. My buddies that have been stationed on the DMZ all say the same thing: the DPRK army is a Juggernaut, on paper.
If you field a large Armor force on the battlefield, your primary concern is fuel. T-55s and T-62s, like every tank that has ever been made, have their fuel efficiency measured in Gallons per Mile. those wonderful pictures of downtown pyongyang attest to this. The North has been isolated since the end of the cold war, so, no traffic on the streets- not surprising. Last I heard, they have enough fuel for thirty days of combat operations. this is a best-case scenario, seeing as how the allied air forces would be bombing the hell out of every fuel dump they can find as soon as things kick off.
The crazy bird-chested bastards are on display at several points along the border where conference rooms are maintained right on the border for high profile meetings. the north korean guards are probably some of the best-fed minions in that country, and they're all skinny as hell.
with regards to the children being taught to shoot targets that depict american servicemembers, this is not something unique to the DPRK. Russian children are still taught to shoot AKs at school. The Japanese, during the endgame of the second world war, taught their kids to fight with Lances, yes, fucking Lances, against the "imperialist Americans".
The rest of those statistics make sense. ABC went with that eye doctor, and filmed a lot of the creepy shit that goes on there, including those propaganda radios. I've heard their prison camps take up about 3% of their nation's landmass, but I can't confirm that. When you're dealing with shit in the real world (yes, the U.S. and Europe are living in nice little fairy-tale lands in relation to the cruel reality in the rest of the planet), its not hard to believe that shit like this is taking place. At some point, The north's economy is going to collapse, or there is going to be a massive coup. who knows what the hell will happen then.. the german reunification was bad enough, but the DPRK never had much in the way of industry in the first place, so economically speaking, its going to be hell. As for the people- deprogramming those crazy brainwashed bastards is going to be the biggest psychological experiment ever. their "Dear Leader" is their entire world, just imagine how they're going to feel when all of that goes away.
If you want to know more, the U.S. state deparment has briefings on every country in the world on their website for travellers. pretty informative stuff.
have fun
-Gunner
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North Korea is a very different place, and it is quite extreme. A very good example of a true, current and complete dictatorship.
Lots of this list is true, but some of its exaggeration, out of date info or just plain unknowable facts.
It's true that independent travel in North Korea is not allowed. Visitors are required to travel as part of guided, official tours, and stay with their guides at all time.
Many of these tours begin at the Grand Monument on Mansu Hill, which is a statue of the late President Kim Il Sung, father of the current leader Kim Jong-il. So that part of laying flowers at the dear leader statue isn't a rule, but is does happen on of many of the tours it is possible to take.
I suspect the whole 'you can't turn off your radio, only down' is a myth. However, it is true that North Korean radios and televisions must be modified to only receive government stations with special state departments, the can be inspected at random, and tampering with them is illegal.
There is very little access to the internet in North Korea, only a few internet cafes in the capital city, access for the very wealthy and for foreigners in hotels. Like everything else, content is strictly controlled by the government.
North Korea lifted the ban on cell phones in 2008.
Dogs are banned in the capital city.
I can't find any reliable confirmation or citation about the comment of six-day work week or mandatory 'volunteering' a day a week, but it seems bit unlikely that it is completely true. South Korea had a six-day work week until mid-2000s, so it was likely true of the north and may still be in true, but the majority of the population in North Korea are struggling just to survive, so there really is no such thing as a 'day off' from making sure you've got enough to eat. This is probably a bit of an exaggeration and over-simplification on the part of the person who made this list. Over 8 million North Koreans are in the reserve forces of the army (and they are drafted to be so) so they are both in the army and have civilian careers. This might account for the idea of a forced volunteering day.
The part about postage stamps showing the murdering of American soldiers – That’s true. It’s from a 2005 report. Anti-American sentiment does run rampant and is encouraged by the Government. Americans citizens are not allowed in North Korea, not even as tourists.
Given how completely closed off North Korea is, there really aren’t many reliable stats, so I don’t think it’s really possible to comment on the daily wage or prison population accurately. Those numbers might be true, but I think it’s good to take them with a grain of salt.
The fourth largest army bit is true. There are over one million professional soldiers, and a reserve force of over 8 million.
Power outages, especially at night, are said to be common and expected.
It has been reported by a few sources that most if not all of the traffic cops are female (make sense, if you draft pretty much every available young man into the army right?) I think the comment about being selected for their beauty smells like bullshit.
Anyways, that's my quick rundown of my own fact-checking. Easy enough to do. But the best information will come from current books. There are few defectors from NK, but some have written about their experiences. That will likely give you the most reliable view into everyday life in that country.
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Hey,
The only way to find out is to ask someone who's lived there. Who knows? May be true, may be exaggerated.
K
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