The Secret Life under Kim Jong-il's North Korea

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Created by Daniel Turner (B.A. (Hons) in History, University College London)

[monarchist]

I’m half Korean on my Mother’s side. Her parents escaped North Korea on a wagon in the early 1960s. They had actually lived quite comfortably in a large house near Pyongyang. However, they felt things could worsen in the future and fled south. Their relatives decided to stay behind. I often wonder what became of them. My Gran seldom spoke of her homeland. She was born under Japanese occupation and then Communist rule. One day I hope the north will be free.

[KnightSlasher]

"How's North Korea"
"I can't complain"
"That's good"
"No I literally can't complain"

[frenchhonhon]

Being born in North Korea is the equivalent of starting a game on veteran difficulty.

[peterK]

I'm Korean and my grandfather on my mom side was an officer in North Korean Army in the Korean war era(1950) but he took his platoon and surrendered to south korean troops. He started a business in South Korea after the war and met my grandmother in Seoul. But according to my mom he would always cry in the middle of the night, being drunk, longing for his wife and children who were back in North Korea. And he suffered from a stroke for many years until he died when my mom was 14.

It is still hard to believe that I have a semi related family who I have never seen in North Korea and I don't even know if they are atill alive or executed.

[IndianaJenkins]

My professor is from South Korea, despite living in the USA, he is still registered for the SK military draft. If war breaks out with the North, he says he is honor bound to return to SK and join the fight.

[badwolf]

Wasn’t expecting the opening photo to be nickado avocado

[xiaoheluo]

No matter what we faced in our life, we should be thankful that we are not living in a gruesome country

[sumee]

“His 17 bodyguards verified his record breaking feat.” Of course they did; they didn’t wanna die!

[Furzkampfbomber]

I was born, grew up and lived in the GDR. My dad is a physician and worked in a huge hospital. This hospital often trained and educated doctors from other, socialist 'brother' countries. There were doctors from the USSR, some from countries like Nicaragua or El Salvador and then, in the early 1980's there was this doctor form North Korea.

I was still quite young at this time, but I still remember him. I remember a very nice, polite and quiet man, the brooch with the portrait of Kim Il-Sung that _every_ North Korean always wore on their lapel and that he was always in the mood for a joke. I remember that he bought everything he could get and took it home to North Korea - canned food, a cassette recorder, a water kettle; flar iron; hair dryer; cookware; pans; ... He was _never_ very open about that, but he always hinted that those things were... a scarce thing in North Korea.

And he brought gifts. There was that beautyful little porcellaine rabbit that is still sitting on my shelf and there was this book with pictures of North Korea, in the typical beautiful, almost photographic and slightly cheesy korean style, which I also still have. In this book, there were also pictures showing Kim-Il Sung, which always came with an extra page, containing a story from Kim Il-Sung's life, praising him and his feats to the skies. And every picture showing Kim-Il Sung comes with a broad gold edge.

I also have a book that explains the Juche ideology, praises the capable North Korean economy, industry and agricultural sector, shows _incredible_ export figures and also shows pictures of an industrial fair, as well as pictures of Kim Jong-Il visiting said fair. Those pictures also have the broad gold edge _and_ it's quite striking that all pictures are black and white and often quite grainy, whereas the pictures showing Kim Jong-Il are in high resolution and in color.

I was quite used to a certain level of personality cult as a citizen of the GDR, but _this_ was and is a whole new level.

Sorry for this wall of text, in case you've made it this far; thanks a lot for your patience and interest, but I thought this is an interesting bit of information that I thought I should share.

[TheChiefonator]

I find it hilarious that he was a fan of James Bond. Seeing as how he is basically a real life bond villan

[jareds.]

I appreciate how the thumbnail makes the Kim family look like a bunch of mukbang YouTubers

[joshhdebolt]

Rare fact he actually invited Larry Bird and challenged him to a 3 point contest. Larry said in an interview with time magazine he's never been more humiliated in his life.

[lindagodfrey]

Peaktu mountain is actually a volcano that has experienced very large eruptions (VEI 7) in the past, which is why there is a lake in the middle of it, the lake formed from the collapse and formation of the caldera.

[aliefabdurrahman]

1. (0:08) Kim Jong il vs Starving masses in North Korea 1993-2011(18 years)
2. (9:57) The Sokcho Submarine Incident
3. (17:27) Kinong dong North Korean Potemkin Village 1950-present.
4. (25:08) Choi Eun-hee and Shin Sang-ok An Actor and Actress who kidnapped by north Korean government to make a North Korean movie.

[lucianoosorio]

MacArthur: Nuke em!
Truman: No!
MacArthur: NUKE EM!
Truman: NO!
MacArthur: AH COME ON!
Truman: You’re fired!

[KairosRabbit]

Forcing people to cry for someone is just sad

[allys]

The clip of Kim Jon Ill kickin the golf ball into the hole never ceases to make me laugh 🤣✋

[Matteus]

It seems so absurd as to be comical, but Choi Eun-Hee and Shin Sang-ok's ordeal must have been nightmarish. They could have been killed at any moment.

[eisbergsyndrom]

"But what if I were to purchase fastfood and disguised it as my own cooking? Ohohoho, delightfully devilish, Jong-Il."

[IsmaelLovecraft]

Little-know fact: Kim is the true author of The Shining and all of Stephen King's supposed best novels, and of the Harry Potter series, and the real reason that no new Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) books have been published since 2011, a dozen years, is because Kim died before he finished the series.