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Today I was shocked again when a teenage student asked me if I've been there. Um..... NO. I was shocked before when my dietician said that you could buy a ticket and go there.... Um... NO.
Guys, Don't you know????? What do you study in Italy??? It really shocked me that these people didn't know about North Korea. I really hope I don't have to explain to someone again that North Korea is a closed country. You need special permission to enter and then you will probably only be able to visit or see a part of the country that they let you see. They will not show you the almost daily public executions or the kids on the streets with no shoes in below freezing weather or the camps where they force you to work and hardly feed you.
You will probably be shown some beautiful views and the girls who were given up to the government by their families in exchange for school and food. If you have a beautiful daughter you have a chance to give her up to join the other girls and be trained in singing and dancing, a brilliant kind of marketing or propaganda. They learn songs about how great and rich North Korea is and their President is. It's said that it's a good job and they are fed well.
There are only a few TV channels if you have a TV and if you're lucky you might have one and also a rotary phone. You can't buy a cell (it's illegal)l. The TV's and radios only let you see/hear a few government stations. If you tamper with your radio or TV and try to get more stations you can be killed, if found out.
If you try to escape you will either be sent to the camps or publicly executed. There are only a few who are well off and the others are living in WW2 conditions. You may have some land that you farm with the other people in your village but the military will come and take your food and if you couldn't grow enough crops because there's a quota you could be severely punished. This information about North Korea is common knowledge in S. Korea and Japan. There are people who have been to North Korea and come back with footage. Some of these people were spies and some were Jounalists who entered under pretense and were not permitted to film but did secretly.Some have managed to escape and tell their story. Also, there is so much corruption and some guards and people can be bribed.
Anyway, I've seen some footage on Japanese TV and heard a lot from my S. Korean friends and this year there has been more coverage on this issue in America as well. Not so much here in Italy though. That makes me a little sad. I really hope things can change and also that the Chinese change their attitude as well. You see, if you are in China and you see a North Korean escapee (they look different and can't speak Chinese) you must report them to the authorities and they will be killed or handed over to North Korea where they will be killed or put in the camps.
For escapees who get assylum or refugee status in another country. usually in South Korea it is difficult to adjust and therapy is needed. Also, they may be descriminated against and looked at with suspicion.South Korean is different than North Korean, like a differet dialect. Well, I wrote this for those who didn't know.... now you know. Spread the word.