Econstudentlog

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Pictures from North Korea

“Today’s pictures” in slate are from North Korea.

Three pictures that didn’t make the cut:

nk1.gif

nk3.jpg

nk2.jpg

…

Update:

If you haven’t already watched The Vice Guide to North Korea, please do. It’s by far the best piece on NK I have seen.

Update ii:

Here’s The Economist on the next food crisis that is about to come. Here’s another article on the same subject from earlier this year. A quote from the latter: People are forced on to the black market, where rice has shot up from 860 won (about $6) a kilo a year ago to 3,100 today. Income per head is perhaps $500 a year.

It looks to me as if the story from the 90′es is about to repeat itself. People don’t have enough to eat as it is, so they don’t have the surplus (or the incentives) necessary to sow new crops. Which means that next years harvest will fail badly, no matter what the weather will be like, even if of course the weather will be blamed by the apologists of the regime. Meanwhile, as the situation unfolds, the government will do everything it can to disrupt the market from functioning properly, making it even harder for the starved North Koreans to get food. You must remember here that it isn’t the high food prices that’s the problem: It’s what’s causing them. High prices are simply the market’s way of signalling scarcity, nothing else. The regime is to blame for the scarcity. This year’s scarcity, and next year’s, the weather has very little to do with this. The regime has driven up the price of rice by dismantling the free market, and at the same time it has kicked out all releaf agencies in the country. It has deliberately been killing people. It will continue to do so next year. Don’t apologize for what these people do to their countrymen.

september 9, 2007 - Skrevet af US | North Korea, socialism | | 8 Kommentarer

8 Kommentarer »

  1. I recently saw a documentary on North Korea. I was so much moved seeing this on National Geographic/Discovery, I don’t exactly remember the channel. Its really hard to believe that North Korea which is so much advanced in the field of Nuclear weapons is such a backward country indeed. The lives of the people in NK is so pathetic. The government rather i should say the ruler of NK is solely responsible for this type of crisis. He should focus spendin on the betterment of his people rather than spend on himself and on the military. I believe from what i have seen that he lives a life of a millionaire with all the things for his comfort and makes his people live in hell with children affected the most. Malnutrition is at its peak with people even getting blind. Really a shame on humanity. People of NK should revolt and its their right to have a better life. I don’t know why people are leading such a life of slavery in their own country. i can’t prefer such a life, i would prefer to die rather to lead such a life in confinement with no freedom of speech/right. My country (India) is 1000000 times better than this nuclear advanced country. Every person in India is free and is proud of his country. We love our country a lot and will die for it and this is not out of fear, which i think is the case with North Koreans. They can’t revolt, they can’t say a word against their ruler, they love their country out of fear (which they won’t admit, but its the truth. People run out of NK to china and South Korea for freedom and for a better life.) The ruler should be brought down and humanity should prevail. I am totally against human beings treated so badly. I believe that many animals lead a better life than people in North Korea. This country (the ruler) is a shame on the map.

    Comment af B. Santosh | februar 6, 2008 | Svar

  2. Western media offers often a distorted image very far from the reality. Horrific news sell better than every day’s reality even if they need to *embelish* it.

    As a former resident of a former communist country (Romania) is was amazed how many inventions were in the western newspapers.
    Just an example, there were allegations that Romania has nuclear weapons and co-operates with Saddam’s Irak to offer them the same arsenal. After the fall of the communism, it became obvious that there where no such weapons in Romania. After Irak’s invasion it became obvious that there were no such weapons in Irak either. (North Korea is different, they do have such weapons.)

    A good example of exageration is the picture of the skinny woman in the above picture. The guy who *processed* the woman’s body was so dumb he forgot to *proces* her face too. That’s NOT the face of a starving person, even though it doesn’t express any happiness. Same about the children’s faces. Also, you cannot see a woman’s ribs through her breasts no matter how starwed she is.
    As about the third photography, with the explosion, it’s definitely NOT from North Korea, they conducted their experiments underground. There was no visible explosion, only seismographs were able to detect it.

    Generally speaking the quality of life in communist regimes was and is miserable but not as miserable as the trick photos try to suggest it. Actually most people living in those countries don’t even realize how low is their quality of life. They never lived under a different regime and they don’t know that there is possible to have a significantly different life. The communist propaganda makes every possible effort to keep them blindfolded. For this reason they don’t fell sory not having a life they don’t even suspect may exist. They actually feel sory about the Americans who are unemployed, must pay for medical care and education and must live among gangsters, killers and drug dealers. That’s what they can read from the papers and see on TV about USA.

    North Korea is the worst from all comunist regimes, his leader should be hanged. But let’s not be stupid to buy any invention the imagination of the western journalists can create.

    Comment af Relu | marts 6, 2008 | Svar

  3. Relu:

    i) I never said the last picture was taken in NK, I know very well it wasn’t, NK has only conducted one test and that one took place underground. I didn’t write this explicitly because I kinda’ expected everyone to know that.
    Here’s what that last picture was intended to do: Be part of a story. The three pictures were meant to tell a story: Look at the first two, look how happy the women and children are; then look at the last one to figure out what the money they could have spent on food, were they allowed to keep it for themselves, was used for instead.

    ii) NK is not even remotely similar to Eastern Europe post Stalin and no-one I know claims it to be so. To compare NK to something from the past, you need to go back to Russia under Stalin or Lenin, or China under Mao. Yes, it’s that bad.

    iii) You don’t have any idea what you are talking about when it comes to the physiological consequenses of starvation, what you are saying is demonstrably untrue. Breasts are mostly made of fat (and gland tissue). When people don’t get enough to eat, they rely primarily on their fat reserves to stay alive – that’s why fat people who go on a diet with a lower calory intake loose weight and lower their body fat percentage. You don’t need to go to NK to see cases as severe as the one on the picture; people who die because of untreated anorexia nervosa do not look much different.

    If you think these pictures do not tell the truth, that they are photoshopped or what not, you either don’t know what you’re talking about, or you are a liar. Either way, you should not post long comments about the subject. However, at least lack of knowledge is treatable: Read some stuff about the subject.

    iv) Not everyone behind the curtain was relatively happy living in blissfull ignorance. Those that were not were actually one of the main reasons why the curtain came down. But again – you can’t compare Poland 1980 with NK 2008, it just doesn’t make any sense. People in NK risk their lives trying to escape to China for *** sake – a country where you have almost no civil liberties, where people are incarcerated for speaking up against the regime and where you run a great risk being sent back over the border to be killed, even if your escape attempt is succesful.

    …

    Is this a fake too?

    Comment af US | marts 10, 2008 | Svar

  4. Relu: You need to learn how to spell correctly. The Communist country you came from obviously didn’t give it’s people a proper education. Every Communist country is bad and treat their people like dirt.The only reason you sound sympathetic for the Communist party is because if you say something bad about the party, the government will find you and kill you probably. YOU SMELL.

    Comment af Kevin | maj 29, 2008 | Svar

  5. Relu- You are a captive of your government. I live in America and can do whatever I want whenever I want. A WOMEN and BLACK man are the top nominees to win the presidential election. Why? Because America is free and we don’t give a fuck! PARTY ON. BITCHES ALL OVER MY NUTS!!

    Comment af kevin | maj 29, 2008 | Svar

  6. [...] via Econstudentlog. Story via Harper’s Weekly Review. plug this [...]

    Pingback af north korean hunger-fighting super-noodles | august 26, 2008 | Svar

  7. I am sorry that the USA produce’s Kevins, not all Americans are like him.

    Comment af Joshua | september 23, 2008 | Svar

  8. Also, the ability to spell in no way demonstrates intelligence.

    Best Example is Einstein who failed grammar and spelling in school, and was an atrocious speller as an adult

    Comment af Joshua | september 23, 2008 | Svar


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