North Korea Detains U.S. Student for a 'Hostile Act' - Polidicks

[URL="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-student-idUSKCN0V00I8"]Source[/URL] [QUOTE]North Korea has detained a U.S. university student, the third western citizen known to be held in the isolated state, for committing a "hostile act" and wanting to "destroy the country's unity", it said on Friday. Otto Frederick Warmbier, 21, of the University of Virginia, was in North Korea for a five-day New Year trip and was detained at Pyongyang airport on Jan. 2 ahead of a flight back to China, said Gareth Johnson of Young Pioneer Tours, which organized the visit.[/QUOTE]

Kim Jong is a madman, what a surprise?

Sorry but anyone who takes a "trip" to NK is an idiot.

[QUOTE=DaMastez;49583559]Sorry but anyone who takes a "trip" to NK is an idiot.[/QUOTE] especially if you're American. Like aren't USA and Japan the two countries NK pretty much hate the most?

Who in their right mind would go over there? There must be something that we don't know, because that's just absured.

I think it'd be interesting to see NK first hand

this was RAYHALO's dream hope this kid doesn't die

[QUOTE=The Rifleman;49583630]I think it'd be interesting to see NK first hand[/QUOTE] if you go through a good agency you can have a pretty good time in NK, VICE did a cool video on it.

[QUOTE=Quark:;49583644]if you go through a good agency you can have a pretty good time in NK, VICE did a cool video on it.[/QUOTE] that's the tourist facade though, why would you want to even support that shithole

[QUOTE=LNKFAN;49583655]that's the tourist facade though, why would you want to even support that shithole[/QUOTE] -snip, didn't read article very well apparently- yeah if you go to NK as a tourist, probably not the best life decision you've ever made

[QUOTE=LNKFAN;49583655]that's the tourist facade though, why would you want to even support that shithole[/QUOTE] different strokes for different folks I suppose I'd go if I had the money and the time

[QUOTE=Quark:;49583667]different strokes for different folks I suppose I'd go if I had the money and the time[/QUOTE] You would pay money to that regime to see how brutal it is? Because that's the only experience I can imagine in North Korea.

when you pay the money you're basically paying for a long, scripted play that takes part throughout the country. sure, it's sick if you pull back the perspective a bit and say "you're funding a dictatorship." not to mention that North Korea, visually, is quite beautiful and, from other tourist vids, the people are actually pleasant and polite. [t]http://goista.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Samil-Lake-Kumgang-Mountains-at-Kumgangsan-The-Most-Dramatic-Scenery-in-North-Korea.jpg[/t] [t]http://38north.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/scenery1-2-990x742.jpg[/t] i would go for the sights, the travel, to talk to the people, and to come back home :v:

[QUOTE=Quark:;49583698]when you pay the money you're basically paying for a long, scripted play that takes part throughout the country. sure, it's sick if you pull back the perspective a bit and say "you're funding a dictatorship." not to mention that North Korea, visually, is quite beautiful and, from other tourist vids, the people are actually pleasant and polite. [t]http://goista.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Samil-Lake-Kumgang-Mountains-at-Kumgangsan-The-Most-Dramatic-Scenery-in-North-Korea.jpg[/t] [t]http://38north.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/scenery1-2-990x742.jpg[/t] i would go for the sights, the travel, to talk to the people, and to come back home :v:[/QUOTE] I'd go for the time travel, to the 50s

[QUOTE=Quark:;49583698]when you pay the money you're basically paying for a long, scripted play that takes part throughout the country. sure, it's sick if you pull back the perspective a bit and say "you're funding a dictatorship." not to mention that North Korea, visually, is quite beautiful and, from other tourist vids, the people are actually pleasant and polite. [t]http://goista.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Samil-Lake-Kumgang-Mountains-at-Kumgangsan-The-Most-Dramatic-Scenery-in-North-Korea.jpg[/t] [t]http://38north.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/scenery1-2-990x742.jpg[/t] i would go for the sights, the travel, to talk to the people, and to come back home :v:[/QUOTE] Wow, that is gorgeous. Definitely not the scenery I imagine when North Korea is brought up. My mind immediately jumps to heavy concrete architecture, muted cities washed over with shades of grays and dirty browns. That's always carried over into how I imagined the countrysides. I guess I expected the fields to be barren, muddy, and always curiously overcast. Just goes to show how reality can be overshadowed by bias. North Korea has a horrifying government, and my perception of what it must be like to live in that country obviously influenced the scenery of it in my mind's eye.

exactly! automatically i think of the concrete and the gray, monotone [I]cities[/I]. but there's a whole country side around them, and it is [I]beautiful[/I]. it's a bit of a thought experiment in my opinion. imagine any dictatorship/regime nation. soviet russia sounds like a gray, depressing (visually) place too, right?

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;49583683]You would pay money to that regime to see how brutal it is? Because that's the only experience I can imagine in North Korea.[/QUOTE] As the VICE documentary shows, they treat tourists very well. Their own people? That's a more depressing story. The North Korean people are also very nice.

[QUOTE=DaMastez;49583559]Sorry but anyone who takes a "trip" to NK is an idiot.[/QUOTE] My history teacher said that going to NK would be an extremely interesting place to visit if you wanted to experience what the USSR would've been like during parts of the cold war as it's extremely similar

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;49583683]You would pay money to that regime to see how brutal it is? Because that's the only experience I can imagine in North Korea.[/QUOTE] Yes

[QUOTE=DaMastez;49583559]Sorry but anyone who takes a "trip" to NK is an idiot.[/QUOTE] I can only hope this is coming from someone who has actually traveled outside of the US at least once.

I've always wanted to go to North Korea. It would be just interesitng to see some dictatorship still stuck in the cold war..

[QUOTE=Quark:;49583698] i would go for the sights, the travel, to talk to the people, and to come back home :v:[/QUOTE] The tour guides actively prevent you from photographing let alone speaking to any locals that aren't in on the script with the excuse "it is considered rude". You will also never be allowed to pick your travel destinations, roam freely or leave the hotel without supervision. It'd be an intriguing experience to catch a glimpse of a society that has changed little since the 60's, but judging by the VICE documentary you won't really see much of anything that doesn't paint the regime as righteous and progressive.

[QUOTE=Bat-shit;49584036]I can only hope this is coming from someone who has actually traveled outside of the US at least once.[/QUOTE] Yes, I've been to western Europe, which doesn't have any countries like NK that actively make threats (however silly) at my country and take people from my country who visit hostage basically at random. I enjoy traveling and would love to do it more if money permitted, however I think a little common sense is warranted. Regardless of how beautiful the photos of NK might be, it isn't worth risking one's life to see them in person, at least in my opinion. There's plenty of beautiful places elsewhere in the world. Perhaps "stupid" is the wrong word provided this person knowingly accepted the risk; my point was more this should come as a surprise to no one, especially not the person being arrested.

[QUOTE=Quark:;49583812]exactly! automatically i think of the concrete and the gray, monotone [I]cities[/I]. but there's a whole country side around them, and it is [I]beautiful[/I]. it's a bit of a thought experiment in my opinion. imagine any dictatorship/regime nation. soviet russia sounds like a gray, depressing (visually) place too, right?[/QUOTE] Visualization of your perception of freedom perhaps?

[QUOTE=Quark:;49583812]exactly! automatically i think of the concrete and the gray, monotone [I]cities[/I]. but there's a whole country side around them, and it is [I]beautiful[/I]. it's a bit of a thought experiment in my opinion. imagine any dictatorship/regime nation. soviet russia sounds like a gray, depressing (visually) place too, right?[/QUOTE] Well the Polish People's Republic sure as shit was

Why on earth would you ever travel to north Korea

[QUOTE=Quark:;49583698]when you pay the money you're basically paying for a long, scripted play that takes part throughout the country. sure, it's sick if you pull back the perspective a bit and say "you're funding a dictatorship." not to mention that North Korea, visually, is quite beautiful and, from other tourist vids, the people are actually pleasant and polite. [t]http://goista.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Samil-Lake-Kumgang-Mountains-at-Kumgangsan-The-Most-Dramatic-Scenery-in-North-Korea.jpg[/t] [t]http://38north.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/scenery1-2-990x742.jpg[/t] i would go for the sights, the travel, to talk to the people, and to come back home :v:[/QUOTE] I hope they got better sights than that. Also I hope you like conversations with terrified people about the greatness of North Korea.

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;49583790]Wow, that is gorgeous. Definitely not the scenery I imagine when North Korea is brought up. My mind immediately jumps to heavy concrete architecture, muted cities washed over with shades of grays and dirty browns. That's always carried over into how I imagined the countrysides. I guess I expected the fields to be barren, muddy, and always curiously overcast. Just goes to show how reality can be overshadowed by bias. North Korea has a horrifying government, and my perception of what it must be like to live in that country obviously influenced the scenery of it in my mind's eye.[/QUOTE] i always thought north korea looked like it does in mercenaries

[QUOTE=Quark:;49583812]exactly! automatically i think of the concrete and the gray, monotone [I]cities[/I]. but there's a whole country side around them, and it is [I]beautiful[/I].[/QUOTE]You can say this about absolutely any nation or urbanized area, though. Zimbabwe is beautiful despite it's extreme poverty and inflation; Centralia, PA is beautiful despite being on fire for several decades; Syria is beautiful despite being marred by a five year long civil war and various sectarian conflicts. Just because a country is pretty doesn't mean it's a shitty place to be and possibly funding a dictatorial regime. Sorry, I'll pass on North Korea and go to someplace that doesn't put me on rails through a grand stage.

[QUOTE=LNKFAN;49583655]that's the tourist facade though, why would you want to even support that shithole[/QUOTE] same reason tourists went to egypt when it was ruled by dictators or military juntas, or why people still visit russia despite it having invaded ukraine china executes people all the time, but that doesn't stop visitors. likewise, iran is owned by a religious fundamentalist lunatic, but the country itself is a nice tourist destination i suppose one of the silver linings of tourism is that the more a dictatorial regime relaxes itself and loosens up, the more tourists (and thus monies) it gets. even north koreas tourist restrictions are much more lax than they were about 10-15 years ago.