• Yet ANOTHER American citizen detained in North Korea for "trying to overthrow the state"
    37 replies, posted
[QUOTE=DoctorSalt;52204491]IMO even if you gave $10 it's $10 too much. The point here is that there is basically nothing to gain from visiting, other than if you go you'll see what you'll know you'll see - a fairly empty, curated part of NK. I'd rather go to a more beautiful place with my travel money, not feel worried about being kidnapped by a terrorist state, and not have a guilty conscience either.[/QUOTE] You know there's a bunch of Korean history sites and some absolutely jaw dropping scenery. Not to mention the feeling of being dropped into 1980 communist China. It's fascinating.
[QUOTE=Rubs10;52202566]I get the feeling that Western tourists going there and exposing NK to the western world might be a good thing in the long run. If they didn't make any tourist money and closed themselves off completely that seems like it would be pretty bad.[/QUOTE] The vast majority of North Korea is not like Pyongyang. The only thing that we see in Pyongyang is what we think of as a weirdly scripted and polished city in which everyone works on schedule and is in automata-like order. In actuality, this is a result of the terror the Kim regime places on its people; stepping out of line is punished severely, sometimes with public execution. It's not weird or quirky, it's a failed Stalinist state. It's like a window into the communist bloc of the mid-20th century. However, most of North Korea is a lot dirtier and doing much worse. Millions have starved to death since the 90s under the Kim dictators. If you want to know what the real North Korea is like, read [I]In Order to Live[/I], by Yeonmi Park, or [I]Nothing to Envy[/I] by Barbara Demmick [editline]9th May 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=The Aussie;52205247]You know there's a bunch of Korean history sites and some absolutely jaw dropping scenery. Not to mention the feeling of being dropped into 1980 communist China. It's fascinating.[/QUOTE] You're unlikely to see them, and if you do they'll probably be defaced by Communist propaganda. Either way, it's a moral imperative, not a matter of whether it's a good vacation. Imagine taking a vacation to a starving African country so you can take pictures of peoples' suffering?
[QUOTE=MrJazzy;52201391]You all need to chillax, going to NK may seem dumb but don't try to act like it's immoral and that north korean "tourism" is having any impact on the suffering going on. You probably fund more suffering by buying clothes. Unless I'm horribly mistaken, in which case correct me.[/QUOTE] Analogy: Eating meat arguably contributes to animal suffering on a large scale, yet many would consider it much more reprehensible to pay to go to a zoo where they abuse animals. And also the zoo is threatening to use nuclear weapons.
[QUOTE=Talishmar;52205555]Analogy: Eating meat arguably contributes to animal suffering on a large scale, yet many would consider it much more reprehensible to pay to go to a zoo where they abuse animals. And also the zoo is threatening to use nuclear weapons.[/QUOTE] I'm not sure if you're agreeing or disagreeing with me. My point is that nobody is perfect, we all do shit that indirectly or directly leads to suffering so the "moral high ground" that is being taken by some here is hardly a reliable piece of ground.
[QUOTE=MrJazzy;52205797]I'm not sure if you're agreeing or disagreeing with me. My point is that nobody is perfect, we all do shit that indirectly or directly leads to suffering so the "moral high ground" that is being taken by some here is hardly a reliable piece of ground.[/QUOTE] There's a difference between using plastic bags and directly giving money to a country which kills thousands of people and enslaves millions. Would you vacation to Nazi Germany? I would hope not
[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;52198521]Why do Americans keep going there? They hate Americans.[/QUOTE] Publicity and hopes of gofundme donations​.
[QUOTE=proboardslol;52205821]There's a difference between using plastic bags and directly giving money to a country which kills thousands of people and enslaves millions. Would you vacation to Nazi Germany? I would hope not[/QUOTE] I personally wouldn't, but for so many reasons, I wouldn't judge someone who would because I would - if anything - put that effort toward something that would actually help with Nazi Germany/North Korea. I mean if tourism actually had an impact and was big enough to matter, I'd be more concerned.
[QUOTE=proboardslol;52205821]There's a difference between using plastic bags and directly giving money to a country which kills thousands of people and enslaves millions. Would you vacation to Nazi Germany? I would hope not[/QUOTE] Difference would be that majority of the atrocities in Nazi Germany were not known, even to the German public, until after the war. For North Korea, we know already what's going on.
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