DPRK Forum

It is an insult to read about the plans of a summit that include giving things to a man that rules with tyranny and holds absolutely no regard to lives of people living under his control. For the last three decades, people suffer untold human rights abuses including the squelching of free speech, movement, religion, and a lot more. All outside media is banned, and the DPRK authorities take extra measures to stop the influx of outside influences to help sustain the lies that is Juche and Kim’s cult of personality.

There are plans of Roh giving Kim Jong Il gifts people are not allowed to have. What are some of the things planned? Foreign movies and equipment. Normal North Koreans do not have the chance to buy this equipment or watch the DVDs openly, and face very harsh penalties if they do choose to watch it. So they have to watch it in secret. Am I saying they have a right to these items? No. But they should have the right to watch whatever they like and reach for the means necessary to achieve dreams and goals. If that includes buying the things they want including movies, then that should happen. Kim Jong Il does not allow that, yet he is allowed to do so. He is a hypocrite and Roh is going to symbolize that is OK. That is not OK, and it makes me very angry.

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Il is a big fan of popular South Korean actress Lee Young-Ae and he will receive DVDs of her hit dramas and films as gifts at an upcoming summit, a report said Saturday.

“Chairman Kim likes to watch South Korean TV programmes. Among South Korean entertainers, he favours Lee Young-Ae the most,” an unidentified South Korean official was quoted as saying by the JoongAng daily.

“DVDs of South Korean movies and dramas, including those featuring Lee Young-Ae, will be included as summit gifts,” the official said.

Yes, he loves movies so much, he went as far as to kidnap two people:

His obsession with developing North Korea’s film industry was so great that in 1978 he reportedly ordered North Korean agents to abduct a famous South Korean movie director, Shin Sang-Ok, and his ex-wife, actress Che Eun Hui.

The couple stayed in the communist state for eight years while making propaganda films. They escaped in 1986 and wrote a memoir about their saga.

In July, North Korea reportedly ordered the shutdown of karaoke bars, online game rooms, video-screening rooms and Internet cafes as part of a battle to stem a flood of South Korean pop culture.

So while Kim and his propaganda department say people cannot watch these things because of evil outside influences, perhaps he should practice what he preaches and follow it himself if it is an ideology he cares so much about. He is supposed to set an example for everybody else right? I say forget giving Kim Jong Il anything like that because that is against his state sponsored religion. Very hypocritical indeed.

This issue is a very vocal split in South Korea, while one side says it will help boost peace, the other side says it is avoiding talking about the issues and is just a show. I have to say it is the latter. Not only that, Roh plans to visit the mass games, and that is also going to look very (for the lack of a better word) bad from where I am sitting. Human rights activists are not happy, as they should be. This is not going to make the people suffering in North Korea any better. While Kim and Roh play patty cake, people are eating tree bark. That is not fair.

The whole thing stinks to high heaven, is a farce and playing with the hopes and lives of millions. Nothing is going to get done other than some feel-good photo-op. It’s sad, sickening and a lot more. People deserve to have freedom, and this is not going to help it in any way, shape or form. I say get total sanctions across the board and see an end to the regime once and for all.

Also, it also looks like Roh is going to cross the DMZ too. That will be a historical moment, and will be on news wires all over the place. Again, it is just a photo-op show.

fixed typos and other errors