The Hermit Kingdom

 North Korea- Known as The Hermit Kingdom because of its isolationist practices

Thanks to a friend in Andong, I came across these two sets of documentary videos about North Korea. WOW are these interesting. This man, Shane Smith, spent over a year trying to make his way into North Korea. His reasoning being simply, no one knows anything about it. And it's true. If you look on a map, you see the capital of Pyongyang and that's it. No streets, no detailing, no city names, no anything. It is unnerving to say the least. It takes you through his journey through The Democratic People's Republic of Korea. This is not typical boring documentary. This guy is so down to Earth and tells you how it is. He does not hold back  his opinion and is actually hysterical when it comes to describing his experience. He's got some set of guts, filming and taking us on this journey. When I first decided to move to South Korea, some of my family, was understandably nervous about me being so close to the North. I really didn't think a lot of it. Nothing has happened for years, and there have been empty threats and scare tactics that have lead to nothing. They have kept to themselves for a long time now. I've got to say though, after watching these, my feelings on this place that lies only a few hours away and shares the same land I stand on, have tensed up a bit. North Korea is the last Stalanist state in the world, completely isolated from almost everything and everyone. Shane takes us on a journey through a piece of this world that is terrifying once you realize the reality of it all.  I only embedded Video Part 1 of 3, so make sure to watch all three videos.

The second set of videos is about his journey into Siberia, where modern day North Korean labor camps are set up. Under Kim Jong-Il's regime, he ordered North Korean laborers (40+ year old men (chosen because they have families, so it would make it harder for them to escape, knowing their families would be punished)) to work for little pay and sleep in inhumane living conditions, just to make money for their home country. The Koreans set up these camps to imitate North Korean buildings and propaganda. It's as if they never even left North Korea. In this set of videos, Shane is even more gutsy, and the translators, Russian police, and friends met along the way who travel with him, are all at risk. And the North Koreans in charge of these labor camps are not at ALL happy with Shane and his group being there. They all admit they're terrified, but they all stand their ground, so that they are able to get as much information as they can. Again, I embedded only Part 1 of 7, so make sure to watch all seven videos.

**Don't worry Mom, you know I'm signed up with the Embassy haha. I know you may freak out just a tad when you watch these..