Comments on: North Korean Highway

By: flex

flex — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:03:03 +0000

A long, but interesting first-hand account of one man's year working in North Korea can be found here. Truly a very strange country indeed.

By: kocollins

kocollins — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 11:38:17 +0000

During World War Z, The North Koreans will disappear and no one will bother looking for them.

By: gor

gor — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 02:24:21 +0000

@nyokki, I guess not, the IAEA inspector (he was on NPR or BBC World, not sure which) said they only pushed around the bikes because they didn’t know how to ride them. As you can see by this photo, even this person is walking the bike, not riding it.

@deuce, I wouldn’t use the Germany model for comparing North Korean and South Korean. East Germans were educated, healthy and industrious (even though their infrastructure was 30 behind the West Germans, it still worked). North Koreans are extremely uneducated, they are not capable of providing for any of their basic needs and they are so severely malnourished that not only is the average size of a male 4’10″ (145 cm) and under 100lbs (45kg) (as compared to the 5’8″ (174cm) 163 lbs(73kg) South Korean males), but their IQ has been greatly reduced (don’t go by NK’s “offical” IQ published, they only used their “gifted” studies for their test).

I’m sure everyone will help out when, or if, North Korean collapses, but I don’t see South Korean taking on a situation that would ruin them and I don’t see China allowing a unified Korea to compete against.

By: deuce

deuce — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 01:17:02 +0000

I didn’t say there wouldn’t be a lot of resentment or resistance… I just said that it’ll happen. Once the government in North Korea finally collapses and the DMZ disappears, the momentum will be too great to stop. The void will have to be filled with SOMETHING, and I doubt the South Koreans or their Western allies will want it to be China. Also, the rest of the world will probably help chip in to rebuild the North post-reunification, grateful that there’s one less nutbag in the world with his finger on any kind of red button.

By: casemods

casemods — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:12:32 +0000

It’s bigger then highways in California….

By: Paul_Is_Drunk

Paul_Is_Drunk — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:57:04 +0000

@deuce
That’s not the attitude my south Korean friends have. It’s really a whole different situation.

Also, West Germany paid for East Germany to keep them all from fleeing to the west side and crashing the economy. It wasn’t purely a ‘friendship move,’ and many west Germans are/were still resentful. I saw were, as they pay almost nothing now and the program is practically finished. (Not that it matters, but I’ve lived in both Sachsen – East Germany, & Badem-WÃƒÂ¼rttemberg – West Germany in the last 9 years).

Ich kann alles. AuÃƒÅ¸er Hochdeutsch.

By: awfulintentions

awfulintentions — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:43:42 +0000

The reason why the roads are so wide is probably for military transport. Tanks, large trucks, etc, etc.

By: deuce

deuce — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:42:06 +0000

Reunification of Korea isn’t an “if”, it’s a “when”… cultural heritage and sentimentality are much stronger than financial concerns. West Germany’s STILL paying to rebuild the east and it’s been 18 years now, but after the wall fell there really wasn’t a question of doing it.

By: Flappycunt

Flappycunt — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 21:51:59 +0000

Communism is fun… anyways- does anyone remember when bush signed a treaty with NK to stop making a Nuke. In turn “WE” gave them 1 BILLION barrels of oil. ..makes you think. you know, with gas prices- and bush/oil families. And the fact that this wasn’t HEADLINE news. makes me sick.

By: nyokki

nyokki — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 21:29:43 +0000

@gor: None of them figured it out?