# Amazing facts about North Korea **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 7, 2016, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-facts-about-north-korea/748185 "2016-03-07T06:05:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-facts-about-north-korea/748185/21 "2016-03-08T06:32:50Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I came across this [site](http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/most-shocking/10-most-ridiculous-lies-north-koreans-are-made-to-believe/?view=all)which I wanted to share. It’s all the amazing things about North Korea and its leader Kim Il Jung. > > Some of the “facts”: (some I’ve paraphrased) > > 1. The US started the Korean war. > 2. Kim Jong hand a supernatural birth. > 3. Kim Jong is a fashion icon and men all over the world dress like him. > 4. Kim is admired all over the world and people all over the world celebrate his birthday. > 5. Kim invented the hamburger. > 6. Kim is the world best golfer and bowler. > 7. Kim has magical powers like he never needs to use the toilet. > 8. Kim cured dwarfism. > 9. Kim is mentally gifted and learned to walk at 3 weeks. > 10. N Korea doesnt allow access to the internet so outsiders wont learn how great N Korea is. > > Amazing! Well, these headlines and stories are meant for internal consumption. As does the average NK comrade in the street believes it? Well, keep in mind that not only were they raised on this sort of information, their parents were raised on it, and their grandparents were raised on it. And they’re not exposed to any contrary information. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-facts-about-north-korea/748185/22 "2016-03-08T16:28:45Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Charlie, Charlie, Charlie. What are we going to do with you? > > It is precisely this kind of overwrought fact-free handwringing that will cause significant damage to the US. An NK nuke would be like a broken finger to this country. Painful but not even debilitating, much less fatal. While I’d like to agree with you, consider recent history. Less than a score of jerks with box cutters collapsed two high-rise buildings, resulting in the deaths of less than 3,000 people. As a result, America went on a world-wide rampage of paranoia and violence which hasn’t ended yet. What happens when a smallish nuke carves the heart of a West-coast city with a minimum prompt casualty count 10 times higher? I’m pretty sure it won’t be calm reflection. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-facts-about-north-korea/748185/23 "2016-03-08T16:44:57Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. Kim has magical powers like he never needs to use the toilet. No wonder he’s so full of shit. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-facts-about-north-korea/748185/24 "2016-03-08T16:52:24Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > What do you make of a state that doesn’t realize if they murder and torture their people and just continue to push them harder and harder, eventually some of them will decide, “To Hell with this!”. Then they may do just about anything to strike back. > > What do you think the odds are that their people will say something like, “Give me liberty or give me death”? That only works if millions suddenly _do so in unison_, which is highly improbable. As long as it’s only a few at a time, the regime puts them down with ease. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-facts-about-north-korea/748185/25 "2016-03-08T16:54:29Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > You saw how many people in NK lined the streets and openly wept after both recent father and son leaders died? > **[North Korea Reportedly Punishing Insincere Mourners](https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/01/north-korea-reportedly-punishing-insincere-mourners/)** > > Get breaking national and world news, broadcast video coverage, and exclusive interviews. Find the top news online at ABC news. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-facts-about-north-korea/748185/26 "2016-03-08T18:22:45Z")
For what it’s worth, I was not aware the US did not start the Korean War (I didn’t have any idea who started it). ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-facts-about-north-korea/748185/27 "2016-03-08T20:37:30Z")
What happens when someone learns all those “facts” are false? I know about some of the people who escaped (under dire conditions) and then learned the truth. Have there ever been people who left NK more casually, and not under a life-threatening situation - who then learn about all the lies? For example, a defector from the Olympics or other international event who just walks away (I know they cannot easily do that under threat to their family). That’s gotta be hard to take - everything you have been taught as gospel your whole life being thrown-out. Makes me wonder if there ever is a liberation of NK how long it will take convince people that Kim really does have to wipe himself and put on pants one leg at a time. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-facts-about-north-korea/748185/28 "2016-03-08T21:05:03Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > While I’d like to agree with you, consider recent history. > > Less than a score of jerks with box cutters collapsed two high-rise buildings, resulting in the deaths of less than 3,000 people. As a result, America went on a world-wide rampage of paranoia and violence which hasn’t ended yet. > > What happens when a smallish nuke carves the heart of a West-coast city with a minimum prompt casualty count 10 times higher? I’m pretty sure it won’t be calm reflection. Agreed. I wasn’t suggesting that the US ought not go “on a world-wide rampage of paranoia and violence” (Great phrase BTW). I think that’s pretty much a given. On 9/11 the US suffered a pinprick attack that killed only as many Americans as drunk drivers kill _every single month_, year in and year out. In response, the US public, egged on by the US media, self-inflicted trillions of dollars of damage to our own economy & stock market & employment stats with a wholly unnecessary recession driven entirely by a panicky & defeatist wimpy emotional response. Which is exactly what Charlie is cheerleading for. If, as demonstrated above, we can take a pinprick and parlay it into that kind of severe self-inflicted damage, imagine how much more defeated we can make ourselves when confronted with something that actually hurts and leaves a lasting wound, not something that just stings a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-facts-about-north-korea/748185/29 "2016-03-08T21:12:39Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The article missed one of my favorite facts about North Korea; I’ve read that all streets and roads in North Korea have three lanes rather than the usual two. The third lane, which is between the two lanes for regular traffic, is for Kim’s exclusive use. That is amazing! They waste one third of their road building budget just to pretend to bow down to the leader? That is really something. Really sad. People are starving and the govt is wasting their money on some stupid third lane? Holy Kamoley! ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-facts-about-north-korea/748185/30 "2016-03-08T21:15:02Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > While I’d like to agree with you, consider recent history. > > Less than a score of jerks with box cutters collapsed two high-rise buildings, resulting in the deaths of less than 3,000 people. As a result, America went on a world-wide rampage of paranoia and violence which hasn’t ended yet. > > What happens when a smallish nuke carves the heart of a West-coast city with a minimum prompt casualty count 10 times higher? I’m pretty sure it won’t be calm reflection. Good post. Well done. I sure would not consider you to be a Know it All! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-facts-about-north-korea/748185/31 "2016-03-08T21:18:40Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Why those huge caps for officers? :dubious: Caps are regular sized. It’s the heads that are teeny-tiny. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-facts-about-north-korea/748185/32 "2016-03-08T21:30:04Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > They waste one third of their road building budget just to pretend to bow down to the leader? That is really something. Really sad. People are starving and the govt is wasting their money on some stupid third lane? Do Russian highways have a middle lane that is for government use? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2016, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-facts-about-north-korea/748185/33 "2016-03-09T14:48:40Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > That is amazing! > > They waste one third of their road building budget just to pretend to bow down to the leader? That is really something. Really sad. People are starving and the govt is wasting their money on some stupid third lane? > > Holy Kamoley! This is kind of interesting [Transport in North Korea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_in_North_Korea) All of 450 miles of paved road. Everything else is gravel/dirt. And really, if you do some reading about NK, that’s just the tip of the Holy Kamoley iceberg. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-facts-about-north-korea/748185/34 "2016-03-10T02:48:10Z")
[http://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/OldNewsPage/?Id=5186&10](http://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/OldNewsPage/?Id=5186&10) North Koreans believe that during the occupation by Japanese “imperialists” in 1919, time was stollen. In 2015, Kim Jong-un decided enough is enough. North Korea set its clock back by 30 minutes on August 15th. VICTORY!!! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-facts-about-north-korea/748185/35 "2016-03-10T05:44:23Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > That is amazing! > > They waste one third of their road building budget just to pretend to bow down to the leader? That is really something. Really sad. People are starving and the govt is wasting their money on some stupid third lane? > > Holy Kamoley! I’ll note that while I’ve heard this I’m not signing off on it being true. It could be just an example of the kind of crazy rumors that get started about how things are in North Korea. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-facts-about-north-korea/748185/36 "2016-03-10T06:22:49Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The article missed one of my favorite facts about North Korea; I’ve read that all streets and roads in North Korea have three lanes rather than the usual two. The third lane, which is between the two lanes for regular traffic, is for Kim’s exclusive use. Well to be fair, other areticles say “official government use” not just Kim himself. Plus in the US some highways have lanes exclusive to emergency vehicles. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-facts-about-north-korea/748185/37 "2016-03-10T06:25:53Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > Parents just cannot stand to see their children murdered and tortured. When that happens, parents will just snap and will gladly give up their own lives to strike back. I think they came close to this during the famine where people were so hungry they finally were willing to stand up to the government. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-facts-about-north-korea/748185/38 "2016-03-10T15:02:58Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Well to be fair, other areticles say “official government use” not just Kim himself. > > Plus in the US some highways have lanes exclusive to emergency vehicles. What’s funny is the idea of needing a separate lane. A traffic jam in NK would be when more than one car is on the same road. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-facts-about-north-korea/748185.md?page=1)