# North Korea has changed the conscription standards **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 16, 2012, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-changed-the-conscription-standards/628397 "2012-07-16T08:08:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-changed-the-conscription-standards/628397/1 "2012-07-16T08:08:24Z")
North Koreans are getting shorter from shortages in food. Lack of nutrition is causing poor growth during the period of growth, making North Koreans shorter and small. Due to this phenomenon, North Korea has changed the conscription standards. In 2008, the limit was 150cm, and 48kg, but from this March, the limit was changed to 142cm. North Korean soldiers have the physique of elementary students. Machine guns are 1m long in average. I wonder how a 140cm tall soldier can carry and handle a weapon more than half his height. It’s been told that the North Korean regime is encouraging its people to exercise, but without nutrition and food supply, all the efforts are deemed to be fruitless. It’s pathetic that the North Koreans are unable to see the fundamental problem, and going off topic. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-changed-the-conscription-standards/628397/2 "2012-07-16T08:16:18Z")
And the debate is… what again? ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-changed-the-conscription-standards/628397/3 "2012-07-16T08:45:26Z")
> [@oclock](#): > > all the efforts are deemed to be _fruitless_. I think I see the nutritional problem. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-changed-the-conscription-standards/628397/4 "2012-07-16T08:50:31Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > And the debate is… > > what again? Hmmm…short, militarized, living in a ruined land under a tyranny headed by a crazed leader who portrays himself as some kind of God-King…so here’s the debate: “Are or are not North Koreans evolving into Orcs?” ---
**Author:** ![Ele\_the\_Stoic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4bbf92/32.png) [@Ele\_the\_Stoic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ele_the_Stoic)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-changed-the-conscription-standards/628397/5 "2012-07-16T08:55:15Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Hmmm…short, militarized, living in a ruined land under a tyranny headed by a crazed leader who portrays himself as some kind of God-King…so here’s the debate: > > “Are or are not North Koreans evolving into Orcs?” Is Gollum considered an orc? I’d say they’re more likely to turn into Gollum than one of those big burly orcs sieging Minas Tirith. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-changed-the-conscription-standards/628397/6 "2012-07-16T08:57:29Z")
It’s not a new problem. I remember reading an article years ago that said the average S. Korean soldier outweighed his N. Korean counterpart by about 40 pounds but I forget how many inches taller he was. Though if N. Korea is lowering standards to get enough soldiers it’s a sign that things haven’t improved much in the last decade. When you don’t have enough food to even feed the guys with guns there’s a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-changed-the-conscription-standards/628397/7 "2012-07-16T09:08:37Z")
> [@Ele\_the\_Stoic](#): > > Is Gollum considered an orc? I’d say they’re more likely to turn into Gollum than one of those big burly orcs sieging Minas Tirith. [Actually](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orc_%28Middle-earth%29#Physical_appearance) in the books the common orcs were shorter than Men; that’s why hobbits could disguise themselves as one. > [@](#): > > The largest can reach near-human height, but they are always shorter, and some are as small as Hobbits (since Frodo and Sam disguise themselves as such when they enter Mordor). In contrast, crossbreeds between Men and Orcs are called “man-high, but with goblin-faces.” ---
**Author:** ![Coastal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/94ad74/32.png) [@Coastal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coastal)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-changed-the-conscription-standards/628397/8 "2012-07-16T09:12:34Z")
Gollum is a mutated hobbit type critter, so would seem quite fitting seen as its 100% environmental. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-changed-the-conscription-standards/628397/9 "2012-07-16T09:39:56Z")
> [@Coastal](#): > > Gollum is a mutated hobbit type critter, so would seem quite fitting seen as its 100% environmental. “'They were [del]Elves[/del] Koreans once…tortured, and mutilated…a ruined and terrible form of life.” ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-changed-the-conscription-standards/628397/10 "2012-07-16T09:55:39Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > [Actually](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orc_%28Middle-earth%29#Physical_appearance) in the books the common orcs were shorter than Men; that’s why hobbits could disguise themselves as one. Aren’t the Uruk-Hai larger than men though? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-changed-the-conscription-standards/628397/11 "2012-07-16T09:56:23Z")
This is what happens when you gear an entire country solely to war… and then don’t fight any wars. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-changed-the-conscription-standards/628397/12 "2012-07-16T10:10:46Z")
> [@bldysabba](#): > > Aren’t the Uruk-Hai larger than men though? Human sized, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-changed-the-conscription-standards/628397/13 "2012-07-16T13:37:40Z")
> [@bldysabba](#): > > Aren’t the Uruk-Hai larger than men though? Nope, approaching human-size, is how JRRT described it. Lots bigger than the run of the mill orcs, fiercer too. They’d been around for a few centuries, first seen by Gondor during the reign of Denethor I, circa 2460. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-changed-the-conscription-standards/628397/14 "2012-07-16T13:49:11Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Hmmm…short, militarized, living in a ruined land under a tyranny headed by a crazed leader who portrays himself as some kind of God-King…so here’s the debate: > > “Are or are not North Koreans evolving into Orcs?” Goblins, not Orcs. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-changed-the-conscription-standards/628397/15 "2012-07-16T14:07:53Z")
> [@BlinkingDuck](#): > > Goblins, not Orcs. 🙂 Well, if the OP is correct, they’re not going to be gobblin’ anything anytime soon! ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-changed-the-conscription-standards/628397/16 "2012-07-16T14:11:24Z")
> [@BlinkingDuck](#): > > Goblins, not Orcs. 🙂 Actually, Goblin is just another word for Orc. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-changed-the-conscription-standards/628397/17 "2012-07-16T14:18:42Z")
> [@Ele\_the\_Stoic](#): > > Is Gollum considered an orc? I’d say they’re more likely to turn into Gollum than one of those big burly orcs sieging Minas Tirith. Searching for PRECIOUSSSSSSSS food. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-changed-the-conscription-standards/628397/18 "2012-07-16T14:21:20Z")
Moved to MPSIMS from Great Debates, and the OP has been banned. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-changed-the-conscription-standards/628397/19 "2012-07-16T15:13:17Z")
At least they’ll be able to order child size uniforms from the Sears catalog. That’ll save them money in the long run. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-changed-the-conscription-standards/628397/20 "2012-07-16T15:16:29Z")
Isn’t it interesting that Li’l Kim looks like a bloated Pillsbury Doughboy while his people are starving?? I’m not sure if I’m remembering this correctly, but I thought I’d read that most, if not all, of the food aid NK receives goes to the elites, then to the army, and on one occasion, many tons of food just rotted in the port because they couldn’t be bothered to distribute it. Honestly, I don’t recall when this supposedly happened, so I have no cite, but in light of what little I know about life in NK, I find it believable. I guess if you starve your minions, they won’t have the strength or stamina to stage a revolt. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/north-korea-has-changed-the-conscription-standards/628397.md?page=2)