# Ok, Kim Jong Un, you stupid son of a bitch **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 7, 2013, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-kim-jong-un-you-stupid-son-of-a-bitch/652288 "2013-03-07T13:40:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-kim-jong-un-you-stupid-son-of-a-bitch/652288/101 "2013-03-08T04:32:11Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > I suppose a better reason for them not launching against the south is that once they’ve done so, the territory would be ruined for plunder/expansion. I guess I’ll pile on here. The best reason is they don’t have the logistical capability to prosecute a war in SK for any sustained period of time. They’ve got lousy tanks, lousy airplanes, and just enough fuel to get those lousy pieces of Cold War shit across the border before they run down, and that’s assuming they still work despite the lack of equipment and parts and training to maintain them. Hell, they don’t have enough fuel to do minimal training for the tank crews and pilots, much less launch towards Seoul. Worse yet, their soldiers are poorly trained and malnourished. The best reason for not attacking the South is they can’t win and they know it. They’d need serious Chinese support, and China isn’t interested in starting WWIII. Question their rationality all you want, but they’ve never been crazy enough to do something to actually endanger their existence. That may be changing now, but that appears to be a sign of desperation more than genuine irrationality. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-kim-jong-un-you-stupid-son-of-a-bitch/652288/102 "2013-03-08T04:43:38Z")
> [@Sarabellum1976](#): > > I mean, the nukes we have at our disposal these days make the ones we dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki look like cherry bombs. And 70 years later, don’t most Americans still feel guilty about all those Japanese people killed (let’s not forget the ones that died later - very unpleasant way to go, radiation poisoning)… could we REALLY do that again? I don’t feel the least bit guilty. We won, they lost. Tough titty. If NK fired off a nuke at us or our allies I would be completely in favor of paving the whole country. Sucks to be a NK civilian, but thems the breaks. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-kim-jong-un-you-stupid-son-of-a-bitch/652288/103 "2013-03-08T05:18:20Z")
> [@dgrdfd](#): > > When the people become hungry enough they’ll overthrow their own government. If that were the case, [China](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Chinese_Famine) wouldn’t be a communist country. The [USSR](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_famine_of_1921) would have fallen sooner. [Ireland](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Irish_Famine) wouldn’t have had to wait almost an entire century to gain indepence. Idealism is so cute! ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-kim-jong-un-you-stupid-son-of-a-bitch/652288/104 "2013-03-08T10:03:45Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > You are worthress to me, Arec Barwin! FYI, the [Korean pronunciation of Alec Baldwin does not have the /r/ sound](http://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%95%A8%EB%A6%AD_%EB%B3%BC%EB%93%9C%EC%9C%88). It’s /Al-lek Bol-deu-ween/. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-kim-jong-un-you-stupid-son-of-a-bitch/652288/105 "2013-03-08T10:13:25Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > there was the time he kidnapped a Japanese director and actress and had them make a Godzilla-style monster movie for him [South Korean director and actress](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korean_abductions_of_South_Koreans#Abductions_abroad) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-kim-jong-un-you-stupid-son-of-a-bitch/652288/106 "2013-03-08T10:19:13Z")
> [@Sarabellum1976](#): > > Would the US actually strike back with a nuclear weapon on all those poor defenseless brainwashed people? All that collateral damage? Even if we DID take a direct hit from one of their nukes (which would take a miracle, all things considered) would we really nuke Pyongyang as a matter of principal? Elementary doctrine regarding nuclear warfare says that we’d be _obligated_ to. If the US allowed itself to be nuked and didn’t respond in kind against the aggressor, it would send a signal to every other nation in the world that attacking us is fair game. ---
**Author:** ![SirGalahad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@SirGalahad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirGalahad)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-kim-jong-un-you-stupid-son-of-a-bitch/652288/107 "2013-03-08T12:32:53Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > FYI, the [Korean pronunciation of Alec Baldwin does not have the /r/ sound](http://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%95%A8%EB%A6%AD_%EB%B3%BC%EB%93%9C%EC%9C%88). It’s /Al-lek Bol-deu-ween/. Why does “Korea” even have an “R” in it? ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-kim-jong-un-you-stupid-son-of-a-bitch/652288/108 "2013-03-08T12:46:23Z")
> [@SirGalahad](#): > > Why does “Korea” even have an “R” in it? Because they ran out of the letter L. ---
**Author:** ![crucible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-kim-jong-un-you-stupid-son-of-a-bitch/652288/109 "2013-03-08T12:51:07Z")
Didn’t this p.o.s. actually graduate from a western university? Or, at least, go to private school in Switzerland, or whatever? How completely twisted is this line of little dumpy p.o.s.'s? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-kim-jong-un-you-stupid-son-of-a-bitch/652288/110 "2013-03-08T14:30:09Z")
> [@SirGalahad](#): > > Why does “Korea” even have an “R” in it? First: The Korean language has _both_ the /r/ and /l/ sounds. Next: One of the old kingdoms that existed on the Korean peninsula was named [Goryeo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goryeo) (also transliterated as _Koryo_). ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-kim-jong-un-you-stupid-son-of-a-bitch/652288/111 "2013-03-08T14:31:15Z")
> [@crucible](#): > > Didn’t this p.o.s. actually graduate from a western university? Or, at least, go to private school in Switzerland, or whatever? How completely twisted is this line of little dumpy p.o.s.'s? Everyone who thinks the dumpy little clone of his gramps is actually in charge of anything other than his own bowel movements, please raise your hand. Anyone? Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-kim-jong-un-you-stupid-son-of-a-bitch/652288/112 "2013-03-08T14:37:31Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > FYI, the [Korean pronunciation of Alec Baldwin does not have the /r/ sound](http://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%95%A8%EB%A6%AD_%EB%B3%BC%EB%93%9C%EC%9C%88). It’s /Al-lek Bol-deu-ween/. Huh. Don’t see that one listed [here](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372588/trivia?tab=gf), so now’s your chance! ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-kim-jong-un-you-stupid-son-of-a-bitch/652288/113 "2013-03-08T14:38:02Z")
Here’s a serious question, to which I’m not educated enough about North Korea’s political structure to know the answer to: What would happen if Kim Jong Un were to accidentally bump his head into a bullet or two? Is there another relative waiting in the wings? Or is it conceiveable that someone else who actually gives a shit about the North Korean people could rise to power? (I’m not certain who would actually provide said bullets. The U.S. would never do such a thing. No! I’m sure Kim would be tough to get to, but not impossible for someone with enough skill, training, and determination. Besides, it’s a hypothetical.) ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-kim-jong-un-you-stupid-son-of-a-bitch/652288/114 "2013-03-08T15:31:33Z")
No, on the contrary, it is the entire establishment that is keeping him in confrontation mode. People who don’t play along tend to have ‘car accidents’. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-kim-jong-un-you-stupid-son-of-a-bitch/652288/115 "2013-03-08T15:35:19Z")
Which is tough, because they only have the one car. ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-kim-jong-un-you-stupid-son-of-a-bitch/652288/116 "2013-03-08T16:51:31Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > First: The Korean language has _both_ the /r/ and /l/ sounds. Or perhaps more specifically they have a complementary distribution, whereas in English they have a contrastive distribution. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-kim-jong-un-you-stupid-son-of-a-bitch/652288/117 "2013-03-08T17:26:36Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Here’s a serious question, to which I’m not educated enough about North Korea’s political structure to know the answer to: > What would happen if Kim Jong Un were to accidentally bump his head into a bullet or two? Is there another relative waiting in the wings? Or is it conceiveable that someone else who actually gives a shit about the North Korean people could rise to power? I get the impression that, North Korea being a Communist country and all, that the leadership is decided strictly on merit. Such a worker’s paradise has no place for a dynastic or imperial line of succession. It’s just a coincidence that each person best suited for the job has been the son of the previous one. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-kim-jong-un-you-stupid-son-of-a-bitch/652288/118 "2013-03-08T17:40:15Z")
I don’t think the country even pretends to be Communist anymore. I thought they’d stripped references to Communism out of their official documents and that these days they only talk about Juche, the state religion/philosophy. There are several other Kim children, and I’m not sure who the top advisers are supposed to be. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-kim-jong-un-you-stupid-son-of-a-bitch/652288/119 "2013-03-08T17:51:56Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I wish I thought that were true. Except for the fat fucks in charge, they are all already starving - literally. They are so controlled and brainwashed that they would never revolt and overthrow these assholes. Instead, they have been carefully and deliberately conditioned to see them as gods. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-kim-jong-un-you-stupid-son-of-a-bitch/652288/120 "2013-03-08T22:33:54Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > First: The Korean language has _both_ the /r/ and /l/ sounds. > > Next: One of the old kingdoms that existed on the Korean peninsula was named [Goryeo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goryeo) (also transliterated as _Koryo_). One and the same Korean letter ㄹ does double duty for both [r] and [l], depending on position: When it comes before a consonant or at the end of a word, it comes out as [l]. When it’s between two vowels, it becomes [r]. Koryŏ 고려 (or Goryeo) has it as [r] because the sequence “yŏ” is counted as a vowel sound in Korean. Edit: > [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](#): > > Or perhaps more specifically they have a complementary distribution, whereas in English they have a contrastive distribution. Which is the technically linguistic term for it, “complementary” meaning that where conditions allow the pronunciation of [l], then [r] becomes impossible, and vice versa. While “contrastive” as in English means they make the difference between two words that are otherwise exactly the same, as in _fly_ vs. _fry_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-kim-jong-un-you-stupid-son-of-a-bitch/652288.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-kim-jong-un-you-stupid-son-of-a-bitch/652288.md?page=7)