And even there, once they're in China they can easily go to/be tricked into going to South Korea too, it's just that if they do the South Korean government throws them in solitary, tortures them, forces them to forsake their North Korean citizenship in favor of South Korean, then subjects them to months of indoctrination before they're released, and then they're barred from traveling abroad unless they get in good with some fascist NGO propaganda outfit that'll tour them around the US and Europe.
Pretty sure that isn't true, you need a permit (of some sort) to go to Pyongyang. I don't have a citation on hand, but I'm not just pulling that out of my ass, just pretty sure I saw that in at least one DPRK-neutral source.
Sorry, yes, I'm referring to DPRK citizens being unable to travel freely within their own country. I'm 80% sure that this is documented. Still different than what you were talking about though.
Here's a passage from North Korea: Another Country (a good read cause the lib author is constantly admitting that the North are the "good guys" even though he doesn't like them). The bold section refers to a travel visa being required to leave Pyongyang. I left some additional text, cause the next paragraph has some interesting info on Jong Il.
Also, If you watch the documentary "My Brothers and Sisters in the North" (on YouTube), I believe they talk to a farmer (or some other worker in the countryside) who has a wish to visit Pyongyang, but hasn't gotten a permit yet.
The truth of the North Korean system is to come to understand, finally, that the isolated, cloistered royal family members themselves were foreigners to their own society; they furtively ventured out in one of Jong Il's twenty automobiles (including Cadillacs and Lincolns), or on foot after dark or to uninhabited parks while everyone else worked, and observed this society like the aliens that they were. Compounding their isolation in Jong Nam's childhood years was his father's desire that no one should know about his illegimate son. Like everyone else, to travel outside Pyongyang they needed a travel visa. Everyone is sheltered and compartmentalized so that most of the time, no one knows what's going on. (In recent years, errant glimpses of the life of common people with their emaciated bodies and tattered clothing have brought central officials to tears.)
Kim Jong II is not the playboy, womanizer, drunk, and mentally deranged fanatic "Dr. Evil" of our press. He is a homebody who doesn't socialize much, doesn't drink much, and works at home in his pajamas, scribbling marginal comments on the endless reams of documents brought to him in gray briefcases by his aides. He most enjoys tinkering with his many music boxes, sitting on the floor and opening them up with screwdrivers; at other times he would sit with Jong Nam and play Super Mario video games. He is prudish and shy and like most Korean fathers, hopelessly devoted to his son and the other children in his household—vastly preferring to seguester himself with them, rather than preside over the public extravaganzas that amaze visitors to the DPRK. According to Nam Ok, he orchestrates them, but is bored to tears watching them. The Dear Leader has tired of all the absurd hero worship, too; he told a visitor, “All that is bogus. It's all just pretence." But, like his father, he doesn't stop it from happening. He is a Stalinist, in that he keeps Stalin's hours, working into the early morning hours and then sleeping into the late morning—but these are the same hours his father kept, and that Bill Clinton kept. When the rest of us are sleeping, chief executives desperately husband their quiet time, Kim Jong II more than most.
Weird, a permit is necessary for leaving Pyongyang? It's difficult for me to understand what the purpose of that would serve? Having said that, you'll forgive me if I find the source of the citation suspect.
You should read the source. The guy is a lib, but he very knowledgeable about Korean history. You can even see in the second paragraph that he directly counteracts the media portrayal of Jong Il. He is very fair throughout the book, and I would really encourage you to read the entire thing (it's not particularly long). A comrade posted a digital copy on the Discord if you search for the title. Not gonna forgive you until you read it ;)
But yes, I think the focus here is that we are talking about people in the Kim family's inner circle (though it is his illegitimate son) who are still required to have a permit. That stands out to me that they didn't get a special exemption. These sorts of policies are far from ideal, but when you have a country that is living on the brink of invasion by Western Imperialists for decades, you need to be regimented. The precariousness of their position as a country justifies the amount of authority they are using. The whole country is more or less militarized for good reason, and in the military you can't have your soldiers doing whatever they want, they need to request leave, and be back on time or else the unit could be weakened.
Definitely, the first chapter is particularly difficult because it covers the Korean War and the effect that had on the country. There is a lot to learn from their struggle, though it is debatable whether they are really comrades through and through on a domestic level. They get shafted pretty damn hard in the media though (and it was true 2 decades ago when the book was written).
Preeeeetty sure folks in the DPRK can travel freely in any direction other than south.
And even there, once they're in China they can easily go to/be tricked into going to South Korea too, it's just that if they do the South Korean government throws them in solitary, tortures them, forces them to forsake their North Korean citizenship in favor of South Korean, then subjects them to months of indoctrination before they're released, and then they're barred from traveling abroad unless they get in good with some fascist NGO propaganda outfit that'll tour them around the US and Europe.
Pretty sure that isn't true, you need a permit (of some sort) to go to Pyongyang. I don't have a citation on hand, but I'm not just pulling that out of my ass, just pretty sure I saw that in at least one DPRK-neutral source.
I'm referring to citizens of the DPRK being able to travel abroad. Not the other way around
Sorry, yes, I'm referring to DPRK citizens being unable to travel freely within their own country. I'm 80% sure that this is documented. Still different than what you were talking about though.
I wasn't aware of that, if you could ever produce a citation, I'd be interested in reading it.
Here's a passage from North Korea: Another Country (a good read cause the lib author is constantly admitting that the North are the "good guys" even though he doesn't like them). The bold section refers to a travel visa being required to leave Pyongyang. I left some additional text, cause the next paragraph has some interesting info on Jong Il.
Also, If you watch the documentary "My Brothers and Sisters in the North" (on YouTube), I believe they talk to a farmer (or some other worker in the countryside) who has a wish to visit Pyongyang, but hasn't gotten a permit yet.
Weird, a permit is necessary for leaving Pyongyang? It's difficult for me to understand what the purpose of that would serve? Having said that, you'll forgive me if I find the source of the citation suspect.
You should read the source. The guy is a lib, but he very knowledgeable about Korean history. You can even see in the second paragraph that he directly counteracts the media portrayal of Jong Il. He is very fair throughout the book, and I would really encourage you to read the entire thing (it's not particularly long). A comrade posted a digital copy on the Discord if you search for the title. Not gonna forgive you until you read it ;)
But yes, I think the focus here is that we are talking about people in the Kim family's inner circle (though it is his illegitimate son) who are still required to have a permit. That stands out to me that they didn't get a special exemption. These sorts of policies are far from ideal, but when you have a country that is living on the brink of invasion by Western Imperialists for decades, you need to be regimented. The precariousness of their position as a country justifies the amount of authority they are using. The whole country is more or less militarized for good reason, and in the military you can't have your soldiers doing whatever they want, they need to request leave, and be back on time or else the unit could be weakened.
I'm interested, I'll find it and give it a read. Thank you for the recommendation, Comrade.
Definitely, the first chapter is particularly difficult because it covers the Korean War and the effect that had on the country. There is a lot to learn from their struggle, though it is debatable whether they are really comrades through and through on a domestic level. They get shafted pretty damn hard in the media though (and it was true 2 decades ago when the book was written).