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David Guttenfelder / AP
People watch a dolphin show at a newly-built amusement park in Pyongyang, North Korea on Sept. 8.
David Guttenfelder / AP
A dolphin leaps from a tank during a show at a newly-built amusement park in Pyongyang, North Korea on Sept. 8.
David Guttenfelder / AP
A woman rides a roller coaster at a newly-built amusement park in Pyongyang, North Korea on Aug. 8.
David Guttenfelder / AP
A guest room is bathed in red light shining through a curtain at a hotel for foreign tourists in Kaesong, North Korea on Sept. 11.
David Guttenfelder / AP
A traffic police officer stands in a marked area in the middle of the principle intersection in Kaesong, North Korea on Sept. 11.
David Guttenfelder / AP
A truck, retrofitted to run on a barrel of burning wood, stops on a road in Hamhung, North Korea on Aug. 11.
David Guttenfelder / AP
A man holds a woman's bag and parasol as they play miniature golf at a newly-built amusement park in Pyongyang, North Korea on Sept. 8.
David Guttenfelder / AP
Two people dance at Majon beach near Hamhung, North Korea on Aug. 11.
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Pyongyang refuses to let failed rocket launch dampen tone of festivities.
Associated Press photographer David Guttenfelder captures the secretive life of North Korea again with a series of images shot this August and September.
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Wow. You can't even get a room in a hotel for foreign tourists in Kaesong, North Korea without that damn crooked lampshade showing up. Must be an International Fellowship of Housekeepers kinda thing.
What a load of bull sh*t. NBCNEWS actually paid for this crap? If they are going to be lead by the nose to believe this BS then nothing they print can be believe, especially the poll numbers and political news they squeeze out of their ass.
Why would anyone want to Defect or leave there?? We could be more like them if we would simply Tax the Rich at a rate of 100% which is effectively what they do (100% in N. Korea, 75% in France). There would be no "off-shore" places for them to hide anything if we can get them in camps!!
Maybe we could simply PUT THE 1%, and most other people capable of making significant resources, in CAMPS like they do and have them turn over their money to GOVERNMENT? Then SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE wouldn't be going Broke!!!
OBAMA/BIDEN 2012 . . . KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE!!!
So,when do we the workers and providers of all your needs get the opportunity to put you in a camp?Your are retired? and no longer able to help the collective....stop being a drag on the people!you need to go.Don't you love Democrat/Libs/Progressive/Communists?They are a never ending source of amusement....:o)
Hands off my Medicare-Sounds like a good plan!
Liverpool in the usa- Why don't you move back to England, you narrow minded twerp!
What is the traffic cop in the circle directing?
I thought the same thing --- why a traffic cop?? A bike path near my home and 100 times more traffic on it and we don't need a traffic cop.
They look happy over there . . . EVERYTHING IS TAKEN CARE OF!!! No worries about Medicare, Social Security, etc.
VOTE OBAMA/BIDEN . . . TOGETHER We Can Do This . . . YOU PAYING FOR ME!!!!
He is directing his hand in his pocket.
Hey handsoffmymedicare, I can't wait for the day when you really are old, sick and homeless. I'll be the guy laughing at you while you hold that cardboard sign next to the freeway on ramp.
See you at the soupline.
He's playing pool. He's racking his balls!
.
HandsOffMyMedicare!! Take the next flight to South Korea, walk across the border to North Korea and you too can join the North Korean masses playing miniature golf!
If you and Obama want that kind of life just leave.
Because all the people and cars were blocked from the area. Look at the Beach. Has anyone else been to a beach in California that you could count the number of people enjoying the sun and turf. No you haven't. I have lived in a depressed country and just getting photos out of the country is a feat in it self. Go back and look at the boy and his facial. Where is the wonderment and joy. Go to SeaWorld and look at the people, what a difference. Don't even be sure that the man and woman was his parents. We saw pictures of what NK wanted us to see. Make no mistake about that. So unless you have been to such countries and seen with your eyes, then and only then can you make a comment on this subject.
Obama supporters to the poling booths!
Practising....Duh!!...:o)
Can't you see ... it's rush hour !
What a great bunch of fun-loving people!!! How can anyone claim they are repressed?
Because they only allow foreigners to photo an idealistic version of propaganda. The state-run economy is an absolute failure and starvation is still a very real problem.
Troll. Troll. Troll.
Flatiron72; I think Teoteo is using sarcasm. If not, he missed a great opportunity to do so.
Yeah they look about as happy as the 23,000,000 unemployeed in our country under our wonderful leader.
Hail Obama! leader of the drooling masses,protector of the mediocre,suck up to the worlds thugs.Thank you,for pushing the U.S. to its knees.....4 moreyears....what a load of crap!The new worst President so far.....:o)
F U C K off, you limey bastard.
Racist.
Tellya what Hope you don't kiss your momma with your nasty mouth. Try to act civilized and not be an AH
Bread and circuses minus the bread
That dolphin looks a little on the thin side.
He is from New York city. The ban on large soda's is working. Let's all go liberal and be thin too.
Every picture was weird in some way - from the people watching the dolphins (looking suspiciously in opposite directions), the traffic cop directing a mostly abandoned street (not even any parked cars!), the awkward shot of people dancing on the beach, the wood-burning truck, the dingy hotel room,,, Just an odd group of photos. Even the dolphin show looks drab and the performers appear overly stiff and regimented. The overall tone of these photos leaves me cold and a little uneasy.
My same thoughts. Where are the people and cars on the street, where are the smiles. Even the roller coaster lady wasn't smiling, the force of the down wind was forceing the change in the facical structure.
What a sad place to live. Red is their National Color for control, isn't it?
"North Korean Life"?? Maybe for the few that are privileged. I hope this doesn't lead some gullible people into thinking this is what life is like for most North Koreans. That dolphin has more rights and food than most North Koreans. If any of these smiling people tried to leave the country without permission, they would be shot. If any of these smiling people insulted their dictator, they would be shot (and maybe some of their family too for good measure).
All these people you are seeing here are highly privileged North Koreans. They're all "trusted", part of the government ruling elite, somehow. Or they're good actors.
Casual USTaxpayer,
And you know this how? Have you been to North Korea? If not, how can you be so certain that "All these people you are seeing here are highly privileged North Koreans?" The people on the truck CERTAINLY do not look privileged, and most of the rest of the photos depict exactly what I would expect to see normal citizens there doing in their free time.
I suspect the truth is that you bring your own prejudices into the view that you experience, just because you have some per-conceived notion of how bad life must be in North Korea. While it is probably not as nice as what we experience - mostly due to shortages - the people living there are NOT constantly barraged with repression, and probably enjoy the little freedoms they do have.
There are many people who grew up under the former Soviet Union who now long for the days of having their meager lives provided for by the State. You cannot judge these individuals without have experienced their lives first hand.
SingBiker- "and probably enjoy the little freedoms they do have." ha ha ha... Look, not that I owe you an explanation, but reading is education. I read many, many books. I've read many recent books on North Korea, one recently by a top government official who has been there. I've read books by North Korean defectors who would say you are probably one of the NK privileged. Education- it's a good thing.
CasualUSTaxpayer,
Thanks for making my point for me. You have judged me based upon what little I wrote in response to your rant. I also read, quite a bit. In addition I travel a lot. I spent 6.5 years in Egypt observing the oppression those people lived under, at the hands of a U.S. puppet regime. Even the poorest of those people found some happiness in their lives. You do not seem to have any concept of the resilience of the Human spirit.
Certainly, I understand that any American visiting North Korea is closely controlled by "handlers", much as they were in the Soviet Union. That does NOT mean that all the people are unhappy all the time, and you are naive to believe it is so.
I spent three months working in Shanghai a few years ago. I met many happy Chinese who have a lot less to be happy about than many in the States. That did NOT preclude them from enjoying what they did have. While their wages are not as high as those in the West, they still seem to find a way to be able to save up for cars and homes. There are also the instances of workers being forced to work ungodly hours, sometimes for no extra pay, but often that is at the behest of companies like Apple demanding high productivity for little reward.
I have been a photographer for 45 years, and I have found that there are usually happy people in every society, even when we have been told that there are not. Just because you cannot envision that fact does not make it true.
Read all the books you want, it depends on who wrote them and what they wanted your sheeple mind to engrain. SingBiker sounds like an intelligent person who doesn't believe everything he reads or hears. He uses common sense and thinks outside the box set before him by his government.
Too bad the overall gene pool is made up of sheeple like you CasualUSTaxpayer (the 47% who voted for Romney I'm betting) who probably believe the 9/11 towers didnt fall from demolition and al qaeda (CIA run), and that there actually were WMD's in Iraq, and that Kennedy wasn't shot by the guy on the grassy knoll.
But hey educated people like you are the reason why America is now owned by a select few elites who own the federal reserve (who own our government) and are in the process of stripping what little financial security any of us have left.
Have fun with that you phucking sheeple!
CasualUSTaxpayer,
Well, I have actually been to North Korea, and I can tell you it's not as simplistic as you want to make it. There's a lot that sucks about the country, and certainly horrific things do take place, and people are suffering. But there were some good points to their society, too. No one ever wants to hear that, because it conflicts with their deep desire to paint everything black or white, but it's true. Here's what a North Korean has to say about it:
By the way, I too had read all the books about North Korea before going. But books don't replace personal experience. I am strongly repelled by the starvation, camps, brainwashing, and lack of personal freedom. But I can still appreciate the lack of corporate logos, materialism, and general sense of happiness created by the simpler way of life they have there. Few places are ever completely good or completely bad...
Sorry my link didn't work, but Google "Ask a North Korean The Good Parts to Life in North Korea" and you will find the column I was referring to.
I just read "Escape from Camp 14" and I didnt like how they didn't feed that young boy enough but IF THAT IS WHAT IS REQUIRED TO PROVIDE FOR MY MEDICARE & SOCIAL SECURITY THEN SO BE IT!!!
Maybe if we can just TAX ALL THE PEOPLE STILL WORKING 75% like in France but keep them living in their houses not in CAMPS like in Korea . . That would take care of ME!
VOTE OBAMA/BIDEN 2012 . . . WORKING TOGETHER . . . YOU Paying for ME!!!!
SingBiker Did you study to be so stupid and uneducated? You didn't read yesterdays nbcnews reported that more than 20,000 North Koreans escaped from North Korea through China and thousands more were killed trying? You didn't read about the guard killing two officers to escape from the DMZ? Why don't you go there and with a satellite phone and give us a real report? (Facetious of course, satellite phone would be confiscated and you would be sent to one of the gulags.)
CausalUs taxpayer is correct, the rest of you live in the land of lolipops and rainbows and probably still believe obama will cut our national debt in half , instead of doubling it like he did. My best friend is from South Korea, and as a SOuth Korean citizen you are required to serve in the military, he mostly did border patrol on the border of north and south and had a chance to meet two refugees fleeing from th enorth trying to enter south korea, and their reason was that they wanted an education and wanted to learn, this is why my friend came to America, because unlike the people of north korea he has a chance to actually get an education and experience a real life
You'd never know they were starving and living in the strictest Commy Dictatorship on earth. They look fairly normal and happy? Wonder what the real truth is?
ANY Western affiliation and organization is very TIGHTLY controlled. You cannot go anywhere alone and have a state appointed guide. Pyongyang has ZERO old people in it because they even want to control the age of people in it. You can't honestly think that starvation of the entire rest of the country (note Pyongyang is only a city and even Pittsburgh has more people running about it. Hell, even Youngstown does.) It is not uncommon for states to control photographers and videographers to show exactly what they want.
In WWII, even the Nazis did this. They had a separate building in the concentration camp at Thereienstadt that had a whole bunker that looked *nice* compared to what we normally think of. It was all for show for the Red Cross and why we didn't really know what was going on entirely in these camps. They even had a swimming pool on grounds that was actually for the concentration camp guards and their families NOT for the victims held within the camp.
"Oh look they get to swim!"
No. No they don't. Just because there are dolphins doesn't mean everyone can see them. Just because one person had some bread and got to dance on a beach does not mean that it is representative of the millions other starving there. This is propaganda 101. There is no middle. Just a douchebag regime and @!$%#s like you who can't be bothered to critically think for one damn second.
I would really hate to see how the unprivleged people live. This is the pinnacle of the socialist/communist ideological movement? The so called classless society where all outcomes are the same for everyone? (actually there are two classes the political elite, which are the oligarchs(the people who know best for everyone) and the proletariat class).
Sounds a lot like rhetoric that a certain someone likes to use, during his speeches and so called debates. What'ya know Clint was right, only this time it was an empty podium .....
You're a dumbass. No, this is an authoritarian-military fascist state. There ARE classes. This is not communism.
Nazis also called themselves purveyors of democracy "I WONDER THEN IF DEMOCRACY IS ALL CRACKED UP ITS TO BE HURRR HURRR HURRRRRR". Seriously. Can you be bother to critically think for a moment? A single effing moment?
Not an authoritarian state? I'm trying to remember when the last election of any type was held for the people. I trying to think when the last time was that a foreigner was allowed the freedom to walk on the street 'unescorted'. I'm wondering how many people are risking their lives to escape from North Korea and how many are risking their lives to enter North Korea. You are right, this is not communism, it is tyranny. FWIW, can you even think for an effing moment? Why not plan your next holiday to North Korea, I'm sure they would love to have you visit.
@FWIW-4141964 --- boy you will do and say anything to protect barry wont you? N Korea is absolutely a socialist/communist state. It is a gov't/military controlled state, in which all means of production and spending and distribution are determined through a centralized gov't --- That is communism. (This is exactly what barry wants --perhaps not as extreme but this is what he wants)
Nazi germany was not a democracy and they never claimed to be a democracy. They were an off shoot of socialism, with a heavy emphasis on gentic superiority. Hitler and his henchman detested democracy and all its forms. You are clueless -- absolutely clueless. I now understand how a failure like BHO became President. People like you fell for his class warfare rhetoric and pro good gov't BS hook, line and sinker.
I can't wait to see this clown stumbling over himself again, in the next debate.
alinnj,
N Korea is a Totalitarian Socialist state, much as the Soviet Union was. There is nothing about it that is truly Communist. In a pure Communist society everyone would be equal and there would not be a ruling class.
I see you are a hapless sheeple of Faux News and the abomination that is the Romney lie. Good luck with that, but it's not gonna happen.
@ SingBiker Totalitarianism is communism....only someone who is interested in protecting the ideas of communism, would make such a weak and feckless distinctoin between the two. There is no such thing as a classless society. It does not exist in the real world, only in the minds of academic idealists, who think such a society can exist. Liberals are foolish and clueless individuals. It is frightening to read some of the responses, that I receive.
It is like reading responses from people who have been subjected to stockholm syndrome. They will actually identify with and protect the very people, who are abusing and holding them captive. You keep believing that gov't is going to save you. You keep believing that this idiot ( and I mean an idiot) of a president, is somehow going to protect you from all the pitfalls and evils of the world, if you just surrender to his will and ideas.
Good luck with that, but it is not going to happen.
Hail Obama!.....ahhh,crap and the "fellow travelers" continue to spread the manure.....:o)
I imagine these people are very privileged for the most part. I doubt many North Koreans are seeing dolphin shows and going to amusement parks or playing putt putt golf. It seemed like even these people rarely smiled, or when they did smile they seemed to want to repress it. Maybe its my imagination, but they seemed contrived and fearful of showing emotion.
It will be the same way when Obama builds the miniture golf course on the White House lawn. They will have an annual Mrs. Obama golf tournament for Liberals and will hoot and hollar under a full moon. There aren't many people smiling in America right now even less if the great one is relected.
The whole country is a strange experiment in running everything in society with strict military discipline. It's like something right out of the Twilight Zone TV show.
No the twilight zone was entertaining. It is like something right out of the last 3years and 10 months.
A wood-burning truck? Now that's steampunk.
NOooooo he's not an Idiot! I've read every comment on here, and guess what? None of you know,Squat!
You see those wood burning trucks? Those wood burning trucks were around during the Depression! You know about the Depression back in the 1930's don't ya? No?
Well that's what people did out of desperation to have their cars running.America's best kept secret.
Now that being said,you see the condition this country is in now? Well give it time.Because with the global economic conditions here and arfound the world no? Well that's exactly what is going to be going on in the very near future.
You see the price of gas? And it's going to get higher.You see these so called presidential elections,coming up?Makes no difference who gets in.Because the blue print is all mapped out for this country and the world.
By guess who? The Globalist Banksters,and corporations.So far everything right on target.They even have their puppet candidates. A puppet Marxist President and A Rich White guy who can give two slugs, about the Naive American Public.
So go ahead and argue,it gives you people something to do.However,you're not immune from living like people in North Korea,wood burning trucks and all.
Think it can't happen? It's already in progress, and you people haven't a clue!
Amen. You get it!!
When will we be so brave as to gather the"green" movement to our bosom and advance to the dizzying heights of the Great Leaders vision.Hail Obama!,Hail to our great Communist leaders pulling America to it doom to "save" us from the perils of freedom and prosperity.When I saw the joy on those Korean faces and the love the "Dear leader"has for the masses.mmm mmm mmm. Doesn't it make you sick to your stomach to realize THIS is want the left envisions for YOU?...:o)
What the monkey $h!T? If life in N. Korea is so great, then why are they driving a flippin' truck that runs on wood? Why are the streets empty? You're an idiot.
They probably feel extremely fortunate to find wood. And a truck on top of it? Wonder where it's transporting those people to.
An Obama reelection rally!!!
You sir must be a right wing hate monger,you do not grasp the vision of the Wood Burning truck.You and I can not fathom the technological advances under the "Dear Leader" etc,etc....A nation of farmers...starving to death to satisfy the desires of the collective.....:o)
I see whole lot of negativity here, and with all the threats we've heard of (from our propaganda controlled press) I don't know what to think about North Korea anymore. I only know what my grandfather says, and since he was there I know most of this stuff is true.
I saw a special a few years ago where North Korean's sang songs about killing American's, there was alot of anit-American sentiment being engrained in the people. That made me sad to say the least. I had a great Hwa Rang Do teacher and liked him quite a bit.
I hope with the new leader things will chill and they will come to be part of things like China has. Those photo's reveal quite a bit if you look closely. It reminds me of Cuba.
Is this the US's way of trying to get more legal immigrants coming in to take jobs that are already being fought for here?
I missed something. Can you tell me how many illegal North Korean immigrants you've found working and taking a job from someone else?
The caption to the one photo tells it all, "Pyongyang refuses to let failed rocket launch dampen tone of festivities." Those are the faces of people enjoying festivities? My God, what do they look like when things aren't so good?
The Obama staff in a National Secuirty Meeting!
Obama is usually to busy to attend his daily briefings he's got important things to attend to-fund raisers,vacation,golf,disrespected dignitaries...etc.....:o)
I saw a show on CNN a few years ago where a guy risked his life going around with a secret camera in a shirt button. The suffering was unbelievable. The folks that lived in small towns put their dead out in the street because they could not afford to bury them. A truck would come around every few days (maybe) and pick up the corpses. If you tried to bury or cremate them in the country side you would be thrown in prison.
Maybe that was a mocked up town made to look like it was North Korea to hide the fact that they are all really happy there living the perfect life. Who knows what you really watched there. Camera's can be duped.
Hannibalektr You be our official truth finder. Take a vacation there and if you get back, tell the rest of us what you found. Obviously, this author, once he was released with his pretty pictures, could have written that he had minders, only could go where they allowed him and he could have told the truth.
If you read the previous article you would have found out that AP opened an office in North Korea. Had the author published any negative pictures, he would have been thrown out of North Korea and the office shut down.
Tony344506,
I remember seeing that special as well. Does anyone remember the the special they had about the eye doctor who was allowed to enter the country to perform eye operations for the blind? The goverment chose the people who would be operated on. I loved the part where once the eye bandages came off and the person could see again (sometimes for the first time in years) what was the FIRST thing they did? not hug and kiss a loved one (husband,child, wife) but turn to the mandatory picture of the "Great Leader" which is required to hang in every living room (mandatory that is, if ya want your food ration) and praise HIM for allowing them to have their sight returned. That pretty much sums up the whole country.
I really love the taste of sawdust in the morning. Blends in very well with water.
Yes, true, but it goes down much better with a fresh bottle of Kim Jong piss!
Was it responsible showing that young boy knowing how that government treats anyone who it considers to have "embarrassed" them?
Seriously, these people suffer enough and why add to their misery but publishing up close pictures of individuals.
I enjoyed seeing these photos and learned something as well from them. For some of the posters here and many of those on other commenting sections I choose to read, I have a few questions.....When you were learning how to do something or how to understand something, were you called names like "dumba$$" or "@&$%^" while you were trying to learn? Did your parents punish you and call you names for making an error? Did your teachers call you or other classmates names when a question or problem was answered incorrectly? Were you allowed to bully others without reproach? Personally, when name-calling and swearing begin, I stop reading or listening. I think to myself sometimes that the mean-spirited, rude statements being made in these sections are coming from the teller at the bank, the nurse in the doctor's office, the insurance agent, the person in the pew behind us at church or any one of the many people we come across in our daily activities and it is painful to think that those who we might show respect in person are in actuality hiding a mean and selfish personality that we wouldn't want our kids having anything to do with! It would be much appreciated if these people hiding behind their pc's would identify themselves so the rest of us know who to avoid. BTW my name is Sharon, I am 64 years old, retired, married 46 years, a mother and a grandma and live in Illinois.
Totalskeptic, do you know what trolling is? It's the new american tradition.
youtube.com/watch?v=WSIw2pY7lNY
Don't take it all too seriously, after all who really gives a crap, it's the internet.
By the way, you left off your last name so I can avoid you. Don't want to post your real name?
I guess you are a hypocrite like all other trolls here aren't ya.
I am with you TotalSkeptic. I would also like to add that I 'shut-off' reading rants when people refer the president in less than respectful terms. It makes me think a lot less of the writer. And, I don't care what political party you like.
And to you Mr. Hannibalektr, I give a crap.
i agree Sharon..really sad to think that all the things we take for granted in America like freedom of speech,education,the right to vote etc. that were paid for with blood,sweat and tears of our ancestors are so abused and maligned by recent generations as evidenced by their crude and abusive language and attitudes...my thinking is that if we were to reinstitute the draft in America all that self indulging would come to an end very quickly..along with many other traditions in this country that have been eradicated due to the liberal extremist elements that we have protected with our lives and work.Unfotunately it only takes afew spoiled apples to ruin it for everyone else...you would think modern technologies would make life more enjoyable for those who made it possible with their self sacrifice...but it seems things become easier to access for those who dont deserve ...especially when its done anonymously...God save us from ourselves.
To all that think NK is a happy place where normal classes exist and everyone has access to "dolphin shows" you are a little misinformed. These images were "set up" and "allowed" to be taken by the govt and will strictly only show you "middle class" looking citizens pretending to be all American. I will use two meager examples here, one being from this gallery the other being from space.
1. Wood gasifiers should not be used in a time where normal internal combustion mixture engines are available. Wood gasifiers are incredible inefficient and insanely dangerous. You need a container full of wood that sits in a fire within another container which is being stoked with other fuels. The wood in the inside chamber heats up releasing a combustible gas which is then pumped into the engine to be used as fuel. A small leak in the inner chamber and KABOOOMM. This is why we don't burn wood for fuel for our cars.
2. Google Earth. Just look at that place, no seriously look at that place carefully. You can see many features that look just like concentration camps, internment camps and reformation camps. They do not just look like this, they really are camps. Also take note to check out NK at night and look at all the pretty lights they do not have shinning brightly.
I have not been to NK, but I have been obsessed with it since I was a child, there is nothing going on good there, because if you were privileged in NK then why are you trading 3#'s of corn for a nice warm pair of wool socks...
They look uptight, somethings not right. I don't trust the pictures.
Good observation Kathleen. They were actually taken in America of the future Korean faces were inserted to protect the real identity. The folks on the beach are Polssi and Reid after Obama care passed. The generals in the auditorium is actually the Congress waiting to hear Obama give his welcome to the new world order speech.
Jesus, what a horrible place...that shot of Kaesong is depressing. That traffic(?) cop is the only guy with a job. Nice of them to draw that bullseye for our cruise missiles when the day comes though.
Let's see some photos of the typical North Koreans in the countryside!
That would be a "principal" intersection, editors.