Something you don’t see everyday. Photo and text via Reuters:
North Korea’s diplomat Won To Hui climbs out of a tunnel while visiting the Cu Chi tunnel system with his Prime Minister Kim Yong-il in Vietnam’s southern Ho Chi Minh city October 30, 2007.
Via the Times: "The exhibition features 400 hand-painted posters dating from the peak of the Dear Leader Kim Sung Il's power in the 1950s to the present regime led by his son, Kim Jong Il." The article has only one image, but has several interesting propaganda quotes.
- #Young Korean Herrenvolk engaging in their version of Agoge, at least according to the New York Times. The two Korean schools mentioned in the article are similar to Exeter or Andover in the United States in someways (they are private academies that serve children of affluent parents). But my guess is that the studious atmosphere and intense regimen compare more to the likes of Stuyvesant (my alma mater) in NYC or T.J. in Virginia (both highly selective, but publicly-funded high schools).
- #North Korea claims that on 25 April 1932 the Korean People’s Army (KPA, 조선인민군/ Chosŏn inmin'gun) was formed. However, the more likely accurate date is 08 February 1948. It is celebrated as “Military Foundation Day” in Kimland.
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October 31st, 2007 at 10:21 am
That is an odd picture indeed. Why did the guy try the tunnel anyway? Also, it does not look too fun to go in considering I am claustrophobic… holy moly.
November 1st, 2007 at 11:15 am
Deja vou…I climbed into this very same hole 11 years ago!
November 2nd, 2007 at 7:30 am
Jack;
I’m guessing he was on a tour - you know, see how we defeated the U.S. Imperialists kinda thing.
NKeconWatch;
Any pics???
November 2nd, 2007 at 4:32 pm
A lot has changed in Vietnam in the last 11 years. The US and Vietnamese governments have officially patched things up; we have opened an embassy in Hanoi; and trade has taken off. Additionally, Vietnam has altered or closed a number of their anti-American propaganda faciltities. The “Museum of American War Atrocities” is no longer in operation for example.
The tunnels at Cu Chi are still open and very interesting. They have demonstrations of guerilla tactics the VC used against the US soldiers, which having a relative who served there, was quite intense. There are enough tunnels left to actually climb through. Some have even been enlarged so we fat westerners can fit through them. The “whizzing” you feel past your ears is actually a series of bats!
I have pictures, but if you really want to see them, I can email them to you.