New Video from North Korea

Color me completely unsurprised to learn that there’s prostitution in North Korea, given the fact of North Korea’s extreme poverty, suppressed values, and the failure of every other east Asian nation’s war on prostitution. Hell, Kim Jong Il has even turned Alejandro Cao de Benos into his international pimp daddy, letting him run his own profitable travel agency / dating service / kisaeng house for frustrated white leftists who otherwise couldn’t get a date in a cellblock full of violent sex offenders. Hey, leisure suit, Mao suit, whatever.

Above: How the Joongang Ilbo is covering the story.

What’s more interesting about this story (besides the fact that I said the word “prostitution,” meaning it will cause dozens of hits on this site from Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Yemen) is the fact that it’s just one vignette from a new video of North Korea, recently smuggled out with the help of a disgruntled North Korean officer. The scenes described seem incredibly bleak, especially for the kids, who can be seen walking around drinking, or just lying motionless by the railroad tracks. Unfortunately, the link is only to a story covering the video; no link to the video itself yet. If it’s posted, I’ll link it. I’ve long believed that one (but not the only) reason the North Korean story hasn’t caught on with the media is the lack of pictures and video.

UPDATE: Video here. Reactions at NKZone are interesting. I was taken aback by the reaction of Ralph Sato, who said the scenes were not unlike what one would see in many other third-world nations. Ralph’s undoubtedly on the left end of the political spectrum–he sometimes writes for Indymedia–but his comments are normally coherent and reasoned. But, really–child alcoholics missing their fingers and feet, writhing in pain, while soldiers watch and eat ice cream? Street justice and time in labor camps for women who sell their bodies to live another day? A regime that refuses to let aid groups come in and feed them, despite multitudes of offers? I’ve lived and travelled in dozens of countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. I certainly didn’t see anything approaching that level of dysfunction or heartlessness in such impoverished places as Viet Nam, Zimbabwe, or Zambia. What kind of people will those kids become, if they live that long? North Korea is breeding a nation of thieves, pimps, and prostitutes. It’s not the economics that are going to make reunification so difficult. It’s the psychology.

Hat tip: the indispensable Rebecca at NKZone.