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... what would happen ?
would the country be worse off ?
There must be some underground movement trying to overthrow the government- making this bit up !
I watched this the other day. It's a bit old but it got very dusty in my van...
Not much apart from having more to eat ... then the norm set in. i.e. the norm of the world ... iphone, ipad etc ... walking while texting ...unfitgeezer - Member
If the people of N Korea were suddenly liberated...
... what would happen ?
Depends on who is paying for "liberation". The cost of bringing everything up to date as well as the majority of the people probably losing everything to currency devaluations and the like.
If you do a search for German reunification problems the wiki site has a statement of cost for the 20 year period following the fall of the wall.
Over a period of 20 years, German reunification has cost 2 trillion euros, or an average of 100 billion euros a year
They speak a different language effectively to the guys in South Korea so integration would also be no easy task if the partition was dropped.
I'm in Sudan today and it's quite liberating to be in a country where there's absolutely no American influence at all. Sudan has been on the USA's embargo list since the Bin Laden days but I think even the USA is waking up to the fact that most ordinary Sudanese are too dozy and comical to pose a threat to them so there are signs that the embargo will be coming down soon, which will mean international banking and telecoms will come here and unfortunately also American commercial influence, which I fear the Sudanese will embrace with open arms.
North Korea needs a McDonnalds.
It'll be the first in, betcha.
I'd imagine they'd do quite well in manufacturing goods for foreign companies with a bit of investment
I guess a lot would depend on what levels of corruption would exist post 'liberation'
I suspect there would be a massive culture shock for these people who are so used to being oppressed. I was in South Korea the other week with work and talking to our man in Seoul, who is Korean himself. He was telling me that there are people who manage to defect from the north to the south, but alot of those struggle to adjust to the Capitalist way of life, and there isn't that much help from the government, and some even go back North. God know's what awaits a returning defector. It wasn't so long ago that their illustrious leader put to death one of his minions by firing squad - except the firing squad were not armed with rifles but Anti-Aircraft guns. These people are just cruel for the sake of being cruel and live under constant threat. That's bound to affect your mind after a while.
There would need to be some form of assistance to help acclimatise people to a completely different way of life, mindset, way of thinking etc. Apparently maps in North Korea don't even acknowledge the South or alot of the rest of the world, so that is the level of 'brainwashing' that goes on.
I guess a lot would depend on what levels of corruption would exist post 'liberation'
It's more like the German example than Russia though (taking Russia as an example of a corrupt country being liberated).
Unlike Russia though it doesn't seem to have any natural resource assets to be corrupt with. Likewise Russia, inspite of the iron curtain still seemed to have a functioning economy in manufacturing (yes a Lada is a joke, but so was the Austin Montego).
It'd probably just become a sweatshop for the South when Samsung, Hyundai, etc move in.
Over a period of 20 years, German reunification has cost 2 trillion euros, or an average of 100 billion euros a year
That's presumably gross for costs in East Germany? Presumably the increased economic output of the East post reunification dwarfs that? Or is that the negative impact on former West Germany?
North Korea needs a McDonnalds.
It'll be the first in, betcha.
Coke are usually in pretty sharpish.
Free coalybacks for everyone?
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One of them isn't under fed then.
If you want to take East Germany as one of the better examples of post liberation there was still essentially a lost generation. The ones who were in their 40s and older found it extremely hard to adapt to a capitalist system and a lot were never able to work again as their skill set wasn't needed in the modern Germany. A lot took their own lives or became alcoholic. It's a real problem that is never really talked about outside of this part of Germany. God knows how much more difficult it would be for the people N Korea who have been so information starved and brainwashed.
One of them isn't under fed then.
True. But he is ronely.
then the norm set in. i.e. the norm of the world ... iphone, ipad etc ... walking while texting ...
Not been paying attention, have you; there are mobile devices available in NK, and many use them, but they're very tightly controlled as far as network access is concerned, no equivalents to our social media as such, or search facilities.
... so they upgrade to iphone, ipad and other better versions from Samsung etc then they start texting while driving ... ya, social drone network will then turn them into walking drones. 😆CountZero - Member
then the norm set in. i.e. the norm of the world ... iphone, ipad etc ... walking while texting ...Not been paying attention, have you; there are mobile devices available in NK, and many use them, but they're very tightly controlled as far as network access is concerned, no equivalents to our social media as such, or search facilities.
BTW if anyone wants to read a brilliantly well written and research commentary on life in NK, I highly recommend
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Winner of the 2010 Johnson prize for non fiction.
Sudanese are too dozy and comical to pose a threat
Racist!
True. But he is ronely.
Wacist!
He does look like some character out of a spoof movie though.
That's presumably gross for costs in East Germany? Presumably the increased economic output of the East post reunification dwarfs that? Or is that the negative impact on former West Germany?
From my understanding all of the government and service infrastructure needed to be replaced. A lot of the power , water etc services were run down and needed modernising. If you can imagine at the moment the uk doesn't seem to be able to afford to build a single power station and is farming it out to the French/Chinese the task of doing this to an entire nation could be high.
For the people who have state savings (in a old worthless currency) it is bad. Suddenly the free market comes in and the rent for the state owned home soars but their civil service salary doesn't keep up to match. Yes they have as access to all of these new goods but the culture shock of moving from a controlled market to a capitalist one is massive. When I was in South Korea there are many stories of the defectors going back north because life for them did not get better in the south.
North Korea does have a good amount of coal but with the way the world is moving this is becoming less of an asset.
True. But he is ronely.
That was his Dad.