Skip to main content

2021-02-01 Random News: Elite defections and rappers


In my favorite newspaper in the world...

"Defections of high-level North Korean officials are telltale symptoms of internal difficulties

I don't deny the reasons stated in the article, but my questions:

1) If you were standing in line, and saw people at the front of the line getting shot, would you continue waiting in line?

I am not sure why it might seem confusing that high-level North Korean diplomats who heard about Kim Jong-Un's uncle and half-brother being eliminated would feel less secure about themselves. Some North Korea watchers debated if the uncle was really machine-gunned or fed to dogs and if the half-brother was truly assassinated by the regime. In a country and society where that seems possible, do you want to wait around to see what might happen to you? If you saw people above your party status and pay grade getting executed, would you keep standing in what may be an execution line, or make a run for it?

Reporters sometimes forget that North Koreans are humans. There are not always big policy questions about why someone even in the elite might make a run for it.


2) The "Privilege" of getting assassinated

Over the years, I have noticed that South Korean reporters and intellectuals discussing North Korean refugees and defectors will refer to the "privileges" that the North Korean elite had in North Korea. For a long time, it felt like South Korea itself must be a John Milton type of "it is better to rule in hell rather than serve in heaven" kind of country. And it seemed that mindset was being applied to North Korea.

So my question about the elite leaving their privileges behind:

Is it a privilege to have your head put in a lion's mouth?

North Korea's elite may have special status in the country, but that apparently can change at any moment. Some North Korean refugees who escaped from the lion's mouth have reported some trivial reasons for escaping, such as: Not smiling and cheering wildly enough at a military parade, losing a book they had been allowed access to, not having a portrait of a dictator appropriately displayed in their homes, or leaving a job at a government villa.

Many North Koreans have told stories that they were doing well, then oops! Someone in the family did something wrong, and suddenly they were all under arrest, doing hard labor, and/or escaping. The "elite" may have "privileges," but those privileges are not permanent. The dictator changes policy and some of the elite could get sent to concentration camps.

3) Why did you leave your family behind?

Back during my first sojourn to South Korean during the 1990s, I didn't know much about North Korean refugees, but I remember South Koreans were abuzz about an elite North Korean who had escaped to South Korea. There were actually some South Koreans are arguing that the defector had betrayed his family.

Fresh out of Harvard, my point then was: Leaving family behind is an ethical question that needs to be addressed to the butchers of Pyongyang or debated by college sophomores. North Korea puts families in do-or-die situations: stay and possibly get executed along with your family if you make a wrong move, or leave and your family possibly gets tortured and/or executed. Yes, I used to say, that is exactly the kind of question that families overpay for their children to discuss with Prof. Michael Sandel at Harvard.

I used to say college sophomores, but now it seems to be a question that is better suited for high school sophomores and YouTubers.

* * *

Speaking of YouTubers, that leads me to my next favorite story of the day.

My favorite newspaper in the world reports: Rapper apologizes over delayed refund of lesson fees.

1) My first thought was: Is this really news? A rapper apologized on Instagram after a fan complained about not receiving a refund for lessons? It must be news because I clicked on it and have now shared it with you.

2) My second thought was: What else should be in the news that isn't really news. Such as, did any kids apologize today for not tying their shoes? Did any YouTubers apologize for not uploading on time today?

3) Then my third thought was: If it is news about a rapper apologizing for not refunding money for lessons, would it be news if I predicted such things happening and then they happened?

In connecting these two stories: Would that rapper have had to escape from North Korea if it was found that he hadn't refunded lesson fees to a member of the elite?

Popular posts from this blog

Breen's column that outraged Samsung

“What People Got for Christmas” Michael Breen The Korea Times December 25, 2009 At this time of year when Seoul’s bare winter trees are wrapped in beckoning lights ― blue and white are the in colors ― and Merry Xmas signs at hotels and department stores are really saying come-hither-gentle-reveler-and-empty-your-purse, and when expensive restaurants belch noisy year-end office party groups onto every street and the karaoke rooms are full, it is tempting to declare that Christmas has lost its soul. But that would be a mistake. Christmas is a time for giving, and, before they can be given, gifts have to be bought. Commerce is good. Here, as proof, is a round up of some of the gifts given and received today by people in the news. Samsung, the world’s largest conglomerate and the rock upon which the Korean economy rests, sent traditional year-end cards offering best wishes for 2010 to the country’s politicians, prosecutors and journalists, along with 50 million w...

2015-01-09 Asia Liberty Forum (Kathmandu, Nepal)

I was pleased to be one of the speakers at the 3rd Asia Liberty Forum, held this time in Kathmandu, Nepal. Freedom Speakers International has presented at the Asia Liberty Forum several times. I was invited in 2014 and have been able to invite North Korean refugees to also speak at the forum. 2014, New Delhi, India Speakers: Chanyang Ju, Casey Lartigue Jr. https://caseylartigue.blogspot.com/2014/01/07-09-ALF-India.html http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2014/01/137_149698.html https://www.facebook.com/CaseyLartigue/posts/1308010646009594 2015, Kathmandu, Nepal Speaker: Casey Lartigue https://caseylartigue.blogspot.com/2015/01/2015-01-09-asia-liberty-forum-kathmandu.html 2018 Jakarta, Indonesia Speakers: Eunhee Park, Casey Lartigue FSI was named a finalist for the Asia Liberty Award https://caseylartigue.blogspot.com/2021/01/11-Asia-liberty-award.html https://www.atlasnetwork.org/news/article/organizations-from-afghanistan-nepal-south-korea-named-finalists-for-asia-l 2019, Colomb...

Michael Jackson & Prince

Michael Jackson, born August 29, 1958 Prince (Rogers Nelson), born June 7, 1958 Note: Originally posted 1/31/05; reposted in honor of Prince performing at the Super Bowl this weekend... Once upon a time, I wanted to be Mike. Michael Jackson was the lovable lead singer of the Jackson 5 during the 1960s and 1970s. His family had been poor, so it is no surprise that they were releasing at least one album a year. Michael was the family's lottery ticket. I was a big-time fan. I was a member of the Jackson 5 fan club. My brothers and I tried to be just like Mike. I'm the tallest of the three. Check me out, I was so C-O-O-L ! Look at that 'Fro. Could there have been a cooler Bible-carrying kid? I could have hid entire African villages under that cap. And the African villages that could not have fit in that Afro could have squeezed into my bell bottoms. You'd have to pay me money to wear those beads today, but I was stylin' then. But it was clear that I was destined to beco...

How not to get your ass beat by the police

The black president of the United States stupidly commented on the arrest of a black Harvard professor in his own home by a white police officer. Some random thoughts and memories: * I'm sure most people are still trying to figure out who Prof. Gates is. As G.K. Chesterton once wrote: "Journalism consists largely in saying 'Lord Jones is dead' to people who never knew Lord Jones was alive." * Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said Gates' arrest was "every black man's nightmare." Perhaps. But having a criminal in my house is even more of a nightmare. Also, having the president of the United States talk off the cuff about me about something he doesn't know is pretty bad. And getting shot by a cop after I escalated a situation would also be worse than getting arrested. Anyway, I have had my own dealings with the police over the years: * Back when I was a college student many many moons ago, one of my brothers and I got stopped by police in Bro...

Get rid of that watermelon!

Part 1: When I was a youngster I used to collect Confederate money, posters and photographs with caricatures of blacks, and "No blacks allowed signs." I loved the money because it was a reminder of how far the sorry Confederacy had fallen. I had one poster of a dark-skinned black boy munching on a watermelon. I would look at that small poster and wonder, "What in the world is wrong with anyone wanting to eat watermelon?" Yes, white people, I'm talking to you. Your parents, grandparents, and other ancestors who thought making fun of blacks for eating watermelon were crazy ! Even people who say that nothing has changed in race relations must acknowledge that the many stereotypes of blacks are no longer prevalent. But then, there are also some ready to remind us of days-gone-by by debunking stuff that doesn't need to be debunked today. According to the Washington Post: The sound you just heard was yet another racial stereotype going kersplat ! Some ...