The Annoying Neighbors Up North

This Latest Blog is dedicated to the "Annoying Neighbors Up North". (If you live in Ohio think of Michigan if they had nukes ;)

North Korea is like an awkward 13 year old boy who just hit puberty and is trying to act tough but he just can't support himself because he keeps spending all his money on things like toys and love letters to the late Kim Jong il.  Then the moment comes along to show off his new toy to all his friends and he can't quite get his rocket up.... So the 13 year old goes back to ranting and raving about how he is going to use all of his toys to beat up the bigger kids on the block. Sigh...

Now besides being one of the darkest places on earth at night and letting the world laugh at you for failing to lunch another rocket into orbit. North Korea has done some pretty loony toony things in the past. 

In order to build good PR the North Koreans built an amusement park to attracted tourists. Unfortunately things didn't go well for the park partly because there is no ATM's, (no wireless in NK) No pictures allowed, no touching, no pointing, or no laughing at the statues of Kim Jong il. This sounds funny but when the park first opened a lady was shot for breaking one of the rules. (touchy touchy)

North Korea, as the annoying kid in class, just can't keep his hands to himself. He has to touch everyone around him, just so you don't forget he is there. In the 90s a tunnel was found under the DMZ (the strip of land with over 1 million landmines that separates the north and south.) In the tunnel was a banner that said "Down with the American Imperialists".  North Korea easily handled the situation by denying that the tunnel excised. Then when faced with the obvious proof, they said that it must have been the South Koreans who created it and put the banner down there. 

The best governing decision that the 13 year old hormonal teenage rulers of North Korea have done was when Kim Jong il in the late seventies was moping around in his palace, mad because he didn't have  anyone to play with. So Kim gets a great idea "Why Don't I make a movie that shows how glorious my state is!" And what was Kim Jong-ils favorite movie... Godzilla.  He looked around at the poor and military controlled country and realized no one here knows how to make a movie.

So he did the next best thing he kidnapped a Korean filmmaker and his wife put them in jail for 4 years while they created Pulgasari."  which is the charming story of a monster, originally created "for the people" who eventually turns on them after being corrupted by greed and capitalism. But the overwhelming power of the beliefs of the North Korean people defeats the rampaging monster.

Congrats to you North Korea for never conforming, and even though you can't feed your people or keep your lights on at least you have fireworks.