Hi, and thank you for joining me for more Kim, and welcome to North Korea, where

dystopia is a lifestyle.

So, part one in our last episode of Slaycation, we introduced the tragic story of Otto

Warmbier, a promising, brilliant young man, in fact, who went to North Korea

for a little culture and curiosity, and things would never be the same. What happened to Otto

would be a nightmare for him and for his entire family.

And it begged the question, what kind of place is this?

Well, get ready to board the crazy train.

We're heading to the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea,

which, fun fact, is about as democratic as a suggestion box with no suggestions.

First of all, daily life in North Korea is less about living

and more about surviving performing arts.

Imagine if every day was a school play about obedience and forgetting your lines could get you executed.

According to Nothing to Envy, a book by Barbara Demick, which I read, of course, people wake up in crumbling apartments with no electricity and

shitty water, and that's if there is even running water, they march off to work or school

where they both begin with mandatory political loyalty chance.

Like an Orwellian version of homeroom, you are not allowed any independent thought. So thinking for yourself, not allowed.

You're barely even allowed to think.

The electricity situation, spotty at best.

Cities often go dark after sundown,

except for Pyongyang,

where they keep a few lights on for propaganda purposes.

...