April 15th marked the 94th birthday of Kim Il Sung, North Korea’s founding leader. I continue to be fascinated with the hermit kingdom and their cult of personalities. I watched no less than 4 documentaries this past week on North Korea. It’s amazing how well the North Korean gov’t has orchestrated and executed on their plan to brainwash their people. They actually believe that a thousand cranes descended upon the city and carried Kim Il Sung’s body into the mountains. Literally, they believe that this happened — not folklore or legend — but truth. Coupled with a policy of complete isolationism, the government has been incredibly skillful at exploiting cultural and religious beliefs of the Korean people. Though unification is a genuine hope for Koreans on both sides, it won’t come without a huge cost for South Korea to absorb the ill planned economy of their brethen to the North.
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