WEBVTT - North Korea: What's the Deal? 0:00:01.120 --> 0:00:04.560 Welcome to Stuff you Should Know from House Stuff Works 0:00:04.600 --> 0:00:13.399 dot com. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh 0:00:13.440 --> 0:00:16.520 Clark with Charles W. Chuck Bryant with Jerry Rowland. Do 0:00:16.520 --> 0:00:18.600 Do Do Do Do Do Do Do Do? And this 0:00:18.680 --> 0:00:21.760 is breaking stuff you should Know, recorded two days before 0:00:21.760 --> 0:00:25.800 it gets released. We're basically like pod Save America now. Yeah, 0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:27.960 and uh, I think it's funny that the only reason 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:30.960 we are speeding this year was because of laziness, Because 0:00:31.000 --> 0:00:33.720 I said that an email early is like, guys, if 0:00:33.760 --> 0:00:35.400 we published this in two or three weeks, we're gonna 0:00:35.400 --> 0:00:37.680 have to go back and rerecording dates. Yeah, and I 0:00:37.680 --> 0:00:39.960 don't want to rerecord updates. I don't want to either. 0:00:40.440 --> 0:00:43.760 We could have also been super duper lazy and released 0:00:43.800 --> 0:00:46.680 it and not done updates, but then we would just 0:00:46.720 --> 0:00:50.640 been like slobs. Would have been like Blue Do Brother 0:00:50.720 --> 0:00:53.680 Blue Do in Animal House right, kind of like we 0:00:53.720 --> 0:00:58.240 went back and updated the Obamacare episode so many times exactly. 0:00:58.600 --> 0:01:00.240 I mean, I think about how much work we put 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:05.520 into that one. Man. Uh, So, Chuck, we're talking today 0:01:05.720 --> 0:01:08.560 about North Korea. I've been wanting to do this one 0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:12.520 for a while. I learned so much. Yeah, one of 0:01:12.560 --> 0:01:14.360 the things that I learned is that a lot of 0:01:14.360 --> 0:01:17.560 the bizarre rumors I've always heard about North Korea, a 0:01:17.560 --> 0:01:21.040 lot of those are actually totally true. Yeah, and I 0:01:21.160 --> 0:01:25.559 learned that just knowing, just having a basic understanding of 0:01:25.640 --> 0:01:29.360 its history really just sort of helps frame everything it 0:01:29.440 --> 0:01:33.520 does very much. So you definitely get a feel for 0:01:34.400 --> 0:01:38.600 why it is the way it is, just a basic understanding. Yeah, 0:01:39.319 --> 0:01:42.000 we do. You know, we're definitely not North Korea experts 0:01:42.040 --> 0:01:44.880 by anything. But what's interesting to me is there are 0:01:44.880 --> 0:01:49.240 actually people out there who are it's their job to 0:01:49.680 --> 0:01:54.160 analyze reports that come out of pyeong Yang and um 0:01:54.440 --> 0:01:58.560 like the way that that Kim Jong un might um 0:01:58.840 --> 0:02:01.760 wave is using his left hand today, or that actually 0:02:01.840 --> 0:02:05.520 means this, there's people whose job it is to know 0:02:05.680 --> 0:02:08.079 that and to be able to say this is probably 0:02:08.080 --> 0:02:10.120 what they're going to do next. How is he wearing 0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:12.480 his hair today? Oh, the same easworn't every day of 0:02:12.480 --> 0:02:16.280 his life. Well, here's a fact for you. The the 0:02:16.320 --> 0:02:20.400 speaking of his hair, he has a very unique hairstyle 0:02:20.560 --> 0:02:22.680 for his country. As a matter of fact, he may 0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:26.080 be the only person in his country with that hairstyle. Yes, 0:02:26.280 --> 0:02:29.320 because when he came to power, Right after he came 0:02:29.360 --> 0:02:32.160 to power in two thousand and eleven, the North Korean government, 0:02:32.440 --> 0:02:35.680 lad of course, by Kim Jong un um, issued a 0:02:35.720 --> 0:02:39.440 decree that if you're a man, you can have hair 0:02:39.680 --> 0:02:42.880 that is two inches long, and if you're an older man, 0:02:43.000 --> 0:02:45.840 three inches long. That's it. If you're a woman, you 0:02:45.880 --> 0:02:50.799 can have one of fourteen hairstyles. I haven't. Oh yeah, 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:52.520 they got the hairstyles for the men and women that 0:02:52.560 --> 0:02:55.320 are allowed. That's why I that's why I thought like 0:02:55.560 --> 0:02:58.440 that was just a rumor something. That's one of the 0:02:58.440 --> 0:03:00.639 things that was confirmed for me. I never oh the poster, 0:03:01.040 --> 0:03:03.200 although I probably would have been suspicious even after the 0:03:03.240 --> 0:03:05.560 poster because you know, photoshop and all. But his hair 0:03:05.600 --> 0:03:09.680 looks like one of the approved hair styles. It's long, well, 0:03:09.880 --> 0:03:12.120 way longer than a couple of inches. It's hard to 0:03:12.120 --> 0:03:15.560 tell because he's he's keeps it slick back. Yeah yeah, yeah, 0:03:15.639 --> 0:03:20.200 I think that his hair is is totally unique in 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:23.000 North Korea, at least with length. So when he wakes 0:03:23.080 --> 0:03:25.960 up in the morning and he's in shaggy dog mode, 0:03:26.480 --> 0:03:28.519 it's all hanging down in his face. Yeah, it looks 0:03:28.600 --> 0:03:33.400 like the new bass player from Metallica, who was who Oh, 0:03:33.680 --> 0:03:36.560 he's like the guy from Metal Metal Apocalypse. Is he 0:03:36.680 --> 0:03:40.040 the same guy that took over since the what, Sir Jason, 0:03:41.480 --> 0:03:45.839 same guy? Yeah, but he it's like him, And that 0:03:45.920 --> 0:03:51.760 does Zach Galifernakis, the guy who played guitar for Rozzy Osbourne. 0:03:51.800 --> 0:03:53.800 Like the two most metal looking guys in the history 0:03:53.800 --> 0:03:58.640 of metal. Probably the new bass player from Atallica. Oh yes, dude, 0:03:58.800 --> 0:04:01.800 it's almost like, you know, they prayed to God to 0:04:01.920 --> 0:04:05.720 craft a metal bass player. He's in. He's an archetype 0:04:05.920 --> 0:04:08.600 for sure, but I'm pretty sure he's the guy from 0:04:08.600 --> 0:04:11.960 Metal A, Metal Apocalypse, Metal Acalypse, you know what I'm 0:04:11.960 --> 0:04:15.960 talking about. It's like about the metal band from Adult Swim. 0:04:15.960 --> 0:04:18.720 There's like a cartoon about the Metal Bank. So I'm 0:04:18.720 --> 0:04:25.560 pretty sure that's him at any rate, North Korea. If 0:04:25.640 --> 0:04:27.680 if we're gonna have to talk about Dennis Rodman, then 0:04:27.680 --> 0:04:30.479 we're going to talk about Metallica's bass player. So let's 0:04:30.520 --> 0:04:34.279 start at the latest as it stands right now. Okay, Like, 0:04:34.320 --> 0:04:35.880 what's going on now? Do you want to or do 0:04:35.920 --> 0:04:38.840 you want to with that? That's fine? Okay. So there's 0:04:38.839 --> 0:04:42.000 been some really surprising developments and a lot of people 0:04:42.040 --> 0:04:44.920 are very much reserved and saying, do not be distracted 0:04:44.920 --> 0:04:49.160 by this, do not be fooled. Um. But as it stands, 0:04:49.480 --> 0:04:52.520 North Korea and South Korea just had a summit, which 0:04:52.520 --> 0:04:53.840 they've had from time to time, but they had a 0:04:53.880 --> 0:05:00.360 summit in the demilitarized zone where president the President's Korea 0:05:00.360 --> 0:05:03.520 and the president of North Korea got together and said, 0:05:04.560 --> 0:05:08.320 let's make this a de nuclearized peninsula. Let's end this war. 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:10.440 By the way, the Korean War has still been going 0:05:10.440 --> 0:05:13.120 on since nineteen it never ended. Yeah, that's it's been 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:17.279 a long truce. Let's end it and let's just reunify. 0:05:18.200 --> 0:05:22.600 And people are going nuts because this actually seems like 0:05:22.680 --> 0:05:24.920 there's a possibility of it. And one of the reasons 0:05:24.920 --> 0:05:27.880 why they think there's possibility is because this is such 0:05:27.920 --> 0:05:33.000 an about face for the North compared to two weeks ago. Yeah, 0:05:33.040 --> 0:05:37.760 I mean, all right, listen again. Because there is reason 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:43.680 for optimism, there is plenty of reason for skepticism. Uh. 0:05:43.720 --> 0:05:46.520 And I don't think anyone really knows whether or not 0:05:46.560 --> 0:05:49.680 to believe North Korea. No, but there are plenty of 0:05:49.680 --> 0:05:53.080 people who do believe that that you should not believe it, 0:05:54.520 --> 0:05:56.880 right because it could you know, some people say this 0:05:56.920 --> 0:06:02.000 could be a a ruse to unify Rhea and UM 0:06:02.080 --> 0:06:04.960 and get America out of there once and for all, 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:08.440 which could be scary. Um. There's people that thinks that, 0:06:09.080 --> 0:06:11.400 you know, there's recent reports that this this whole notion 0:06:11.440 --> 0:06:16.600 of shutting down their nuclear test site is um merely symbolic, 0:06:16.800 --> 0:06:19.480 but for two reasons. A because they've got what they 0:06:19.520 --> 0:06:22.880 needed and they don't need to test anymore. And be 0:06:22.880 --> 0:06:25.920 because this geologist in China, did you see that report? 0:06:26.400 --> 0:06:29.880 He just came out like yesterday saying, I think that 0:06:30.000 --> 0:06:32.880 this site has has been destroyed. Oh I did see 0:06:32.920 --> 0:06:37.159 that via earthquake, via setting off nuclear bombs, So like 0:06:37.200 --> 0:06:39.440 it's not even there anymore anyway, right, they set off 0:06:39.440 --> 0:06:43.400 a hydrogen bomb and blew their nuclear testing facility up. Yeah, 0:06:43.480 --> 0:06:46.080 so so, but now it's a bargaining chip on the 0:06:46.120 --> 0:06:48.800 table exactly. And the reason they can say that is 0:06:48.839 --> 0:06:52.360 because it is such a closed off area. It's so 0:06:52.440 --> 0:06:55.960 difficult to surveil that you have to rely on the 0:06:56.040 --> 0:07:00.840 report of a Chinese geologist and and say, Okay, maybe 0:07:00.839 --> 0:07:03.880 that's true, maybe it's not. You don't know, because it's 0:07:03.880 --> 0:07:06.559 a hermit kingdom. Yeah, but there have been a few 0:07:07.600 --> 0:07:12.080 olive branches in the past few days. Um. I didn't 0:07:12.080 --> 0:07:15.400 even know this. In two thousand fifteen, Um, North Korea 0:07:15.800 --> 0:07:19.280 set their clocks off by thirty minutes so they wouldn't 0:07:19.280 --> 0:07:23.640 have the same time. Yeah, and so uh, North Korea said, 0:07:23.640 --> 0:07:26.240 you know, we're gonna set these clocks back. We're gonna realign. 0:07:27.080 --> 0:07:29.760 Uh and they I've also in recent days been dismantling 0:07:29.800 --> 0:07:34.800 these propaganda loudspeakers at the border where they both sides pump, 0:07:35.040 --> 0:07:37.920 Like on the south side they pumped K pop and like, hey, 0:07:37.960 --> 0:07:39.960 this is what it's like to be free, and then 0:07:40.120 --> 0:07:42.040 on the other side they pump out I don't know, 0:07:42.160 --> 0:07:46.240 just North Korean propaganda, but they're taking down these loudspeakers. 0:07:46.240 --> 0:07:48.520 So they're they're little signs that like, I don't know, 0:07:48.560 --> 0:07:51.200 maybe this is for real. I was looking all over 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:55.760 for some some verbatim examples of the propaganda that comes 0:07:55.760 --> 0:07:59.120 out of the North loud speakers. Should not find it anywhere. 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:03.320 Set that to an nice beach, a K pop pit 0:08:03.360 --> 0:08:06.800 of your own. But yeah, dismantling this is is that's huge. 0:08:06.920 --> 0:08:09.560 That's a big deal. And the steam militarized and we'll 0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:12.520 talk more about it, but it is widely considered the 0:08:12.560 --> 0:08:15.760 most dangerous I think two mile strip of land on 0:08:15.800 --> 0:08:19.440 the planet um. And the reason why it's so dangerous. 0:08:19.480 --> 0:08:21.960 So the reason why it's there is, again, as far 0:08:22.000 --> 0:08:25.160 as Korea is concerned, and especially as far as North 0:08:25.240 --> 0:08:28.400 Korea is concerned, the Korean War is still ongoing back 0:08:28.400 --> 0:08:30.840 and I think nine fifty three they signed an armistice 0:08:31.040 --> 0:08:36.040 a piece, not a peace treaty, a ceasefire, but there 0:08:36.040 --> 0:08:38.960 hasn't been a peace treaty, so the war is still 0:08:39.000 --> 0:08:42.520 going on, which is clue number one that I didn't realize. 0:08:42.520 --> 0:08:45.520 But that's clue number one to the situation over there. 0:08:45.920 --> 0:08:49.360 Once you understand that, you start to understand, oh, they've 0:08:49.400 --> 0:08:52.360 been in a warlike stance this whole time, because they 0:08:52.559 --> 0:08:56.400 consider themselves to have been at war still. Yeah, and 0:08:56.480 --> 0:09:00.040 no one even knows what this early on as of 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:04.840 this recording, no one even knows what nuclearization, that word nuclear, 0:09:05.840 --> 0:09:08.520 what that even means in this case. Does that means 0:09:08.520 --> 0:09:11.480 we're not we're gonna stop our building programs, but we're 0:09:11.720 --> 0:09:14.000 keeping those missiles or does this mean we're going to 0:09:14.120 --> 0:09:18.719 destroy everything? Right? That is another reason why it's so surprising. 0:09:19.200 --> 0:09:21.880 But the whole reason that this is such big news 0:09:22.120 --> 0:09:26.400 is because and the reason that this this this summit 0:09:26.640 --> 0:09:30.840 is is even on the world stage is because North 0:09:30.920 --> 0:09:33.240 Korea has finally gotten to a point where they are 0:09:34.360 --> 0:09:37.760 they have just come out of being strictly a regional 0:09:37.760 --> 0:09:40.640 threat and a big regional threat to South Korea and 0:09:40.720 --> 0:09:44.240 to Japan, but now they're actually a threat to the 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:48.440 United States because they've just shown through an intercontinental ballistic 0:09:48.600 --> 0:09:53.520 missile test that had the trajectory been a certain way, 0:09:53.960 --> 0:09:59.000 they could have hit Chicago. And that changes everything. And 0:09:59.040 --> 0:10:01.960 then of course after that, we conducted a test of 0:10:02.000 --> 0:10:06.560 our SAD system Terminal High Altitude Area Defense. I looked 0:10:06.559 --> 0:10:09.200 into that. You know what that thing is? It is, 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:14.000 uh it basically shoots the rocket out of the sky 0:10:14.080 --> 0:10:19.520 in orbit. But it doesn't like it doesn't have any 0:10:19.840 --> 0:10:24.760 um explosives. It just it works through velocity. So just 0:10:25.000 --> 0:10:27.560 punches right through. It punches right through it with the 0:10:27.600 --> 0:10:31.120 idea that it won't detonate the nuclear warhead smart so 0:10:31.160 --> 0:10:35.000 it'll just disable the rocket and uh, I guess it'll 0:10:35.000 --> 0:10:38.000 just tumble back into the atmosphere in land where it 0:10:38.040 --> 0:10:40.319 may right hopefully the ocean. It's probably gonna try to 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:42.960 shoot it down over the ocean. I think it's the idea, right, 0:10:43.440 --> 0:10:45.880 So I saw that we have a about a fifty 0:10:45.960 --> 0:10:48.800 fifty chance of shooting down any I c b M 0:10:48.920 --> 0:10:52.080 coming out in North Korea. Yeah, which is as Mark 0:10:52.160 --> 0:10:55.280 Bowden put it in this article that I read, it's good, 0:10:55.720 --> 0:10:58.880 but at the other hand, it's actually really bad because 0:10:58.920 --> 0:11:02.839 that's even that that I CBM will strike the United 0:11:02.840 --> 0:11:05.640 States if they shoot it. So the point is North 0:11:05.720 --> 0:11:09.520 Korea showed that they actually have this technology now and 0:11:09.720 --> 0:11:13.360 it changed everything. So the idea that they just proved 0:11:13.360 --> 0:11:15.480 that they could do this and are now saying, let's 0:11:15.520 --> 0:11:19.760 d nuclear eyes. That's huge and crazy. And actually people 0:11:19.800 --> 0:11:23.040 are talking about no bells over all this. Yeah, I 0:11:23.040 --> 0:11:29.280 mean left leaning websites are are saying Donald Trump has 0:11:29.600 --> 0:11:32.400 done what no other president has been able to do. 0:11:33.320 --> 0:11:36.240 Potentially if this happens the way it looks like it 0:11:36.280 --> 0:11:39.560 could happen, which was it's a shocking thing to read. 0:11:39.920 --> 0:11:42.959 It's a shocking about face from North Korea. Yeah to 0:11:43.040 --> 0:11:46.959 see c an nd go like I had to say it, 0:11:47.000 --> 0:11:52.679 but he's really done something here the end, right. It 0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:55.320 was written by Wolf Blitzer while he was applying like 0:11:55.480 --> 0:12:00.720 hot paper clips to his inner thoughts. Is things are 0:12:00.760 --> 0:12:03.200 getting strange. So it's gonna be really interesting to see 0:12:03.200 --> 0:12:07.679 how this unfolds um and whether or not it is 0:12:07.720 --> 0:12:11.600 a trick. Yeah. I mean, like it's it's really weird 0:12:11.679 --> 0:12:15.000 for weeks and months ago for North Korea to be, 0:12:15.840 --> 0:12:18.040 you know, saying like we will destroy you, we were, 0:12:18.040 --> 0:12:20.400 we will crush you, we will blow you to pieces, 0:12:20.960 --> 0:12:26.400 and like everything's good that they will strike a merciless 0:12:26.440 --> 0:12:28.840 blow at the heart of the US with our powerful 0:12:28.920 --> 0:12:32.040 nuclear hammer, honed and hardened over time. That was from July, 0:12:32.880 --> 0:12:35.280 less than a year ago. Chuck, I don't know. I mean, 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:37.319 is it possible that he's seen the light? I mean, 0:12:37.520 --> 0:12:41.400 these sanctions have put a serious hurt on a country 0:12:41.400 --> 0:12:44.320 that was already in a bad way, right, but they've 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:48.240 lived in a bad way for like half a cent 0:12:48.280 --> 0:12:51.320 well more than half a century. Now. It's so weird 0:12:51.440 --> 0:12:55.480 that it that's it's if that's true, then we figured 0:12:55.520 --> 0:12:57.480 out a sanction that no one had tried before and 0:12:57.520 --> 0:13:01.319 it was exactly the right thing. It's just too bizarre 0:13:01.320 --> 0:13:04.440 because they've lived with this stuff well. And but it's 0:13:04.480 --> 0:13:09.680 it also could be a symbol of just the changing times. 0:13:09.800 --> 0:13:13.000 And there are a lot of North Korean citizens now 0:13:13.040 --> 0:13:16.040 that are saying, like, you know, we should reform now, 0:13:16.120 --> 0:13:18.960 that now is the time to play with the rest 0:13:19.000 --> 0:13:20.760 of the world and become part of the rest of 0:13:20.800 --> 0:13:23.680 the world and not be a hermit kingdom. See it's 0:13:23.720 --> 0:13:26.720 my understanding that if you would say that out loud 0:13:26.760 --> 0:13:29.040 in the north, like you would be executed with an 0:13:29.040 --> 0:13:32.160 anti aircraft gun. Well, I think a lot of these 0:13:32.160 --> 0:13:35.280 have been defectors that have said, like, there's a lot 0:13:35.280 --> 0:13:40.280 of quiet sentiment. You know, I don't think anyone yet 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:44.280 in the country is standing upon the rooftop side reform, 0:13:44.320 --> 0:13:48.760 because that's what Kim Jong Ung's brother, um. I mean, 0:13:48.800 --> 0:13:53.760 he was two women at assassins at an airport, sprayed 0:13:53.800 --> 0:13:56.560 him in the face with a nerve agent and killed 0:13:56.640 --> 0:14:02.199 him because well for a few reasons. One is because uh, 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:05.520 it was because he believed in reform. Potentially, Yeah, I 0:14:06.000 --> 0:14:08.800 get that he was a little more Western oriented than 0:14:09.080 --> 0:14:12.800 he's trying to get to Disneyland, Disneyland Japan, right, yeah, 0:14:12.880 --> 0:14:15.319 on a on a Japanese or I'm sorry, Dominican Republic 0:14:15.360 --> 0:14:20.320 passport that he had and he got killed, assassinated, and 0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:21.840 you know, of course they haven't come out and said 0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:24.160 so but it's it seems like a direct order from 0:14:24.160 --> 0:14:28.800 the top from his half brother, who, unless I misread, 0:14:28.840 --> 0:14:32.280 they have never met or had never met. That's possible 0:14:32.640 --> 0:14:36.320 because I think the tradition is he raise potential successors 0:14:36.360 --> 0:14:39.080 in isolation from one another. Oh, I had not heard that. 0:14:39.160 --> 0:14:42.160 I just assumed that, like the first family was in exile. 0:14:43.120 --> 0:14:45.760 Oh no, I mean they were half brothers, and that 0:14:45.840 --> 0:14:48.640 makes sense, kind of like a little lab experiment, and 0:14:48.720 --> 0:14:50.960 see which one grows the way you wanted to. You know, 0:14:51.080 --> 0:14:52.360 one grew up and I was like, I kind of 0:14:52.360 --> 0:14:56.120 want to go to Disneyland, and he got caught doing it. Yeah, 0:14:56.160 --> 0:14:58.720 he was assassinated. I would guess. His name was Kim 0:14:58.800 --> 0:15:01.720 Jong Kim Jong nah Um and he was assassinated in 0:15:01.960 --> 0:15:06.240 two thousand seventeen. And Um, I would guess because Kim 0:15:06.320 --> 0:15:10.160 Jong un was trying to consolidate his power to make 0:15:10.160 --> 0:15:12.720 sure there was nobody who could be like, you know, 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:15.800 built up as a leader in exile and come and 0:15:15.840 --> 0:15:17.680 take his bro was in line. You know, he was 0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:20.360 the first born. Right, So let's let's take a break 0:15:20.360 --> 0:15:22.200 and then we're gonna come back and talk about Korean 0:15:22.320 --> 0:15:51.920 history and maybe things will get a little clearer. Huh. Alright, Chuck, 0:15:51.960 --> 0:15:57.040 we're back. What an intro. It really was. Intrigue, assassination. 0:15:58.400 --> 0:16:02.600 I felt passionate metallica. Yeah, at it all I forgot 0:16:02.600 --> 0:16:07.600 we talked about in town. All right. So, um, let's 0:16:07.640 --> 0:16:13.520 go back in time because understanding and this article is 0:16:13.520 --> 0:16:17.640 actually really good on our site from Patrick Gold. He 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:20.880 does a good job. Um that. The section is titled 0:16:20.920 --> 0:16:23.840 how North Korea came into existence, and it really just 0:16:24.760 --> 0:16:26.640 kind of brings it all into focus once you know 0:16:26.680 --> 0:16:28.640 how this all because I think a lot of people 0:16:28.680 --> 0:16:33.120 these days don't educate themselves. They watched mash and that's 0:16:33.120 --> 0:16:35.160 about the extent of it. That's about all I knew 0:16:35.200 --> 0:16:41.400 about Korea, me too, sure. So Korea was actually a 0:16:42.000 --> 0:16:44.920 for a very brief time in the twentieth century, actually 0:16:44.960 --> 0:16:47.960 not too brief, but nineteen ten and nine it had 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:50.880 been invaded and annexed by the Japanese and it was 0:16:51.480 --> 0:16:55.240 in the process of becoming a Japanese colony when Japan 0:16:55.320 --> 0:16:57.760 lost World War Two. Yeah. Go look at Korea on 0:16:57.760 --> 0:17:01.120 a map. Start there. It's pretty close to Japan. Yeah, 0:17:01.120 --> 0:17:04.159 and it's also just it's a little little dongle peninsula 0:17:04.200 --> 0:17:08.480 hanging down from China. It also has amazing food. By 0:17:08.520 --> 0:17:13.600 the way, okay, so, um, Korea fell out of the 0:17:13.640 --> 0:17:19.880 possession of the Japanese and into the possession of the Americans. 0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:23.000 The allied forces that had invaded Japan and part and 0:17:23.040 --> 0:17:26.680 parcel with that was invading Korea as well. Right, So, 0:17:27.720 --> 0:17:32.520 because the United States and the uss are divided up 0:17:32.520 --> 0:17:35.720 the world, basically one of the things that got divided 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:40.520 was the Korean Peninsula. And right at the thirty parallel, 0:17:40.840 --> 0:17:43.520 above it was the North, and below it was the South, 0:17:43.800 --> 0:17:48.280 and the South was controlled by the US supported Sorry 0:17:48.280 --> 0:17:50.160 I just made scare quotes for those of you can't 0:17:50.200 --> 0:17:53.879 see me. And the North was a puppet regime installed 0:17:53.920 --> 0:17:59.280 by the USSR. Yeah, pretty simple, okay, uh, so to 0:17:59.480 --> 0:18:02.320 to run the show up there in North Korea. Um, 0:18:02.359 --> 0:18:07.680 this is really interesting how this dynasty started with the 0:18:08.480 --> 0:18:11.960 with this family that's been in power for so long. Yes, 0:18:12.119 --> 0:18:16.959 the Soviets said, all right, Kim Il sung, you were 0:18:16.960 --> 0:18:21.600 born Kim Song jew In, you grew up in China mainly, 0:18:21.800 --> 0:18:23.440 and we're gonna install you as a leader, and we're 0:18:23.440 --> 0:18:26.800 gonna tell everybody at least that you were a very 0:18:26.880 --> 0:18:31.840 brave leader and fighter in the resistance against the Japanese. However, 0:18:32.280 --> 0:18:34.760 no one really knows if that's true or not. He 0:18:34.880 --> 0:18:38.080 might have pulled the Don draper. In fact, there are 0:18:40.880 --> 0:18:44.520 but the probably shouldn't eat while it's too late now. Uh. 0:18:44.560 --> 0:18:47.000 There are some people believe that he is living under 0:18:47.359 --> 0:18:51.840 or lived under an assumed identity from another guerrilla fighter 0:18:52.359 --> 0:18:54.879 who who died in battle, who actually was like a 0:18:54.880 --> 0:18:58.879 glorious resistance leader against the Japanese. Yes, so this family 0:18:58.920 --> 0:19:02.120 that has been ruling since the mid forties may not 0:19:02.160 --> 0:19:07.120 have even had any legitimate claim whatsoever. Right, so so amazing, 0:19:07.400 --> 0:19:11.240 So Yes, it's it's entirely possible that the first president 0:19:11.480 --> 0:19:14.880 of North Korea, who's known as the Eternal President Kim 0:19:14.920 --> 0:19:20.160 Il sung, was an impostor. That's not widely widely confirm. 0:19:20.240 --> 0:19:23.240 It's not confirmed at all, uh, and it's not necessarily 0:19:23.240 --> 0:19:26.080 widely held. But there's at least one Korean analyst out 0:19:26.119 --> 0:19:28.159 there who says is that the deal. Is it a 0:19:28.200 --> 0:19:33.480 fringe like, uh, conspiracy theory? No? Is it a little 0:19:33.520 --> 0:19:35.399 more like, Hey, this might be real. I think I 0:19:35.440 --> 0:19:37.560 think the ladder of the two. I don't think it's 0:19:37.560 --> 0:19:40.360 a conspiracy theory at all. I think it's entirely possible. 0:19:41.080 --> 0:19:44.720 Either way, it doesn't matter because what happened was whether 0:19:44.760 --> 0:19:46.960 this guy was the guy or whether this guy was 0:19:47.080 --> 0:19:50.360 the guy posing as that guy. This person Kim il sung. 0:19:50.800 --> 0:19:53.679 With the world knows that Kim Il sung was installed 0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:58.359 as the leader of Soviet controlled North Korea right after 0:19:58.960 --> 0:20:02.320 um the World War to also a similar haircut, yeah 0:20:02.359 --> 0:20:04.960 to his grandson. Sure they all kind of had that look. 0:20:05.119 --> 0:20:07.920 Oh yeah, well Kim Jong il had his own look. 0:20:07.960 --> 0:20:10.800 He had the little mini fro going on. Yeah, but 0:20:10.920 --> 0:20:14.560 correct short, you know, crops close on above the years 0:20:14.840 --> 0:20:19.600 of fondness for coverall pants suits. Uh, all right, So 0:20:20.440 --> 0:20:23.119 nineteen forty he joins the Soviet Red Army. This is 0:20:23.200 --> 0:20:27.159 Kim illsong uh In forty six, Stalin makes him what 0:20:27.240 --> 0:20:30.000 they called the head of North Korean Temporary People's Committee, 0:20:30.240 --> 0:20:34.240 and then finally they appointed him North Korean. The Soviets 0:20:34.240 --> 0:20:39.639 did pointed in North Korea's prime minister. And then you know, 0:20:39.720 --> 0:20:42.760 the whole propaganda machine of communism and especially here in 0:20:42.840 --> 0:20:47.480 Korea has always been massive, yes, huge, Right, So there 0:20:47.560 --> 0:20:49.600 was this uh, this woman I cannot I wish I 0:20:49.640 --> 0:20:52.480 could remember. Her name is Suki something, but she posed 0:20:52.520 --> 0:20:56.119 as a an English teacher for a missionary group in 0:20:56.119 --> 0:20:58.960 North Korea. She's actually a journalist planning to write a book. 0:20:58.960 --> 0:21:02.359 But she went undercover, which ethically there's a lot of 0:21:02.400 --> 0:21:05.119 things going on here. But she came back and reported 0:21:05.119 --> 0:21:09.560 on this and said, seriously, honestly, this whole country has 0:21:09.720 --> 0:21:16.520 suffered generations of psychological abuse and the propagandas everything to them, like, yes, 0:21:16.560 --> 0:21:19.760 some of it is overdone and overblown, but ultimately at 0:21:19.800 --> 0:21:23.320 their core, like they experienced happiness by thinking of of 0:21:23.800 --> 0:21:28.080 sacrificing for the their dear leader and their country. It's 0:21:28.080 --> 0:21:30.639 not about themselves, it's not about their friends. It's about 0:21:31.160 --> 0:21:35.080 the country and dear leader in particular, because yes, the 0:21:35.119 --> 0:21:41.200 propaganda machine works that combined with surveillance, right, Okay, so 0:21:41.880 --> 0:21:46.320 uh so he's in power. Um, the regime is going strong, 0:21:46.840 --> 0:21:50.000 the Soviets withdraw and there are a lot of little 0:21:50.040 --> 0:21:53.840 skirmishes breaking out. Um along that. I guess it was 0:21:53.960 --> 0:21:56.600 the thirty parallel back then. Even yeah, it's always been 0:21:56.600 --> 0:21:58.280 all right, So they were they were fighting a little 0:21:58.280 --> 0:22:01.239 bit back then, and I get the sense that he 0:22:01.320 --> 0:22:05.040 was sort of not well maybe paranoid, but definitely I mean, 0:22:05.040 --> 0:22:08.040 this article says he was uneasy, so he sort of 0:22:08.080 --> 0:22:11.880 overcompensated by saying, you know what, if you if anyone 0:22:11.920 --> 0:22:15.639 comes at me, you will be crushed completely. Um. He 0:22:15.680 --> 0:22:16.920 had a lot of fear that he was going to 0:22:17.000 --> 0:22:19.199 get overthrown from the South. Yeah, because I mean the 0:22:19.240 --> 0:22:22.840 Soviets withdrew and they were like, we're still we're still bodies, 0:22:22.880 --> 0:22:25.199 We're still supporting you, right. Our military is not going 0:22:25.280 --> 0:22:26.960 to be there to back you up any longer, which 0:22:26.960 --> 0:22:29.200 is a big deal. Right, But he said basically to 0:22:29.240 --> 0:22:32.080 the Soviets, hey, listen, I'd like to preemptively take care 0:22:32.080 --> 0:22:35.199 of this problem. Can I do this? And finally in 0:22:35.280 --> 0:22:39.720 ninety the Soviets said, sure, right, go for it, which 0:22:39.800 --> 0:22:43.840 was a huge surprise to South Korea and the U. S. Military. Yeah, 0:22:43.920 --> 0:22:45.760 we didn't expect that all of a sudden, the North 0:22:45.840 --> 0:22:50.800 Koreans overrun the thirty parallel and invade South Korea and 0:22:51.000 --> 0:22:53.639 almost had the place. And it turned out it was 0:22:53.800 --> 0:22:59.800 a small handful of UM Japanese regulars who had been 0:23:00.359 --> 0:23:04.440 UM I guess, flipped to fight with the Americans and 0:23:04.480 --> 0:23:07.719 the South Koreans, and they were the ones who actually 0:23:07.720 --> 0:23:11.720 managed to repel the North Korean invasion long enough for 0:23:11.840 --> 0:23:16.400 MacArthur to bring in American troops and push the North 0:23:16.480 --> 0:23:20.040 Koreans back up over the thirty parallel. Yeah. Like, I 0:23:20.040 --> 0:23:23.879 don't know a lot of military history, but from what 0:23:23.960 --> 0:23:28.040 I did research wise on this, MacArthur is a renowned 0:23:28.040 --> 0:23:31.439 figure for a very good reason. Like it seems like 0:23:31.480 --> 0:23:34.080 he pulled off a near impossible feat here. He did. 0:23:34.280 --> 0:23:37.760 He was famously fired in the middle of the Korean 0:23:37.760 --> 0:23:40.960 War though by Harry Truman, at a time when people 0:23:41.000 --> 0:23:43.360 had no idea the president could actually fire a five 0:23:43.359 --> 0:23:48.399 star general, especially the nation's most prize general. But he did. 0:23:48.720 --> 0:23:52.280 And the reason why I found was because MacArthur wanted 0:23:52.320 --> 0:23:56.200 to keep going right into China, and Truman and actually 0:23:56.200 --> 0:23:59.800 the Joint chiefs too, said, look, man, we are kind 0:23:59.840 --> 0:24:03.240 of overextended as it is right now. If you invade China, 0:24:03.480 --> 0:24:06.560 then we're at war with China. Don't forget North Korea 0:24:06.840 --> 0:24:09.440 is a puppet stat or it was of the Soviet Union, 0:24:09.440 --> 0:24:11.879 So you're gonna draw Russia into this war no way. 0:24:12.320 --> 0:24:15.359