When someone has absolute power, their policies can only get more repressive and erratic the longer they have it. And this is definitely the case when we look at the Kim family's 67-year (at present) reign over the so-called Democratic Republic of Korea.

In that time, we've seen each member of the Kim dynasty enjoy opulent, pampered lives while their people starveand live under the constant threat of imprisonment, torture, and execution for daring to speak out against them. Their absolute power has allowed them to commit a galling array of human rights violations, but it's also had a different, stranger effect.

When someone has absolute power, they don't have a sounding board for their ideas. When everyone is too afraid to speak out against you, there's nobody left to tell you that claiming to discovera unicorn lair doesn't make any sense and will make you look like a laughingstock.

And it's this strange insulation from any ideas that challenge their own that made the Kim family responsible for these 15 bizarre facts about North Korea.

1. North Korean citizens aren't allowed to celebrate a birthday that falls on July 8th or December 17th.

This is because these are the death dates of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, respectively. It's difficult to find information about this in English, but it seems that the North Korean government requires any citizens born on these days to celebrate displaced birthdays, which usually end up being the day after.
2. The North Korean space program bears the initials NADA. 

Yes, as in the Spanish word for "nothing." The name made for an easy running joke to describe their disastrous output, but their Kwangmyŏngsŏng 3-2satellite did successfully reach orbit in 2012 and can be tracked today. Whether it's fully functional, however, isn't clear to some international experts. ‎
3. A North Korean defense minister was executed with an anti-aircraft gun. 

Defense minister Hyon Yong Chol allegedly had a history of "disrespectful behavior" against Kim Jong-un's leadership and had even fallen asleep during a military rally. Last May, South Korea's National Intelligence Service reported that Kim Jong-un had him executed with the unusual weapon in response.

This apparently isn't the only instance of execution by anti-aircraft guns, which are said to "pulverize" the body, during Kim Jong-un's reign. ‎

4. The North Korean military threatened South Korea via fax machine.

In response to a 2013 rally opposing Kim Jong-un's regime in Seoul, the North Korean military sent a faxthreatening a merciless attack "withoutany notice".  

The South Korean National Security Council responded in kind, saying they would "sternly react" to any such attacks, but North Korea's choice of technology in delivering their threats was the subject of ridicule when the story reached the American media. ‎

5. North Korea is the world's only necrocracy.

A necrocracy is a state that is ruled by a dead person, and North Korea qualifies because the nation's first leader Kim Il-sung remains its president, despite being dead for over 20 years. Officially, his title is "Eternal President" and the office of president was retired following his death. Similarly, his son Kim Jong-il was named "Eternal Chairman" of North Korea's National Defense Commission following his death in 2011.

And so, despite being its only living head of state, Kim Jong-un is technically known as the First Secretary of the Worker's Party and the First Chairman of the National Defense Commission, as his deceased father and grandfather still outrank him.

6. Pyongyang's Rungrado 1st of May Stadium is the largest stadium in the world.

The massive stadium allegedly seats 150,000 people and Kim Jong-un apparently hopes it will be a future setting for the World Cup and the Olympic Games. 

Though, considering this stadium also hosted at least one public execution where Kim Jong-il's former generals were burned alive and in light of North Korea's generally abysmal human rights record, it would be a controversial candidate to say the least.

7. The Rungrado 1st of May stadium also hosted the world's largest wrestling event.

The 1995 Collision in Korea was a jointventure between the now defunct World Championship Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling with a main event that saw Ric Flair and Antonio Inoki square off in the giant stadium. Flair traveled to the event alongside boxing legend Muhammad Ali and described his experience in North Korea as "intimidating."

Party officials expected Flair to make a statement to the effect that North Korea could dominate the United States, but he was able to get around that by extolling the nation's hospitality instead. ‎

8. Kim Jong-un had his own uncle executed in 2013.

It was initially reported that the Kim successor had his uncle fed to starving dogs, but this was apparently the resultof confusing a Chinese satirical piece for a news source.

In reality, Jang Song-thaek was likely executed by firing squad after the Kim regime accused him of treason and denounced him as "worse than a dog."

Jang was also accused of living a "decadent capitalist lifestyle," which is an ironic statement for a member of the Kim family because...‎

9. Both Kim Jong-un and his late father spent millions on luxury goods.

Kim Jong-il was well-known for his expensive love of cognac, but since assuming power, his son has spent more than $640 million on luxury cars–particularly by Mercedes–pianos, and a 1,000 seat movie theater for his cronies.

10. The Kim regime tried to entice South Koreans over to North Korea with a false village.

Kijong-dong was built right on the border of the demilitarized zone between South and North Korea and was intended to show how enviable the life of an average citizen was in North Korea. Aside from looking a little too drab for that purpose, the village's windows visibly have no glass in them, the electric lights are run on a timer and, most tellingly of all, the village has no permanent residents. 

Occasionally maintenance workers are brought in to sweep the streets and make it look like Kijong-dong isn't a ghost town, but it's pretty obvious to observers that it is.‎

11. North Korea is home to the world's worst theme park.

Mangyongdae Funfair is a decrepit amusement park that the North Korean government refuses to close, despite its unappealing and unsafe conditions. Only the merry-go-round, the train rideand the roller coaster function, but foreign visitors are assured that they are regularly tested.

The problem is that they're tested by coerced local farmers, and citizens are rounded up and forced to attend the fair whenever visitors are around so it will seem busier than it is.‎

12. An estimated 27,518 people have fled from North to South Korea.

While it may appear that North Korean refugees are finding better lives in South Korea, they are sadly often treated as second-class citizens once they arrive. This disenfranchisement has led to the phenomenon of "double-defecting," where North Korean refugees will attempt to return to their home country. 

While the South Korean Unification Ministry maintains that only 13 people have attempted this double-defection, a former member of South Korean parliament suggested that 100 people have tried to return to North Korea in 2012 alone. In reality, there's not enough data to tell for sure. 

13. Technically, North Korea is not a communist state.

Kim Jong-un made headlines in 2012for removing Marxist imagery from Pyongyang, but North Korea's political ideology has always had a degree of separation from Marxist principles. Instead, North Korea is governed underKim Il-sung's "juche" doctrine, which modifies Marxist ideology according to the  "modern political realities in North Korea."

This "juche" model emphasizes North Korean self-reliance, particularly in terms of political independence from neighboring juggernauts like Russia and China and in terms of military strength. This is why North Korea always prioritizes its military budget over the health and food needs of its larger citizenry. 

14. North Korean elections only have one name on the ballot.

Although North Korea holds regular elections every four years, presumably to legitimize the "democratic" part of its name, only the ruling Worker's Party appears on the ballot. This kind of "sham election" was practiced by the Italian Fascist Party while it was in power, and appeared in suchother totalitarian states as Stalinist Russia and Nazi Germany, so these kind of elections aren't doing much for North Korea's repressive image.

15. North Korea has its own operating system, Red Star OS.

It's made to look like MAC OS X due to Kim Jong-il's preference for the interface, but it's actually a variant of Linux. The operating system is designed to "monitor the web behaviour" and "co information" of North Korean citizens, which is a bizarre goal since barely any North Korean citizens are allowed internet access.‎

‎

Interesting

i wish nigeria learns from this..

At last, I have finally found a regime that is worse than any in Africa.

thebestprice:
i wish nigeria learns from this..

May your evil wish for Nigeria never come true.

TruthHurts1:


May your evil wish for Nigeria never come true.

north korea practices THE BEST FORM OF GOVERNMENT.there, inflation remains zero,a country free from religious and ethnocentric black heads.. zero corruption etc..

thebestprice:
north korea practices THE BEST FORM OF GOVERNMENT.there, inflation remains zero,a country free from religious and ethnocentric black heads.. zero corruption etc..

Obviously didn't read the article. A country ruled by a dead man?!? Where the President spent 640 million dollars on expensive cars while no one dare question him for fear of losing their life? That is what you want for Nigeria? SMH

thebestprice:
north korea practices THE BEST FORM OF GOVERNMENT.there, inflation remains zero,a country free from religious and ethnocentric black heads.. zero corruption etc..

Zero corruption you say. One man is the owner of d country wealth. The people starve and are scared to talk. Only thing great there is that they own the biggest stadium in the world

I heard n/korea lives on grants and aids from allies,no economic output,no viable economy,yet they still ve weapons in stock that can make america shiver

Kim jung un appears very cool calm nd collected,but that gee na die hard thug,he doesnt giv a fvck bout any body

TruthHurts1:

May your evil wish for Nigeria never come true.

Amin loruko Jesu

abeg leave thrash for lawma

two things are involved

it's either the western media are exaggerating situations in n. Korea so as to spoil the image of Kim in the international community or Kim is in control and putting up his best.

On one hand we av always heard ow impermeable the n.korea society is wen it comes to information assessment. One then wonders how these western media get all the information dey spin out abt the country.

despite almost a decade of sanctions, n.korea is still moving ahead wit his nuclear program. This puts doubts on the effectiveness of the sanctions. Its practically impossible for a dying nation to continue pursuing a nuclear program which costs billions of dollars.

Kim is a dictator, no doubt. and I am not in his support.
but I think sum people are upto some games wit the n.korea leadership

I want folks who are more enlightened to help shed more light on this.