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The 2 out of 11 Norks who say they weren't defectors...

 
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bassexpander



Joined: 13 Sep 2007
Location: Someplace you'd rather be.

PostPosted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 5:01 pm    Post subject: The 2 out of 11 Norks who say they weren't defectors... Reply with quote

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2009/10/02/25/0301000000AEN20091002002500320F.HTML
Quote:

"Of the 11, nine have expressed their intentions to defect, but two others have yet to decide whether to stay here, " the source said.

The two undecided North Koreans claim that they got on the boat by accident without knowing where the vessel headed for, the source said.



So what do you think happened here? Do you think they really got on this small boat in the early morning not knowing where they were headed? Were they actually smugglers who had expected not to get caught along with those they were smuggling? Were they spies of some kind? Wouldn't they be tortured/killed if they returned home?
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Yesterday



Joined: 15 Aug 2003
Location: Land of the Morning DongChim (Kancho)

PostPosted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 9:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Knowing that Korean people do act a lot with "sheep mentality" - just follow the herd - follow everyone else...

its not surprising that these 2 people just "followed" others onto a boat - without even knowing where they were going.

However, to arrive in South Korea and then be undecided as to whether they would like to be defectors or not is extremely stupid.

Do they have any choice?? do they wish to return to the North to be executed?
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Carla



Joined: 21 Nov 2008

PostPosted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 11:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yesterday wrote:
Knowing that Korean people do act a lot with "sheep mentality" - just follow the herd - follow everyone else...

its not surprising that these 2 people just "followed" others onto a boat - without even knowing where they were going.

However, to arrive in South Korea and then be undecided as to whether they would like to be defectors or not is extremely stupid.

Do they have any choice?? do they wish to return to the North to be executed?


From reports from years back, I would assume these would be killed just so they wouldn't be able to tell the masses how the rest of the world is, even if they really didn't plan on being here.
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mc_jc



Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Location: C4B- Cp Red Cloud, Area-I

PostPosted: Sat Oct 03, 2009 2:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It sounds almost similar to the perceived notion that many young Koreans support Kim Jung Il and even nominated his father, Kim Il Sung, as a "glorious freedom fighter" who fought valiantly against Japanese aggression (when in fact Kim Il Sung spent most of the war in China and the Soviet Union and didn't enter Korea until after the allied powers negotiated the division of Korea into North and South Korea).

Or the survey of cadets at the Korean Military Academy that stated that most cadets saw the US and Japan as the biggest threat to Korea's sovereignty than North Korea.

Yeah- god forbid North Koreans go against the consensus that both "the dear leader" and "the great leader" were heroes of the Korean people Rolling Eyes
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bassexpander



Joined: 13 Sep 2007
Location: Someplace you'd rather be.

PostPosted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 3:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Story update:

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2009/10/04/38/0401000000AEN20091004002600320F.HTML

Quote:
SEOUL, Oct. 4 (Yonhap) -- North Korea is demanding the return of its 11 citizens who sailed to South Korea last week in an alleged defection bid, but Seoul said Sunday it will not comply, because all of them want to defect.

The North Koreans -- six women and five men -- were found to be drifting off South Korea's east coast on Thursday aboard a 3-ton wooden boat and are now undergoing interrogation by South Korea's authorities.

South Korea's Unification Ministry said the North Koreans, who include nine members of a family, have all expressed their intentions to defect...............
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Julius



Joined: 27 Jul 2006

PostPosted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 4:45 pm    Post subject: Re: The 2 out of 11 Norks who say they weren't defectors... Reply with quote

bassexpander wrote:
The two undecided North Koreans claim that they got on the boat by accident without knowing where the vessel headed for, the source said.


That is so Korean. They often seem to do what others do without thinking.
Have you ever tried randomly looking up at the sky? You will notice every korean nearby looks up as well. Same goes for if i pause to pick something off the shelf in the supermarket. They appear out of nowhere to browse the same shelf. I sit in a chair in the PC bang, they come sit next to me even though there are 200 other empty seats in the place. They are basically.. automatic followers.
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bassexpander



Joined: 13 Sep 2007
Location: Someplace you'd rather be.

PostPosted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 5:35 pm    Post subject: Re: The 2 out of 11 Norks who say they weren't defectors... Reply with quote

Julius wrote:
bassexpander wrote:
The two undecided North Koreans claim that they got on the boat by accident without knowing where the vessel headed for, the source said.


That is so Korean. They often seem to do what others do without thinking.
Have you ever tried randomly looking up at the sky? You will notice every korean nearby looks up as well. Same goes for if i pause to pick something off the shelf in the supermarket. They appear out of nowhere to browse the same shelf. I sit in a chair in the PC bang, they come sit next to me even though there are 200 other empty seats in the place. They are basically.. automatic followers.


It is kind of funny you say that. Stores here will hire people to just "shop" or sit around because nothing draws a crowd like a crowd.
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Julius



Joined: 27 Jul 2006

PostPosted: Mon Oct 05, 2009 12:07 am    Post subject: Re: The 2 out of 11 Norks who say they weren't defectors... Reply with quote

bassexpander wrote:

It is kind of funny you say that. Stores here will hire people to just "shop" or sit around because nothing draws a crowd like a crowd.


That makes sense. The subconsious logic would seem to say that if someone else is doing something, then it must be good so lets just go and do it too so we don't miss out. Probably more a feature of a collectivist society than an individualistic one.

Most irritating though is when I am out hiking and looking for some peace and quiet, sometimes i will take a path off to nowhere, or somehere that looks desrted-eg a woodland glade or something. I often turn around to find 2 or 3 koreans have automatically followed me just to be nosey- and then proceed to sit down in the same place I am as if to say "so whats there to see here?". Can't you find your own spot for pity's sakes??
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ABC KID



Joined: 14 Sep 2007

PostPosted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 3:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bump.

Does anyone know what the final outcome was?

Surely they haven't decided to go back, no matter how brainwashed they have been...
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fermentation



Joined: 22 Jun 2009

PostPosted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 4:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

mc_jc wrote:
It sounds almost similar to the perceived notion that many young Koreans support Kim Jung Il and even nominated his father, Kim Il Sung, as a "glorious freedom fighter" who fought valiantly against Japanese aggression (when in fact Kim Il Sung spent most of the war in China and the Soviet Union and didn't enter Korea until after the allied powers negotiated the division of Korea into North and South Korea).


Many North Korean communists fought the Japanese in Manchuria with Chinese communists and some joined the Soviets because the Japanese effectively destroyed resistance within Korea. From what I know Kim Ilsung was one of these guys, so I guess you could say he fought valiantly though we'll never really know his performanc in battle.

Quote:

Or the survey of cadets at the Korean Military Academy that stated that most cadets saw the US and Japan as the biggest threat to Korea's sovereignty than North Korea.


That's pretty disturbing. Do you have a link?

Quote:

It is kind of funny you say that. Stores here will hire people to just "shop" or sit around because nothing draws a crowd like a crowd.


Well, crowds tend to attract people, Korean or not. It may be more true in a society like Korea though. I actually experimented a few times by walking into empty stores and everytime the store was full right after.
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