by Calvin Sun | Aug 23, 2011 | Let me tell you a Story..., North Korea, Rules Are Meant To Be Broken, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, Way Way Off the Beaten Path, What Dreams May Come
For a more compelling and professional journalistic write-up of what we had experienced, please read BBC News’ longform article on us and our story: BBC NEWS: The man who went to the North Korean place that ‘doesn’t exist’ – June 18, 2018. I promise...
by Calvin Sun | Aug 20, 2011 | Let me tell you a Story..., North Korea, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea
They must really have something against us foreigners. Possible evidence of phone tapping in our hotel room: But really, the level of self-love North Korea displays is greater than the more subtle aspects of the Burmese newspaper. Where in Myanmar I...
by Calvin Sun | Aug 19, 2011 | Introspection, North Korea, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea
Live in a gray city for long enough, and it shows on your face. They are unaccustomed to your presence. Their heads hang low, and smiles are rare. They walk around you without making eye contact, but every now and then you may catch someone sneaking a look. You can...
by Calvin Sun | Aug 18, 2011 | Crisis, Mythbusters, North Korea, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, Travel Warnings
The DMZ. Former president Bill Clinton had named it the “scariest place on Earth.” It is the most heavily militarized border in the world, with over a million soldiers ready to go to war at a moment’s notice if either side dared to cross the...
by Calvin Sun | Aug 16, 2011 | North Korea, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, What Dreams May Come
As I said in the last entry, this is the greatest show on earth. Not only does it hold the Guinness Book of World Records title for world’s largest show, but it is also performed in the world’s largest stadium and features 100,000 performers who have all...
by Calvin Sun | Aug 14, 2011 | North Korea, Summer 2011: From the Middle East to North Korea, Way Way Off the Beaten Path
The cult of personality. That’s the term giving to folks like Mao, Stalin, Ho Chi Minh, Mussolini, Castro, and Kim Il-Sung. It’s the idea of using mass media and propaganda to fuel the notion that a single human being is a god-like hero, a savior of the...
