GOOD Guide to North Korea

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Two videos from our series taking you inside the Hermit Kingdom.

Kim Jong Il is a mysterious dictator. He's alleged to have uttered only one sentence in public, and keeps his hermit kingdom under a veil of megalomaniac lore that manages every aspect of public perception—down to the story of his birth. The truth became murky sometime in the 1980s, when Kim began publicizing a new, more illustrious version. He switched his birth date from 1941 to 1942, making him the same age for two years straight. Then he built a log cabin on the highest mountain in North Korea, proclaiming it his official birthplace and offering guided tours. Which one is real? Try a choose-your-own-birth for the modern dictator. Video By James Sumner, Morgan Currie, Lindsay Utz, Kelly Che Music By Sublime Frequencies

http://good.is/October, 2006: The U.N. sanctioned a long list of delectable goods that could no longer pass over North Korea's borders. This was no typical maneuver to target military build-up or weapon designs. Instead, the U.N. hoped to entice Kim Jong Il away from his nuclear warheads by blacklisting luxury items specific to his extravagant tastes. At first, we thought the strategy was a soft, hand-slapping diplomacy—more like a parent's decision to forgo presents at Christmas than an effective political move towards non-proliferation. But we were wrong! Manipulating the dictator by his expensive tastes may have been a clever move, because, in February, 2007, North Korea took new steps toward ending its nuclear program. Now that we're this much closer towards global peace, we ask: What could have caused Kim Jong Il's change of heart? Was it the realization that it's always best to stay in the good graces of the free world, or was it a penchant for a certain transportation device known as ... the Segway? North Korea, however, has yet to uphold their end of the bargain. They missed a deadline to shut down their reactor just this past week. Farewell to Nukes Video By James Sumner, Morgan Currie, Lindsay Utz, Kelly Che Music By Sublime Frequencies Words By Morgan Currie