Undeveloped vs Developed
You know how when we surf the net we're always jumping from one topic to the other? Like one moment you're nosing about Jade Rasif's 7 months pregnant news and "rejected marriage proposal but kept the ring" instastory and then the next you're watching Asian Boss interviewing North Korean defectors. Confessions of what I've been doing on the net haha.
But anyway I got really affected when I watched Asian Boss (I'll put the links below) so I decided to blog about it.
So as most people know, North Korea is a communist country. And there are definitely many negative connotations to that. It's run by a dictatorship, and your communications are tapped into. Big Brother is always watching your every move. One wrong move and you're executed. Or maybe your family is executed as well. No freedom. Poverty. Starvation. Sounds like a really grim and sad place. When I think of North Korea, I imagine the place to be grey. Like literally I think of run-down factories painted grey on the outside.
But yet there was one thing in common that the North Korean defectors said in the Asian Boss interview: North Koreans are happier than South Koreans.
Are there question marks hovering around your head right now?
Happiness is one of the most important things our modern capitalist world hopes to achieve. We're always discussing about how money can't buy happiness but then there's retail therapy etc etc. South Korea, the land of cosmetic surgery, where you can change parts of your body you're not happy with if you have the money. Yet a country that is literally seen to be the worst place to live in is said to be happier than its modern neighbour. Like wha?
Let me explain. In the video, one of the interviewees said he found himself suicidal after 3 years of coming to South Korea. This was the craziest part for me. Because North Koreans are struggling to live, yet being in South Korea can change a person so much that you'd want to kill yourself. He explained that he found himself thinking he was not able to compete with the South Koreans. He wasn't able to cope with the pace of modern society. How was he going to live? Though of course he felt guilty after having suicidal thoughts, since he was given a second chance at life after he defected. On the other hand, the interviewees said North Koreans were really happy despite living in poverty because they derived happiness from their families and close ones. Families were close. Friendships were real. People were warm. Everyone knew one another in the neighbourhood.
South Korea has the highest suicide rates in East Asia. Japan and Taiwan ain't too far behind. Singapore's rate is actually much lower but higher than China's, to my surprise. (According to wikipedia.)
In the video, the interviewees were asked to describe their first experience right after they defected from North Korea. One of them said that when she reached Incheon airport, it was as if she travelled to the future because of all the lights. It was like heaven, she said. It's contradictory, because the place that looked like heaven to her might be hell for a huge proportion of the population living there.
How many of you know suicidal people? Have you had suicidal thoughts? Where do you derive happiness from?
Links below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyqUw0WYwoc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhmzpMP3bEE
TTFN!
But anyway I got really affected when I watched Asian Boss (I'll put the links below) so I decided to blog about it.
So as most people know, North Korea is a communist country. And there are definitely many negative connotations to that. It's run by a dictatorship, and your communications are tapped into. Big Brother is always watching your every move. One wrong move and you're executed. Or maybe your family is executed as well. No freedom. Poverty. Starvation. Sounds like a really grim and sad place. When I think of North Korea, I imagine the place to be grey. Like literally I think of run-down factories painted grey on the outside.
But yet there was one thing in common that the North Korean defectors said in the Asian Boss interview: North Koreans are happier than South Koreans.
Are there question marks hovering around your head right now?
Happiness is one of the most important things our modern capitalist world hopes to achieve. We're always discussing about how money can't buy happiness but then there's retail therapy etc etc. South Korea, the land of cosmetic surgery, where you can change parts of your body you're not happy with if you have the money. Yet a country that is literally seen to be the worst place to live in is said to be happier than its modern neighbour. Like wha?
Let me explain. In the video, one of the interviewees said he found himself suicidal after 3 years of coming to South Korea. This was the craziest part for me. Because North Koreans are struggling to live, yet being in South Korea can change a person so much that you'd want to kill yourself. He explained that he found himself thinking he was not able to compete with the South Koreans. He wasn't able to cope with the pace of modern society. How was he going to live? Though of course he felt guilty after having suicidal thoughts, since he was given a second chance at life after he defected. On the other hand, the interviewees said North Koreans were really happy despite living in poverty because they derived happiness from their families and close ones. Families were close. Friendships were real. People were warm. Everyone knew one another in the neighbourhood.
South Korea has the highest suicide rates in East Asia. Japan and Taiwan ain't too far behind. Singapore's rate is actually much lower but higher than China's, to my surprise. (According to wikipedia.)
In the video, the interviewees were asked to describe their first experience right after they defected from North Korea. One of them said that when she reached Incheon airport, it was as if she travelled to the future because of all the lights. It was like heaven, she said. It's contradictory, because the place that looked like heaven to her might be hell for a huge proportion of the population living there.
How many of you know suicidal people? Have you had suicidal thoughts? Where do you derive happiness from?
Links below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyqUw0WYwoc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhmzpMP3bEE
TTFN!
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