Inside North Korea

A Reddit AMA provides a rare look inside the country.

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North Korean women walk past bronze statues of North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung (L) and late leader Kim Jong-il at Mansudae in Pyongyang, in this photo taken and provided by Kyodo, February 16, 2013, on the birthday of their late leader, Kim Jong-il. REUTERS/Kyodo

A recent defector from North Korea held an AMA, an online chat using the forum Reddit, on February 19 with the help of Movements.org and Liberty in North Korea: LiNK. North Korea is known for its firm grip on information coming in and out of the country, so the AMA provided insights seldom available to the world.

Sang-hyun, the fake name given to the defector for safety reasons, addressed information censorship in his country.

View the story "Inside North Korea" on StorifyInside North KoreaA Reddit AMA provides a rare look inside the countryStorified by The Stream· Wed, Feb 20 2013 11:26:03Hey Sang-hyun, I have a question about the education on world affairs. How informed does the government allow you to be on what is going on in the world? And with the assistance of Movements.org could you figure out on how accurate the information given to them is? GatzPThere is information that the government allows about the outside the world. For instance they have news about America, but it is all bad stuff. So the government told us about the 9/11 terror attacks on the USA, but it was difficult to believe... They also have programs about famous people from around the world, or some nature documentaries from places like Africa. - Sang-hyun MovementsOrg_GuestThe first escapees from North Korea's prisons have begun to share their stories with international media. Sang-hyun expressed how little information he had on the prison camps within his own country. Is the average NK citizen aware of the brutality in the prison camps?urulokiPeople just think that you die if you go in there. That's the most scary thing in North Korea. That's why people can't speak up, because they're worried about being sent there. My father always told me from a young age to be careful what you say, because if you make a mistake then you get sent to that kind of place. MovementsOrg_GuestRecent enhancements of North Korea's Google data allows the public to see these prison camps on an interactive map for the first time. Google MapsFind local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google MapsGoogle MapsFind local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google MapsGoogle MapsFind local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google MapsThe AMA shed light on internal understandings of North Korea's nuclear program as well. How much information used to be broadcast about North Korea's Nuclear program? Did the government heavily promote it, or call it a great equalizing force or anything else?seattlechunnyThe regime tells the people that all the other socialist countries collapsed, but we are the only one left which is standing up to the USA. And nuclear weapons are what enables us to do that. That's what the regime says... MovementsOrg_GuestThe regime rhetoric Sang-hyun is referring to is captured in a recent video released by North Korea's government. North Korea Releases Video Showing Obama & US Troops In Flames PropagandaearlynewzneededLastly, Sang-hyun gave AMA participants suggestions on how to best help the citizens of his country's closed-off society. What can we do to help the people of North Korea? I live in the US, am Swiss, and many people here do not know about the brutal conditions in North Korea. What can an average person do to try to effect change? Lobby or protest? Thanks for your time, and I am very happy you are safe and well!Penelope742I think that government-to-government aid is likely to all be taken by the North Korean government. Therefore I prefer support for private organizations or NGOs, where the support can go more directly to the North Korean people. - Sang-hyunMovementsOrg_Guest