US Student Arrested In North Korea During Vacation & Mysteriously “Brain Dead” 18 Months Later
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- Опубликовано: 19 авг 2023
- Full Show Notes: rottenmangopodcast.com
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As a South Korean, I can't wrap my head around why people would want to travel there. You obviously know that everything is controlled and dangerous.
Lol ppl will do anything these to be on RUclips
Americans and South Koreans especially, they’re jumping at the gun to have people from our countries arrested for the tiniest technicality for propaganda.
Because there is no shortage of stupid people in the world.
Its safer than South Korea, for sure.
@@Crazy--Clownwhat does wanting to be on RUclips have to do with this? 😂 what am I missing.
I'll never understand why people would want to vacation in North Korea. This is just sad😔.
You beat me to it. Idk why anyone would wanna go there
I get it. North Korea is horrifyingly fascinating.
It wouldn’t be a relaxing vacation and you’d have to ignore heaps danger warnings and ethical concerns, but it would be an unforgettable experience.
Ill be honest. i would love to go there where people dont know what's inside of it. it's one of my desires to go, but it's actually hard to go there and really expensive (if you are american you need to have special vacation permit and should be not blonde hair blue eyes )
I feel the same way about Florida.
@@albin2232i think that's just a little bit different, don't you think?
It’s terrifying that they specialize in forms of torture that don’t leave physical marks.
Physical marks are for beginners... ;)
well, they all do. The US, too. As far as i know. Guantánamo is still active. And no one leaves it after entering again ...
@@rodrigobonzanini8235 bro your sick
@@schaetzcken01Plenty of people have been let out of there
@@schaetzcken01Also only terrorists go into Guantanamo
the fact they probably knew he was jewish and they announced his last meal was pork.
I totally missed that but holy shit
Nobody should be eating pigs, not just Jewish people. Pigs are the most loving and intelligent animals
Oh my lord this is horrendous. The saddest thing is that this is not history, it is still happening to millions of North Koreans
Oh wow i just realized smh they definitely didn’t ask him his dietary restrictions 🥴 the whole methodist part was crazy too
Wait, so what did he eat while on vacation??
Moral of the story: take the advice on travel advisories. The advisories are posted to protect you, but also to let you know that you're on your own if you get in trouble. Don't expect countries to go to war to save you.
Amen. I lived in El Paso in 2011 as a Minor Leaguer. My hillside residence had the perfect view of a Juarez residential hillside. 😳🤯
Fast forward. After a late game, I take the wrong exit and find myself at the Juarez border.
Agent- “Wrong turn?”
Me- “Yeah, I didn’t have kidnapping or murder in my post game plans…”
Agent _(smiling)_ - “Yeah, you’re a bit too white for me to let you cross😅. Just go up there and turn around. Have a safe night!”
Even I had my passport out and ready for 🇲🇽, that agent was not letting a 23 yr old white dude cross that line. The #1 Most Dangeorus place to visit outside an active war zone at the time. Yet, Americans still visited… and 1 in 4 were killed.
Well ok but do your own research too. American websites call Turkiye a very dangerous place to travel. But Turkiye is filled with European tourists who know its not true. Just because we are located in the Middle East they call us dangerous without any research
@@jeffrey.a.hansonlets be real most of those americans that got killed were in the game
@@4runner456 exactly!
@@jeffrey.a.hanson some of these travel RUclips "I went to the worst... don't believe media.." videos are so common now it's ridiculous.
It brings chills down my spine every time I think about the restrictions this place has put on its people. If you aren’t rich in North Korea, you are basically left to die.
I bet. With Their crazy laws in 🇰🇵
Only the politically connected are rich. No one can educate themselves and make their life better.
That’s how it is in dictatorships 😞 I was born in a communist dictatorship and people are like animals trying to survive
@@iolitelightExactly
that's literally not true...you literally just made that up. go watch my brothers and sisters in north korea.. yes the situation is not good because of SANCTIONS, they must sell things as "made in china" to bypass sanctions. no one is "left to die". if you aren't rich in the west, you are also left to die. you think your country is better?
The more I learnt of this case, the more I'm convinced he couldn't withstand the mental torture and tried to end it all. The officers found him still alive but very badly injured and couldn't do anything to bring him back.
Awful.
Whether he took the poster or not he didn't deserve to suffer any of this.
😂😂😂😂 you think the kid did that to himself?? They beat him to death
He probably tried to hang himself and cut off oxygen to his brain. He was an idiot for going to NK.
@@jumbotron007 Look at you laughing
@@vivi-ws9yl You do realise they're laughing at how absurd the comment is, not at a dude's death? Low IQ moment on your part but I'll forgive it this time
This is how I lean as well. Unfortunately, hanging is a pretty common method in prison because it's quite easy to pull off with normal things you'd have in the cell. Second most likely in my mind is that they fucked up waterboarding him, but that's a pretty distant second because you would have to be just...really fucking bad at it to not notice that someone was completely unable to breathe for 4+ minutes. Presumably the guy sent to torture an American is not the guy who it's his first day on the job.
Update: Travis King is back in the USA facing charges for his actions.
He has been dishonorably discharged from the military.
Thank you for your post! I was wondering about him and figured I’d check the comments before rabbit holing google 😂
I would certainly hope so. He committed treason by crossing the DMZ line.
It’s sad, but he disgraced the uniform by acting a fool around town/fighting, zero sympathy
I don’t usually get to personal on here. I will say as a mom to a son that serves his country with honor, as a sister who watches her older sister and brother in law serve their country with honor and as a supporter of our military, this disgusting me on a personal level!
@@huh_8482so you raised war mongers and criminal cops ?
I remember watching a North Korean defector once talk about the moment they landed in the USA. All the flight staff and the people that came to meet him off the aircraft couldn't stop welcoming him and telling him how glad they were to see him. He thought, 'these are my life long sworn enemies?!?!'
Funny they don't that with us Latinos, huh? Instead they sent our kids to detention camps.
He is a defector, he literally betrayed the US sworn enemy ...what 's so weird about that? The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
@@tdowling2562what r u babblin about this is about countries home dawg
N Korea is a giant prison essentially. I know everywhere has problems but this place makes me proud to be from anywhere else
@@tdowling2562okay so should amber heard try her court case in north korea girl? do u think they’d even give her a court case in north korea for that? you are tripping. 3rd wave liberal feminism is ruining feminism lol
I just love the way Stephanie tells peoples stories in such a respectful and intense way 😭😭😭😭
Not to mention all the times, we’ve seen her cry over the heartbreaking things that happened to these victims. I’ve never seen anyone talk about true crime, and cry like that and honestly, it makes me feel human again. It’s a reminder that these aren’t just stories, this is real life.
FR she’s soo good at storytelling as well. She’s realllyyyy good🤩🤩🤩
you didnt even finish the video yet😭😭😭😭
on this channel sure. her other channel? not so much.
can you people show some sensitivity to the victims in the video? praise Stephanie on another video, this just feels inappropriate
why. just why. why would u ever punish yourself like this. going to north korea as itself is just outrageous
I don't think Otto really did anything wrong. I personally wouldn't go to NK but he was just curious and wanted something never seen before. Its really hard to not get it. also, watch the last few seconds of the video.
@@fincallistafayehNo really.
@@fincallistafayehhe obviously did this wrong, so he lost his life. Curiosity is not a reason to go do something dangerous that everyone told you not to. This time he paid with his life.
Hearing him speak, and say things that very obviously he doesn’t believe, things that aren’t true, that he is forced to say is so heartbreaking, the chance he didn’t even go into the restricted area at all…
Feel so bad for this poor man
This is exactly what I mean by life's not fair. He's Jewish why would he be in a secret cult..
And for those who have never been in the hands or even Around Sadists, where your responses are only for their Pleasure and Change Nothing, affect them only to get them off! is nearly impossible to countenance as a neophyte ! impossible to even imagine Thus his begging... to No one for No effect.
He honestly looked like he was acting when he was crying and saying it was the worst thing he'd ever done
@@rickyricardo9710to you maybe, he looked terrified to me. And I would have been too.
Seeing the footage of Otto begging for forgiveness just breaks my heart, I can't imagine what he must have felt in those moments.
For real. Poor man
Fucked around, found out.
not me.. he had no business going into a dictatorship.. then disrespecting that dictator.. he asked for it.. he got it.
@@stumpedIIya! People ran away from the country and here we have they take tourist trip. Should always know the law and policy of the place you travel to. U.S citizen can only go so far.
@@stumpedII One of the girls on the trip has stated that they weren’t even in the hotel when the alleged incident happened. The video is so blurry you can’t even tell if it’s him.
For a restricted floor that doesn’t even exist, surely it would be locked and have restricted access. My guy was able to just get in that easy? That’s sus asf.
Also im sure if they have them on watch otto wouldve been caught way before getting anywhere near the other elevator also a mexican volgger said their was a staircase that tourist were not allowed to use so maybe those
They ma well Want Anyone foolish enough to even TRY the door... to Do So! Evil is Entrapping , Easy to get into, Hard ,to impossible to extricate from. Few remember this.
at the tome they said he pulled a poster fown off the street
They clearly just wanted an American Trophy and made all the charges up.
I don't think he even left the room. I think he might have mentioned trying to find that floor as a joke to his room mate and since the room was bugged.....they decided to pounce just because they can.
It obviously wasn’t him and NK chose a random person to use as a scapegoat for their political agenda. Those on the trip say he wasn’t even there in the hotel at the time. The video doesn’t even look like him, plus the movements of the person look so unnatural, definitely was a NK government worker. Plus with camera footage everywhere in that country, they definitely had footage of him else where when this happened but probably destroyed that footage. I bet every inch of that hotel was monitored and they could have followed Otto around, but we never saw that footage. This whole case is sickening. RIP Otto. We know he didn’t do this.
I agree, i think the person taking down the poster was ordered to do so by the higher ups, that’s why his movement is so odd, cause being a north korean he’s trying to be as respectful to the poster as humanly possible, since to them it’s a relic of sorts
@@sarads7877 that’s a great observation
even if he did it’s ridiculous to do that to someone over a poster. Humans can truly be insane.
I remember when this happened, ALL I heard about this case was blaming the victim. I didn't even know that the evidence of him vandalizing stuff in NK couldn't even clearly identify him. There was so much I learned in this video that I didn't know based on media reporting at the time.
Back when this was all over the news, it was said that the subject in the cctv footage wasn’t even Otto.
Either way, I cannot for the life of me understand why ANYONE would willingly go to North Korea 😔ESPECIALLY if you’re an American!
communist beliefs/journalism
American entitlement is the only thing I can think of. A majority of Americans think they can do anything anywhere because they're so accustomed to American freedom
@@Queenofthatank "American freedom" bombed and murdered 20% of the NK population, thats why you're not welcome there
because as a human on earth you should be able to walk and breath everywhere, but you can't, because of humans!
@@QueenofthatankYou say "American Freedom" like that's a bad thing. I'll never understand people who think freedom is bad...
people who vacation in the DPRK are not only risking their own future, but also directly supporting a deadly regime and ruthless dictator.
Exactly. Why would you willingly give NK your tourist dollars? It's so naive. Just not a good idea all-round. For people wanting to go out of curiosity, perhaps consider if your curiosity is worth financially supporting a dictatorship. Not to mention they use these tours to push their propaganda onto the tourists, who then go on to tell people it's not as bad as people make it out to be. It is tragic what happened to this man, I'm not downplaying that, just for anyone else considering doing one of these tours-- perhaps reconsider 😅
I disagree. More North Koreans will starve to death if there’s no industry to keep their economy going.
@@AstronautCity 1) He was basically a kid. If we could get kids or even ADULTS to care about the consequences of our blind consumerism, the world would be so much different. Really we're all guilty of apathy and supporting terrible regimes by spending out of convenience.
2) He got arrested for stealing a poster, so clearly his goal was to do more than just be a tourist taking selfies and vlogging in the kooky dictator nation. Misguided, yes, but a far cry in spirit from what Hawaiian tourists are doing now.
i didn’t even think abt that
Sadly, that could literally be said about visiting any country. Of course the government is getting a higher-than-average share of the profits in NK, but tourism feeds the machine wherever you go. Travel is a double-edged sword. It gives you insight you could never otherwise get, but you are always giving your money to whatever dictatorship is in charge.
Your stories are biblically long! But perfectly delivered! I especially like your co-host chiming in from time to time without being over intuitive . It never diverts from your focus of the story. Perfectly well executed. You have just won yourself a new subscriber
its even cuter the co host is her bf!!
@@dolltranqhusband
@@maddie_009 OMG REALLY?? CONGRATS TO THEM, THEYRE SO CUTE TOGETHER!!
i think you'd like wendigoon :) he does similar things with equally long videos
I love her videos too I listen to them while at work makes my day fly by!
The DMZ feels so strange, you know you are at a place that represents a terrible war but everything is so catered to tourists it's like you go there for fun...
This is heartbreaking! At the time I recall many cruel comments online about this. The reality is, no matter what he supposedly did, he did not deserve what happened to him. We all make mistakes but we don't all pay for them with torture and death. My heart goes out to his family. Otto must have been terrified. RIP young man. Thank you for telling the story with compassion.
Well he knows the risks and what will happen to him,he go anyway, just because he is an American he is special
@@user-sm2ht5kf1v jesus Christ dude ....the guy was literally tortured for a stupid ass thing a lot of young people could have done because they are nave and wan something to tell back home. He did not harm anyone. Nobody deserve torture for something stupid like this nobody deserves torture point blank... so "ugh americans suck anyways so self cebtered whatever" maybe mayyyybe is literally not the point but you do you. (Before you said that i'm not american)
1:14:02 I actually believe the obama administration would say this. It was under his administration that China invaded the west Philippine sea and supposedly, under the MUTUAL DEFENSE TREATY, THE US SHOULD'VE HELPED AND SENT AID TO THE PHILIPPINES. BUT THEY DIDN'T. The only thing that makes obama popular is his skin color. He was the most spinless and play safe president with no honor. That's why then President Duterte almost severed PH alliance with the US and when it was Trump's turn where he was courting PH back, PH can no longer do anything because China had already built a base on the country and we can only try be be friendlier with them instead. He was also the one who ended wet and dry foot policy that made it harder for immigrants, her was also the one who built those cages but he was never criticised for this since media loves him.
The Philippines has been bombed and torn and a lot of Filipino blood has been shed due to our alliance with us. But Play safe and coward and no honor Obama acted dead when we needed help the most. Trump is annoying as a person, but at least you know what he's really thinking. Also, he gets criticized for all the good and bad things he's done. That was never the case of Obama and that's dangerous for a president. Who is he, a dictator? TF
@@user-sm2ht5kf1v The hell does this have to do with him being American? Would've been as sad if he was of any other nationality.
@@user-sm2ht5kf1v does being an asshole make you feel good?
It’s a huge warning to people who travel abroad. Other countries have different laws, cultures, beliefs, idealism then the US. Don’t go to hostile countries. I was heartbroken for Otto and his family. It’s disgusting what happened to him.
What happened to him?
@@brianonnela8186that's the whole point of this video. Maybe watch?
@@brianonnela8186 He was arrested for stealing a propaganda poster. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and he came out, I think 1 year later, in a coma then died
@@shinjite06it’s just a trolling comment. Because technically no one really knows what happened to Otto.
@@brianonnela8186 this is what happens when you rush to the comment section to troll without watching a second of the video.
I have to admit - I am ashamed that I wasn’t aware of so many of the tragedies that rotten mango has made me aware of
This is a wonderfully researched, highly interesting and very important channel
Thank you so much for doing this and providing me with details of these tragedies !
Continue your excellent work!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Warwick55
They didn't want Otto alive to tell his story. Even if they know that we know, N Korea would rather him dead.
We'll never know what truly happened. However it was obviously something really traumatic. A young and healthy 22 year old doesn't just fall into a coma for a year and then die within a week of getting home. Something sinister took place no doubt.
Maybe he ate a raw snail…that can do that to you.
(I’m not actually suggesting this is what happened, just that it’s possible)
@@evelynvslifeit is a possibility no one has looked at.
They wanted to use him for a bargaining chip. There was something international that was happening soon after this incident. When they realized he wasn't a chip, they killed him. I hate the whole Kim family. They need to all be removed (I know this will get hate, but even the children) maybe not killed but exiled. They could be put in jail at the supermax prison where terrorists are, or maybe guantanamo. But even the children have been groomed to be the next generation of evil and horror and need to be removed.
Most probably a result of a failed suicide attempt
@vulc1 that's what I was thinking
ADDED CONTEXT:
This video sadly didn’t talk about the North Korean prisons nor their system of “three generations of punishment”. The prisons are actual concentration camps called “Kwan-li so” and at the very least half a million people are detained there.
In the camps, there are two “zones”, made for two kinds of prisoners. The first is the “partial control zone”, where the prisoners are interned for a kind of limited period of time (always multiple years) and they follow the same model of the Chinese laogai of “reeducation through labor”, which means tons of propaganda and brutal, backbreaking forced labor. Then once they end their imprisonment, they are freed and can try to live the shitty life that awaits all North Koreans.
But then there is the “total control zone”.
Now, many don’t know that North Korea has what it calls “three generations of punishment”.
This is a legal notion that mandates that the next two generations HAVE TO BE PUNISHED together with the person that committed the political crime.
This means that if let’s say your uncle is arrested for political crimes, it’s not just him which will go to the prison camp for life, but ALL FAMILY MEMBERS for THREE GENERATIONS, in order to (ostensibly) “root out the criminal gene”.
Your uncle, your aunt, your cousins, your father, your mother, you, your siblings, your cousin’s siblings, and even your kids, and that usually will be FOR LIFE.
If someone who’s young is arrested directly and doesn’t have kids, that person will (if they work hard enough) be paired with a prisoner of the opposite sex by the guards EXACTLY as you would pair two farm animals, without having any choice in the matter, and put together in the same hut with the expectancy that you two will have sex and a pregnancy will result.
After the woman gets pregnant, the couple will be separated, and the baby will be raised as a prisoner from day one.
He will never know that a world exist outside the prison camp.
He will not know what words like “family”, “nation”, “sea”, “sport”, or “love” mean, and will live his entire life as a prisoner, without even the concept of living as a prisoner in a prison camp, thinking that the entire world is built like that concentration camp and that all of reality is exactly like that living hell… and if he gets paired with another prisoner to have kids, those kids will live the same exact life, and only their kids will be sent to an orphanage and finally be able to know what “freedom” is.
All of this is, in my opinion, the worst, most inhumane action that any nation does nowadays, without any equal for brutality.
It’s total savagery, a complete mockery of the very concept of humanity, and for this sole reason North Korea deserves to see her end really, really fast.
she's also a liar, did you catch that?
@@meanwhilebackonearth7384what do you mean?
@@meanwhilebackonearth7384about what?
@@gabrieladavila3278 there are a few like when the doctor arrived in north korea he was taken to a remote cabin. and not immediately to the hospital . there's a 42 minute documentary with interviews from the people she is talking about . watch that and see how she manipulates things ,.
That's horrific!
When he was released and shortly passed away my heart was burdened. I prayed for Otto for months when I heard of what happened. I hope he is resting now in paradise. 💔
Hello travelers! I am a traveler, as well! Please do me a favor-when and if you travel to a country with a dictator-please evaluate how much you love your life!
I was going to travel to Russia…and guess what? I canceled that plan! Do you know why? Watch the news.
My bf is from Lebanon and I was supposed to go meet his family last year. He canceled our plans. You know why? Well it borders a couple of countries that are kinda sorta in the news right now.
North Korea has been in the news for a long time too. Just because Dennis Rodman can go…does not mean you can go!
Please use common sense.
hi, I'm from Russia and idk. I think it's safe to travel here. I'm not very knowledgeable about this, but I see a lot of foreigners around in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. we don't have as many Europeans as 3-5 years ago though. I think it's mostly people from asia and middle east, sometimes Africa. Many foreign students live in my dorm and we're good friends
Russia is not North Korea that's for sure. very safe in the bigger cities. But I kinda get what you mean, I wouldn't want to travel to a country that's in a state of war. 😕
saint petersburg is nice though. gorgeous historical parks and Finland nearby
A mother in North Korea was sentenced to death because during a house fire she chooses to save her son and let the picture of their leader (every house MUST have one) burn, this is a true story.
I believe the son went to a juvenile prison as well. Serving til almost 30 I heard. This was a few years ago tho
That's not true at all, this is more "atrocity propaganda" we hear about North Korea.
@@mk4883true or not, you can’t exactly defend the abuse north korea inflicts on its citizens. that’s not a myth. there is a reason nk tries to hide what’s going on in there from the rest of the world
given what we know about north korea, it’s not unreasonable to believe this story
@@mk4883 I'm not sure what sounds more as an "atrocity propaganda" the story about the mother and the burning house or a tourist, who got imprisoned there, and returned to his country years later with the permanent brain damage as a vegetable.
I love how stephanie creates an emotional connection for the listeners like it's not that she's telling a story bit she's going in depth and creating a whole scene
Wow 35 likes....
She really does. I get so drawn in because of the way she tells the story. There is something so special and engaging about Stephanie. ❤
@@alysonbancroft3476l.
L
L
110%!! Shes the absolute BEST storyteller ive ever heard. I simply adore her... for bringing light to these people in such a respectful way and creating this community full of love. Shes made me cry and shes made me laugh my butt off so many times since finding her a year ago- i feel like shes part of my weekly life. Nothing but appreciation and love for this woman ❤
She is amazing!! I think y’all would like Emma Kenny too. She is great storyteller as well and I love them both!
I highly doubt he even tried to take that poster in the first place they were just looking for something to frame him as a political pawn. Hearing him read that obviously written for him speech sounding so dejected and defeated is just awful. Like do North Korea really think that speech was believable? It’s laughably ridiculous
This is the best, most comprehensive and balanced video ive ever seen on this case. Kudos
I think it’s so risky for people to visit a country that has closed its doors to the world knowing that at anytime anything can happen.
And stupid to do.
No matter what anyone did, they don’t deserve to be fucking tortured like that. Literally he had nobody in that cell. They could’ve done unspeakable things to him. Things that will never come to light. Imagine all the regret he must’ve felt. Wishing he could go back and undo everything. He was only 22 and he didn’t deserve this. His family didn’t deserve this.
Think the percentage of people who think he deserved this is minute. I think the most popular thought is “fuck around and find out”. Except he didn’t need to “find out”. It’s well publicised what happens if you fuck around in North Korea. Even going there doesn’t come with a guarantee that you’ll come home. That’s why people feel he got himself into this situation.
There’s a book called “Escape from camp 14” the story of Shin Dong-hyuk. It details the kind of torture and life experienced in North Korea and it’s a really really horrific existence.
Imagine if he didn’t even take the poster. If he didn’t wander off all alone to a forbidden floor at all and was with other tour group members in his room. Everyone agrees the confession looked scripted, fake, forced etc… if he was innocent and the government manufactured this to spoon feed the citizens more hate and thirst for retribution against Americans, then he’s even more undeserving and this is more terrifying. So many people are so sure “he fucked around and found out” but maybe all he’s guilty of is going there. Why would the officers say “he had a headache and we took him to the hospital” instead of saying he was suspected of a crime or “we can’t give any information”. They purposely wanted to pacify the friend who was leaving. That, to me, says at that point all they knew was they were going to try some shit but hadn’t fully cooked the story until the next day.
@@NC4E I totally agree, but personally I consider going to North Korea “fucking around”.
@evelynvslife Being a dumbass doesn't mean he deserved to die though.
Never never would I ever travel to North Korea. EVER...
I can't fathom why ANYONE would want to.
Why would anyone take that risk. Someone could ACCIDENTALLY disrespect the leader and be thrown in jail. Massive rules that one may accidentally forget, or go against. Nope...
Ok. Travelling to NK is supporting the regime by paying your money to their budget. Wanna see Korean culture, buy a ticket to SOUTH Korea.
That’s so delulu to travel to such a dictator’s country just to have fun. Especially when your taxes go to be an opposition and effort to defend yourself of those dictator’s regime.
Steph made a great point. North Korea is notorious for having CCTV everywhere and yet they only had this footage of "Otto"? I bet there was CCTV footage of Otto's room available, but because he was sleeping all night and never left his room, they destroyed that footage.
One of the girls on the trip has stated that they weren’t even in the hotel when the alleged incident happened. The video is so blurry you can’t even tell if it’s him.
It is China that is notorious for having CCTV everywhere not North Korea.
@@vulc1 Both unfortunately
he was a fool
@@vulc1they have the rooms bugged... you really think they don't have cctv all over the place? Please use common sense.
As a nurse who has taken care of people in a vegetative state, teeth do rearrange themselves when not in use (talking, chewing, etc) and limbs do get contractures when not in use for long periods- appearing deformed.
You are the first person I've heard mention this phenomenon and I feel like it explains away one of the big "mysteries" surrounding what happened to Otto. It really seems like he tried to kill himself after the sentencing and his captors only got to him 20 minutes or so after he stopped breathing. They were able to revive him, but unable to keep him from being a vegetable. All the mysterious deformities were likely the result of a year of being in a vegetative state.
@@KingCrabSuitedThat's an awful big coincidence. He just happens to look tortured after being held prisoner in North Korea, which has a history of torturing Americans. A year isn't that long and neither of you have done a side-by-side comparison between him and a known victim of torture.🙄
After a few weeks?
@@christinebrewer4757 He was in a coma for like a year before repatriated.
Thank you!
I posted a question on whether those could have been caused by stress and/or being in a coma for so long literally seconds before reading your comment! 😅
I mean they are still guilty for everything that happened to Otto, even in the case if he inflicted the harm on himself, I just don't believe in blaming anyone for things that they haven't done.
I believe it's important to be honest about his state
Thank you for covering this in depth because I ignorantly thought it was like a situation where he went to a really strict country and did stupid shit…I don’t think he did.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. I give sincere condolences to the family of this kid, but let's face facts: HE SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN THERE.
I am Mexican. I remember an American girl being asked what her plans were for spring break and she said she was going to Mexico, that a little stupid cartel wasn't going to ruin her vacation. I was appalled to say the least by her answer. All the while in my state people were turning up mutilated, a friend of mine wa shot in the head in Acapulco, I love my country but it's very unsafe.
Man I feel that about the casino I work in lol respect to you! 🙏
Mexico has extremely nice and luxurious areas! Not the entirety of Mexico is unsafe to travel to.
😅😅@@lilo638
. working in casinos are unsafe ?
@@lilo638 such privileges
I think people severely underestimate just how controlled n. korea is, and just how brainwashed the typical citizen is. I've watched a lot of interviews from defectors and it's truly a dystopian nightmare in many ways.
the defectors are usually paid clowns
@@AliA-wy2tfyou have any sources on that claim?
@@Louise-ls4jvmany of them lied about their situation.. one lady talked about eating bugs and dead people everywhere but news got out that she was actually one of the higher 40-50+ districts… lied for fame.. you can Google multiple ones.. it requires a higher status for the opportunity to defect
@@Louise-ls4jv source: he made it up
@@chickennuggiepartygirl9749 yeah probably
I lived in China for 8 years and have stood on the border of NK. What a difference just over the border, even though NK tries to keep people from seeing the poverty in the country by trying to keep the borders clean.
One thing I learned living in China and traveling all over Asia is to abide by the laws of the land or suffer the consequences. I’m not saying the consequences are just but you must realize that you aren’t in the USA anymore
His parents ordered the hospital not to attempt to save their son's life, and they also demanded that no autopsy be performed on their son. Interesting. Why would they not allow these things considering the nature of his death? It's not like he passed in bed after having the flu for 4 years straight. They believed someone murdered him and they wont perform an autopsy? And why kill him? Could he not have been brought back?
Probably religious reasons, i know some people are against autopsies cause the body must stay intact, otherwise the person won’t go to heaven…
I believe they did do post-mortem examinations, just not a full autopsy..
As far as not trying to resuscitate, if i have to guess they were probably told that even if he managed woke up, he was never gonna recover and be functional, so… they made that choice
They didn't wait him to suffer
Please please please. If you go to foreign countries, study up on the laws. Especially if you are going to somewhere that is a dictator state. Not on the same scale, but look at the young woman who just got arrested in Dubai for arguing 😢
Or better yet don't go to those places. Some people go to places and every one knows what not to do but entitlement make people think it is a joke and still do it.
The woman in Dubai didn't just argue; she cussed a man out. The U.A.E is a Muslim country where PDA isn’t even allowed. Cursing in public is illegal there. Too many Westerners go to Dubai and simply see it as a glamorous modern city in the middle of the desert. They fail to realize that it is a city that adheres to strict Islamic values and dislikes arrogant Westerners who bring their Western attitudes with them.
@@schmetterlingxox3096Really? That’s so fucked up. Islamic theocracies are trash 🤢.
@@schmetterlingxox3096 ... i mean, it's hardly a "western attitude" to cuss at men. i live in asia & asian old ladies specifically are the worst offenders of LOUDLY cussing out everyone & anyone for really mundane things. it's not something i've personally experienced elsewhere on this scale.
The law did not justify the punishment even according to N. Korean law. He was tortured and ultimately killed. There is no law in N. Korea that states death if you rip up a poster.
N. Korea is corrupt just like every nation only they are a proud dictatorship! How could he possibly forsee this?
He was a young man who was born and raised in the most free society in the world. He probably did not comprehend how dangerous N. Korean is.
What he did was immature, but his death is not his fault. He was murdered by a horrible dictatorship.
I remember watching this unfold in real time. What struck me as crazy was reading the comments and how many people actually believed the whole Methodist Church and CIA excuse. And Honestly the whole televised apology that was shown to the world felt more like a humiliation tactic than anything else.
People in America are so quick to believe the propaganda or what’s on the media. It’s ridiculous. It was very obviously a script.
That is crazy and sad that people believed that. I think the last 10 years the conspiracy theorists have gotten worse and a lot more of them. There’s a conspiracy for everything 😂
absolutely. intentional degradation.
My stupid self believe it back then. =(
Obviously the CIA excuse should reveal to any half-intelligent human that it’s fake, but imo that church thing only adds to the fakeness of that crazy confession! Otto was Jewish and active in his university’s hillel. May his memory be a blessing
Geeze why would anyone want to go to North Korea why ?
There is so many beautiful places without all this terror.
This woman is probably the best story teller I've ever seen.
I’m still watching but must disagree, she sounds like she’s 17.
I’m pretty sure she’s paid by the word.
Yeap... She's beautiful.
She's not the best story teller I've ever heard.
Yes She's a really good storyteller. Have you ever watched Mrballen?
So age diminishes your storytelling ability? Could you elaborate on how that would work@@RednailVal
Wait! Otto's parents refused an autopsy on Otto's body? That's crazy! if you ask me. How could you NOT want to know what exactly killed your son? Yet, they go sue North Korea for half a billion dollars? You'd think they'd want to know every detail possible of what was done to their son during his horrific detention in that country. That just doesn't sound right to me.
That’s what I was thinking. Honestly I think the country should’ve been able to do one regardless of the families wishes as it seems to be an international crime case.
They denied the autopsy cuz nk said send him here we will do autopsy 💀that's what stephanie ..I don't think anybody would send him there
@@Momomimi18 his body was in America. They could’ve done an autopsy there but the family denied it.
@@evelynvslifeNo, they denied that north Korea would be doing the autopsy. They did an autopsy here in America.
I think it was mentioned that they didn't do an autopsy but did a post-mortem instead. But isn't that the same thing?
This entire tragedy about Otto Warmbier was a very heart-wrenching one. I followed this story when it was current. One, because of how sad it all was, and two, because Otto reminded me of my own son, who is now 39. Otto would now be about 29.
I am not ashamed to say that due to those things I stated above, as to why this was so heart-wrenching for me, that I was moved to real, heart felt emotions and tears for this young man. Such a promising life, Otto's-a true prospect for the future, yet lost to the brutalities brought on by senseless aggressions, between leaders of governments around the world, prompting such deep hatred toward one another and the different people on planet earth. It makes no sense. It saddens me to no end. 😔
This is one of the most disturbing story I have ever heard for some reason. That boy was tortured beyond imagination.
At Ottos "confession" it looked very forced and the fact the poor guy is brain dead so he cant eveb talk about his experience even if he could imagine how hard that would be all my prayers go to him and his family.
What surprises me the most it is his lack of self preservation. Why do you want to go to risky places that even those countries citizens are afraid of to do anything against them.
@@timeless9820 many people think he did nothing. Like this footage cant even be called proof
Because he was young and foolish. You couldn't pay me to go to a dangerous country. And if I went, I would be on my nest behavior, not sneaking around and causing problems.
*best behavior. It's definitely a very troubling story. Foolish or not, Otto didn't deserve that ending- it's terrible what the N Korean government did to him.
@@timeless9820sounds like you’re blaming him more than the country that practically tortured him
Love to that tour guide who didn't want to leave Otto behind and stayed in North Korea ALONE to try and get information
I thoroughly enjoy how well you tell the stories of these victims, as well as the opposition. You make sure to not step on any toes, and remain respectful. You're awesome!!
Theory most logical to me is the boy tried to take his life and was discovered before succeeding.
It's so damn sad. I can't even imagine how his family and friends must be feeling. I can only imagine the amount of hopelessness, sadness, and anger they must have felt, and are still feeling. I hope everyone involved will eventually be able to find peace.
Ive always been very conflicted about this whole situation. On one hand, he knew where he was traveling & the possible consequences if he stepped out of line being in NK. But the treatment & punishment he was given is obviously way too much, especially since he essentially came back dead.
Two things can be true at the same time.
I always thought the strange video of the dark figure was very robotic, almost militant. Sad situation and how nk was basically legitimized into the olympics
But how do we know he stepped out of line at all?
the fact is the moment he stepped into NK, it didn't matter if he really stepped out of line or not.
this is not a country of modernised society or governance, this is literally a dictatorship
North Korean government finds him extremely useful as a negotiating chip with the US (most likely regarding international sanctions which USA always imposes against whatever nation it sees as its enemy). Regardless of what you think, there was no sign of assault or torture on Warmbier's body according to American doctors checking his condition after he was released back to the US. Take that what you will.
Just binging your videos while completing a puzzle. It’s a true mood
“… he was facing ‘racism’ in Korea”… you said previously that he was violent with Korean civilians, so obviously locals are not going to tolerate such behavior and as an active duty service member he should have known better. (viral videos of enlisted men fighting in Japan/Korea can give anyone a good idea about what type of people are making these terrible choices). Years ago during my younger brother’s enlistment he visited a ‘haunted house’ in Japan where a costumed staff member scared him so badly he punched said staff member in the face. All the lights turned on and he was escorted out while apologizing profusely with all onlookers/staff sneering in disgust and turning their faces away from him. He said it was THE most embarrassing/shameful thing he had ever done and he accepted responsibility as best as he was able…. he didn’t blame ‘racism’
How do u know he wasn't violent as a reaction to the racism and the putting racism in quotes is super passive aggressive.Racism in S.Korea is also nothing new
I use quotations because “racism” appears nowhere in text (literally) until Trotsky’s Three Part History of the Russian Revolution, it is a made up term used to control weak people on a planet of only one race of humans.
Violence is physical, whereas rude comments are only words. There is nothing any person can say to a sane and normal man or woman that warrants a physically violent response.
Lastly an active duty service member is a deadly weapon, a military man behaving so poorly and with such discourtesy while in a foreign country is disgraceful and they could be punished with a dishonorable discharge.
@@samiraahmed7034 “racism” needs quotations because it doesn’t exist and never has existed on a planet with one human race, in fact “racism” never appears anywhere in text (literally) until Trotsky’s Three Part History of the Russian Revolution. Physical violence is an unlawful response to any and all taunts, rudeness, arguments etc, no sane man or woman with a shred of integrity would respond violently to another’s spoke word or refusal of service. An active duty service member is considered to be a deadly weapon, therefore unruly and violent behavior (especially in a foreign country) is severely punished… which may be the reason why that man decided to run into a DMZ in the first place.
One of the most haunting details of this story is that his mother reportedly heard animal like sounds when he was coming off the plane and it then to discover it was her son. It’s just unthinkable what his family must have felt to see their beautiful child so broken before his death like that. It would almost have been better if they never got to welcome him home and he’d just died before meeting them.
He didnt die bcuz the ppl who tortured him were sending a message "look what we can do to you"
@@jes6427That’s f’d up😳
The USA should of evaporated all of them and then they could never do that to anyone ever again!!! Then Trump comes along , he's my good friend , I love Rocket boy , stupid jerk .
@@1694cgrntYeah, I remember it and you couldn't make out who was taken that picture off the wall it was so grainy.
But he did call of sick...and the Korean people are not known for their height...she said that the guy in the picture looked so tall, as if he was a monster.
Americans get pretty tall and that student was Hella tall.
It wasn't some random Korean. It looks like him.
My heart hurts for Otto and his family. What a horrific thing to happen during what was supposed to be a means to learn. However…. Given even a cursory amount of information on N. Korea, idk why anyone would willingly go there.
If they were Black and in the military, I can see why they would go there.😊
@@RicobacaWhy?
@@RicobacaWhat a silly statement
He shouldn't have stolen
Some people want to see sadness because they don't know it. They wanna see the truth, which is that everyone in North Korea is suffering from mismanaged country and grinding labor.
My brother did one of these tours. So crazy. You couldn’t pay me a billion dollars to go there. Poor Otto; this is so terrible.
The naivety of some people!!!
Why in Earth someone wants to travel where there is a tyranny?!!!!
Why in earth would someone travel to Israel?
My heart goes out to the family of Otto and the American soldier. In the end, the games our countries play ultimately fail the common person.
For real 😔 entering very dangerous country 🇰🇵
This story has haunted me for years. Every time I thought of how broken and crying he was, I myself would break down in tears. I have a son and if this happened to him, I would want the guilty parties to suffer for years before death. It’s too upsetting to even watch this entire video.😢
Myself as well. I never forgot this story and how empty and sad it made me feel. I sobbed.
He was a communist fool, and unfortunately, he got the chance to witness North Korean justice.
He tried to kill himself in prison and failed; the North Koreans kept him alive for a year before returning him to the USA, where they immediately took him off life support because it's too expensive. Do the stories of US prisoners being tortured to death also haunt you? Do you break down in tears for the prisoners in your own country?
@@mk4883Oh I understand, it's all justified! The North Koreans kept him all that time out of concern for his own good and well being. Such is the benevolence of our Dear Leader! Yea, sure.
Me too. This story has also haunted me for years.
I found your channel because of Spotify and I've been hooked ever since. I've already watch/listened to a few of your podcasts already and I love the way you tell the stories. Thank you!!❤
I read a different account of Otto’s return. That when his parents met him on the plane, he was keening like a tortured animal and couldn’t stop. I sure hope somebody pulled that story out of thin air.
I watched the entire video and after learning the details I believe Otto was being tortured from the beginning, severely enough for him to fear for his life and confess under duress and begging for people to save his life. Help didn't come soon enough for him and he died and North Korean government wouldn't let people see him because of the condition he was in. He was brain dead from early on
💯 % agree with your comments.
Do u mean mentally or that he was waterboarded or something? Cause all accounts of his physical health don't really support brutal physical torture and neither does the current preccedent.
Probably torture who went wrong - was accidentally suffocated which left him brain-dead, and as soon as they realized that he was dying he was let go to die at home.
When she said he had no bed sores, all I could think was he was hanging the whole time… she said that they were known for hanging people by the armpits so I believe it
@@deborahbastian6180 that would leave severe marks to have your weight suspended by ropes. Also it would have cut the circulation to the areas, it would actually be more impressive to keep someone in good physically condition while suspended.
Another possibility for his coma is that they use brain altering drugs in their "interrogations" and he reacted horribly to them. This would fit with their mental torture tactics and wouldn't leave visible physical marks. His bad reaction to the drugs could have put him in a coma and then they tried to take really good care of him to bring him back and after a year realized they had really screwed up and needed to come up with a lame excuse to what they did.
Interesting theory!
Like that one old secret American psychological experiment?
@irene6187 huh?? I've never heard of this. Do you have like a video suggestion covering this topic?
Close. Very close,,- add in the hit to the head, a traumatic brain injury. Then they thought he was faking it so they cut out his nails but he was internally dead . There was no response.
These people are sick fucks. Then they abused him & took pictures & waited to see if he’d come back but he didn’t . They threw him in a cell for dead, but then the US demanding him back caused them to try & bring him back, he was lifeless so they hit him with the paddles & gave him meds to jump start his heart . Results? He’s brain dead. No need to do an otopsy . He was dead, body burned bitten bruised & battered …he had swelling on his brain. They did it. That Fucking gross ass country.
If this was my son, you couldn’t keep me from figuring out how to hurt them, then doing it. I’d spend my whole life screwing with them. Just yuk.
@@PoltieBoo
Mk Ultra.
Knowing Everything I know about North Korea, I can't wrap my head around Why would anyone want to go there. And I'm not even American 🤦🏾♀️
The first thing I noticed is that Otto looks to be pretty tall, but the person who took the poster down looked alot shorter than Otto......🤔 im just curious if they were to bring him in that exact spot on camera by the poster and look at it next to the actual video if it would match up.....I personally don't think it would, but am I the only one that thought this? And that the one taking the poster down just looked way to short to be Otto........?
This case breaks my heart. Here the patents thought they were getting their son back. But instead he was brain dead and on life support. Then his parents had to make the decision to cut him off. They tortured his parents too.
I never considered whether or not he actually took the poster prior to this. (it’s such a ridiculous ‘crime,’ on the surface that you don’t think to probe deeper) but you’re so right. There would likely be more/clearer footage, and IF they had better footage, surely they would air it, to strengthen their accusations?
no fr. I’m rather certain he didn’t try to take it. Besides, as we saw via his harsh sentence, it seems like they rly wanted to make a scapegoat out of someone.
To add to this, surely there are cameras on every floor, and if such, wouldn’t they catch Otto leaving and entering his room around the time that he supposedly stole the poster?
Honestly I speculate that NK planned to do this well before Otto even set foot in the country. They wanted to make an example of an American to their own people. This was probably more about controlling their people rather than starting a conflict with America. Otto just unfortunately won the worst lottery imaginable. He was the epitome of what NK imagines Americans to look like. (Honestly to the people playing the whole "white male privilege" card... they probably weren't that far off from the truth.... only it's that exact "privilege" that got Otto selected to be the target.) Poor Otto, may he rest in peace.
That CCTV footage could very well be fake/fabricated! They were not able to show that footage to the rest of the tour members right when they detained Otto in the airport. For all we know, they spy on the rooms and realized this American kid is left alone for 2 hrs w/ no other foreigners from other countries that could dispute what we will say. Simply, they just want to make a statement to the world, get back at US, or gain some bargaining collateral, and saw the opportunity in this naive kid. That CCTV footage could have been filmed during the 3 weeks' silence after they detained and tortured Otto and just set the date to that 2hr window. As you have said, there is no video of Otto coming out of his room, was that even what Otto wore during that night? How was he able to sneak into that floor. I really despise everyone who was victim-blaming Otto when it the news initially came out yrs ago as if they know exactly what happened that night and they were there or were sure NK is saying the truth! Bah, if NK was able to force Otto to confess to being part of a church he doesn't belong to or being a spy of the CIA in front of the press, what else do you think have they forced the kid to do in private. The CIA would be so dumb to send a college kid to slaughter just to put down a freaking generic propaganda portrait that is not necessarily new to people.
It’s a possibility that he was sneaking around or something and the north korean government was trying to figure out if he was a spy. That immediately answers the question as to why he was possibly tortured. That’s the hypothesis that makes the most sense for me. I just want to preface that it’s no excuse for torturing the kid but it explains the chain of events.
SO MUCH PRAYERS & LOVE TO THAT YOUNG MAN & FAMILY!!!
As soon as you arrive in Malaysia there are groups of people who attache themselves to every foreign visitor. They follow you everywhere you go. You'll see the same people watching you leave that watched you arrive.
If your not used to seeing people who have spent a long time in an immobile state, like a coma, their condition could seem bizarre. Arms and legs can become strangely bent, eyes can rot, faces can look a little distorted...I've even seen fingers black and rotting and exposed back bones from bed sores. This is with care and it happens gradually with time. So if you haven't slowly gotten used to the changes it can be very jarring. I havent seen this in a long, long time though. It was more common when I first became a nurse years ago. Still this is a very sad story.
This would fit with the family's announcements, especially considering medical care is said to be lacking behind in North Korea even for the elite. If Otto had been unconscious for a year and this was more common back in the day, his family might not have been prepared for how such a state would look...
All of this is terrible, whether torture had been physical or not. I remember when this situation first broke, then got resolved without answers or any happy ending...
EYES can rot??? How can any body part rot while they're alive? Surely they would die from sepsis not long after?
How did they manage to avoid bed sores for a whole year? That is amazing! Is it even possible?
How is a patient allowed to get to the point where their eyes and extremities are rotting???
Wouldn't they get sepsis?
Teeth can move as well, yeah. I've heard of that after a Guillain-Barré episode that lasted for around a month before recovering mobility, can't imagine what may happen after a whole year.
I feel like if Otto actually took down the poster, he would've panicked when the airport officer approached him. He wouldn't have laughed at his friend's joke. And if he had panicked even a little, his friend would've definitely shared that detail. But all he shared is that he laughed at his jokes meaning that he didn't suspect anything.
He was sick .. and went to his room where he was actually sleeping … he was a Patsy !! A Set up ..
If you give a mouse a cookie he’ll ask for a glass of milk to go with it. When you give the mouse the glass of milk he’ll probably ask you for help to overthrow the regime.
Great delivery. Enjoyed your report, couldn’t stop watching!
I’d never consider going to a country I was warned not to go to. I’m so sorry for Otto and God bless his family. I pray they find a peace that surpasses all understanding! They will be in my prayers!
North Korea is already scary enough without all the over exaggeration that actually makes many people, specially some communists and people who (with reason, in my country, Brazil, for instance, resent the US, say that EVERYTHNG said about North Korea is just American propaganda. Because it sure feels like. Yeah, you can take pics and film whatever you want. You ALREADY are in pre approved areas, for Christ sake! Why they would bother anyway? If anything it's the opposite! They WANT YOU to film everything and go back and post it in English or in whatever is your native language! That's WHY those tours even EXIST in the first place! It's the capital. It's beautiful! It's all prepared to make it look normal and okay. And you, folks, FALL for their trap! And Yeah, the kids are probably just being kids. Kids are kids. They live in the richest part of the city, the capital, not in the villages. And they know no other life other than that. To them it looks just fine! Nothing justify the end this guy had. But he committed TWO crimes: trespassing and theft. Johnny Somali just FINALLY was jailed in JAPAN for just trespassing. And he did much worse before but it was the actual crime they were waiting to put him in jail in Japan. So, of course he was jailed in freaking NORTH KOREA. He would be even in JAPAN.
All those exaggerations about North Korea just HELP the North Korean regime. Because people start to think that ANYTHING about there is just "capitalist propaganda". And they have some reason to start doubting. Because it's just TOO MUCH at a certain point.
you think you are working against them but you are in fact HELPING them. a LOT!!
Amen 🙏🏿
I find her very biased and follow the "official line" way too often
Even with an autopsy they couldn't prove water boarding. The water wouldn't still be in his lungs a year later and even if there was fluid it would be difficult to say this fluid is from water boarding verses fluid build up from being on a vent for over a year.
Also there are lots of ways to kill someone without a mark when they've had a year to heal. Cutting off circulation to the neck is easily done without breaking bones. It's nearly impossible to figure out a cause of death without blood results and toxicology from the time of the incident.
Otto was tortured with Electrocution (he had burn scar wounds on his foot). Otto was brain damaged because of lack of oxygen, meaning they most likely suffocated him as well.
@@Peekaboo-Kitty
Or he attempted to hang himself
@@jefferyepstein9210think of the likelihood though - they aren’t stupid and knew he was a suicidal risk at the start of torture. I highly doubt he had access to the tools / materials needed to try to hang himself.
@@nero48not just clothes. Any kind of cloth / bed sheet / towel. Don’t forget anything remotely sharp or a mirror / window that could be broken. It’s not just clothes I’m talking about. Let’s expand our critical thinking skills beyond that of a kindergartner. 😉
Nasty insult!
People are like "well why would you take a poster" while it COULD NOT BE MORE OBVIOUS that he did no such fucking thing lmao. He was asleep in his bed the entire time. The only crime he committed was being without witnesses to speak up for him for two hours. Like, it wouldn't even shock me if he was served a drink with something in it -- not enough to really injure him, just enough to make him feel shitty enough that he'd go to bed while everyone else went out.
The Travis king situation was so crazy to me. SPECIALLY As an American soldier based in Korea and went to the DMZ and made a joke to the guard on the bus about crossing just months before that happened.
Listening again to Otto's confession, something dawns on me -- how can someone understand the severity of a crime without also having an idea of the penalties associated with it? R.I.P.
After he was tortured and held in captivity for a while; only then he was able to understand the severity of his actions
@@redfo3009 given my question was/is rhetorical, please allow me to clarify. I was/am remarking on the structure and wording of Otto's confession, specifically 45:02 .*
While many presumed the confession to be coerced - myself included - I previously overlooked the contradictory nature of, "I understand the severity of my crime and I have no idea what sort of penalty I may face."
Yet you accept it when its Gaddafi or Saddam
White Privilege for the win I guess
@@Uncanny_Mountain though I acknowledge you are describing a very real sort of person -- I do not, "accept it when its Gaddafi or Saddam."
@@kneau exactly
White Privilege
I thought I knew everything about this case but I continue to be blown away by your story-telling and the hard work of all of the researchers that help construct the story and case. Thank you for allowing us to have a deep insight into Otto’s case.
Good job. Your speaking and observation abilities and vocalizing them are perfect! You should have a good future having your own tv news show.!
It's so strange to me that the parents wouldn't get an autopsy. Also strange that such a poor country was able to keep him alive in the coma for a year but he died in like a week after getting back to the US. Makes you think he was killed by the US as a political move
Not sure i heard correctly, but i believe the family decided to take him off life support.
They said his body was in such disrepair that he they couldn’t recognize him.
That’s got to be horrific for his parents.
I've heard about this. North Korea has become the most secluded and impossible to flee from in the last 2-3 years. The number of people able to flee in those years has dropped to two digits. I think 2021 it's been about 70 recorded cases.
They not only punish the immediate family of someone who escapes but they punish 3 generations of the family. Many people are scared to leave for this reason.
Also you have to go to China to escape North Korea and they will return you to North Korea.
I'm sure after covid, their population dropped a ton. Dead slaves = tougher time for their glorious leader. Gotta keep whoever is left there to make use of what's left.
Yesterday I watched a bunch of videos about people who got stuck in caves while caving…. Somehow I get the same unsettling feeling while listening to this story; same thoughts: why would anyone go to a place where you never know how narrow of a tunnel you are getting into… what if you won’t be able to wiggle your way out of it?…. Literally same uncomfortable feelings 😢😢
There is an entire movie/documentary about the Thai cave rescues. It was well done, I suggest watching it if you can find it
Same!!
Yes! It’s the same thing with people who scare of the cliff because they want to jump! I guess some people just don’t have an instinct to stay alive
I believe people do it for the same reason -> the experience … it’s just sad when it doesn’t go as you planned
You are truly doing a wonderful work and doing it very well
Perfect example of : Play stupid games, win stupid prizes
um?
Tbf, I went to a National War Museum in Seoul and it was similiar insofar that it portrayed North Korea one-sidedly as the aggressors in the Korean War and the US as heroes. It's hard to get an unbiased account. That's kind of how national history is.
Though, there was a really heartbreaking statue outside of the museum which depicted a South Korean and North Korean soldier hugging. It was supposed to represent how the war had separated families and torn the country apart. That was heartbreaking.
thats why minimal understated war memorials are best, its a place to mourn and recognize the lost lives of soldiers, not propogandize. war is terrible all around.
North Korean "history" isn't just biased, it is often completely untrue. And questioning that is a crime. The US and other countries often do have bias, yes, but North Korea will put you to death for seeking the truth.
No fr, I think people forget that propaganda is a two-way street.
@@Iexapro But if you call BS in South Korea, you don't get executed. It's beyond bias in North Korea, it's lies, things that never happened and if you dare question it, you pay dearly. False equivalency.
Yes exactly, same as Stephanie was saying that the USian ship was "minding their business on international waters". C'mon girl, as if the war was one sided.....
Otto seems like he would have had a great life ahead of him. What a tragic loss for his family, friends and the world.
This is an awesome podcast. I love your intro by the way, beautifully done!
I was in Costa Rica and took a tour going to the Amazon by boat a large river. We where told numerous times DO NOT PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE WATER. because is full of alligators. With in a 5 to 10 minutes I asked how about those small individuals little I don't even know what to call them but look not very safe and I can see their hands continually in the water. I asked about this. They said those people are Americans. So I said what?????? Americans think they can do anything they want I asked how they get the boat he said they offered good money to the locals to rent those small boats my question was has anyone got in trouble with the alligators he said all the time many many deaths many lost because the alligators takes the body under water and eat the person in minutes 10 to 20 of them just tearing the person apart😮. Crazy that you would go out of the USA and be so arrogant to think you have the freedom we have here in the states. This poor man got in a situation horrible situation because of that type of mentality. Not an excuse to do what this country did to him not at all. I would never visit this N Korea but definitely never would even think about breaking any law
I heard about this a couple years ago and I was absolutely shocked by what they did to that young kid it just comes to show that everything is not perfect in the world. Some countries are not the same, especially North Korea. The fact that a young kid who was just going on a field trip would end up so tragic and sad
Never was perfect in the world and never will be...didn't need to see this to understand that simple fact.
"Just going on a field trip" lmao
@@purrrrrrrple Well, that’s what it really was a field trip.
@@sabirahemphill-garcia1676yeah to north Korea
@@sabirahemphill-garcia1676you have to be ignorant to think you can go on a 'field trip' in NK, and not assuming u are at risk of dying and or loosing everything.
The effort Stephanie puts into her videos, telling peoples stories and how respectful she is Unimaginable❤️❤️❤️
I know. I love watching her videos.
Idk, she wont even say North Korea lied about Otto's treatment. Pretty disrespectful if you ask me.
I will always believe that one of the staff from the hotel set Otto up. They saw he was alone through the surveillance camera and had someone take down the poster and blamed him for it.
I am so disgusted by ALL current and recent world leaders.
CUBA MENTIONED!!!! please START TALKING ABOUT CUBA! CUBA IS DYING AND IS BEING OPRESSSED!!! WE ARE DYONG, PIR CHILDREN ARE STARVING!! our electricity is taken away every few hours, we have to walk/drive HOURS to find ONE bottle of water. I'm risking my family's life writing this. So please!! start talking about cuba. we need help.
Lift the sanctions