0:33 Imagine he steps off property. Everyone stops what they are doing, turns and stairs at him. He steps back on the property. They go back to what they where doing.
Eh, the FBI and NSA make sure they're the only ones that can get into our phones so no worries, do remember to say good morning and good night to your FBI agent every now and then
I'm just not going, as much as I love adventure and travel, just too many rules. Will just watch it here, good people though, I wish things were different for them.
Michaela Caleb Amen. I was scared for the guy who was filming. At any moment, a guard could just turn around and yell at him for taking his phone into an area where he is not supposed to. I really can't imagine that a vacation there would be a relaxing experience.
Image, when the state controls the hotel and the tourism industry, the state wants to make a good impression on the tourists that do come, so they put on this facade of grand hotels, tour of the working metro trains, grand avenues, monuments. Anything to hide the day to day reality of what the average North Korean experiences.
ShreksRight Nut yo army, to answer your question, it's to keep up their image by securing several properties. Politicians may be renting the said hotel as their own, it's very common even in SK.
@buzzclick500 a country's official age has nothing to do with anything. What a bizarre comment. Also, you sure are keen to defend North Korea. Good luck to you on that one.
I see nothing wrong with the aesthetics here, nor in any luxury hotels in South Korea. You just personally don’t like it, which seems more like a personal taste to me.
@Azay Deelay Stop disrespecting South Korea and stop comparing it to North Korea. South Korea ia one of the wealthiest countries in the world and North Korea is just a large country stuck in the 1970's with no contact with the world. You clearly haven't been to Korea so shut up.
What ur hearing these pulsating sounds (AM1,2) are the radio jammers used by the north koreans to block out foreign broadcasts. Occasionally they do pause due to power cuts from unreliable power supply
@ If memory serves I believe your not allowed a radio to take with you from the outside. I think they check for that via a piece of paper (you have to sign if you have it) at customs and when they check your bag or something. But yeah. I think radios are a big no no.
What about the radio on a cell phone? If I had my iphone with me I can download any radio station from the US and listen live. Do they block that somehow?
@@yourmother9834 Honest answer? Probably. But I couldn't tell you. Good question. Best people to ask are the tour guides. Like koryo Tours or young pioneer tours who make the tours. They will have the answers. (edit: BUT. if your a united States citizen. Your screwed anyway. Currently the United States has banned it's people from going to North Korea for the moment thanks to the oto warmbier incident. Unless your a duel citizen from another country with another passport, you can't get into north Korea on an American passport right now. Which sucks.)
It seems like some kind of fever dream. Every location in this building looks like it’s straight out of a ‘vaporwave aesthetic’ meme . It’s like an unfinished video game.
It's because North Korea's whole aesthetic is retrofuturism inspired by Soviet optimistic socialism, it's intentional, those vaporwave edit types are also inspired by 90s retrofuturism, its kinda charming
@@InitiateDee Human feces is not a good fertilizer in the sense that it is very likely to result in parasites getting into the food supply. It is called Night Soil: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_soil and since this has been implemented in NK, parastic infections in people has gone way up. Very dirty food supply.
It looks soooo staged, like real theatre. All those people there look like placed actors, standing or sitting around in pretend conversation for the sake of image and/or to watch you. It's really eerie.
You wish the people getting shot accros the United Stater every single day were actors...don't you? Sadly for you they are real. North Korea needs an ultra modern hotel as much as you need safe streets, schools, malls, churches and homes.
You know, they have fake Christian churches and fill them with actors to build the lie that the regime has religious tolerance. All of the “churchgoers” sing & pray as a show.
You can't go past that point because the rest of the city is probably glitching like an unfinished game. Ultimately they are just trying to keep you safe, you could have ended up phasing through the floor and fell into the ether.
Dudes being wayyy more critical than I'd be while I'm staying there. Hotel could have a spike pit full of impaled puppies and I'd be like, "Yes, very beautiful* until I got home.
I realize I'm fighting memes here, but people do need to understand that everything this man saw and captured with his camera was foreseen in advance. They WANT him to return home and upload his footage; they don't care about his negative opinions. It creates more curiosity, more tourism, more $$$ for the regime.
From what I've seen on docs. His hotel is in the downtown area. Meaning, from the moment he awoke, to the tours he got. Everything was planned, he was basically an extra on a film. It is said, the N.Koreans use fancy supermarkets as props for visitors. Yet no one actually shops there. They're very good at creating a false image on peoples heads. They're not a top tourist destination. So they rely on, the curious, or that tour bus from China. With those foreigners, who just are curious.
Your government monitors every cell phone conversation in this country then sells you some "privacy act" bullshit that only the most gullible among us believe.
@Greg F. You're a real dumb fuck, almost every call is screened, calls are converted to text and sophisticated equipment with special algorithms that separates them.
he was casually sneaking pictures of the construction zone and pretending he was looking at the sunset too. This dude is much less risk adverse than me
If you don't steal shit or break any rules you are welcome'd. They know that westerners have a different mindset are generally pretty forgiving. As long as you don't steal posters of course
Imagine everyone in the lobby talking and the second he steps outside they all stop and wait for him to come back in so they can finish the scripts they started
Everyone seemed to be doing their ordinary day to day huddle...as if you are not their concern...but once you step outside the hotel boundary....WATCH THEM ALL FREEZE AND FIX THEIR EYES ON YOU LIKE ORGANIC CCTV--- all connected to Kim Jung-Un,your SUPREME ALL- SEEING- BIG BROTHER!!
@@Bishop_blank ur just looking for something to criticize... They're regular people living regular life's like u or I... Don't buy into everything ur government and media tells u
I didn't notice that at first, creepy. There's about one lit room per building. I wonder if they shut off power to them or are they unoccupied? The majority of each building might be a facade, could be why they don't want you filming construction.
I knew this German girl, living in the West, she said when the East opened up, going on the train from West to East Germany was like going from color to black and white tv.
I don’t think that statement is really true. You should go lookup some videos on former Soviet countries. They are even further back in some cases and there’s still quite a few of them.
Relatives of mine toured thru the USSR during the 70s. They had toilets in Poland that didn't work because they were designed almost like they had a picture of a toilet but no idea how it worked. Secret police with them during some of the times in Russia. The bus comes in at the russian border and they spent HOURS searching it. But he saw VERY poor and the rich in Russia. Which totally blew to bits the concept of communism. "There's rich communists and really poor communists" he said to me.
The sound on the radio is a jammer. It was probably the AM station on 891KHz. It broadcasts programming during certain hours. When the programming "signs off", they broadcast that noise to jam stations from South Korea. 891 is a very powerful station with around 500,000 watts. It's purpose during "jamming hours" is to jam a KBS1 station in the south with 250,000 watts. Radios in the DPRK are set to receive only the DPRK stations. A DPRK citizen caught with a regular radio that can tune to all AM and FM frequencies can be thrown into prison or worse. They take media and what media DPRK citizens are exposed to very seriously.
wow i didnt know that thanks for sharing.. interesting info because it also didnt seem like the radio was complete static. there was some movement you could hear and it was if it was trying to play but something was blocking it
When the Kim Dynasty is finally over and North Korea stops being so shitty, it'd be super interesting just to travel around NK, because think about it, no foreigner has been allowed to freely explore NK for decades, so practically EVERYTHING they see would be completely unknown to the outside world.
You can go to Albania to see a country that used to be very similar to DPRK in terms of isolation, communism, and despotic rule. Unfortunately, when the dictator fell, the country fell to unregulated capitalism and fell even deeper into poverty. They are on the up and up now-it’s a nice place to visit and experience the Mediterranean Riviera on the cheap :)
buzzclick500 thank you for the mansplanation. After my years of education I never quite got the concept. I’m speaking in IR terms. Isolationism is often a facet of communist systems, but it exists outside of that. China, on the other hand, is a perfect example of communism without isolationism.
buzzclick500 I don’t know what “layety” is but okay. I don’t know what your argument is. I didn’t say anything about my personal criticisms of the U.S. government (you assumed I was American) or what anyone should do with that information. I simply recommended the OP go to Albania to see what life is like after a regime like the Kim dynasty’s, and after what is likely to happen if the collapse of said regime does indeed happen.
Yep! keep them busy so they have no time to shoot the children in school or people praying in church. The righteous will take that over any bright light bulb.
I guarantee that if you just saw the lobby, with no narration and without knowing where it was, you wouldn't say that. (The room is another matter.) But one reads into it one's built-in preconceptions.
Looks like your handlers or somebody might have been watching you.5:46 you zoom in on the other building, when you come back to that shot the blinds are down and lights off in room below.
A lot of the people standing around seem like actors. They always have two or three guys standing and one of them explaining something in great detail.
@@DrMcMoist "watch...lady!, flowers!.....There's that Dented Beetle!!! Yes! Awwhhhhh! Don't ya wanna know how I did that? I'll tell ya. They're on a loop. They go 'round the block, then they come back. Then they go 'round again. They just go round and round!! Rounnnnnd annnnd rouuuund! They never stop!" Sidebar: awesome screen name, Doctor.
There is a video of him being taken away after a court case where he bumps his head against a large Korean court door I think that is what gave him the coma.
@@Jay18Jay my ex "bumped" my head of a door twice, no coma so I would say that poor guy got more than a bump of the NK security services...poor dude, such a price to pay over a banner.
@@Jay18Jay Maybe someday somethign horrible will happen to your child and we will refer to them as a Jackass. You do know that they now say that they do not believe that he even touched a poster, it was just their cover to kidnap and take a hostage. You might recall there is no picture of him taking the poster, just grainy image of arms, legs, etc. But let's just say that HE DID, he took a piece of paper that was taped to the wall, which had no value, no effort to replace as a simple souvenir to show and/or demonstrate life in North Korea. Brutally kidnapped, tortured, put in a coma and let to die..... causing a lifetime of pain for his family for doing nothing. You are the only JACKASS in this post.
Thanks for this. I stayed in this hotel in 1999. Nobody told me that I couldn't leave the hotel alone, so I walked down to Kim Il Sung square and back before breakfast. When I told the guides, they didn't seem too bothered.
@Dusk Raccoon - It would be nice to locate them, then have them dc'ed. But then in all likelihood you'd get caught & get sent to a forced labor reeducation camp for the next ten years.
What goes unnoticed by non-Koreans with these kinds of videos of North Korea is that the writings and signs use an antiquated font - as opposed to a more modern, contemporary font. It would be like if you stepped outside in the US and saw all signs using a 19th century font (painted or shaped by hand), or a microwave had a brand name written in some basic calligraphy. For example, the lit "tea shop" sign shown on 2:04. The design overall is just old and outdated. I suppose that in some way, they see this kind of lettering as maintaining their (communist) tradition and an art form of sorts in that sense. But against modern things, it just seems very odd and out of place. Same applies to many signs in China (also "still" communist - in case we forget), to be honest.
this place is actually beautiful i dont think it looks tacky it looks really nice. if only they had the heart and transparency to build such nice things for *their own people*
I thought ordinary tourists were discouraged from going to NK, this guy must be a higher up. Well, anyway I would be nervous to do anything for fear of be called a spy and be arrested. Maybe horse blinders would help.
Journalists and documentary makers travel to NK for information. Alot of them record stuff that they aren't even supposed to be recording. I feel bad for the people who live in this country, makes you wonder if they will ever have a revolution against the government.
So glad NK finally upgraded to 1940s technology and furniture. I seriously haven’t seen a hotel room looking like that since my great grandmother passed away.
Uh... You do know they have all the same contemporary devices and architecture we do, right...? They have (modern) cell phones, computers, and other gadgets like drones and electronic toys just like we do. I can see why so many people are mystified by a place like The DPRK, but they aren't brainwashed, fanatical cult members who live in constant fear and domination like our CIA propaganda tells us, just like we aren't all demons who want to murder all Koreans like their propaganda says. They live in isolation and are self reliant because over the past century, they've seen that any time a leftist society has contact with the USA/West, they are crippled and destroyed through economic sanctions, embargoes, assassinations, coups, proxy wars, invasion, etc. They fear us for a good reason, but why do you fear them?
The interior of the Koryo is pretty similar to most 70's/80's era old school hotels in Asia. Places like the Royal Park Hotel in Suitengumae Tokyo, the Hamilton Hotel at Itaewon in Seoul and the Kimberly in Tsim Tsa Tsui in HK rock a really similar vibe with the mirrors and disco aesthetics.
6:38 Such a scary place for a mirror. People probably get all startled for a second like there's another person in the ominous hallway looking straight at them.
Is less scary than going to church or sending your kids to school in the U.S. for sure. Chances are that someone will be there, someone holding an assault weapon and looking straight at you or your children, definitely someone will be there for some.
Someday, somehow, if this country is freed... Can you imagine the transformation, can you imagine the stories people would have to tell, can you imagine what a revelation it would be to them?
You are completely right my dear friend don’t trust any one in this shit world couple of months ago I was in Czech Republic 🇨🇿 Jewish has civilization in Czech Republic Iam iranian I went to Jewish synagogue 🕍 for buying ticket at first I asked ticket seller can I buy ticket I’m from Iran she said yeah everybody can visit these ancient building there is no limitation we have democracy Czech Republic is a democratic country no worry and I bought this damn ticket then starting visiting at the first museum I asked taking picture is ligal? They answered without flash is ok no problem you can take photo from everything So I started taking pic from all antiques after that while I was exiting museum I saw six police caps they were ready for picking up their weapon were fucking furious,rude asked where is your fucking Id I answered It’s in my house the arrest my put handcuffs on my hands send me to police station check me swear at me after 2 hours let me go two weeks later at 12 am sent me 20 comandos with m16 shield they attacked to my room I was horrified was going to die my girl friend was working on that hotel reception since she saw that action she is silent don’t speak with me broke up I lost her just consider it was European country was in Shengen claim they believe human right they don’t execute poeple don’t torture they did to me now think about North Korea their hands are open they can do whatever they like nobody can do shit they don’t fucking care it’s fucking dangerous
not that eerie. if he’s from the united states people are used to filming everyone and everything, and posting it online. not a shock that someone else in a different country may feel uncomfortable being on the camera of some stranger.
yeah places like Britain and America, most people don’t mind being filmed although I wouldn’t be filming around Bradford if you don’t want to get chinned by a 40 year old dad of 12 children.
"That'd be a nice little souvenir if anyone actually wanted to jack the calender" If you're willing to risk 15 years of your life to hard labor, go for it bro.
Funny thing is I think if Warmbier had said, "This paper carries the words of the wise Kim Jong Un and I would like to use it to show my friends in the U.S. how generous and happy the Korean people are," they'd have given him a case of them to take home.
Perhaps. However this hotel probably does not face power outages because the North Korean government pumps a lot of their scarce resources into tourist spots to make sure tourists only see good things in North Korea and not what most citizens actually are dealing with.
SURE... you know the hotel and university ate priority for power? What do you think the smokestacks are likely for? What makes you so sure about the power there? It's not Pakistan.
Otto was the head-on-a-stick paraded through the streets of our village as a warning to the rest of us. Our curiosity is the Only reason Pyongyang exists. It is just a set on a sound stage. It is all a ruse and every citizen is an indoctrinated soldier. Freedom is NOT something they dream of, because it is not an idea that they have ever fathomed. The Sentinelese have not learned to make fire. We, as humans, do not pine for things we have never heard of. A typical 60 year-old North Korean man has Never worn jeans, has Never 'slept in', has Never had ice cream, has never nervously taken a girl on a date, has never had a 'favorite band' to see in concert, has Never had a cold beer, and has probably never laughed.
@@C_Tizzle i mostly agree with you unfortunately, however i don’t think it’s entirely true. if that were the case then nobody would’ve have ever attempted to escape. somehow they know it’s not normal how they live, but i’m not sure how.
@@tamsinsylvie4331 yeah, there are exceptions to everything. I definitely meant Most average, older citizens. I read somewhere that the most highly coveted "contraband" amongst the NK younger generations is mostly American 90's movies. So, they've gotten a wiff of what's out here. But, most likely, someone that is already a senior citizen may very well Never have a clue that their life isn't exactly what they've been told: everyone that isn't fortunate enough to live in the glorious paradise of North Korea are either evil, suffering, or both.
Watching videos of North Korea makes me really nostalgic because it reminds me of old post-communist Bucharest. Romania's dictator was influenced a lot by North Korea, being friends with them and admiring them, he made Bucharest look very similar to Pyongyang. It's a beautiful city, the aesthetic is unique and looks stuck in time, but it's very sad that they live the way we did decades ago in an already impoverished country.
Leland Brown The reason they gave is that he stole a poster (which obviously wouldn’t warrant death even if it was true). But the video of it happening is incredibly grainy, and ‘Otto’ has the mannerisms of a Korean soldier (extremely straight back posture, etc.). It absolutely reeks of being staged. NK wanted to make an example of him to the west
I love how he’s talking crap about the hotel while he films it 😂 I’d be too afraid to say anything negative out in the open like that. Love the honesty
@@hieayu7773 The ones organizing the tours definitely do. And I bet there are officers that understand English, but will never say a word and pretend to not understand anything at all. Never assume people don't understand you - not in North Korea nor elsewhere.
Ironically what surprised me was how grotty the room is - the carpet with its dirty traffic areas, the grime on the light switches and radio buttons. I expected to see old, maybe tatty, but scrupulously clean. Lovely view of the factory chimneys belching out smoke. Not sure if you made it out or are currently in a labor camp, but thanks for posting ☺️
I just love to watch these N-korea videos, kind of interesting and yet makes me feel sorry how stupid N-korea elite is to think that outside people would not see through this charade.
5:05 So you know, the empty elevator buttons are not for future expansion. They are actually for the State Security Services/Military/Generals/Bureau 121 Hackers and the different illicit branches of the FAMILY. Only they know where it goes and which floor for what JOB. Since these tall buildings are usually empty of patrons, S.Korea and Japanese analysts actually look at the buildings at night and see which floors correspnds to which department-by just looking at which floors' lights are on! The buzz you hear when you pressed the AM1 radio station is actually Electro Pulse - DPRK is jamming the signals coming from S Korea so people won't listen to the stations from down South
They probably just bought an elevator that was either used before or they bought one that wasn't made for this specific hotel, I think that's why the left over buttons are blank
Notice how all the staff is determined to step out of the frame of the camera as quickly as possible. If they appear in a clip on social media and that clip becomes a huge controversy for some reason, it is likely that they end up in some sort of trouble. Trouble ranging from a stiff finger wagging to execution by artillery.
If you would have explored other floors, you would have found that only about one-tenths of them were actually completed (and never will be). The whole thing is a Potemkin Village. (Of course, were you so brave, you might have been caught and imprisoned and tortured to death.)
You mean something like this...sandiegofreepress.org/2017/07/trump-and-his-baja-resort-fiasco-just-a-giant-hole-in-the-ground/#.XPqOcndFwaE The U.S. has a large collection of them.
Think it's just for showing to the tourist that they are 'open-minded'. Perhaps knowing their citizens would never be able to check in their hotel makes no problem about that.
Hahaha! The BBC. I can't even... oh the irony! Well, at least we know for SURE now that you CAN receive propaganda on the TV in that hotel. It just happens to be globalist propaganda.
I know it might seem silly but it’s a little crazy to me that even though they are forced to live almost like on another planet, I’m looking at the same moon and sun that they are.
Oh man, North Korea is the perfect place for those people who love to romanticize the 70s so much. Old elevators, old architecture, old radios, old political scares. It's just like time traveling!
@@J_C_CH I'm sure you've read all about North Korea and "totalitarianism" in debunked defector testimonies, crank research funded by corporate think-tanks and the totally unbiased US propaganda machine.
This hotel reminds me of the twilight zone episode where this couple wakes up in a town where everything is completely fake, and they find out to be in the play-world and dollhouse of a massive toddler
It’ll be a glorious day when NK (or at least their current system) finally collapses. It’s sad to see how much they have destroyed the ecosystem around Pyongyang with concrete and brick for a city that feels empty. They don’t have the economy, resources, or strength to sustain themselves.
It already did collapse but they are trying to hide it, the only way they can make cash is by the Office 39 group which makes illegal cash and, the thing they hate the most, Capitalism.
Outside Pyongyang and out in the country side North Korea is very untouched. Mountains and forests range across the land. The villages that dot the countryside are not that bad to live in. However the people basically are stuck in time. Living very simple lives. And many go hungry....
THE ECOSYSTEM.... I'm not saying that NK is great because it's hell. But you REALLY HAVE NOT SEEN any interviews from NKs who escaped to the south have you. They say STRAIGHT AWAY that the air quality in the south is terrible and considering how close Seoul is from Pyongyang, that might even be some of THEIR smog you see. North Korea has FANTASTIC AIR in general. You know why? The sheer lack of vehicles. I am not saying Pyongyang is 100% but it's better than MOST cities are, and once you're out of Pyongyang it's apparently perfect.
I can't believe this guy is so openly critical of the hotel, WHILE BEING RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT!!!! I would be absolutely BEYOND fear of being taken away by hidden secret agent-police officer guys listening to me critiquing the place!! This guy is the pinnacle of confidence, something!!
Absolutely same! You make a mental note then record voice over afterwards. You don't openly say bad stuff while there even in the hotel. The rooms are bugged.
I was surprised why he was being openly critical PERIOD. I am used to hearing Westerners always having to have a dig at North Korea and other countries. Why not just show people what it looks like, unbiased, uncritically, and let people decide for themselves? And this guy is an ASIAN. Sad that even Asians are trying to be "white" in RUclips videos. Why can't he just be a normal Asian tourist and behave like an Asian rather than an arrogant Westerner?
Yep I think he was being a bit too confident and acting as if nothing bad would happen to him. I would only say positive things even if it was something incredibly messed up if I was in NK. People get thrown in jail for breathing wrong so it's not worth the risk criticizing the place while you there. Honestly I think it's inappropriate to do this in any building in any country but you're really taking a gamble with your life in NK.
0:33 Imagine he steps off property. Everyone stops what they are doing, turns and stairs at him. He steps back on the property. They go back to what they where doing.
Hell naw
creepypasta type shit
Oh, the shivers.
The Truman show?
Don’t even say that, just the thought is terrifying
I feel like my phone is hacked just by watching this video
Eh, the FBI and NSA make sure they're the only ones that can get into our phones so no worries, do remember to say good morning and good night to your FBI agent every now and then
Blocked lol
@@GBlockbreaker lmaoooooo🤡💀
@@GBlockbreaker Lulz.
Blocked bold of u to assume everyone is american
Man even if they allowed me to film I’d still be scared lmao
I'm just not going, as much as I love adventure and travel, just too many rules. Will just watch it here, good people though, I wish things were different for them.
They'd probably be like: "SIKE, b*tch you thought!" And more than likely send you to a correctional/labor camp.
lets go, ill pay 😏
Michaela Caleb Amen. I was scared for the guy who was filming. At any moment, a guard could just turn around and yell at him for taking his phone into an area where he is not supposed to. I really can't imagine that a vacation there would be a relaxing experience.
Just stop watching american-imperialist propaganda.
Imagine if while flipping through the radio, he ends up hearing what he said a few seconds ago.
LMAOOO 😭
Oh, you mean just like in the US?
Bro 💀
If you really wish to avoid surveillance, you have to get out of the US or the UK.
💀💀
*"So, we're here in Pyongyang, North Korea..."*
famous last words
drizzal83 haha. I see what you did there
@buzzclick500 huh?
Lmao... as funny as it is... it may well be very true
😂😂😂
@@MrMrpete1 What did he do?
What’s the point of having a hotel if there’s only 7 people who can afford it
Image, when the state controls the hotel and the tourism industry, the state wants to make a good impression on the tourists that do come, so they put on this facade of grand hotels, tour of the working metro trains, grand avenues, monuments.
Anything to hide the day to day reality of what the average North Korean experiences.
ShreksRight Nut yo army, to answer your question, it's to keep up their image by securing several properties. Politicians may be renting the said hotel as their own, it's very common even in SK.
Foreign currency
Good image
I know he's fat but you can't say Kim is equal to 7 people
Seems like the North Koreans like that 80s
ａｅｓｔｈｅｔｉｃ
USually 80s aesthetics made me really happy but NK version of it makes me sad.
Dee Ca. Thank Xu cqnndnrnwnndvtw
A .bB bqaslo st was bfcx
Nm
@@josephweaver5385 Stop beating around the bush...
they stopped in time in the 80´s. Before that they were an developed country
Hands down best hotel in the world, 10/10 🙏🏾🇰🇵
Kim Jong fucking un
Little rocket man
and hands cut off for anyone who disagrees
True
Nice.......
Geez if this is what they show the world... I dont wanna see what they hide
@buzzclick500 a country's official age has nothing to do with anything. What a bizarre comment. Also, you sure are keen to defend North Korea. Good luck to you on that one.
@buzzclick500 ok
I see nothing wrong with the aesthetics here, nor in any luxury hotels in South Korea. You just personally don’t like it, which seems more like a personal taste to me.
@Azay Deelay I've been to South Korea and it's beautiful, um what are you talking about?
@Azay Deelay Stop disrespecting South Korea and stop comparing it to North Korea. South Korea ia one of the wealthiest countries in the world and North Korea is just a large country stuck in the 1970's with no contact with the world. You clearly haven't been to Korea so shut up.
I would be very concerned about the rooms being bugged
Sober all the time in this hotel.
Tomahawk1999 as long as there's no bed bugs! 😜
The very device that you typed this message on is bugged. Go figure.
Same
Just as long as you don't say or do anything that you know will get you in trouble, and pretend the "bugs" aren't there, you're more likely safe.
What ur hearing these pulsating sounds (AM1,2) are the radio jammers used by the north koreans to block out foreign broadcasts. Occasionally they do pause due to power cuts from unreliable power supply
@
If memory serves I believe your not allowed a radio to take with you from the outside.
I think they check for that via a piece of paper (you have to sign if you have it) at customs and when they check your bag or something. But yeah. I think radios are a big no no.
@ no you can't do that.
What about the radio on a cell phone? If I had my iphone with me I can download any radio station from the US and listen live. Do they block that somehow?
@@yourmother9834
Honest answer?
Probably. But I couldn't tell you. Good question. Best people to ask are the tour guides.
Like koryo Tours or young pioneer tours who make the tours. They will have the answers.
(edit: BUT. if your a united States citizen. Your screwed anyway. Currently the United States has banned it's people from going to North Korea for the moment thanks to the oto warmbier incident. Unless your a duel citizen from another country with another passport, you can't get into north Korea on an American passport right now. Which sucks.)
@@yourmother9834 There are no internet for ordinary citizens and tourists....
It seems like some kind of fever dream. Every location in this building looks like it’s straight out of a ‘vaporwave aesthetic’ meme . It’s like an unfinished video game.
That lobby especially... It's like pure concentrated vaporwave essence.
@@coconutnghtmr9931 Exactly what made me write that comment
that lobby as tacky as it was honestly was pretty aesthetic it'd totally fit in in las vegas or something
It looks fantastic.. y'all find anything to criticize
It's because North Korea's whole aesthetic is retrofuturism inspired by Soviet optimistic socialism, it's intentional, those vaporwave edit types are also inspired by 90s retrofuturism, its kinda charming
“Apparently the food isn’t very good...”
He is a brave one
They fertilize their crops with human feces and all the citizens take roundworm medicine. I wouldn't be eating any of the food there.
@@thethoughtfulpeanut6662 I mean say what you will but feces are a good fertilizer
@@InitiateDee Human feces is not a good fertilizer in the sense that it is very likely to result in parasites getting into the food supply. It is called Night Soil: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_soil and since this has been implemented in NK, parastic infections in people has gone way up. Very dirty food supply.
The Food is Great There
@@thethoughtfulpeanut6662 have you been to Pyongyang I've been there the food is so great
It looks soooo staged, like real theatre. All those people there look like placed actors, standing or sitting around in pretend conversation for the sake of image and/or to watch you. It's really eerie.
2:55 totally
yeah, everyone in North Korea is faking everything... don't be so brainwashed
Probably
You wish the people getting shot accros the United Stater every single day were actors...don't you? Sadly for you they are real. North Korea needs an ultra modern hotel as much as you need safe streets, schools, malls, churches and homes.
@@edp4638 dude..they're just saying that to them, it looks staged. you have a different opinion, and that's completely okay!
Every single person on that property looks like a staged actor.
"The Truman Show" NK style
Lets get bigger: every single person in NK is staged. It just looks so eerie
It's because they most definitely are.
They are probably paid government agents that are there to watch him.
You know, they have fake Christian churches and fill them with actors to build the lie that the regime has religious tolerance. All of the “churchgoers” sing & pray as a show.
You can't go past that point because the rest of the city is probably glitching like an unfinished game. Ultimately they are just trying to keep you safe, you could have ended up phasing through the floor and fell into the ether.
fell into prison/labor camp
Doesn’t matter you just respawn
Looool
No, it's because there were chunk errors.
It's so the tourists don't see the poor
Dudes being wayyy more critical than I'd be while I'm staying there. Hotel could have a spike pit full of impaled puppies and I'd be like, "Yes, very beautiful* until I got home.
I realize I'm fighting memes here, but people do need to understand that everything this man saw and captured with his camera was foreseen in advance. They WANT him to return home and upload his footage; they don't care about his negative opinions. It creates more curiosity, more tourism, more $$$ for the regime.
@@C20F Yeah he just freely filmed in front of everyone in the most prided hotel in NK. He totally had to hide this. You tool
From what I've seen on docs. His hotel is in the downtown area. Meaning, from the moment he awoke, to the tours he got. Everything was planned, he was basically an extra on a film. It is said, the N.Koreans use fancy supermarkets as props for visitors. Yet no one actually shops there. They're very good at creating a false image on peoples heads. They're not a top tourist destination. So they rely on, the curious, or that tour bus from China. With those foreigners, who just are curious.
That’s wise especially when your life’s on the line.
Right I was thinking the same thing like dude shut upppp say nice things while you’re there
The main entrance looks like a hotel but room looks like a motel6
Ikr
Free complimentary listening device with every room!
Your government monitors every cell phone conversation in this country then sells you some "privacy act" bullshit that only the most gullible among us believe.
@Greg F. You're a real dumb fuck, almost every call is screened, calls are converted to text and sophisticated equipment with special algorithms that separates them.
@Greg F. Conversations that include words like, fire, plot, shooting, bomb, arms, dynamite etc., etc. will trigger an alert.
@Greg F. There are 377 words that can trigger a surveillance of your internet activity or phone conversations you damn fool.
@Greg F. No you dumb ass, I just happen to be aware of what goes on in this country and do not live in a state of denial.
the fact that he's being so critical and not even thinking the room could be bugged, is giving me the worst panic attack
Absolutely!
he was casually sneaking pictures of the construction zone and pretending he was looking at the sunset too. This dude is much less risk adverse than me
Cannot imagine visiting North Korea. Would be afraid to talk or move. Remember the college student.
Obey their rules and youd be fine.
Dont steal a fucking poster and nothing will happen to you
If you don't steal shit or break any rules you are welcome'd. They know that westerners have a different mindset are generally pretty forgiving. As long as you don't steal posters of course
@@user-nv2jz6er4n en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Warmbier
Just praise as much as possible and you might just get to share some of Kim's swiss cheese stash
Imagine everyone in the lobby talking and the second he steps outside they all stop and wait for him to come back in so they can finish the scripts they started
That’s deep, but likely true.
Like a Truman show type deal
@@deadcomix YOU HIT THE BULLSEYE!
Everyone seemed to be doing their ordinary day to day huddle...as if you are not their concern...but once you step outside the hotel boundary....WATCH THEM ALL FREEZE AND FIX THEIR EYES ON YOU LIKE ORGANIC CCTV--- all connected to Kim Jung-Un,your SUPREME ALL- SEEING- BIG BROTHER!!
The people working there is like puppets no signs of life or anything..
This feels like a first person shooter game
Yeah, as in you’ll be the first person they shoot maybe
9:29 seeing a jungle of high-rise buildings with no lights shinning through the windows is a weird feeling.....
holy shit that scared me so much when I went back and watched it, this place is a whole different reality
The cars on the road also seem suspiciously evenly paced.
@@Bishop_blank ur just looking for something to criticize... They're regular people living regular life's like u or I... Don't buy into everything ur government and media tells u
I didn't notice that at first, creepy. There's about one lit room per building. I wonder if they shut off power to them or are they unoccupied? The majority of each building might be a facade, could be why they don't want you filming construction.
@@blaqai get out of here, you have to be the shiftiest agent of all time. You wanna help Korea? Get someone else to do your job
North Korea is really one of the only places where you can feel like you travelled back in time. It's like going to the USSR in the 80s.
Oh not to worry. I may be able to do that without leaving home in the USA 🇺🇸 b4 too long. Sad
I knew this German girl, living in the West, she said when the East opened up, going on the train from West to East Germany was like going from color to black and white tv.
I don’t think that statement is really true. You should go lookup some videos on former Soviet countries. They are even further back in some cases and there’s still quite a few of them.
@@philipbrit13 ur like my dad.
Relatives of mine toured thru the USSR during the 70s. They had toilets in Poland that didn't work because they were designed almost like they had a picture of a toilet but no idea how it worked. Secret police with them during some of the times in Russia. The bus comes in at the russian border and they spent HOURS searching it. But he saw VERY poor and the rich in Russia. Which totally blew to bits the concept of communism. "There's rich communists and really poor communists" he said to me.
If you turned on any more lights you might have shut down the whole power grid in Pyongyang.
And a few hours later, you would have a nice visit. From the police.
Kim Jong Un wouldn't be happy to see you
Sheepy's Gaming Channel he wouldn't see you period
Lmaoo 😂😂😂
That was escalated very fast, lol
People in lobby are soldiers watching you and your every move.
The sound on the radio is a jammer. It was probably the AM station on 891KHz. It broadcasts programming during certain hours. When the programming "signs off", they broadcast that noise to jam stations from South Korea. 891 is a very powerful station with around 500,000 watts. It's purpose during "jamming hours" is to jam a KBS1 station in the south with 250,000 watts. Radios in the DPRK are set to receive only the DPRK stations. A DPRK citizen caught with a regular radio that can tune to all AM and FM frequencies can be thrown into prison or worse. They take media and what media DPRK citizens are exposed to very seriously.
wow i didnt know that thanks for sharing.. interesting info because it also didnt seem like the radio was complete static. there was some movement you could hear and it was if it was trying to play but something was blocking it
When the Kim Dynasty is finally over and North Korea stops being so shitty, it'd be super interesting just to travel around NK, because think about it, no foreigner has been allowed to freely explore NK for decades, so practically EVERYTHING they see would be completely unknown to the outside world.
buzzclick500 are you Kim jung un?
@buzzclick500 감사합니다* lol
You can go to Albania to see a country that used to be very similar to DPRK in terms of isolation, communism, and despotic rule. Unfortunately, when the dictator fell, the country fell to unregulated capitalism and fell even deeper into poverty. They are on the up and up now-it’s a nice place to visit and experience the Mediterranean Riviera on the cheap :)
buzzclick500 thank you for the mansplanation. After my years of education I never quite got the concept. I’m speaking in IR terms. Isolationism is often a facet of communist systems, but it exists outside of that. China, on the other hand, is a perfect example of communism without isolationism.
buzzclick500 I don’t know what “layety” is but okay. I don’t know what your argument is. I didn’t say anything about my personal criticisms of the U.S. government (you assumed I was American) or what anyone should do with that information. I simply recommended the OP go to Albania to see what life is like after a regime like the Kim dynasty’s, and after what is likely to happen if the collapse of said regime does indeed happen.
Ther is 300 slaves in the back cycling to keep all they lights on
...they have 1 special slave who has to clean the toilet bowl with their tongue after the guests leave.
Yep! keep them busy so they have no time to shoot the children in school or people praying in church. The righteous will take that over any bright light bulb.
@@edp4638 No
@@kikiisabeast2575 Do you understand anyrhing? "No" for what?
@@blurayffan66 Remember when you had the slaves doing similar chores.
It looks so unfriendly and uncomfortable. It looks evil.
I guarantee that if you just saw the lobby, with no narration and without knowing where it was, you wouldn't say that. (The room is another matter.) But one reads into it one's built-in preconceptions.
why is that? I find it facinating,I wish the hotel would be full of people.
@@VioletLife8 I wouldn't like to be filmed either...
True. F u c k them all.
princesshongdoe people are innocent chill
Pyongyang seems like a city in a simulation game lmao
A decent playthrough of a simulation game
An 30 yr old ass game
so like magnasanti?
Looks like something out of a gmod community map
Legend has it hes still turning on more lights
Lol
9:10 look at the absence of lights in the other buildings’ windows. surreal
Such a depressing place, just an odd and eerie feeling about the way they build and decorate everything
No it's just old. And i'm not defending anybody.
@Richard Head not true, its just horrible architecture
@Richard Head but considering this is their "best" hotel...
@@tropicalpalmtree its a matter of opinion... i actually like it.
It reminds me of the architecture in nazi germany, blocky, stark and brutalist.
Looks like your handlers or somebody might have been watching you.5:46 you zoom in on the other building, when you come back to that shot the blinds are down and lights off in room below.
Great Catch 👁
Yeah saw that too 😂
Oh wow that’s crazy. It was so quick
You can see someone on the left side of window move when he first looked at the windows. That’s crazy
Lmao holy shit that’s wild
A lot of the people standing around seem like actors. They always have two or three guys standing and one of them explaining something in great detail.
Everything does have a Truman Show vibe to it, yeah.
two people always on a seat in the lobby
I bet american hotel rooms have more hidden cameras than North Korean.
@@DrMcMoist "watch...lady!, flowers!.....There's that Dented Beetle!!! Yes! Awwhhhhh! Don't ya wanna know how I did that? I'll tell ya. They're on a loop. They go 'round the block, then they come back. Then they go 'round again. They just go round and round!! Rounnnnnd annnnd rouuuund! They never stop!"
Sidebar: awesome screen name, Doctor.
Explain what makes them look like actors? U never would have said that if u didn't hear it from Western propaganda
The last guy who "jacked" something from NK was put in a COMA.
Mos1nTV and died
@@windoak2113 yeah and it seems like nothing was done about it because they dont want to spark an incident between nations over some jackass.
There is a video of him being taken away after a court case where he bumps his head against a large Korean court door I think that is what gave him the coma.
@@Jay18Jay my ex "bumped" my head of a door twice, no coma so I would say that poor guy got more than a bump of the NK security services...poor dude, such a price to pay over a banner.
@@Jay18Jay Maybe someday somethign horrible will happen to your child and we will refer to them as a Jackass. You do know that they now say that they do not believe that he even touched a poster, it was just their cover to kidnap and take a hostage. You might recall there is no picture of him taking the poster, just grainy image of arms, legs, etc. But let's just say that HE DID, he took a piece of paper that was taped to the wall, which had no value, no effort to replace as a simple souvenir to show and/or demonstrate life in North Korea. Brutally kidnapped, tortured, put in a coma and let to die..... causing a lifetime of pain for his family for doing nothing. You are the only JACKASS in this post.
“Calendar would make a nice souvenir if someone wanted to jack it”
I think a guy tried that and he got put in a labor camp.
they tortured him into a coma then he died
Otto Wambrier or something
@@goodluck6948 pretty sure it was a propaganda poster.
The student was apparently tortured in a decompression chamber.
He took a painting down and he was kidnapped and tortured. Then when he was to be released, they lobotomised him.
I think it was all a set up for some propaganda campaign. I don't believe he was that stupid to steal from North Korea.
Thanks for this. I stayed in this hotel in 1999. Nobody told me that I couldn't leave the hotel alone, so I walked down to Kim Il Sung square and back before breakfast. When I told the guides, they didn't seem too bothered.
11:19 that is an RF jammer you are hearing. It prevents broadcasts from the South reaching DPRK.
Katie Donovan interesting! Ty for that info!
2:05
LachlaZ Gamz o
@Dusk Raccoon - It would be nice to locate them, then have them dc'ed. But then in all likelihood you'd get caught & get sent to a forced labor reeducation camp for the next ten years.
@Dusk Raccoon not until an uprising begins, and THEN the DPRK collapses.
This place looks like an American mall from the 80's
Exactly
More Ａｅｓｔｈｅｔｉｃ
Пйтр CL hell yeah ｂｏｉ
R E T R O
What goes unnoticed by non-Koreans with these kinds of videos of North Korea is that the writings and signs use an antiquated font - as opposed to a more modern, contemporary font. It would be like if you stepped outside in the US and saw all signs using a 19th century font (painted or shaped by hand), or a microwave had a brand name written in some basic calligraphy. For example, the lit "tea shop" sign shown on 2:04. The design overall is just old and outdated.
I suppose that in some way, they see this kind of lettering as maintaining their (communist) tradition and an art form of sorts in that sense. But against modern things, it just seems very odd and out of place. Same applies to many signs in China (also "still" communist - in case we forget), to be honest.
The lobby really reminds me of a shopping mall from the 80s.
right! i think itd be pretty cool to visit except for my anxiety
Yep. I'd love to see Dan Bell do his magic here.
this place is actually beautiful i dont think it looks tacky it looks really nice. if only they had the heart and transparency to build such nice things for *their own people*
I like the decor as well.
What??? It’s a dated dump
@@JGJGAGSG What does it matter if it’s dated? There’s no law saying everything has to be modern. Older decor is better anyways.
@@retroryan838 it looks cheesy and tired. Like a second rate hotel away from the Vegas strip that goes for $59 a night.
@1x0x you forgot that the country is run by a dictator 🤡
There is no way I would ever go to North Korea...
I thought ordinary tourists were discouraged from going to NK, this guy must be a higher up. Well, anyway I would be nervous to do anything for fear of be called a spy and be arrested. Maybe horse blinders would help.
Maybe in the next 10 years, when North Korea has changed.
Journalists and documentary makers travel to NK for information. Alot of them record stuff that they aren't even supposed to be recording. I feel bad for the people who live in this country, makes you wonder if they will ever have a revolution against the government.
@@JJ-uy8tt Look guys! A comedian!
I've love to go but I'd forever be afraid of being apprehended for god-knows-what.
A big round of aplause to the cast and crews of the hotel
Underrated comment
oh definately...sad...
Му like too, but I don't want to spoil such eloquent number.
So glad NK finally upgraded to 1940s technology and furniture.
I seriously haven’t seen a hotel room looking like that since my great grandmother passed away.
Plenty of similar hotels in Europe
@@calinapostol2128 similar but way more high class in a way
@@calinapostol2128 you mean Eastern europe
@@iscariot1572 eastern and central, I have seen the same style in Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland
Uh... You do know they have all the same contemporary devices and architecture we do, right...? They have (modern) cell phones, computers, and other gadgets like drones and electronic toys just like we do.
I can see why so many people are mystified by a place like The DPRK, but they aren't brainwashed, fanatical cult members who live in constant fear and domination like our CIA propaganda tells us, just like we aren't all demons who want to murder all Koreans like their propaganda says.
They live in isolation and are self reliant because over the past century, they've seen that any time a leftist society has contact with the USA/West, they are crippled and destroyed through economic sanctions, embargoes, assassinations, coups, proxy wars, invasion, etc.
They fear us for a good reason, but why do you fear them?
The interior of the Koryo is pretty similar to most 70's/80's era old school hotels in Asia. Places like the Royal Park Hotel in Suitengumae Tokyo, the Hamilton Hotel at Itaewon in Seoul and the Kimberly in Tsim Tsa Tsui in HK rock a really similar vibe with the mirrors and disco aesthetics.
Imo i love the 70s and 80s feel it has even if most of the hotel is empty and a propaganda peice for the dprk.
I feel you have walked into a place just as dark, secret, and monitored as Area 51 itself.
6:38 Such a scary place for a mirror. People probably get all startled for a second like there's another person in the ominous hallway looking straight at them.
cover up the mirror
Is less scary than going to church or sending your kids to school in the U.S. for sure. Chances are that someone will be there, someone holding an assault weapon and looking straight at you or your children, definitely someone will be there for some.
Just fuck off already. You are annoying as fuck. We get it
@@edp4638 Wow. Are you really shitting on the U.S over North Korea? Wtf man. You're a real piece of shit.
@@edp4638 go fucking live in North Korea you dipshit
“...tacky, disco, retro, seventies thang...”
Sign me up!
@Raine Cowles - I believe it's still up for vote. However, during that time period it definitively wasn't.
Anybody notice how the escalators were not on when he entered the lobby, but about 30 seconds later had people on them, and were functional??
nice catch
Damn you’re right..
They are on ultra electrics saving mode
thats normal tbf, its pretty basic tech these days.
@@krisb-travel not in glorious North Korea. Probably actors have just started their shift
Someday, somehow, if this country is freed... Can you imagine the transformation, can you imagine the stories people would have to tell, can you imagine what a revelation it would be to them?
elsa1942
Ikr
Leaf Dawn djf
so basically China after deng xiao ping
I’m sure South Korea would help because there are plenty of South and North Koreans that want Korea to be one unified country again.
25 Million people will change their lives and eyes about the real world in just one month soon
"a tissue holder, but no tissues" annnd some one was killed over that mistake.
Exactly what I was thinking, but probably not
Oh God,I hope not...
Oh God,I hope not...
Lol I heard a gunshot in my head when he said that
+Mike Alvarez lol doubt they can afford to use the ammunition for that. Probably just hang them
Even if they tell me I can record in this hotel, I wouldn’t dare record a damn thing. Those people are crazy and I don’t want to die there.
You are completely right my dear friend don’t trust any one in this shit world couple of months ago I was in Czech Republic 🇨🇿 Jewish has civilization in Czech Republic Iam iranian I went to Jewish synagogue 🕍 for buying ticket at first I asked ticket seller can I buy ticket I’m from Iran she said yeah everybody can visit these ancient building there is no limitation we have democracy Czech Republic is a democratic country no worry and I bought this damn ticket then starting visiting at the first museum I asked taking picture is ligal? They answered without flash is ok no problem you can take photo from everything So I started taking pic from all antiques after that while I was exiting museum I saw six police caps they were ready for picking up their weapon were fucking furious,rude asked where is your fucking Id I answered It’s in my house the arrest my put handcuffs on my hands send me to police station check me swear at me after 2 hours let me go two weeks later at 12 am sent me 20 comandos with m16 shield they attacked to my room I was horrified was going to die my girl friend was working on that hotel reception since she saw that action she is silent don’t speak with me broke up I lost her just consider it was European country was in Shengen claim they believe human right they don’t execute poeple don’t torture they did to me now think about North Korea their hands are open they can do whatever they like nobody can do shit they don’t fucking care it’s fucking dangerous
@@arminmobarez8097 wow this is crazy !
@@arminmobarez8097 I had a stroke reading that
@@jimboonie9885 same
@@arminmobarez8097 just reading that made me lose half my brain cells. Good thing I still have enough for the both of us
The honesty was brilliant. 🤣 Especially when he said that the architecture was “kinda a tacky retro 70s thang” right in the middle of the lobby 😂🤣
You just got someone killed by showing that cleanex box holder without the box
Clay Stewart
???
@@42luke93 He was implying the housekeeping person did not restock the kleenex and killed as a result of higher powers seeing it in this video.
Notice how everyone he films moves out of the camera? It’s so eerie
not that eerie. if he’s from the united states people are used to filming everyone and everything, and posting it online. not a shock that someone else in a different country may feel uncomfortable being on the camera of some stranger.
Idk where your from but in Europe they’d do the same. Not everywhere is America
yeah places like Britain and America, most people don’t mind being filmed although I wouldn’t be filming around Bradford if you don’t want to get chinned by a 40 year old dad of 12 children.
Liam Stelfox Wasn’t expecting a mention of Bradford here of all places lmao
Well, I would move out too..
when you turned on your room lights, 13 villages lost power
Javier Ramirez I LOL’d at that
"They don't like when you show construction sites"
**Continues to show construction sites**
N. Korea: "So you've chosen death!"
Nani?
It feels like he's holding back, even in the privacy of his room...can't really blame him, the place's probably bugged.
Bush Vo Malcolm X's hotel room was bugged too.
I'd be afraid to sneeze out of turn over there.
In South Korean hotels you can expect secret video camera in your room and bathroom.
Know All your obviously a North Korean agent
@@knowall5792 you mean north korea or?
"That'd be a nice little souvenir if anyone actually wanted to jack the calender"
If you're willing to risk 15 years of your life to hard labor, go for it bro.
+Scatmanfan45 HA!
😂
Funny thing is I think if Warmbier had said, "This paper carries the words of the wise Kim Jong Un and I would like to use it to show my friends in the U.S. how generous and happy the Korean people are," they'd have given him a case of them to take home.
@@davidkendrick4453 true
Cat Ears yeah but it would have been a funnier story if he pretended to suck up to KJU to score a case of posters.
It really feels like everyone inside is an actor trying to act normal. They just act so weird...
I love how everything looks old but it looks in very good condition
Because no one is using it.. it's just props..
It's new, but made in an old style.
I would not recommended using the elevator, due to the frequent power outages
Walking stairs is also good for your health !
Perhaps. However this hotel probably does not face power outages because the North Korean government pumps a lot of their scarce resources into tourist spots to make sure tourists only see good things in North Korea and not what most citizens actually are dealing with.
@@MilesCraft1 Nah hotels have power outages too. But I would be worried about the condition of the elevators overall
since this is a hotel they put foreigners in, it likely has its own backup generator.
SURE... you know the hotel and university ate priority for power? What do you think the smokestacks are likely for? What makes you so sure about the power there? It's not Pakistan.
"Would be a great souvenir if anyone wanted to jack the calender"
I think Otto would disagree with you there
that hit abit different from watching it 5 years ago lol
I was about to say that same thing.
Otto was the head-on-a-stick paraded through the streets of our village as a warning to the rest of us. Our curiosity is the Only reason Pyongyang exists. It is just a set on a sound stage. It is all a ruse and every citizen is an indoctrinated soldier. Freedom is NOT something they dream of, because it is not an idea that they have ever fathomed. The Sentinelese have not learned to make fire. We, as humans, do not pine for things we have never heard of.
A typical 60 year-old North Korean man has Never worn jeans, has Never 'slept in', has Never had ice cream, has never nervously taken a girl on a date, has never had a 'favorite band' to see in concert, has Never had a cold beer, and has probably never laughed.
@@C_Tizzle i mostly agree with you unfortunately, however i don’t think it’s entirely true. if that were the case then nobody would’ve have ever attempted to escape. somehow they know it’s not normal how they live, but i’m not sure how.
@@tamsinsylvie4331 yeah, there are exceptions to everything. I definitely meant Most average, older citizens. I read somewhere that the most highly coveted "contraband" amongst the NK younger generations is mostly American 90's movies.
So, they've gotten a wiff of what's out here. But, most likely, someone that is already a senior citizen may very well Never have a clue that their life isn't exactly what they've been told: everyone that isn't fortunate enough to live in the glorious paradise of North Korea are either evil, suffering, or both.
“Creepy, dark bathroom.”
Translation: bathroom with light switched off.
Nomi Wen No.... it’s just a bathroom.
Safey Smith xD
it is a pretty creepy/weird looking bathroom, like old 70s horror movies lol
Totally unbiased, indeed
Fun fact: all bathrooms across the world are creepy with the lights off
Watching videos of North Korea makes me really nostalgic because it reminds me of old post-communist Bucharest. Romania's dictator was influenced a lot by North Korea, being friends with them and admiring them, he made Bucharest look very similar to Pyongyang. It's a beautiful city, the aesthetic is unique and looks stuck in time, but it's very sad that they live the way we did decades ago in an already impoverished country.
Ceausescu was a great man. A great friend of the Western World and of Nato. Too bad what they did to him.
I honestly love how 70s everything looks
same
tannerin it’s probably because they’re stuck in the past. I saw a video of a lady who escaped and said arriving to SK was like going to the future.
The style looks like it's a blend of 80's Soviet Russia and 70's Tokyo.
Really odd but strangely fascinating and I love looking at it.
@@G1NZOUthe mountains in neon colors really feel like mid 80's Tokyo
Me too! It has a comforting look (ironic, I know).
10:20 Not unless you want to end up like Otto Warmbier.
Leland Brown The reason they gave is that he stole a poster (which obviously wouldn’t warrant death even if it was true). But the video of it happening is incredibly grainy, and ‘Otto’ has the mannerisms of a Korean soldier (extremely straight back posture, etc.). It absolutely reeks of being staged. NK wanted to make an example of him to the west
Max Wilson im sure otto probably tried to get that poster, still a horrendous action from the north korean regime. They literally killed him
That kid was a little douchebag.
It looks like a 1970s Las Vegas luxury hotel.
It kinda does lol, I guess that’s why I kind of like it....
Cause after the Korean War, North Korea is stuck in time. Fashion and architecture included.
I'm convinced whoever designed this place was sent to Vegas to get the designs but accidentally ended up in Reno.
Hey I’ve been in some nice hotels in Reno like the silver legacy and Eldorado and the grand Sierra
They actually had real people in them though
Yeah 😂
I love how he’s talking crap about the hotel while he films it 😂 I’d be too afraid to say anything negative out in the open like that. Love the honesty
He's Not talking crap About the hotel
Well, I don't really know if officers actually knows English, so.
@@robertsilva8097 You're on every NK video talking shit. Yes he did. He called the hotel "tacky." And it is.
@@hieayu7773 The ones organizing the tours definitely do. And I bet there are officers that understand English, but will never say a word and pretend to not understand anything at all. Never assume people don't understand you - not in North Korea nor elsewhere.
Ironically what surprised me was how grotty the room is - the carpet with its dirty traffic areas, the grime on the light switches and radio buttons. I expected to see old, maybe tatty, but scrupulously clean. Lovely view of the factory chimneys belching out smoke. Not sure if you made it out or are currently in a labor camp, but thanks for posting ☺️
Eh, he was maneuvered into a situation where he wouldn't have to be thrown into a labor camp. We're seeing nothing they don't want us to see.
Very grotty indeed
9:18 It's sunset, yet NONE of those apartment towers in view have any lights on! NONE!
I guess they probably force people to save electricity.
Or the rooms are just empty
Some buildings are just facades and empty
I got more lights in my backyard than in those rooms xD
there are two rooms xD
holy shit you're right'
I just love to watch these N-korea videos, kind of interesting and yet makes me feel sorry how stupid N-korea elite is to think that outside people would not see through this charade.
5:05 So you know, the empty elevator buttons are not for future expansion. They are actually for the State Security Services/Military/Generals/Bureau 121 Hackers and the different illicit branches of the FAMILY. Only they know where it goes and which floor for what JOB. Since these tall buildings are usually empty of patrons, S.Korea and Japanese analysts actually look at the buildings at night and see which floors correspnds to which department-by just looking at which floors' lights are on! The buzz you hear when you pressed the AM1 radio station is actually Electro Pulse - DPRK is jamming the signals coming from S Korea so people won't listen to the stations from down South
Also the button for the 2nd floor was blank 😮 must be a secret floor just like the one Otto Warmbier was on
You have a vivid imagination
They probably just bought an elevator that was either used before or they bought one that wasn't made for this specific hotel, I think that's why the left over buttons are blank
Lol I've seen elevators like that and those weren't even pushable buttons, I think it's just to make look balance
I think u are overthinking it
All the people who appeared in this video have to go back to working in the fields once the tourists leave
Where u get this information dont spread hoax
@@Shin-lh9ih I think he was just joking
Hahahaha exactly
I'm weirdly into that aesthetic of marble and chrome, with painted mountain murals and water features.
It feels very 80's but in a nostalgic way.
Thats not a coincidence. The 80's were the last decade North Korea received financial help from USSR.
Someone in the Kim admin clearly visited some New Jersey shopping malls 25 years ago. Businesslike outside, French Rennaisance disco palace inside.
The hotel was built in 1985.
Notice how all the staff is determined to step out of the frame of the camera as quickly as possible. If they appear in a clip on social media and that clip becomes a huge controversy for some reason, it is likely that they end up in some sort of trouble. Trouble ranging from a stiff finger wagging to execution by artillery.
I hate to confess but i think turning on the tv was the the scariest moment in this video..
TURNING. ON. A DARN. TV.
I don’t understand why you would go to North Korea in the first place but whatever
Josh Bishop white people are fascinated by poverty and dictatorship
If you go to North Korea you are putting money in the pockets of a family who cares nothing at all for their citizens and you are part of the problem
@@nadia1994ization And you know that why?
@@oliversmith8646 you mean like our president....?
@@nadia1994ization not white
If you would have explored other floors, you would have found that only about one-tenths of them were actually completed (and never will be). The whole thing is a Potemkin Village. (Of course, were you so brave, you might have been caught and imprisoned and tortured to death.)
You mean something like this...sandiegofreepress.org/2017/07/trump-and-his-baja-resort-fiasco-just-a-giant-hole-in-the-ground/#.XPqOcndFwaE
The U.S. has a large collection of them.
What are you even trying so hard to prove? Just move to North Korea if you like it so much
@@orpheuseclipse4236 no one likes it he’s saying by it all a setup
You’re very brave to even be there let alone film where you’re staying.
revolving glass elevator? I think it's a door.
+Kim Jong-Il Glorious leader
+Kim Jong-Il 와 저는 알렉스네 입니다. 사랑해요 김정일
+Kim Jong-Il TRUE KOREA
+Kim Jong-Il Aren't you dead?
+trialsted XD
For each light bulb you turned on, a village somewhere on the outskirts of Pyongyang went dark.
I wasn't expecting BBC World News to come on when he turned in that TV!
Keith Appanah I thought the TVs only did one channel. Things are changing for the better.
Deplorable Me no the BBC channel and the other channels are just for the tourists the citizens only get NK propaganda channels
Think it's just for showing to the tourist that they are 'open-minded'. Perhaps knowing their citizens would never be able to check in their hotel makes no problem about that.
Hahaha! The BBC. I can't even... oh the irony! Well, at least we know for SURE now that you CAN receive propaganda on the TV in that hotel. It just happens to be globalist propaganda.
can I watch the "Glorious" KCNA TV?
I know it might seem silly but it’s a little crazy to me that even though they are forced to live almost like on another planet, I’m looking at the same moon and sun that they are.
You also breath the same air
The passive aggressiveness and back-handed compliments really make this pure comedy gold.
Oh man, North Korea is the perfect place for those people who love to romanticize the 70s so much. Old elevators, old architecture, old radios, old political scares. It's just like time traveling!
And I got a feeling of the 90s when I stepped off the plane in New York, nostalgia related to the old Oslo airport, Fornebu :D
[Stargr☆zer] Soviet styled prison system aswell, Beautiful innit?
Its also perfect if ur depressed and want others to kill u instead of u killing urself!
Perfect place send your children to school or go to church without being shot.
[Stargr☆zer] yeah cause they're just stuck in the Cold War
If you notice, every time he walks in the direction of/past someone, they all briefly glance at him. It’s just creepy how obvious it is.
He's walking around with a camera to his head taking to himself...
@@randomserb761 I'm pretty sure you forgot that he's in North Korea. They aren't looking at him just because he has a camera.
@@J_C_CH
I'm pretty sure North Korea is just a country on Earth
@@randomserb761 I'm sure it's a country on Earth as well. The most totalitarian country on earth as well.
@@J_C_CH
I'm sure you've read all about North Korea and "totalitarianism" in debunked defector testimonies, crank research funded by corporate think-tanks and the totally unbiased US propaganda machine.
To those of you saying the hotel has a ‘70’s vibe’…you clearly weren’t around in the 70’s. It’s more accurate to say it’s very 80’s-90’s like.
I love the 80s-90s vibes.
And everything you said in your room was recorded, and most probably videoed, too. If you poop, they probably also capture a stool sample.
"poop sample - american tourist 52"
@@deen_771 LOL
Lol the toilet has a secret plumbing pipe lmao
Let’s not go crazy, OK?
Eric, you are incredibly brave. I'd have been scared shitless for every minute I spent in North Korea.
Ha Ha ha.
Same.
@Shaise Kindering Note the phrasing
Why the f.... Did u go then?
Thus a travel ban was instated
This hotel reminds me of the twilight zone episode where this couple wakes up in a town where everything is completely fake, and they find out to be in the play-world and dollhouse of a massive toddler
That reminds me of country... but I can't remember the name
i remember that. it was a good episode 😁
It was a 1980 episode of "HAMMER HOUSE OF MYSTERY & SUSPENSE" entitled "Child's Play". One of the most memorable shows I've ever seen. So original!
Wow. Spoiler alert. I haven’t seen that episode yet. Thanks.
I love the instinct to put your hand in the elevator, even though you can't guarantee that it will have sensors to stop it closing.
It’ll be a glorious day when NK (or at least their current system) finally collapses. It’s sad to see how much they have destroyed the ecosystem around Pyongyang with concrete and brick for a city that feels empty. They don’t have the economy, resources, or strength to sustain themselves.
It already did collapse but they are trying to hide it, the only way they can make cash is by the Office 39 group which makes illegal cash and, the thing they hate the most, Capitalism.
Outside Pyongyang and out in the country side North Korea is very untouched. Mountains and forests range across the land. The villages that dot the countryside are not that bad to live in. However the people basically are stuck in time. Living very simple lives. And many go hungry....
Yooo i forgot i made this comment now my interest in north korea spiked again so i came back to this video
THE ECOSYSTEM.... I'm not saying that NK is great because it's hell. But you REALLY HAVE NOT SEEN any interviews from NKs who escaped to the south have you. They say STRAIGHT AWAY that the air quality in the south is terrible and considering how close Seoul is from Pyongyang, that might even be some of THEIR smog you see. North Korea has FANTASTIC AIR in general. You know why? The sheer lack of vehicles. I am not saying Pyongyang is 100% but it's better than MOST cities are, and once you're out of Pyongyang it's apparently perfect.
Mmmmmmm, like the rest of the world cares less, DPRK is actually one of the countries that deal the least amount of pollution
I can't believe this guy is so openly critical of the hotel, WHILE BEING RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT!!!! I would be absolutely BEYOND fear of being taken away by hidden secret agent-police officer guys listening to me critiquing the place!! This guy is the pinnacle of confidence, something!!
Absolutely same! You make a mental note then record voice over afterwards. You don't openly say bad stuff while there even in the hotel. The rooms are bugged.
I was surprised why he was being openly critical PERIOD. I am used to hearing Westerners always having to have a dig at North Korea and other countries. Why not just show people what it looks like, unbiased, uncritically, and let people decide for themselves? And this guy is an ASIAN. Sad that even Asians are trying to be "white" in RUclips videos. Why can't he just be a normal Asian tourist and behave like an Asian rather than an arrogant Westerner?
Yep I think he was being a bit too confident and acting as if nothing bad would happen to him. I would only say positive things even if it was something incredibly messed up if I was in NK. People get thrown in jail for breathing wrong so it's not worth the risk criticizing the place while you there. Honestly I think it's inappropriate to do this in any building in any country but you're really taking a gamble with your life in NK.
If you got any question about the video you can ask me
How did you build the most beautiful structure on earth?
How have you created such a great and powerful country?
Answer you fuck
How did you defeat the USA by yourself??
Do you know where the bathroom is?
This is oddly fascinating to be on this tour. I love the tea/sitting area in the hotel room.
Yeah, that's nice.