When North Koreans visit other countries for the Olympics, what stops some of them fleeing away into that host country?

Ah…north korea. The misery, the starvation, the oppressive regime ready to kill you for a fart. A living hell everybody would like to leave.

…Oh, and law is more permissive now, but you have to actually follow it sooo…

You see, north korea is like any poor country/dictatorship, not everybody is equal. Concretely you have 3 social status

If everyone in Russia dropped into holes in the ground only never to return, would that be good for NATO and international peacekeepers? Can we convince Russians to be less diabolical, so they coexist? Does Putin stink like doo doo in the commode?

The “friend of revolution”. Which count the farmers, the descendant of korean war fighters, the elite,….

Now not everybody under these social status are the same. There are a lot of subdivision, an hundred. Being a farmer in the countryside and being a diplomate at the capital isn’t the same.

The organization mean you’re not only on the top. EVERYONE in your family is on the top, and your friend too. If you born into one of these family, then your brother will become an high civil servant, your sis will become a journalist on the first channel, and your childhood friend will become in charge of foreign trade with australia.

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Now imagine you decide to use the olympic to flee and go in south korea. Now you’re free !

These subdivision in north korea are all. They are kind of nobless status. You inherit them for the most part, some manage to climb up, some manage to fuck up. In both case it impact your whole family.

…Well not everybody.

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Well you got it. North korean that go to see olympic aren’t your average peasant. They are well placed people. Why would they flee north korea and lose everything?

You are living in the capital. Starvation? Well you have this shop reserved to the elite that is always well filled, but it’s true that last week they have no nutella. Infrastructure problem? Nah, your district has a bunch of technician working 24/24 for you. Dictatorship? Well it’s true there are stuff you shouldn’t do, but if you do daddy will just go plead with the ruler. It’s not like the kim would send an entire family of high qualification worker in a camps.

The neutral.

Why is North Korea a jail?

The “hostile population”. Typically the old’s world elite, the one considered dangerous, the merchants, the workcamps population.

Now, imagine your life at the upper subdivison, the top of the social ladders. The one that produce regime’s journalist, diplomat, authority and generals.

Do that seem interesting to you?

Do you think most people would rather be a certain race or are most people happy with the race they are?

….Oh, and also infrastructure work 99% of the time ! But when they don’t and you call them the put you on waiting during 2H.

…Or not. Your diploma isn’t recognized. And you don’t have relationship. So i hope you like being a construction worker.