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    • Why I made a rap video in North Korea

      Posted at 5:21 pm by mikesfuckingusername, on November 22, 2020

      I wanted to erode idealogical indoctrination among average North Koreans by inundating them with foreign ideas

      In spring, 2013, I embarked on a series of journeys between North and South Korea in attempt to facilitate an inter-Korean orchestra project where 50 persons ensembles from ROK and DPRK would gather in one of the newly constructed peace parks to perform together.

      The purpose of the joint orchestra was conflict de-escalation. At the time, tensions were measurably higher than at any point in the past 20 years, so my plan was to reduce the bellicosity by getting the Koreas to focus on music and all its rhythms and harmonies.

      Unfortunately, the North Koreans had no intention of letting an American facilitate such a project, much less doing anything that could reconcile issues with their southern neighbor, so they strung me along for months until I finally accepted that I’d wasted a ton of time and money on the project.

      At the time, I was a graduate student studying citizen diplomacy and non-state actor conflict resolution at American University’s elite School of International Service and I depended on the project’s success for my practicum and thesis. I had to come up with something.

      Voicing my frustrations to my friend Ramsey Aburdene, founder and CEO of Forest-Hills Tenley Town Music Group (FHTMG), he suggested we make a rap video on my final trip. We found two street rappers, Peso and Pac-Man, at a basketball court in South East Washington, DC, and proposed the project to the aspiring rappers.

      On Thanksgiving break, 2013, we embarked on the final leg of my journey, and my hope was that the Escape to North Korea project would inspire foreigners from around the world to visit North Korea and try any type of outside-the-box project one could imagine: hackie sack tours, parkour tours, sports tours, arts tours, music tours, beer tasting tours, fishing tours, etc.

      The point was to inundate North Korea with such a plethora of foreign concepts that it would eventually erode indoctrination in the minds of average people who witnessed what was taking place, and cause them to question everything they’d ever been taught. Call it a revenge project, if you will.

      With financial sponsorship of a hedge fund manager, we set out on the journey. Peso and Pac-Man had never been out of the state, much less out of the country, much less to an enemy country, so things were challenging. For example, they had spent their entire lives living off fast food and junk food, so the healthy food in North Korea made them so sick they couldn’t eat.

      On their third day of starving, the North Koreans — we assumed not trying to be racist or stereotypical — brought out huge plates of fried chicken and watermelon for Peso and Pac-Man, which they ate every bite of and got the energy to continue the project.

      The North Koreans were not happy with the filming and picture taking. They became extremely upset when we “disrespected the regime” by rapping about “mass killings” on their most sacred ground, The Palace of the Sun. They confiscated some of our equipment and all memory cards — except the ones we smuggled out.

      At the end of the trip, right before our flight was scheduled to depart, I was detained and taken to the third floor of the Yanggakdo Hotel — where I was interrogated for thirty minutes by a State Security Department official who looked like he had meth mouth when he was talking. They accused me of disrespecting the regime. It was terrifying but I was eventually kicked out of the country and banned for life. Thankfully, I didn’t suffer a worse fate.

      Because I was so upset by the detention, I avoided the media when we landed and made a B-line straight to luggage pick up. It was a very disturbing incident but I wish I would’ve stayed and spoke to the media because, even though it would’ve totally undermined my masters thesis, I would’ve announced my support for a tourism ban.

      | 0 Comments Tagged Citizen Diplomacy, Conflict Resolution, FHTMG, Lindenbaum Orchestra, Mike Bassett North Korea, music diplomacy, Non-State Actors, North Korea, North Korea tourism, Peso and Pacman, Rap video project
    • Malarkey in the Lame Duck season: How Trump could ensure his Korea efforts persist in a Biden administration

      Posted at 11:34 pm by mikesfuckingusername, on November 17, 2020

      President Trump could set up a U.S. embassy in Pyongyang, and lift travel bans for citizen diplomacy projects allowing himself to visit the country when he leaves office 

      From Brinksmanship to ‘Bro’s’

      United States and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea relations reached intense heights of bellicosity during Trump’s first 18 months in office. Jingoistic rhetoric, underground nuclear tests, detentions and deaths of U.S. citizens, and missile tests – just to name a few – marked the beginning of what many predicted would to be an inevitable path to destabilization of the Korean peninsula and potential conflict. 

      With John Bolton soon to be at the helm as National Security Advisor, many believed military force would be used. B-1 bombers carried out mock missile launches off the South Korean coast and North Korea launched an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile into the Sea of Japan. President Trump promised to “totally destroy” North Korea with “fire and fury” if they didn’t back down.  

      Trump’s bellicosity and strongman approach to dealing with the regime surprisingly worked, and, by June, 2018, Trump and Kim Jong-un had direct talks at the Singapore Summit. Trump gave Kim Jong-un and ultimatum: Peace and prosperity or destruction and decay. The following February, two days of talks at the Hanoi Summit occurred. Trump and Kim Jong-un continued, joined by South Korean president Moon Jae-in, for a brief DMZ Summit in June, 2019. 

      Although Bolton bragged in his book The Room Where it Happened about intentionally sabotaging these talks, two things are for certain: The talks resulted in no more nuke or missile tests and paved the way for inter-Korean rapprochement.

      Biden and Strategic Patience 2.0

      As self-declared president-elect Joe Biden prepares to enter Office, two things are apparent: he will form a multilateral Strategic Patience containment bloc and there’s a high likelihood that North Korea will conduct weapons tests as a means of sizing up the new administration. 

      Strategic Patience 2.0 will look very much the same as Strategic Patience did under president Barack Obama. The policy of non-engagement without Complete Verifiable and Irreversible Dismantlement will be a non-starter for the North Koreans and they will likely revert to behaving like they did under the Obama administration – nuclear and missile tests galore. 

      CVID under COVID-19 challenges aside, the policy of no talks without CVID will disrupt two years of Peace Through Strength progress made between the U.S. and North Korea. 

      A Last Minute Trumpian Intervention

      It’s often said that only Nixon could go to China. The same would seem to be the case with Trump and North Korea. 

      During his Lame Duck period trump could launch his own “70 day speed battle” and work quickly to establish a U.S. embassy in Pyongyang while also easing some travel ban restrictions to allow for citizen engagement projects (still keeping tourism off the table). 

      This would keep communications open between the U.S. and North Korea – far better than the “New York Channel” – so when the regime tests Biden he doesn’t overact, igniting a new conflict spiral and destabilizing the region. 

      A U.S. embassy in Pyongyang would make conversation and information gathering more efficient. Without a presence on the ground, we are at a huge disadvantage, especially as North Korea has an advantageous presence in New York. 

      After leaving office, Trump could then, thanks to his own policies, continue talks with regime leadership as a former president who worked hard to improve relations as a way of maintaining peace and stability.

      Trump as a former president: Biden’s Asset or Adversary?

      After leaving office with a bruised ego, Trump will surely be seeking recognition for his successes on the Korean peninsula, in the form of a Nobel Peace Prize, so he would likely try reaching out to the regime to maintain peace and stability on the peninsula. 

      Biden, seeking to avoid confrontation with the regime and escalated tensions, may benefit from Trumpian diplomacy, so their interests could align. 

      After a brutal campaign against each other, only time will tell if the two presidents can lead by example for the common causes of uniting to solve problems while bringing healing to divided nations. 

      I suppose they have to ask themselves if they will allow petty differences to overcome the historical progress Trump has made dealing with North Korea. 

      | 0 Comments Tagged Biden, Kim Jong Un, Malarkey, North Korea, Pyongyang Embassy, Travel Visa, Trump, Trump legacy Korea, US Embassy Pyongyang
    • Who Changes Who?: My case for North Korea travel bans

      Posted at 3:38 pm by mikesfuckingusername, on April 24, 2020

      Until the regime allows its people and guests total freedom of travel, the bans should remain

      In 2013 I was a graduate student at American University’s elite School of International Service, where we are charged with a mission to be Peace Wager’s.

      SIS had (temporarily) turned a hardened warrior into a peace activist. I sold my gun collection and raised tons of money to carryout a long list of Public Diplomacy projects that I designed; and I coined myself a Citizen Diplomat.

      SIS taught me that the last three feet of the bridge [where enemies meet] is where the handshakes and hugs are given. Indeed, I even stupidly allowed myself to be photographed hugging a Korean People’s Army soldier.

      My projects included an inter-Korean orchestra, joint fishing zones and fishing trips, taekwondo tours, beer tours and a rap video project — to name a few.

      My hypothesis was that through People-to-People exchanges, “average” North Koreans and average American’s could participate in “genuine” on-the-ground exchanges that would tear divisions down and allow long time enemies to see the humanity in each other, eventually eroding warring stances over time.

      For example, I let the KPA taekwondo fighter knock me out just to see if he would cheer or help me up afterwords. I thought it would give me a true bead on their changeability. Turns out he helped me up, BUT even that was not an accurate method to determine their changeability.

      I presumed that if I inspired enough foreigners to visit North Korea and try various types of exchanges then we could change North Korea to come out of the cold and abide by international norms.

      Boy was I wrong!

      Before you attack me you should know that I already received so many death threats the FBI had to get involved in my personal safety. And I was bullied so badly for being wrong that I was suicidal and eventually everything in my life got ruined.

      But even worse than that, I was detained and interrogated in North Korea. I thought I would never make it home again. After an hour in an interrogation room with State Security Department officials sneering and frothing at the mouths, accusing me of trying to undermine the regime, I was kicked out and banned.

      Others who thought like me have not been so lucky.

      Fast forward to present day: President Trump rightly initiated a travel ban for Americans, but unfortunately other countries did not follow suit. Some of the regime’s biggest defenders were imprisoned in North Korea or by their communist ally, China.

      Why would the regime detain its “useful idiots,” you may ask? Well, in my opinion, it is because “engagers” (“citizen diplomats” who think like I used to) are viewed by the regime as a threat to their existence. Also, because the regime doesn’t want anyone violating any of their draconian, pre-programmed Potemkin shows.

      Until the day North Korea allows its citizens and guests complete freedom of travel without minders and pre-approvals for every little thing, there is no logical justification for taking the regime off the travel ban list.

      Please think twice before traveling to North Korea, or even thinking that this is a regime that’s capable of changing. Every engager I know has deeply regretted it and been changed for the worse.

      | 0 Comments Tagged Citizen Diplomacy, North Korea, P2P, People-to-People, Tourism in North Korea, Travel Ban, Who changed who
    • The US should intervene in North Korea when Kim Jong-un dies

      Posted at 5:59 pm by mikesfuckingusername, on April 21, 2020

      Late last night news broke that Kim Jong-un was on his deathbed following an April 12th cardiovascular surgery. This explained why he was missing in action from Day of the Sun festivities on April 15th.

      SEE HERE FOR HOW THE SOVIET UNION COLLAPSED

      The news, which was originally reported by Daily NK, was called fake by Yonhap, sparking side debates. Daily NK is supported by $400,000 grants from the US National Endowment for Democracy. Yonhap News is funded by the South Korean government.

      It is safe to say that Daily NK based their information on something leaked from one of our listening posts, and South Korea’s agenda is strictly to maintain good relations by providing shade for the regime.

      However, it is neither here nor there to me. For the purpose of this post, I will just assume that Kim will die sooner than an heir achieves proper age and training to fill his shoes.

      Regarding America’s contingency plans for KJU’s death, Fox News reported that “a well placed defense intelligence source” says the intelligence community expects a humanitarian crisis would occur on KJU’s sidelining or death, and that they hope China will step in to help manage the situation. 

      I think most Pyongyangologists would expect some political infighting and power struggles until a new leader emerges. In North Korea’s patriarchal society, I expect a brutal Korean People’s Army general would emerge victorious in that power struggle, rather than Kim’s wife, sister or daughter.

      Meanwhile, the draconian regime would lockdown the entire country, punish all “wavering” persons, and many will starve to death. 

      Why does the US always expect China to step in, especially after the destruction of US – China relations following our economic breakup with them and the COVID-19 crisis?

      We should maximize the opportunity to promote US interests by showing average North Koreans who the good guys are — America, in case some of you wondered. 

      We should do a full scale intervention.

      For nearly a decade I have argued that the only way to liberate the regime is to bombard them with “radical guerrilla engagement.” I have also argued that my proposals have never been taken seriously because nobody truly has an interest in ending the Korean War.

      As mentioned above, after KJU dies I expect a hardliner KPA general would emerge from power struggles as the new dictator; and I expect he would be the most ruthless and brutal dictator in regime history — which says a lot.

      American intervention looks like economic engagement; peace forces; sending food and supplies with “Made in America” packaging, and American personnel to distribute it; American doctors; American educators; American media; American political advisors; and allowing average American citizens to travel there again — to name a few. Also, obviously, we should be doing all kinds of information warfare and PSYOPS in the background.

      I know most don’t want to hear it, but turning a dictatorship into a democracy requires that we actually spread democracy throughout North Korea by directly engaging them, on the ground, and wait for the seeds of democracy to sprout.

      But I digress because nobody truly has an interest in ending the Korean War.

      | 2 Comments Tagged DPRK, enagegement, Intervention, Kim Jong Un, Liberate North Korea, North Korea
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