UM grad's dilemna: Play a soccer game in North Korea?
Soony Saad, former UM soccer player, has a dilemna. He plays for Lebanon's national team. They are going to play a game in North Korea -- a rare international game there. He wants to play for his national team, but, not in North Korea. "What if I score a goal and they find out I'm an American?"
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2746418-inside-the-secret-world-of-f…
A lot of his article is on Soony, in his post-UM days.
[Yes, a Bleacher Report article, but this isn't an opinion / hack job, it's an actual long article interviewing people, so like actual news.]
December 12th, 2017 at 6:40 PM ^
December 12th, 2017 at 6:55 PM ^
December 12th, 2017 at 7:22 PM ^
She said that she simply wanted to go and experience it. In the 1.5 years I've known her, she has been to North Korea, Mongolia, and climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, so travelling and adventure are right up her alley.
She did say that she's not interested in going back, but is very happy that she took the opportunity to visit when she did.
December 12th, 2017 at 7:34 PM ^
December 12th, 2017 at 7:36 PM ^
That's the thing - countries, even the most repressive ones, are so much more than their governments. I can understand the reluctance to go to certain hoary parts of the world and wouldn't myself want to risk going to North Korea, but by and large I think we overestimate how 'dangerous' other countries are.
December 12th, 2017 at 7:53 PM ^
December 12th, 2017 at 11:57 PM ^
December 13th, 2017 at 12:19 AM ^
This take is an uninformed take. There's a more than slight difference between the dangers and pitfalls of going to North Korea vs. the dangers and pitfalls of going to Paris for the first time.
December 13th, 2017 at 6:02 AM ^
December 13th, 2017 at 9:57 AM ^
December 13th, 2017 at 8:38 AM ^
Um - the thing about North Korea is that "every plop of bullshit" on the news mainly downplays how fucking horrible it is there. They murder tourists for tearing down posters or leaving Bibles behind and that is the very tip of the iceberg.
Myself I would love to go to North Korea. I think it would be fascinating. But I have no idea how anyone can justify giving money to that regime or legitimizing it by bowing and nodding to all their propaganda. And yes, every dollar you spend, you can just assume it goes straight to the regime.
December 12th, 2017 at 6:53 PM ^
Rodman as your safeguard.
December 12th, 2017 at 6:58 PM ^
December 12th, 2017 at 7:02 PM ^
December 12th, 2017 at 7:25 PM ^
December 12th, 2017 at 7:40 PM ^
Get there before American tourists and corporations ruin it (again).
December 13th, 2017 at 12:24 AM ^
After my second visit to Cuba. Western interests will surely fuck up Cuba, you can see it in the tobacco leaves, however, this has been said for decades. Fact is, nobody can really tell what the eff is going on in Cuba enough to invest. Bitcoin is less risky.
December 12th, 2017 at 7:41 PM ^
December 12th, 2017 at 7:44 PM ^
Ask the Warmbier family their opinion
December 13th, 2017 at 2:01 AM ^
would have to gain 100 lbs to look more like fat Kim.
December 12th, 2017 at 8:10 PM ^
December 12th, 2017 at 8:23 PM ^
December 12th, 2017 at 8:25 PM ^
Then hire Dennis Rodman
December 12th, 2017 at 8:57 PM ^
December 13th, 2017 at 12:21 AM ^
Would it be interesting? Yes.
Would anything bad happen to you? Probably not.
Would I go visit North Korea? Ummm, can I go visit the other ~200 coutries first?
December 13th, 2017 at 1:30 AM ^
Just nope. Not worth the risk.
December 13th, 2017 at 1:56 AM ^
He would come back in a coma and then die! His life is much more important than a soccer game in NK! Kim feeds people to hungry dogs! What a freak and the people over there worship him like a God. He's almost as worship worthy as his Grandfather.
December 13th, 2017 at 2:48 PM ^
Cultural relativism, my friend. Kim Jong Un and his family are the equivalent of gods in the North Korean culture. That's just what the people believe (or are forced to believe, depending on who you ask). But that's just their culture and way of life. Much how we think what they do is insane, they think the same of us.
December 13th, 2017 at 8:47 AM ^
December 13th, 2017 at 9:27 AM ^
Side note on the spelling of dilemma - after the OP misspelled dilemma not only in the thread title but also the post as well, I thought maybe there's some alternate spelling out there.
There is not, dilemna is just wrong, but there's an interesting history of more than a few people having been taught an incorrect spelling in their youth.
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/it-dilemma-or-dilemna
http://nationalpost.com/life/jonathan-goldstein-d-i-l-e-m-n-a-dilemma-a…
December 13th, 2017 at 9:55 AM ^
December 13th, 2017 at 11:18 AM ^
His choice, his life, he's got to do what he's got to do. But if he asked for my opinion, I'd tell him to sit this one out and stay the hell out of North Korea.
You have no rights there even if you're a citizen of the country. They're treated like cattle. Imagine how much less you have as a hated American, seen by the entire country as the scourge of civilization. The Constitution does not exist there, and it can't do shit to help you if you get in trouble. There is no US Embassy there to intervene on your behalf, and you can be arrested for literally anything. Hell, you can be arrested and sent to a prison camp just because they feel like it.
It would be an AWFUL choice to go there. If he goes, I'd say there's at least a 25-50% chance that he never comes back except for in a casket.
December 13th, 2017 at 1:54 PM ^
I just don't get it. They are a government who would activly look for a reason to detain imprison someone, let alone an American. I can understand the argument for trying to take a stand or make a statement by playing, but a random national team event isn't it. Seriously, stop going to North Korea, there is really not a lot of good that can come out of it.
December 13th, 2017 at 2:06 PM ^
That's why I really didn't feel bad for Otto Warmbier when he was imprisoned. Doesn't matter that North Korean law is Draconian on a good day. That is the law of their land, and when you set foot on their turf, or in any country, you are bound to those laws. He thought it'd be really cool to not only go there, but to try and steal something from them too. Everywhere you go is bugged, and essentially everyone you come into contact with is a state spy. What the hell did he think was going to happen?
Now of course I feel awful for him being killed, but that should be all the motivation you ever need for never setting foot in North Korea. They are just looking for an excuse to imprison you. Hell, they don't even need an excuse. They can take you without reason, there will be no trial, and you're off to a labor camp for the rest of your days. At that point, barring true divine intervention, the only way you are ever leaving that place is through the morgue.