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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-13-2009 @ 1:00PM
S said...
While I recognize your point of satire, I caution you from juvenilizing your criticisms. Yes, the DPRK has a food issue (the signs of famine are still visible as physical deformities all too prevalent in the population), but what seems to be the crux of current shortages is distribution, not supply. As is the case in many food aid situations, distribution is a matter of politics, not logistics. I would thereby caution making suggestions that what's required is more food, for food is not the issue, policy is.
Concerning your suggestion that the DPRK be opened for tourists, it already is. The Korean International Travel Company (KITC) welcomes thousands of visitors every year, Americans included, though their foreign partners. I, for one, have been a couple times in recent years, and would suggest it as a wonderful trip for anyone to make. The DPRK is at a point where they're more interested in bringing in hard currency, than restricting foreign visitors. If one's willing to put forth the money, it's even possible to charter a private plane to fly one throughout the country. For train enthusiasts, one can enter and exit the DPRK on the Pyongyang - Dandong route, assuming one isn't an American.
There are already many opportunities for foreigns to visit, all that is needed is for more people to take advantage. As more people visit, the benefits of foreign tourism will become more noticeable, and Koreans will have additional opportunities to interact with foreigners. Sean, you should go for no other reason than to have an actual first-hand basis on which to write (although I do know that they're not too fond of reporters). Who knows, perhaps it all could lead to the first revolution through tourism.
Reply
11-14-2009 @ 2:12PM
Sean McLachlan said...
You've made a couple of assumptions here. You assumed I didn't know NK was open to tourism, when I never said that and we've reported on it several times. You also assumed I thought there was a food shortage rather than a distribution problem, when I was specifically talking about distributing food. It seems your eagerness to sound better informed has hurt your reading comprehension skills.
The grad school prose doesn't impress either.