The main problem people have with this is that the punishment does not seem to fit the crime. The crime being attempted theft. Well guess what? We don't get to say what NKs laws are so maybe instead of bitching about the punishment being too extreme you should try not to get punished.
Another complaint I see is that people seem to think NK is lying about the crime and forcing the kid to admit to it. I suppose that's possible by why would it matter? The kid put himself in NK. He made himself a target.
I've never been snatched up by NK police and forced to admit to a crime I didn't commit. Because I've never fucking been to North Korea.
Yeah. It sucks for the kid. He's gonna get tortured and probably die. Do I feel bad for him? No. He made his choice. Even if all he did was go on a tour to NK, which I doubt.
And I doubt he's innocent because plenty of fucking people HAVE gone to NK without incident. NK doesn't snatch up people at random. They may not snatch people up for a good reason but they do have A reason.
And even if they did randomly select this poor innocent guy for no reason at all it doesn't matter. What the fuck was he doing in NK?
It's all so dumb.
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[–] im_back 1 point -1 points 0 points (+0|-1) ago (edited ago)
The guy's imprisoned for 15 years; he's screwed. Assuming that he doesn't cause any trouble and is out in 15 with all of his body parts attached, think of his knowledge of our world. He will have to catch up. How bad is 15 years?
Inventions after 2001: Wireless Bluetooth Headset (2002), Self Parking Car (2003), The Wii (2006), iPhone (2007), Android OS (2007), Hubble Space Telescope (completed 2009), iPad (2010), Kickstarter (crowd-sourced funding, 2010), Google's driverless car (2010), 3-D bioprinter (2010), and more scientific discoveries since then.
Imagine today, having spent 15 years hard labor in North Korea, having no knowledge of IOS, Android OS, No knowledge of Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10, Netflix didn't begin streaming until 2007, and you're trying to get a job as an ex-convict.
Sources:
http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1934259,00.html
http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1935038,00.html
http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1940424,00.html
http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1939342,00.html
http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-scientific-discoveries-and-inventions-from-2011.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netflix
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system)
[–] CapinBoredface [S] 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
He'll probably just die.
[–] im_back ago
Either that or be injured to the point he can't work well. His only hope for income is the book/movie deal he'll probably get.