James Dresnok: The US Soldier Who Defected to North Korea

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  • Опубліковано 21 лип 2019
  • During the Cold War, an American soldier named James Joseph Dresnok was stationed on the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea. One day, he decided to simply walk over the line to the North. He was “defecting”; betraying his country and choosing to start a new life in an enemy land that he knew nothing about.
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 11 тис.

  • @Biographics
    @Biographics  4 роки тому +928

    Have you checked out my latest channel Business Blaze? It's interesting business stories with a dose of ridiculousness thrown in. Check it out here: ua-cam.com/channels/YY5GWf7MHFJ6DZeHreoXgw.html

    • @justinwalker331
      @justinwalker331 4 роки тому +15

      No, how bout stop being a BBC mouthpiece

    • @touya
      @touya 4 роки тому +3

      North Korea

    • @jbfielding5961
      @jbfielding5961 4 роки тому +2

      justin walker a
      Qq

    • @Drewsta4
      @Drewsta4 4 роки тому +3

      Near impossible to find anything on UA-cam that isn’t your channel !

    • @saucejohnson9862
      @saucejohnson9862 3 роки тому +1

      James Dresnok passed away this past year, sadly China wants North Korea to suffer to despite America.

  • @icantw8
    @icantw8 4 роки тому +8719

    It's amazing what a "nothing to lose" mentality can make you do.

  • @BizTuxAndFlipFlops
    @BizTuxAndFlipFlops 4 роки тому +5386

    This man had a cartoonishly bad life.

    • @GROZNAYA
      @GROZNAYA 4 роки тому +126

      Orion Rodriguez
      Maybe Eastern Europe’s favourite cat and mouse team, Worker and Parasite!

    • @Hiasl1998
      @Hiasl1998 4 роки тому +119

      @paul crowley jesus dude

    • @Bean-tp7bw
      @Bean-tp7bw 4 роки тому +26

      Almost like Doofenshmirts

    • @suspectamogus
      @suspectamogus 4 роки тому +89

      @paul crowley How cringe can you get?

    • @derpynerdy6294
      @derpynerdy6294 4 роки тому +1

      One moustach man double crosses another

  • @louisavondart9178
    @louisavondart9178 Рік тому +217

    A British soldier did the same in the late 80's. The North Koreans gave him back after 3 days saying that he was mentally deficient. The British army disagreed and locked him up for years for his misdeed.

    • @katelynbrown98
      @katelynbrown98 9 місяців тому +7

      Woah. I'm surprised/"glad?" they imprisoned him afterwards?

    • @lillyie
      @lillyie 8 місяців тому +3

      here after a us soldier defected to north korea only for them to return him afterwards

    • @monkeytennis8861
      @monkeytennis8861 6 місяців тому +1

      Except that never happened

    • @Blatstein
      @Blatstein 2 місяці тому

      @@monkeytennis8861 Sure it did. He kept suggesting NK should implement a tele loicense. It was a step too far for the Kims and he was branded mentally handicapped, a typical diagnosis of a Brit.

  • @Yourmomma568
    @Yourmomma568 Рік тому +460

    A guy went from a lonely and desperate man, abused by a system of deep discrimination and classism, and became a celebrity, with immense influence, station, power, and a loving family. No wonder he left.

    • @cattysplat
      @cattysplat 10 місяців тому

      The US has a tendency to keep beating down on the least fortunate, pushing them into desperation and crime. It should come to no surprise that he took his chance in North Korea than face being sent back to the US with nothing but a military conviction record.

    • @shaunmichael2477
      @shaunmichael2477 10 місяців тому +13

      It was basically like Truman show I'd rather have my freedom

    • @gallonthegreat7036
      @gallonthegreat7036 9 місяців тому +11

      Now imagine being a black American...

    • @Yourmomma568
      @Yourmomma568 9 місяців тому +3

      @@gallonthegreat7036 idk if nk would be better. Hopefully the new guy over there is doing ok.

    • @Yourmomma568
      @Yourmomma568 9 місяців тому

      @@Beadledom2024 Right, social ills are totally independent of society and systematic influences, and it bears no responsibility for how it affects the people within it. /S/. Mind your brain.

  • @lillyie
    @lillyie 4 роки тому +35120

    imagine having such a bad life you literally defected to North Korea

    • @LynnJepson
      @LynnJepson 4 роки тому +766

      Too bad he didn't live outside the ELITE CITY like an average N. Korean. Liberals should move there ASAP!

    • @naoised7638
      @naoised7638 4 роки тому +164

      Hey this reminds me of someone oh me

    • @Charles_Anthony
      @Charles_Anthony 4 роки тому +730

      Well, that's one way to get an Asian wife. XD

    • @johnthomas2922
      @johnthomas2922 4 роки тому +175

      Welcome to life in the Military..

    • @_maestro7168
      @_maestro7168 4 роки тому +412

      @@LynnJepson I get you don't agree with them, but that's pretty fucked mate

  • @adolphusputin-5605
    @adolphusputin-5605 4 роки тому +11007

    Dude got tired of all the rules...so he defects to a country which arguably has even more rules. Logic 101

    • @calexise
      @calexise 4 роки тому +583

      i think he got tired of hopelesness. The north korea offer a new start

    •  4 роки тому +277

      should've gone to mexico. Lawlessness at its finest.

    • @samuelrs5138
      @samuelrs5138 4 роки тому +190

      Many people look to travel and moving as a way to fix what is wrong in their life and it's almost always futile.

    • @jacob679SD
      @jacob679SD 4 роки тому +314

      StopTheHate this was back in the day where technology was more advanced in NK than the South, and it looked like paradise, rules weren’t as strict, pay attention to @10:44. and use your brain, think of the era this happened

    • @lillexus5589
      @lillexus5589 4 роки тому +159

      NK was in s better state in the 60's then now arguably, when compared to other nations at that time.

  • @eges72
    @eges72 Рік тому +70

    As someone struggling with severe depression and anxiety, this have made me to rethink life and be grateful for having a shelter, a stable family, and eating 3 meals a day.

    • @GizmoMaltese
      @GizmoMaltese 10 місяців тому +3

      Stay strong, my friend. Have you tried mindfulness techniques?

  • @janitorman1965
    @janitorman1965 10 місяців тому +54

    Because James life was so horrible as a child I can very easily imagine him, crossing the border into North Korea, and thinking that this was some kind of vacation considering that in the United States, he suffered, almost constant rejection, and abandonment.

  • @wompwomp338
    @wompwomp338 4 роки тому +4879

    Dude got high and just walked across the DMZ.

    • @dashing932
      @dashing932 4 роки тому +75

      he smoked the weed, as in marijuana which made him high ? hahaha that was genius you made my day good sir

    • @goreMagala
      @goreMagala 4 роки тому +46

      Weeeeeed haha dude weed

    • @rodiegreen8004
      @rodiegreen8004 4 роки тому +35

      DUDE WEED

    • @voltag3man
      @voltag3man 4 роки тому +34

      Going to tell you right now, i know some retired vets, dont think just because they have had military experience that they are bright bulbs....

    • @jonassungaila8080
      @jonassungaila8080 4 роки тому +37

      *Don't forget to bring a towel.*

  • @thomasturner6980
    @thomasturner6980 4 роки тому +13325

    *North Koreans flees to South Korea*
    James Dresnok: *Reverse uno card*

    • @617edoub
      @617edoub 4 роки тому +64

      Gold😂😂😂😂

    • @WolfvineGaming
      @WolfvineGaming 4 роки тому +140

      **surprised Pikachu face**

    • @hotcoals2291
      @hotcoals2291 4 роки тому +24

      You do realize that the theoretical North Korean "players" would go again right?

    • @hotcoals2291
      @hotcoals2291 4 роки тому +28

      @@edwarddavidson868 Well, when one of the main aspects of the joke (i.e. the uno card) is misused, the joke's impact is diminished. Also, I've literally seen this "reverse Uno card" joke multiple times, so it's not very original to begin with.

    • @marvelousdex9678
      @marvelousdex9678 4 роки тому +107

      @@hotcoals2291 Hello, fun department? My Cole 9000 is a total buzzkill. I want a refund.

  • @Star-um9cz
    @Star-um9cz 9 місяців тому +115

    This all stemmed from this man’s pain. This really shows the importance of showing everyone love, they might desperately need it.
    James Dresnok, along with all of those mentioned who suffered in one way or another as well,
    Rest in peace ❤

  • @Pikaling3408
    @Pikaling3408 10 місяців тому +19

    Who's here after Travis King went over the DMZ to North Korea?

  • @mattsupertramp6506
    @mattsupertramp6506 4 роки тому +5722

    Defected to North Korea because "He was caught smoking the wild marijuana on the North Korean border" what a legend

    • @meenki347
      @meenki347 4 роки тому +415

      Im Korean and Marajuana definitely grows naturally in Korea. Notice Ancient Korean pictures of Koreans smoking pipes long before America was discovered. And if you didn't know. Tobacco was introduced from the new world.

    • @matthewchufong-sprague4563
      @matthewchufong-sprague4563 4 роки тому +24

      Probably from CO.

    • @huongtranthanh5608
      @huongtranthanh5608 4 роки тому +162

      Matt Supertramp Marijuana is actually 100% legal in DPRK

    • @warpartyattheoutpost4987
      @warpartyattheoutpost4987 4 роки тому +225

      I live in Oregon. Marijuana is legal here and we can own guns. We also have some of the best beer breweries in the world. I'm not defecting to anywhere!

    • @kansascityshuffle8526
      @kansascityshuffle8526 4 роки тому +208

      Only problem the munchies are forever there

  • @Shadow77999
    @Shadow77999 4 роки тому +5089

    Imagine coming back from NK 50 years later and being demoted. He probably even forgot he was in the army lmao

    • @heartofdixie67
      @heartofdixie67 4 роки тому +112

      Shadow747
      Does that mean that they paid him back pay ?

    • @ChucksSEADnDEAD
      @ChucksSEADnDEAD 4 роки тому +533

      @@heartofdixie67 lmao imagine he got the military to give him hazard pay for technically being in a war zone this whole time

    • @xsailor85
      @xsailor85 4 роки тому +85

      He would be court marshaled & would have been locked up for the rest of his life.

    • @Jupiter__001_
      @Jupiter__001_ 4 роки тому +99

      @@xsailor85 He got only demoted. This is Jenkins, not Dresnok they are talking about.

    • @thescottishgiant855
      @thescottishgiant855 4 роки тому +4

      Shadow747 you never forget that

  • @KaleidoscopicVideos420
    @KaleidoscopicVideos420 10 місяців тому +22

    Whos here after another US soldier just ran across the border in order to defect.

  • @shgstewart4674
    @shgstewart4674 Рік тому +117

    Dresnok is such a fascinating character. I saw a documentary about him from a few years before he died. The interviewer had to have a translator because Dresnok had basically forgotten how to speak English.

    • @CoolGobyFish
      @CoolGobyFish Рік тому +63

      he spoke fine English. In fact, his main job was teaching English. You are probably thinking of his sons, they don't speak English. Only Korean

    • @JJJJ-gl2uf
      @JJJJ-gl2uf Рік тому +24

      Dresnok didn't forget to speak English, he managed quite well during interviews. Even his sons spoke English [with accent], after all they did study at a foreign language university.

  • @mitch7890
    @mitch7890 3 роки тому +3875

    Mans' life was worse than Dr. Doofenschmirtz

    • @Alexander-oq1op
      @Alexander-oq1op 3 роки тому +121

      Doof had it rough bro

    • @majolko
      @majolko 3 роки тому +188

      his parents were late for his birth

    • @crocop6873
      @crocop6873 3 роки тому +2

      Avstrolopipek hahahah

    • @eoniys2875
      @eoniys2875 3 роки тому +105

      *”Both of my parents both failed to show up at my birth”*

    • @arrowpictures2844
      @arrowpictures2844 3 роки тому +35

      But at least doof didn’t defected to north korea

  • @WilliamBrinkley45
    @WilliamBrinkley45 3 роки тому +4153

    For 2 years in the late 90s, I was company clerk of the unit this guy had defected from. There is the face saving, official story, and the “real” story passed down from outgoing CO to incoming CO and 1st Sgt to 1st Sgt. respectively. Basically Dresnok was wasn’t attempting to defect, he was actually attempting to get himself shot or blown up by a land mine and was attempting suicide. The fact that this guy made it through the DMZ without getting himself killed by a mine is a damned miracle in itself actually. Basically what led up to this was the result of a mental breakdown after repeatedly butting heads with an abusive alcoholic platoon sgt, who was beating and extorting lower enlisted. After Dresnok stood up to the guy, the Platoon sgt told him in front of other lower enlisted that he would kill Dresnok, who told him that he wasn’t afraid of death and would soon prove so. The platoon Sgt received a dishonorable discharge and did 9 months in the brig almost immediately after the army conducted an investigation into Dresnoks defection, and uncovered the whole picture.

    • @WilliamBrinkley45
      @WilliamBrinkley45 3 роки тому +456

      Woon well at that point he had 3 options. 1) go to a Nkorea prison and be tortured and executed for being a spy 2) escape or beg to be sent back to Skorea and get arrested by the US military and be charged with treason and spend the rest of his life in federal prison or possibly being executed, or 3) say he was defecting to Nkorea and live life the best he could.

    • @terryplew3333
      @terryplew3333 2 роки тому +23

      Wow!

    • @danvincent2600
      @danvincent2600 2 роки тому +5

      The

    • @danvincent2600
      @danvincent2600 2 роки тому +4

      V

    • @danvincent2600
      @danvincent2600 2 роки тому +2

      M

  • @milkgrapes6420
    @milkgrapes6420 Рік тому +49

    This entire story was equally both wholesome and disturbing at the same time

  • @annaschwirian7548
    @annaschwirian7548 Рік тому +83

    I honestly think it was just two people with very different viewpoints. I think James was one of many US residents that fall through the cracks. Every single country in the world has its plus and negatives. It's up to each citizen to decide if the American dream is there dream.

  • @dflatt1783
    @dflatt1783 4 роки тому +1510

    "Joined the Army and they had rules and regulations and people always yelling at him."
    Yup. About sums it up.

    • @caucasusmapper7098
      @caucasusmapper7098 4 роки тому +81

      What did he think lmao

    • @itsblitz4437
      @itsblitz4437 4 роки тому +7

      Well and his childhood was hell.

    • @JeanLucCaptain
      @JeanLucCaptain 4 роки тому +6

      But it's not like he had any options.

    • @Starfield6824
      @Starfield6824 4 роки тому +56

      He is the Original snowflake

    • @corin164
      @corin164 4 роки тому +34

      So I gather you would have an Army with no regulations and no discipline. That is usually called a mob, similar to what we see today with "Antifa".

  • @Blackjack09721
    @Blackjack09721 4 роки тому +3508

    Wow, how do you abandon your kid like that at a retirement home? His dad is a dirt bag.

    • @je6874
      @je6874 4 роки тому +156

      alreid09 people would still do it today

    • @Blackjack09721
      @Blackjack09721 4 роки тому +209

      @@je6874 So true and so sad. No one deserves anything like that to happen to them.

    • @sanderskovly7641
      @sanderskovly7641 4 роки тому +29

      Atleast better than trying to kill him/her, F

    • @jefsjefs8448
      @jefsjefs8448 4 роки тому +68

      @@sanderskovly7641 not necessarily. Living a life of agony as a junkie is worse.

    • @314rappin
      @314rappin 4 роки тому +60

      Him and his dad had a lot in common they like to lie and abandon their responsibility

  • @mariekatherine5238
    @mariekatherine5238 10 місяців тому +10

    Some soldier by the name of King just did the same thing, defect to North Korea to get out of an arrest warrant in the States. Dresnok must have been his role model.

    • @DarkZerol
      @DarkZerol 10 місяців тому +3

      It's heavily implied that King might be somewhat mentally ill. Supposedly the dude was shouting and drawing attention to himself when he made a sudden dash towards NK border line via a commercial tour group.

    • @edljnehan2811
      @edljnehan2811 10 місяців тому +1

      ​@@DarkZerolhe also looks like he's a fruit so he'll have a great time over there😮😮😮😅

  • @dr.williamkallfelz8540
    @dr.williamkallfelz8540 2 роки тому +145

    Thank you! I saw the documentary "Crossing the Line," narrated by Christian Slater, and your video truly does justice to the complexity and strangeness of this situation--the little we can know of it. To answer your question towards the end I don't think it was a case of "brainwashing," so much as it was really two different people with vastly different perspectives on the same situation (I think of Akira Kurosawa's film Rashomon). The one who stayed and was happy in the PRNK, l mean, to a certain extent (irony of ironies) he truly "achieved" his view of the "American dream" there--the North Koreans basically created a Truman Show and he was the star. I mean, in his sad struggle as a traumatized neglected young boy in the USA, all he really wanted was to be a paterfamilias, and get that love and affirmation he never found and was bitterly betrayed of in the US. He was so sad and embittered it hardly mattered to him if he lived or died, nor, for that matter, if he was just played by the North Korean government. They fed his dreams, they gave him his Blue Pills.

    • @newshodgepodge6329
      @newshodgepodge6329 Рік тому +2

      As a general rule governments should not interfere with people's movements. People should be allowed to settle where they best fit in.

    • @denisehagwood4542
      @denisehagwood4542 10 місяців тому +3

      ​@@newshodgepodge6329 Why should you be entitled to live in a country that doesn't want you?

    • @newshodgepodge6329
      @newshodgepodge6329 10 місяців тому +3

      @@denisehagwood4542 It's an arbitrary standard. Nothing good has ever come from governments making decisions about who is or isn't desirable based on nothing more than where people are coming from and where they are going.

    • @LiliWhyte
      @LiliWhyte 10 місяців тому

      ​@newshodgepodge6329 your comment makes no sense.

    • @newshodgepodge6329
      @newshodgepodge6329 10 місяців тому

      @@denisehagwood4542 Spoken like someone who never ventures far enough from the sofa to make the topic relatable. 😑

  • @Jivolt
    @Jivolt 4 роки тому +1455

    He loved it when they called him “big papa”.

    • @ImNotaRussianBot
      @ImNotaRussianBot 4 роки тому +1

      😬

    • @57badarse
      @57badarse 4 роки тому +42

      @@ImNotaRussianBot there were some ladies in North Korea that be having his babies

    • @sebaseba6710
      @sebaseba6710 4 роки тому +79

      Did he put his hands in the air because he was a true player?

    • @Jivolt
      @Jivolt 4 роки тому +6

      57badarse baby.

    • @mikelarteta9531
      @mikelarteta9531 4 роки тому +2

      John Marshall lmao

  • @rexscipio3344
    @rexscipio3344 4 роки тому +2738

    This is a sad sad story. His family failed him early on.

    • @aaronrobins9953
      @aaronrobins9953 4 роки тому +195

      Not just his family, but American society as well.

    • @Charles_Anthony
      @Charles_Anthony 4 роки тому +79

      His life may of been sad, but I think he died happy,. He was finally at peace with himself since he achieved his dream;having a family.

    • @Charles_Anthony
      @Charles_Anthony 4 роки тому +25

      @SpaceDreamerFr : It seemed like he only became violent after he joined the military, but I'm just basing that assumption off of what the video said.

    • @thirdrice4976
      @thirdrice4976 4 роки тому +28

      @SpaceDreamerFr He was violent and resentful because of his shitty ass life that stemmed from childhood. He wasn't violent when he was a child.

    • @girlgarde
      @girlgarde 4 роки тому +6

      What the hell was wrong with them anyways? Why didn't any of them want him? Bunch of selfish bastards......

  • @phav1832
    @phav1832 5 місяців тому +3

    What a sad story. Many of us who think we have problems need to count our blessings.

  • @VillagIdiot
    @VillagIdiot 10 місяців тому +11

    This just became awful relevant.

  • @chickenpasta7359
    @chickenpasta7359 4 роки тому +1576

    This guy was in so much pain to the point where he literally walked away from everything he knew

    • @dbergerac9632
      @dbergerac9632 3 роки тому +47

      That seems somewhat common among a class of defectors which are apolitical. Lt. Belenko was in a similar "What do I have to lose? I have no life here" state of mind when he defected to the US. He also did not defect due to politics, but simple dissatisfaction.

    • @vudangtung5638
      @vudangtung5638 3 роки тому +58

      Dude literrally walked across a minefield to get out.

    • @johnklm5465
      @johnklm5465 3 роки тому +15

      He's weak and pathetic, people suffered much more than him.

    • @theresag1969
      @theresag1969 3 роки тому +1

      Liberally.

    • @theresag1969
      @theresag1969 3 роки тому +7

      @Nick Logan
      Easy for you to say since you have something.

  • @ChalkInTheLand
    @ChalkInTheLand 2 роки тому +2411

    What a childhood this man had. As a parent, I could never fathom abandoning my kid. That's a whole new level of evil

    • @michelleevans5531
      @michelleevans5531 2 роки тому +31

      There was a lot of that, but not all families that were cruel, in that era out of financial desperation unfortunately. WW2 brought a lot of rationing and hard times.

    • @resiefan3258
      @resiefan3258 2 роки тому +50

      Sadly today women and family courts are pushing men to give up their right to their kids. I've been to family court 4 times in 13 years for my son.....i'm not going a 5th time, I was bassically told by the judge on the 4th visit there that as soon as your son is 13 he can choose where to live permanently.

    • @mickeymyers13
      @mickeymyers13 2 роки тому +8

      @@resiefan3258 I wish u all the best, my friend. I hope he'll be reunited with you soon. How long till he turns 13? Hang in there brother, hang in there. Do it for him. Chin up, keep living and be strong 👍🏻

    • @ChalkInTheLand
      @ChalkInTheLand 2 роки тому +4

      @@resiefan3258 Wow. I'm sorry to hear you're going through that with your kid. Good luck. I sincerely hope it works out for you

    • @pythondre
      @pythondre Рік тому

      Males with whore mothers shouldn't be allowed to participate in the decision making process of society.

  • @marcwilliams1942
    @marcwilliams1942 10 місяців тому +6

    This must be what Travis King is trying to do

  • @paulmcdonald4232
    @paulmcdonald4232 10 місяців тому +4

    Here we are, 2023, & once again another one crossed the line.

  • @bladudemovies
    @bladudemovies 4 роки тому +2617

    Imagine how his first wife must have felt upon hearing this information.
    “Wow. I was such a bad person my husband willingly defected to North Korea for a better life.”

    • @rajgill7576
      @rajgill7576 4 роки тому +79

      This dude was such a deadbeat knock lol, I dont think she blames herself

    • @2yoyoyo1Unplugged
      @2yoyoyo1Unplugged 4 роки тому +569

      Raj Gill deadbeat? She cheated while he was serving! He wasn’t neglecting her, he was stationed abroad and couldn’t refuse his orders.

    • @rajgill7576
      @rajgill7576 4 роки тому +66

      @@2yoyoyo1Unplugged if she cheated sounds like they were both on a path to destruction. my point stands

    • @TomTV23
      @TomTV23 4 роки тому +7

      Cc: Pilot episode of The Big Bang Theory

    • @TheLinus1997
      @TheLinus1997 4 роки тому +227

      Hahaha you think she felt bad a single millisecond of her rotten life? Naah

  • @Larping101
    @Larping101 4 роки тому +1342

    I like how they used a current photo of Richmond, Va and just popped a greyscale filter on it.

    • @hamos4744
      @hamos4744 4 роки тому +3

      Wait really? Where?

    • @JimLahey1234
      @JimLahey1234 4 роки тому +21

      Popped up on screen right when i read this lmao

    • @Larping101
      @Larping101 4 роки тому +28

      @@hamos4744 it's towards the beginning of the video, 1:12

    • @SixCyxSix
      @SixCyxSix 4 роки тому

      Hamos 47 brother

    • @intheshade3018
      @intheshade3018 4 роки тому +2

      Modern problems...

  • @Jumbopoptv
    @Jumbopoptv 10 місяців тому +6

    It just happened again today

  • @israelayoade
    @israelayoade 10 місяців тому +7

    Me watching this after Travis King defected. Oh! he is not the first 😂

    • @ricardodumas9161
      @ricardodumas9161 10 місяців тому

      Still way less than the North Korean defectors to the South. So far only seven Americans have defected to the North, and before King the last one was in 1982.

  • @mehicantaco4757
    @mehicantaco4757 3 роки тому +3160

    Next up: German solider who voluntarily worked in a gulag for his entire life.

    • @mangodip2170
      @mangodip2170 3 роки тому +18

      Well that's something.

    • @salsacolasa5021
      @salsacolasa5021 3 роки тому +152

      Ярослав Л lol millions died in gulags

    • @adamb162
      @adamb162 3 роки тому +118

      @Ярослав Л lmao have you ever spoken to a gulag survivor? They were hell on earth. Prisons in america are a 4 star all inclusive resort in comparison

    • @maximaldinotrap
      @maximaldinotrap 3 роки тому +60

      @Ярослав Л Gulags are nowhere near as bad as regular American prisons?
      Doubt you have been in a Gulag in your life.

    • @KeysAndDoorss
      @KeysAndDoorss 3 роки тому +47

      Ярослав Л bro what

  • @lnfestissumam
    @lnfestissumam 4 роки тому +4479

    "born in Richmond, VA"
    Yeah I would defect to North Korea too

    • @drezwider
      @drezwider 4 роки тому +35

      Facts

    • @robertbundick93
      @robertbundick93 4 роки тому +159

      I'd say the heroin and crime but yeah

    • @FrothyFawn
      @FrothyFawn 4 роки тому +56

      Robert Bundick completely agree, but I’m planning to go into the Marines and be a loyal defender of my Country America

    • @jerry85g7
      @jerry85g7 4 роки тому +84

      @@FrothyFawn Try not to kill innocent people.

    • @jerry85g7
      @jerry85g7 4 роки тому +3

      @@mr_sir1533 What's wrong with the black people from there?

  • @bandulad7695
    @bandulad7695 9 місяців тому +17

    Feel so bad for this soldier, the world was against him his entire life. Hope he found some kind of happiness.

  • @williamyoung9401
    @williamyoung9401 Рік тому +7

    When a child is not meant to feel love or welcome by their own family, don't be surprised at what they do later in life.

  • @lukeburston00
    @lukeburston00 3 роки тому +827

    His life in North Korea sounds like the Truman show

    • @lauraelizabethbrown
      @lauraelizabethbrown 3 роки тому +31

      Everyone's life in NK is the Truman show. The only difference is that most of them are trying not to die

    • @Horde1Blades
      @Horde1Blades 3 роки тому +27

      @@lauraelizabethbrown More like the TRAUMA show lol, Amirite? Comedy.

    • @chocolateking1143
      @chocolateking1143 3 роки тому +4

      Lol I know right. At least when he wanted a new wife or girlfriend he just has to go to his favorite restaurant.

    • @cashkitty3472
      @cashkitty3472 3 роки тому

      They started together for the rest of their life because divorce isn't really an option in NK even though it allegedly is.

  • @Nine5Vader
    @Nine5Vader 4 роки тому +1222

    This guy was married and divorced before the age of 20? That's rough

    • @FizCap
      @FizCap 4 роки тому +69

      That's not uncommon. The army is a miserable organization for some, so I felt James Dresnok on this one.

    • @ElijahJenkins2196
      @ElijahJenkins2196 4 роки тому +12

      Lmao that’s the army 😂

    • @josephjakubec3171
      @josephjakubec3171 4 роки тому +85

      My wife filed for divorce when I was in Viet Nam. I was 19. Don't mean nothing.

    • @joehouseman5264
      @joehouseman5264 4 роки тому +32

      That’s the Military for you. Happens all the time. In the Army, the Air Force, the Marines, and the Navy.

    • @Dylan_The_Car_Dealer
      @Dylan_The_Car_Dealer 4 роки тому +1

      That’s normal Brodsky

  • @giovannidomenech4321
    @giovannidomenech4321 2 роки тому +6

    This was an eye opener for me! What incredible stories! Thank you for this obscure and hidden history a truly remarkable documentary.

  • @kristianwilliamson6527
    @kristianwilliamson6527 10 місяців тому +34

    Imagine being treated better by strangers in another country and given more respect than he ever was in the United States. This guy's life is the story of the death of the American dream. No wonder he liked it there so much

    • @mli3083
      @mli3083 10 місяців тому

      That's similar to what happens in Crash Landing on You

    • @thebangkokconnection4080
      @thebangkokconnection4080 10 місяців тому

      This guy dead from starvation.

    • @kristianwilliamson6527
      @kristianwilliamson6527 10 місяців тому +2

      @@thebangkokconnection4080 he died from a stroke at 75, (which is literally the life expectancy of white Americans in the US) not starvation. Did you even finish the video?

  • @charlie15627
    @charlie15627 4 роки тому +1220

    An unintelligent young man, who had been treated like crap by nearly every person he knew. Was put in a position where he could do whatever he wanted and treat others like crap, if he wished.
    You figure it out.

    • @randymoran67
      @randymoran67 4 роки тому +13

      A trumptard!

    • @charlie15627
      @charlie15627 4 роки тому +174

      Trumptard, Libtard.
      Same kind of fool.
      Just following different ideologies

    • @Spartan265
      @Spartan265 4 роки тому +94

      @@randymoran67 I'm no Trump supporter by any means but y'know calling people trumptards isn't going to get them to be open minded about stuff. Instead you doing that just further makes them think Trump is right. Instead try discussion stuff with people politely. It'll get you far in life.

    • @randymoran67
      @randymoran67 4 роки тому +6

      @@Spartan265 Open minded ? One must have a mind to open first! Lol!

    • @mrdumbfellow927
      @mrdumbfellow927 4 роки тому +56

      @@randymoran67 At this point I give your trolling a C- , I applaud your effort with the second post though. If you are being serious I give you a F at being a human-being.

  • @r2b2ct1
    @r2b2ct1 4 роки тому +3602

    Honestly, he probably did have a better life than he would have had in America. He had everything provided for him, was part of he elite class, and literally became a celebrity. It's not hard to understand why he had no patriotism for the US considering his life was awful and he was constantly abused by those around him.

    • @lgbtqiarights
      @lgbtqiarights 4 роки тому +153

      r2b2ct1 while that is true i dont think we should go on 100% with it considering the fact north korea aims brainwashing propaganda to their own children. there’s a video on yt where a guy is just touring NK and some kids randomly walk up to him when he’s laying down and calling him a western devil.

    • @pavelh756
      @pavelh756 4 роки тому +51

      Yet he didn't ever try to do anything to have a better life

    • @bigweevil
      @bigweevil 4 роки тому +172

      @@zuya4580 Sounds like North Korean propaganda, but ok

    • @zuya4580
      @zuya4580 4 роки тому +31

      @@bigweevillol apparently the Korean War is just propaganda

    • @bigweevil
      @bigweevil 4 роки тому +110

      @@zuya4580 yeah sure the Korean War, where the UN intervened to stop North Korean aggression was TOTALLY the US bombing and raping North Koreans

  • @Hammster69official
    @Hammster69official 2 роки тому +44

    Dresnok wasn't complex at all. He was simply a guy who spent his whole life running away from his problems, until he finally ran into a place where he couldn't run anymore. I'm sure he died happy, so good for him.

    • @davidcook680
      @davidcook680 Рік тому +5

      No he just wanted a simple nice life. His entire childhood than into adulthood sounds terrible.

  • @Draxler01k
    @Draxler01k 10 місяців тому +4

    Now we might have a part 2

  • @picklev5064
    @picklev5064 4 роки тому +3737

    The only reason he received such a good life in NK is because he went along with want they wanted him to say and they only allowed him to see what they wanted him to. He was essentially living the trueman show life but he never caught on to the scam.

    • @IncognitoSprax
      @IncognitoSprax 4 роки тому +410

      No more of a scam than the American Dream which he learned early.

    • @dantheman1998
      @dantheman1998 4 роки тому +96

      Bliss in ignorance...but from what he came from , that was more then enough.

    • @iamhungey12345
      @iamhungey12345 4 роки тому +160

      I don't think he really cared considering how his life was initially. The guy's life would probably make an interesting Oscar bait movie.

    • @drumguy1384
      @drumguy1384 4 роки тому +191

      Or he did catch on, but didn't care because he thought it was the best life he could ever hope to have.

    • @matt-ti9ed
      @matt-ti9ed 4 роки тому +158

      @@IncognitoSprax the American dream is what you make of it, you still gotta work hard, just because you aren't successful doesn't mean it isnt true

  • @Cocochantelle
    @Cocochantelle 3 роки тому +2194

    3 minutes in and I can’t even imagine the pain of being rejected 4 times by adults and seeing your brother being accepted... :(

    • @alexandersmagin4769
      @alexandersmagin4769 2 роки тому +1

      he was a bad kid. why not

    • @eduardcruceru9004
      @eduardcruceru9004 2 роки тому +118

      @@alexandersmagin4769 i wonder why he was a "bad kid". Maybe it was the fact nobody loved him

    • @alexandersmagin4769
      @alexandersmagin4769 2 роки тому +38

      @@eduardcruceru9004 exactly. nobody loved him because...? everybody was an asshole and he was the only good one?

    • @russschinkey7783
      @russschinkey7783 2 роки тому

      @OJDUDE 💩

    • @genericscout5408
      @genericscout5408 2 роки тому +38

      @OJDUDE there are plenty of bad kids. there are bad people all the time. And plenty of people live through shitty circumstances without being shitty people themselves.

  • @lapislazarus8899
    @lapislazarus8899 2 роки тому +8

    Dresnok took the only chance ever availed to him for happiness and stability. The USA sure as hell wasn't going to do a thing for him. I say good for him. May he rest in peace.

  • @FloutchBW
    @FloutchBW 7 місяців тому +3

    We shouldn't criticize the fact that he went to North Korea, but rather criticize the fact that he was destined to be destroyed back home in the US with no hope to ever get better, and that he managed to get a very comfortable life in North Korea instead. The American dream is definitely not for everyone, particularly not for those who come from the very bottom.

  • @steven95N
    @steven95N 4 роки тому +1848

    *Wife dies*
    Guess I'll go out to that resturant i love so much.

    • @Ontime2day
      @Ontime2day 4 роки тому +121

      In his defense, I think it was the Only restaurant.

    • @___LC___
      @___LC___ 4 роки тому +89

      Guess North Korea will kidnap another wife for me.

    • @1fastmex
      @1fastmex 4 роки тому +4

      😭👌

    • @johnk7302
      @johnk7302 4 роки тому +9

      @@___LC___ yup that's pretty much how it seems to have went down based on the video.

    • @happyheals3755
      @happyheals3755 3 роки тому +2

      ,ill have 1 thai wife and nr 69 on the side

  • @lesarch
    @lesarch 2 роки тому +2884

    “He was so tired of obeying orders all the time” so he went to a country where everyone obeys orders all the time.
    Edit: lmao at all the people defending North Korea implying it’s better there than the US or that the US is the same as North Korea. Bruh, learn to appreciate what you have now. You’re too blind to see how bad North Korea actually is.

    • @MrJonrocker
      @MrJonrocker 2 роки тому +45

      ...or get shot.

    • @davikha4wind369
      @davikha4wind369 2 роки тому +42

      No, no! he was tired of obeying the military apparatus that subordinates itself to the Anglo Saxon elite of bloodthirsty killers. NWO rules the West and we are useful bodies to them.

    • @dnw009
      @dnw009 2 роки тому +167

      @@davikha4wind369 Ah yes far better to defect to North Korea instead of just leaving the military.

    • @erisgh0sted961
      @erisgh0sted961 2 роки тому +17

      If you think NK is such a well oiled machine that everyone follows orders all the time. You're delusional at best. There might be a lot of rules, but everything is so corrupt that pretty much no one who isn't a top paid military official gaf.

    • @jamarjames9501
      @jamarjames9501 2 роки тому +48

      Maybe he wanted more discipline. Maybe the military wasn't tough enough do he figured he go see if hell is any hotter 😂

  • @congoballs9725
    @congoballs9725 10 місяців тому +4

    I got a feeling there will be a new Video on this topic

  • @davidcook680
    @davidcook680 Рік тому +7

    I think going to North Korea he found what he was looking for. A place he felt welcomed. Sounds like to me living there made him happy. Good for him.

  • @reeeec
    @reeeec 3 роки тому +2736

    Let's be serious
    His sons are living a high life in a crappy country being with the elites

    • @user-my7dg9su3g
      @user-my7dg9su3g 3 роки тому +74

      Just because they dont want to let NATO into the country doesn't make the country crappy

    • @johnwayne3058
      @johnwayne3058 3 роки тому +959

      @@user-my7dg9su3g no but mass starvation does

    • @teonyi
      @teonyi 3 роки тому +530

      @@user-my7dg9su3g it’s a crappy country, just a fact

    • @Layra151301
      @Layra151301 3 роки тому +368

      @@user-my7dg9su3g people are killed for being different, for not smiling, for following every rule to a T, being lied to every single day, etc. that's why (and more) the country is crappy. So stop. I'm sure they'll welcome you with open arms nowadays so please have at it.

    • @Layra151301
      @Layra151301 3 роки тому +28

      @@user-my7dg9su3g you would have a kirito pfp smh

  • @Goodboysforlife
    @Goodboysforlife 4 роки тому +382

    Dude...
    This poor poor man. I can't even imagine having a childhood that traumatic.

    • @dcxxxx
      @dcxxxx 4 роки тому +62

      My brother works with kids who are "troubled", so to speak. He said "You wonder why a kid behaves so badly....then you meet the parents and it allllllll makes sense."

    • @Jerbt
      @Jerbt 3 роки тому +1

      dcxxxx so you hit them with the belt so they won't be a pain in the ass

    • @alexryan15
      @alexryan15 3 роки тому +22

      @@Jerbt you beat the /*parents*/ with the belt to fix all of the problems lmao

    • @chrono-glitchwaterlily8776
      @chrono-glitchwaterlily8776 3 роки тому

      @@alexryan15 excuse me what? You want a death sentence?

    • @Goodboysforlife
      @Goodboysforlife 3 роки тому +9

      @Nick Logan I'm not apologizing for treason. I'm making an observation about how shitty his childhood was. Regardless of how much I might disagree with or find what he did disgraceful and appalling. Im still a human being. I never made any apologies for his actions as an adult I merely pointed out how much a child suffered. And somehow you wanted to one up his suffering because you're apparently such a good and virtuous person. That's all good and virtuous people think about, you know? How much better they are than a child who experienced damn near unimaginable suffering.

  • @Eric-mh2eq
    @Eric-mh2eq 10 місяців тому +5

    Simon, bet you enjoy the sudden upswing in views on this old video.

  • @MultiSciGeek
    @MultiSciGeek Рік тому +6

    What a tragic story to be honest! This should be a movie! It's like trying to find the perfect life but each country keeps screwing you over.

  • @sonnyburnett8725
    @sonnyburnett8725 3 роки тому +1267

    Can’t imagine being so unloved as a kid. Living in a car with your brother while mom is out hooking and drinking.

    • @nicetrydick
      @nicetrydick 3 роки тому +6

      Sounds like a fun time

    • @cleitonfelipe2092
      @cleitonfelipe2092 3 роки тому +45

      @@nicetrydick for her lol

    • @katherinetutschek4757
      @katherinetutschek4757 3 роки тому +104

      I actually think his mother cared about him. Working as a prostitute is a fast way to make a lot of cash compared to other jobs, especially if she doesn't want to be anywhere too long or leave a paper trail that could be tracked. And night time at bars is where most of your clientele will be.
      I think the courts just disapproved of her job, and assumed she was a bad mother. If she didn't want the children she wouldn't have taken them.

    • @lakshamiganesh8113
      @lakshamiganesh8113 3 роки тому +60

      Actually it was his dad that didn't love him ! His father should have been put into prison for abandoning his family !

    • @pokemasterx4244
      @pokemasterx4244 3 роки тому +43

      @@cleitonfelipe2092 no. She didn't do it out of pleasure. It's reminiscent of the mother in Les Miserables who had no other option but to sell herself; the alternative being to starve. It's not really a funny thing to joke about. She did it to survive.

  • @wonderweirdo6457
    @wonderweirdo6457 4 роки тому +894

    James was probably emotionally and psychologically vulnerable because of what he'd been through his whole life. He was desperate for a place to fit in and the North Koreans saw the more they put into him the more they got out. They decided to keep him happy to use him for their own purposes and it worked since he died loving the DRNK.

    • @sadmanpranto9026
      @sadmanpranto9026 4 роки тому +78

      I thought it's called DPRK (democratic People's Republic of Korea)

    • @tripodmasquerade3551
      @tripodmasquerade3551 4 роки тому +33

      @@sadmanpranto9026 Yeah, they don't like being called North Korea, in fact, I think it might even be illegal there if my memory serves me right.

    • @wonderweirdo6457
      @wonderweirdo6457 4 роки тому +6

      @@sadmanpranto9026 Oopsy

    • @MrPoupard
      @MrPoupard 4 роки тому +8

      Impossible not to feel sympathy for him … for his life.

    • @baldeagle5297
      @baldeagle5297 4 роки тому +26

      @@MrPoupard No, it is possible. Many people have undergone similar trauma yet lived decent, productive lives.

  • @wheelyturtles7922
    @wheelyturtles7922 10 місяців тому +4

    Can't wait to see the next video after today's news

  • @GooseGumlizzard
    @GooseGumlizzard Рік тому

    this is a fascinating story. one of the best i've seen on this channel so far.

  • @fo3nixz877
    @fo3nixz877 3 роки тому +3117

    the grass might be greener, but the snakes are even bigger

    • @thereforeayam
      @thereforeayam 3 роки тому +42

      ...of course 'the grass' is more green...it says a U.S. soldier defecated on North Korea.

    • @fo3nixz877
      @fo3nixz877 3 роки тому +20

      @@thereforeayam so he took a number 2 that side? lul si north koreans toilets beter and its defected NOT defecated

    • @charliesmith2160
      @charliesmith2160 3 роки тому +14

      @@thereforeayam please tell me you didn’t rly think it said defecated, right

    • @sus4644
      @sus4644 3 роки тому +35

      @@thereforeayam "HE POOPED *ON NORTH KOREA"*

    • @johnwayne7673
      @johnwayne7673 3 роки тому +34

      I dont think anyone thinks the grass is greener in north Korea

  • @rutrem09
    @rutrem09 3 роки тому +758

    If living in North Korea was good for him...what the hell was going on in Virgina in the 1960?!?!

    • @terricksmith8754
      @terricksmith8754 3 роки тому +75

      Segregation

    • @ericb6390
      @ericb6390 3 роки тому +36

      Look at him, he looks slow in the head

    • @marcusbullock630
      @marcusbullock630 3 роки тому +36

      he made more money than *you*
      So let that sink in- a person you consider 'slow' was more successful than you. You know what that means, right?

    • @marcusbullock630
      @marcusbullock630 3 роки тому +7

      @Abserd O then simple logic would dictate to follow suit, i mean since you're *SOOOOO* smart, you'd do a better job of it than he, *right* ? It was not a gamble. he saw what was happening and took advantage of it. that's opportunism and it's the most effective survival strategy outside of predator satiation.

    • @marcusbullock630
      @marcusbullock630 3 роки тому +2

      @Abserd O during an unjust war with no reason behind it, mind you. you cant just throw the dereliction of duty card like that, even a patriot like myself acknowledges this.

  • @kelsiewilson
    @kelsiewilson 10 місяців тому +4

    Now he has a new friend

    • @denman2991
      @denman2991 10 місяців тому +2

      Dresnok died in 2016

    • @kelsiewilson
      @kelsiewilson 10 місяців тому +2

      @@denman2991 oops, you are right. Well, I guess North Korea now has a replacement.

  • @DREKOWICK69
    @DREKOWICK69 10 місяців тому +4

    this about to blow up

  • @apex3d595
    @apex3d595 4 роки тому +544

    "became a massage therapist in Bangkok" now thats a line I need on my resume.

    • @Oblio1942
      @Oblio1942 3 роки тому +21

      I know youre supposed to add fluff onto your resume, but everyone knows you just mean 'hooker'

    • @clarky23
      @clarky23 3 роки тому +6

      I wonder if her sessions had "happy endings?" LOL

    • @aaliyahplayingroblox8669
      @aaliyahplayingroblox8669 3 роки тому

      well, aren't they all? haha

    • @kanapotetakerngkeat3506
      @kanapotetakerngkeat3506 3 роки тому

      Huh, I’m a pure Thai that was born in Bangkok, I guess I had to be the massage guy

    • @timelkin838
      @timelkin838 3 роки тому

      @@clarky23 For sure they did and that's why a kidnapped her. I bet it was a north korean that had a happy ending. It's not like they randomally picked her although it seems pretty random until you find out what she did.

  • @S0RGEx
    @S0RGEx 3 роки тому +2425

    Honestly? I kinda get it. This man literally had nothing in his life. Nothing that made him happy, nothing to give it meaning, nothing to sustain himself, nothing to look forward to in the future. He quite literally had nothing to lose, so he took a chance. And it seems it worked out for him.

    • @taimur_tt7635
      @taimur_tt7635 3 роки тому +50

      But the America dream was quite literally a dream for him XD

    • @taimur_tt7635
      @taimur_tt7635 3 роки тому +8

      So he decided to take a risk for a brewer future an it all went in his favour

    • @taimur_tt7635
      @taimur_tt7635 3 роки тому +3

      What happened to his little brother though ?

    • @jew_world_order
      @jew_world_order 3 роки тому +134

      @Christopher Grant He's essentially living the American dream in north Korea while there are homeless all over the US

    • @Tbiblaine23
      @Tbiblaine23 3 роки тому +122

      @@jew_world_order Why are you all over this channel being a North Korean propagandist?

  • @trewells
    @trewells 10 місяців тому +4

    And here we are again, another American soldier goes across the border.

  • @chillarypuff
    @chillarypuff Рік тому +1

    What an interesting story. Thanks for sharing, love your channel!

  • @LucidDream
    @LucidDream 4 роки тому +445

    He didn't just walk over. He ran in broad daylight through a minefield.

    • @ronmeier8850
      @ronmeier8850 4 роки тому

      Nope no mine-field...

    • @comrade4329
      @comrade4329 4 роки тому +13

      @@ronmeier8850 also watch tower and alot of soldiers

    • @Hannibalkakihara
      @Hannibalkakihara 3 роки тому +22

      Its a truly sad story. Having to do that and defect to NORTH KOREA of all places must mean life was pretty bad to him

    • @Snibble
      @Snibble 3 роки тому +4

      @@sushimidnight9539 Still it's a sad story idiots like that exist and miltiplie.

    • @memine5667
      @memine5667 3 роки тому

      Isn't the point of a dmz is to be weapons free? Aka no mines?

  • @RandomGuyComments
    @RandomGuyComments 3 роки тому +677

    He's never heard of Square Space or Raid Shadow Legends over in NK. There are *some* benefits

  • @JoshDerenburger
    @JoshDerenburger 10 місяців тому +1

    This in mid 2023 when another soldier defected to escape court martial really adds to it

  • @A1CLGroup
    @A1CLGroup Рік тому +2

    Not a traitor, but a lone man. Cheers guy who defected

  • @Antman5
    @Antman5 4 роки тому +779

    Sounds like someone felt like a plastic bag, drifting through the wind, wanting to start again...

    • @kylecupp9649
      @kylecupp9649 4 роки тому +44

      He probably felt as thin as a house of cards, and that one blow of wind, caved him in

    • @byronsiamelis4507
      @byronsiamelis4507 4 роки тому +27

      Is that a reference from 'The Interview' by any chance?

    • @libertyprime619
      @libertyprime619 3 роки тому +33

      @@byronsiamelis4507 no it's a katy Perry song tf

    • @kylecupp9649
      @kylecupp9649 3 роки тому +5

      @@byronsiamelis4507 is that movie the first time you'd ever heard that song? Katy perry dropped that banger in like 09 🤣

    • @byronsiamelis4507
      @byronsiamelis4507 3 роки тому +26

      @@libertyprime619 The movie 'The Interview' is about an interview in North Korea about Kim Jung Un, and as it's a comedy, he ends up having a breakdown because of the lyrics "plastic bag, drifting through the wind, wanting to start again" so since this is a video about North Korea, I assumed that the connection was relevant, but okay.

  • @krisaaron8180
    @krisaaron8180 2 роки тому +3597

    Keep in mind that even if he changed his mind the moment he got there, it was already too late. He would not be allowed to leave. He would survive by spending the rest of his life saying and doing what was required to make the country look good. We will never know what really happened.

    • @boyar1978
      @boyar1978 2 роки тому +235

      i can easily do that. I talk about how horrible the USA is all the time and no one pays me to do it.

    • @deathbysodomy4124
      @deathbysodomy4124 2 роки тому +143

      @@boyar1978 why would they pay you to spit venom and lies?

    • @Stellar_Politics
      @Stellar_Politics 2 роки тому +93

      ​@@deathbysodomy4124 "Venom and lies", so all the US poverty, war crimes, imperialism, intervention, disparity, etc is okay with you? If you see any sort of criticism against your country as venom and lies, you realize that's dogmatic and brainwashed thinking?

    • @Stellar_Politics
      @Stellar_Politics 2 роки тому +114

      "He would not be allowed to leave" but North Koreans left to China and the USSR all the time, they can get passports and even to this day you'll see scores of them going on vacation or business trips, literally are allowed to visit 42+ countries, and from those countries, leave into other ones if they wish.

    • @nebula2339
      @nebula2339 2 роки тому +79

      @@Stellar_Politics north koreans aren't allowed to leave are you slow

  • @r3dd3ath83
    @r3dd3ath83 10 місяців тому +5

    Who's here after Travis King?

  • @kennethbowers2897
    @kennethbowers2897 Рік тому +2

    One one hand he mad a drastic mistake, but on the other can we really blame him? The dude never once lived a whole normal day as a child and felt nothing but despair

  • @Pazaroni436
    @Pazaroni436 4 роки тому +382

    There is an old Roman saying:
    Better be first in the village instead of being second in the city

    • @aluisious
      @aluisious 4 роки тому +27

      There's a lot more hot chicks in the city. I'll take the #2 chick in Rome over the #1 chick in...some village.

    • @Johan-ez5wo
      @Johan-ez5wo 4 роки тому +52

      all Roman sayings are old

    • @Aengrod
      @Aengrod 4 роки тому +9

      @@aluisious lots of used cars

    • @busterbiloxi3833
      @busterbiloxi3833 4 роки тому +1

      To Reign in Hell, etc...

    • @ghostdeep2542
      @ghostdeep2542 4 роки тому

      Please further elaborate the meaning of that saying.

  • @masonlevine4356
    @masonlevine4356 3 роки тому +475

    When my mother was a young girl in rural South Korea, North Korean airplanes would drop fliers urging citizens to defect. They featured drawings of beautiful people, and rolling fields of grain.

    • @pietroboggio1642
      @pietroboggio1642 3 роки тому +25

      Yes..but the truth was so different.!

    • @andreasmith6248
      @andreasmith6248 3 роки тому +52

      What a horrible trap 😔

    • @ArtyomCCCP
      @ArtyomCCCP 3 роки тому +74

      @@pietroboggio1642 NK had a better economy than south between 50s until end of 80s.

    • @pietroboggio1642
      @pietroboggio1642 3 роки тому +3

      Just like URSS and USA...

    • @MARfilms
      @MARfilms 3 роки тому +71

      @@ArtyomCCCP until the end of the 60s. By the 70s North & South Korea became mostly equal in their economy, by the 80s SK started to overtake (Name due to the Boom in Japan which SK had massive trade deals with), and by the 90s the two were no longer even close.

  • @nenegrey2282
    @nenegrey2282 7 місяців тому +3

    I know it seems impossible but at one point in time after the war, North Korea was actually more advanced than South Korea. As he pointed out, South Koreans lived in poverty while skyscrapers were being built in North Korea. It didn't last and in the 70s the economy started to deteriorate. But I can understand why some people at the time decided to defect to the North.

  • @Joy-TheLazyCatLady
    @Joy-TheLazyCatLady Рік тому +16

    Sometimes we believe what we want to believe because it's easier than facing the truth. Freedom means different things to different people. Dresnok's childhood gave him a skewed view of America and freedom. As far as he was concerned he had everything he wanted in North Korea and he was willing to say or do whatever he had to to keep it. Even if he was tortured and whatever, he still had more than he'd ever had before. That was his truth.

  • @stevez.6805
    @stevez.6805 3 роки тому +611

    He was just living the North Korean dream yo...

    • @nicolasmartin9463
      @nicolasmartin9463 3 роки тому +25

      Totally, its my dream life, I would be blessed to see the glorious leader.

    • @DaVeganZombie
      @DaVeganZombie 3 роки тому +21

      In North Korea the government tells you what you dream.

    • @AeneasGemini
      @AeneasGemini 3 роки тому +4

      Nothing like a dream built upon genocide and a police state

    • @Journey_Awaits
      @Journey_Awaits 3 роки тому +8

      I got in one little fight and Kim Jong Un got scared he said you’re moving with auntie and uncle to Pyongyang

    • @Blorb137
      @Blorb137 3 роки тому +5

      @@AeneasGemini So america then?

  • @hamfistsman6267
    @hamfistsman6267 4 роки тому +475

    I have a feeling his fellow soldiers were giving him hell.

    • @aztecwarrior1421
      @aztecwarrior1421 4 роки тому +6

      Only if he was a douchgad

    • @ogueyratogeyrat7448
      @ogueyratogeyrat7448 4 роки тому +50

      Bullying in america is common

    • @dl2one
      @dl2one 4 роки тому +2

      FULL METAL JACKET

    • @btg2k
      @btg2k 4 роки тому +34

      Unfortunately, in the American Armed Forces, we eat our own.

    • @redstorm4111
      @redstorm4111 4 роки тому +3

      Hamfists Man welcome to life in the armed forces

  • @susanaldawood5480
    @susanaldawood5480 9 місяців тому

    Thanks for the Info.God bless!

  • @nico348
    @nico348 10 місяців тому +4

    You got a sequel coming up.

  • @sailingadventuresofawelshm4710
    @sailingadventuresofawelshm4710 4 роки тому +188

    At least jenkins found real love as she stayed with him when they moved to japan

  • @dmonvrlies40
    @dmonvrlies40 4 роки тому +1512

    Man, this guy had a messed up life. Can't even blame him, honestly. I don't think his life would have been any better had he stayed in America.

    • @davidschmidt270
      @davidschmidt270 4 роки тому +88

      It would not have been.....he literally became a movie star.....think about that... How crazy is life....I think about stuff like that all the time....just get fed up one day( isn't that most of us right now?) Switch up and finds some happiness

    • @jeltje50
      @jeltje50 4 роки тому +40

      But muh American dream!! This guy could have made a bazillion dollars maybe!!

    • @cleshsesh6155
      @cleshsesh6155 4 роки тому +34

      @Taps fan He wasnt speaking for you, he was speaking for himself, and alot of other people.

    • @robertp457
      @robertp457 4 роки тому +22

      Daimon Verlies you certainly can blame him. Once he joined the Army that was his chance, but he screwed that up all on his own.

    • @robertp457
      @robertp457 4 роки тому +28

      Thucydides he was not evil that ridiculous hyperbole. He wanted a good life but didn’t want to work for it.

  • @JumpDaddy70
    @JumpDaddy70 2 роки тому

    For clarification, in the army you don't have very much control over where you go only during the first contract. When you reenlist you get choice of duty station

  • @noctusoverdroid425
    @noctusoverdroid425 4 роки тому +3965

    Hey Simon, when you hit 1 Million, you should do a video about yourself.

    • @DrymouthCWW
      @DrymouthCWW 4 роки тому +21

      Whiiiisssttlllllleeee

    • @jaywilliams9294
      @jaywilliams9294 4 роки тому +123

      We already know about Jonny sins

    • @unscenegamers
      @unscenegamers 4 роки тому +16

      Listen he put his professional jigalow to the stars lifestyle behind himself and doesn't want to bring it up again.

    • @noctusoverdroid425
      @noctusoverdroid425 4 роки тому +16

      @@Aleikey We're gonna make it happen.

    • @sarahburggraf907
      @sarahburggraf907 4 роки тому +1

      Yessss

  • @JoseMartinez-er6hx
    @JoseMartinez-er6hx 3 роки тому +951

    "Weren't allowed to marry North Korean women"
    Escapees: *Woah woah woah*

    • @charleswilliams5395
      @charleswilliams5395 3 роки тому +70

      Not allowed to marry North Korean women ,well I guess them good old boys were banging each other

    • @Inbal_Feuchtwanger
      @Inbal_Feuchtwanger 3 роки тому +132

      @@charleswilliams5395 NK government literally abducted a romanian woman to be his wife.

    • @MI-zt1wv
      @MI-zt1wv 3 роки тому +41

      Time to escape bois, mission FAILED

    • @sirsurnamethefirstofhisnam7986
      @sirsurnamethefirstofhisnam7986 3 роки тому +19

      @Pepelucho Ramos Arquingathe diplomat couldn’t marry her legally but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t still have sex without anyone noticing

    • @Michael_Chandler_Keaton
      @Michael_Chandler_Keaton 3 роки тому +6

      @@sirsurnamethefirstofhisnam7986 In North Korea?

  • @padthai411
    @padthai411 7 місяців тому +1

    Thanks that was really interesting.

  • @TerryDBlack
    @TerryDBlack Рік тому +2

    03:55 - “options in a career/Korea” 😂

  • @ignitionfrn2223
    @ignitionfrn2223 3 роки тому +1528

    1:00 - Chapter 1 - Early life
    3:30 - Chapter 2 - Growing up
    5:25 - Chapter 3 - Good morning DMZ
    8:25 - Chapter 4 - Welcome to the DPRK
    10:05 - Chapter 5 - In too deep
    12:30 - Chapter 6 - Becoming a celebrity
    16:00 - Chapter 7 - Later life & death

    • @Em-kd7ts
      @Em-kd7ts 3 роки тому +22

      Blesss

    • @trailerparksupervisor7046
      @trailerparksupervisor7046 3 роки тому +36

      Wow, you must have a lot of time on your hands.

    • @crooked420s5
      @crooked420s5 3 роки тому +10

      Thank you

    • @lizzie2103
      @lizzie2103 2 роки тому +7

      Thank you

    • @ehrgeiz5649
      @ehrgeiz5649 2 роки тому +21

      @@trailerparksupervisor7046 you’re a trailer park supervisor, I think you have too much time on your hands.

  • @andreww4012
    @andreww4012 3 роки тому +275

    This guys life sounds like one of those novels they'd make you read in school.

  • @Retarmy1
    @Retarmy1 8 місяців тому

    Good video it is amazing how you get all the information

  • @Jaggerbush
    @Jaggerbush Рік тому

    I like it more when infographics tells these type of stories. The graphics make it that much better.