Why we’ve stopped caring about North Korea (and why that’s the real problem)
It’s easy to tune out the horror stories from North Korea, but that apathy is exactly what the regime is banking on.
We all think we know the deal with North Korea. We see a headline about a missile test or some bizarre decree, roll our eyes, and keep scrolling. But Yoonseo Chae, who grew up there, says that our indifference is actually the second wall keeping people trapped.
Inside the country, you aren't born a rebel. You're born into a reality where the government owns your clothes, your hair, and your diary. Chae explains that she didn't even know she was being oppressed because she had no frame of reference for 'freedom.' It wasn't loyalty that kept her compliant; it was survival.
The regime knows exactly what it's doing. They execute people for watching foreign movies because they know those USB drives are the only thing that breaks the spell. If the regime wasn't terrified of outside information, they wouldn't kill people just for consuming it.
We treat human rights in North Korea like a permanent, unfixable background noise. But when the world actually pays attention, the regime occasionally blinks. We aren't just observers; we’re either part of the wall or part of the exit strategy. The most dangerous thing in politics isn't malice—it’s just getting used to the horror until it doesn't surprise you anymore.
Source: UPI
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