A Brief History of North Korea

[Ksharp1fan]

you're the coolest nerd I've ever seen

[GMaxis09]

I suggest please do slow down with the speaking :)

[newgamaster2215]

Damn jews

[gabrielhuanosto]

why couldnt you have been my history teacher?

[iliveonplanetspace]

They're so creative with names. 

[mkim1224]

WHY AREN'T YOUR VIDEOS WATCHED MOREEEEEEEEE

[ibreatheinthesky]

I don't know how to tell you I love you without sounding like the thousands of gratuitous internet strangers who tell other internet strangers that they love them, so I definitely won't say anything like that.

[HannahTheMidge]

(The point there is that because their GDP is so small, you can't even compare them to the US.)

[HannahTheMidge]

Their military is far from large. The PERCENT IF GDP THEY SPEND ON IT is definitely not the same thing as the SIZE.

[DanRezler]

@HannahTheMidge They have more active troops than the UK, France, Germany, and Italy combined. They are pretty big, make no mistake.

[ForYeensSake]

@DanRezler As far as I know their equipment is outdated so the size is pretty outdated. The reason they don't get taken out is because China and the U.S don't want a confrontation (for good reason). Or at least that's what I got taught in history classes.

[ForYeensSake]

@ForYeensSake pretty irrelevant*

[Iraydren]

@DanRezler Isn't it because they're forced into the military when they come of age?

[juliaforyourthoughts]

You are the third Green brother. That is all.

[hpobsessed21]

And now I'm terrified.

[Ovinicus]

Pfft, a sane dictator is just lame :P

[aRockandRollNerd]

The thumbnail gets sexier every time I see it.

[fishfriendsYeah]

interesting to who?

[Zulili14]

You should make more of these short quick history lessons! They are great!

[Damhazelton]

do south korea!

[theochung1]

Hi, Dan, you seem to know a lot about North Korea, but not in depth. You need higher education in the field. Study SAT for it.

[mermaidfairy08]

DANNNNN! Can make a video about SOPA! PLEEZ!

[applecroft17]

I love how educational Youtube can be.

[itsDyllen7]

DAN! I missed you! :D

[allshalldelight]

I like learning.

[Michelleseaotter]

@sasilmin dude, that's not what I was saying at all? Why doesn't N Korea prove that it is the way you say it is?

[w28700]

Wow I am South Korean and it's amazing that you know so much about Korean history. How did you learn this?

[looloolemon100]

Perfect thumbnail is perfect.

[SuPeRsTaR71679051]

Am I the only one thinking "Sasilmin" needs to get a hobby?

[JeMappelleHannah]

I always forget you're only 17. I'd put you at around 22, lol. :)

[Michelleseaotter]

@sasilmin Okay, if N Korea is such a magical and happy place, why do they keep the borders closed? Can't they show that all this "propaganda" is false? Or are they just trying to keep all the ice cream and sunshine to themselves?

[Sasilmin]

@Michelleseaotter because soviet union is collapsed and China betrayed them... zzz

[Sasilmin]

@Michelleseaotter don't you know that there are so many north koreans outside the country itself?? (except those bastards who escaped illegally..) more than 300 thousands and Russia, China, Eastern Europe, Western Europe (only UK Germany) and sweden finland etc... yes of course north koreans are not allowed to be in US... japan... still possible. as there are so many korean japanese are there... ONLY US is the problem... Canada, we still can go there.

[MoreMoreOrange]

this was really good! Well done on pulling together all that info! - Liam

[imrorykelly]

"how do you solve a problem like Koreaaaa?"

anybody.....musicals....ok... :(

[DanRezler]

@imrorykelly You Win.

[AWEandthenSOME42]

@imrorykelly Do I get a nerd points for singing that :3

[imrorykelly]

@AWEandthenSOME42 yes. at least 7 :)

[SammyCronin]

@imrorykelly The Sound of Music!!! :D

Is it bad that right after reading, "how do you solve", I immediately started singing the entire song?

I do get nerd points for it, though, right? X)

[imrorykelly]

@SammyCronin nope! i consider that awesome :) i had the whole song stuck in my head for the rest of the day so :)

and apparently the thing that @DanRezler (yes this is my delayed but inevitable reply to you) said i won is the authority to deal out nerd points-i, am honoured

i shall award you 8.345 because i like unusual numbers :)

CONGRATS!

[seeingblueskies]

@imrorykelly I wrote a research paper on Korea once, and I titled it: "How Do You Solve a Problem like Korea?" My teacher didn't get it and I had to pull up a Sound of Music video clip to try and explain it to him. Needless to say, he wasn't amused :P

[imrorykelly]

@seeingblueskies that. is. so. awesome. 27 nerd points!!! :P

[MsMHAP]

You forgot to mention that in part North Korea and its millions of starving children exists is because of China's invasion of South Korea during the Korean war.

[EffYeahHermione]

I'm really curious, what do you want to study in college, and/or be when you grow up? Clearly you really love history (I'm assuming that because of all the AWESOME history videos you've made), so is that what you want to do? Also, for the record, I think you're really, really cool :)

[princeruben00]

WOW!

[sostarfishyeah]

be a history teacher when you grow up.

[BasKeTcAsE409]

...how long did it take to draw that on the whiteboard?

[OnTheOtherHandle]

Thank you so much for this, Dan! You are really skilled at presenting history in an entertaining way without sacrificing the information. Please, do more history videos! :)

[tammytamnov]

What's also really interesting and also really upsetting is that there are basically no old people in North Korea, because the old people give whatever food they have to their younger relatives and then starve. Seriously, if there is a hell, I really sincerely hope that Kim Jong-il will burn there forever. It wouldn't make up for all the evil that he caused, but it's the least he can get.

[Voldey]

It will be a good day when we can finally utter the words "korea"

[WelllWhatCanISay]

I feel so enlightened.

[TorinoAndGriffith]

You are a lot like Hank in this video

[judyandthecat]

and that's the world we live in .....

[austrianmusicfreak]

i love your brief history series. as somebody who loves history i really appreciate you doing them. please keep on doing them. thanks.

[WayhoRachel]

There are so many times that I wanted to scream out " 'MURICA! F*ck yeah!!"

[DallasIsRokkoS]

and the end of 2012 as we know it.

[istealspoons]

I just got around to reading 1984. Over dinner last night, a friend and I were talking about whether people could really be brought up to believe such things. The party's admiration of Big Brother in that book is startling similar to North Korea's admiration of Kim Jong-il. So, yeah, I guess they can. Scary stuff.

[NathanIsReallyBored]

You should look up Jeffrey Lewis' video about the history or N. Korea

[duckpondwithoutducks]

Truth is stranger than fiction.

[Sasilmin]

@dan91709 the people who starvef to dead are already dead. The people who escaped are only the people who wanted money as south korean govt give them few hundred thounds dollars to those refugees. Zzzza and overall... there are money s korean refugees who came to n korea than the people who moved from north to south.

[Sasilmin]

@MrJellyBabiez come on man. Accept variety. Dont discriminate other idealogies. Btw.. north korea believes in socialism, not communism. Socialism and communism are different thing. Communism sucks. Its impossible.

[MrJellyBabiez]

@Sasilmin Still, he's coming out with crap. North Korea is a screwed up country, it's not how people should live. :/

[Sasilmin]

@MrJellyBabiez it's less screwed up than US at least where girls fuck guys at 14..zz

[Sasilmin]

@MrJellyBabiez i mean... opps. girls don't fuck guys... LOL... i mean guys fuck girls even though they are teenagers... so many prostitutes and pornography all over the country... Attacking other countries for resources (example, US . EVEN THOUGH saddam was a bitch)...but still... North korean are good people. i know that. cause i lived there...

[JeMappelleHannah]

@Sasilmin communism doesn't "suck", it's an ideal and great idea, but so far it hasn't been succesful... and it might not ever be succesful lol

[Sasilmin]

@JeMappelleHannah communism sucks. it's impossible. however, socialism is great idea!

[Sasilmin]

@dan91709 threatening others? North korea? Oh pls. Did north korea ever used nuvlear bomb before? Its only USA, who bombed hiroshima and nagasaki with automic bomb and killed so many innocent people. Fuck usa

[TheAlvalade]

Non-living rulers aren't a creation of North Korea .

When Corsicans rebelled against Genoa republic and while writing the first constitution of the modern era they nominated Mary (mother of Jesus) has the queen of Corsica (to try to ensure that no one would invade Corsica) but they were de facto a republic.

Genoa sold Corsica to France who annexed the island after one failed attempt .

[eggroll9000]

If you want a good impression of how weird NK really is, watch the documentary on vice.com... It's awesome

[Pixiestix123321]

I honestly want to know about the reactions your parents have to seeing what you draw on that white board...

[DanRezler]

@Pixiestix123321 "Is that the flag of Texas?" - Mom (Love you Mom)

[catinplaid]

I hate it when mismanagement comes out my wazoo.

[ellencradd10]

how are you so much cleverer than any other 17 year old ever?!

[Elooow]

Thanks so much for this video, that was very interesting! I remember learning stuff about the Korean war for my exams but I had never quite figured out how it happened and what followed. Now I do! :D

[JeMappelleHannah]

very interesting. I hope the situation in North Korea improves

[Sasilmin]

@JeMappelleHannah it's improving and this video is bullshit

[JeMappelleHannah]

@Sasilmin it's not bullshit, that's harsh....

[Apanickahhh]

thanks I'm not going to have nightmares about "tomorrow when the war began" type situations or anything.

But this was really good and stuff.

[henrytophat]

Slightly aroused by your eyebrows.

[tophernates]

i think i might move to north korea now and look for some acting work

[Sasilmin]

@tophernates @tophernates you can't stay in north korea. but you can visit north korea. I stayed in pyongyang for 5 years, so i can give you a little info of it. ^__^

yes it seems a little akward to people like you, who has no experience with socialism, and who had anti - communist education, but it's time for peace and friendship, isn't it? ^_^

[MrJellyBabiez]

@Sasilmin Will you stop spamming Dan with this crap. Communism sucks, it discourages elements of freedom and individuality. I won't go on a rant as to why your an idiot, so save me the effort and leave now. Cheers :)

[wowitsella]

Great video! :) Because of low media coverage a lot of people don't realise the full extent of the dictatorship that occurs in Korea and the shocking state of the country. It's fantastic that you're making people aware! As always, I loved watching.

[Sasilmin]

@wowitsella it's called leaderism, not dictatorship. in order for socialistc revolution to be sucessful, there is a needy of a great leader who can keep the country's system. in that case, Mr kim il sung is the revolutionary figure in DPRK(north korea). Kim jong il was his son, and he was just a puppet of mr kim il sung. do you get it now? and current leader, kim jong eun, with no relattion to these, had to be a leader, as DPRK is now very unstable both economically and politically.

[keerak]

Double rainbow, what does it mean?



[SimonLikesToTalk]

Went from clicking a video I wasnt sure I wanted to watch to subbing your channel. Result!

[johnjosmith42]

I was dubious at first sight of the video title, but I've got to admit, you did a great job. That about sums it up. Thumbs, and things. J.

[ursaux]

When I first heard Kim's deal with giant rabbits I died laughing. Still funny. :D

But on the more serious note: North Korea is seriously messed up. It's gonna be interesting to see what happens next indeed.

[RockMyStripySocksOff]

Wow we did this recently in history but you added so much more

[SteelCityDucati]

CAN YOU CUT THE VIDEO ANY MORE?

[BeatlesLoverElla]

wow, that was surprisingly interesting. also terrifying.

[NickGreyden]

Holy Shit! I mean, I knew it was bad but DAMN! I've heard that his youngest son is the least crazy of his kids, but I hope that he is much less a retarded guy than his father.

[Sasilmin]

Thats very one sided by american way. North koreans will hate u

[DanRezler]

@Sasilmin North Koreans can't access YouTube. State censorship. 

[Sasilmin]

@DanRezler there are north koreans who are outside north korea isn't it? i am one of them, who is currently staying in germany... zz

[Sasilmin]

@DanRezler and it's not north koreans can't enter.. it's that north koreans DON'T want to enter.. since there are so many fucking assholes like you..

[Sasilmin]

@DanRezler I entered because i want to tell everyone the TRUE info... unlike the fake infos by propaganda machines like you...

[JeMappelleHannah]

@Sasilmin stop spamming up the comments with borderline aggressive shizz. Be nicer :P

[Sasilmin]

@JeMappelleHannah I AM NOT SPAMMING BITCH!! I AM TELLING PEOPLE THE TRUTH!!

[MsMHAP]

@DanRezler North Korean can't access food. State policy supported by China.

[Sasilmin]

@DanRezler YOU WILL GET SHOT BY NORTH KOREANS!!

[dan91709]

@Sasilmin You mean the ones that are starving to death, or the ones that escape to South Korea? I realize you think that people shouldn't complain about their children starving and nuclear weapons in the hands of people that routinely threaten to nuke innocent people, but maybe if you didn't have such a "one sided" hatred of Americans people would take you seriously. Oh wait! It's probably better that they don't. :-)

[NeoenY152]

@Sasilmin - Theres really not another side, other than batshitcrazy. Give this vid a watch to see some of N Korea from the inside ... it'll blow your mind no matter how crazy you are goo . gl / hdSyz

[UnicornInTheTardis]

That was very interesting. :)

[britneychelle87]

I really liked this! Thanks for posting!

[HaploidCell]

Those giant rabbits?

German breed. From, you know, a German guy.

Also, note this:

You cannot live off of rabbit meat. Not indefinately.

Rabbit meat lacks certain vitamins and minerals and this imbalance kind of trips you up if you only eat rabbit.

After a certain time you will start to show signs of malnourishment.

Yes. This is a known fact.

Yes. It should take the leader of a state like a minute to figure this out.

No. He didnt bother.

Yes. He bought 12.

[baileyysmith]

No matter what, your videos always make me happy.

[theloyalbadger]

thank you for making this video! i always wonder about north korea. like, how did it get to this point, and how come we can just let that happen, and what it's like to be a citizen there. it really terrifies me.

[orangejeepgirl9328]

This was great! I love learning things and I have been wondering about North Korea for a while. Thank you

[orcasquall]

If he can't urinate or defecate, then there shouldn't be anything "out the wazoo" 3:14 ...

[looloolemon100]

Dear Dan,

Please help me study for my history final. I like A's.

[RadonEntertainment]

You didn't make any fat jokes about Kim Jong Un

Come on, Dan.

[moonshoeskelly]

You need to have your own version of the Colbert Report.

[jml21000]

I'm glad you did this video

[fizzylimon]

Yep... South Koreans don't really like North Korea, but they want their families back. I have a suspicion that all this crazy leadership won't amount to much though. Not to diminish the effect of nuclear bombs on cities and the like, of course, but I'm pretty sure any leader of North Korea would be acutely aware that nobody is on their side anymore and any such action would result in their own destruction.

[calouie94]

My friend's distant relative had a relative she was let in to see in N. Korea. The people of N. Korea had been given extra rations, so they could look good for the foreigners. They were given a whole chicken which they boiled. When the visitor asked why they cooked it that way they said they had never had a whole chicken before and they were trying to learn along the way.

[emilymarieism]

One day late. My modern world final was today. Darn. And this is so much more interesting than my textbook :)

[spazmtasticly]

Kim Jong Ils biography sounds like it was written by those folks on wikipedia who like to mess up facts to confuse people. Except that in North Korea, they think that it's legit. Great video, though :)

[AngelandRoll]

such a good video. suscribed!

[malhajji1]

dude, you gotta make part 2

[lajecel31]

I've been waiting for this :D

[musicalgeek24]

I like your copy of The Fault In Our Stars in the background

[philophos]

North Korea is a fascinating example of the extremities of humanity compressed into one nation. This was such a good video.

[StumpedByTacoPizza]

Sounds like Kim Jong il could take on Chuck Norris! :P

[dynamitekatie]

If only hired teachers could maintain an audience's attention like this. History CAN be interesting, as long as the teacher is too. Well done Dan!

[hayfeverishbee]

There's a documentary about the Mass Games following 2 girls training for the glory of NK. In the end Kim Jong-il doesn't go, but it's okay, because the girls are comforted by knowing that the dear General is working tirelessly for the people.

[pigonskateboard]

Thank you for explaining to me exactly why North Korea is so messed up.

[hayfeverishbee]

Koreans still hate Japan.

[owchihurtmyself]

i feel so educated now

i'm gonna go talk to my brother and make him feel like an ignorant fool for not knowing this.

[hannahgirasol]

I like being educated by you : )

25% WOOOAAAAAAHHH

[connoisseuseofroads]

i love you dan.

[xUberfail]

There's nothing crazy about giant rabbits.

[Rhiannonableful]

North Korea is so crazy it almost seems fictional. Which is most likely why I spend a lot of time watching documentaries about North Korea.

Oh goodness how I love crazy people.

[LiverpoolLights]

I'm slightly, very terrified.

[05ALMA20]

Actually had a discussion about this in my AP US History class a few weeks back. I almost threw a chair because though I respect everyone's right to speak their mind but there's a girl in that class who ties everything to either religion or conspiracies. I just want a discussion that doesn't include one those two things for once. Thanks for this video:)

[wordnerd1231]

Oh I love history! This was quite interesting :)

[LaurenShap]

My history teacher this morning gave, more or less, this exact talk in assembly; I log onto youtube to find you chattin' about North Korea too.

Mind freak? Certainly. Awesome? Without a doubt.

[Ovinicus]

Someone needs to start making bigger whiteboard markers.

[TheNorangutan]

Actually, there is one difference between North Koreans and South Koreans: North Koreans are on average 3 inches shorter than South Koreans due to malnutrition.

Fun fact. Yeah.

[WebsterAnn]

And this is pretty much why I watch and love your videos. This and the cooking. 

[JayTigris]

You are AWESOME at this! When I say you remind me of John Green I mean it as a huge compliment (obviously, I think). Definitely need to share this video with other people.

[indielovesunicorns]

Shit gets real when there's a double rainbow in the sky.

[will44123]

 /gulp

[Abster600]

Double Rainbow.

SO INTENSE.

[Sasilmin]

@Abster600 that's not very true... pls go and meet north koreans.. btw.. i am north korean who is currently staying in germany, learning Design.. I was born in japan and learn north korean education when i was in japan. i stayed in pyongyang 5 years when i was teenager. i learn english and russian when i was in north korea.

[ABitofSeCe]

I honestly found this interesting. Thank you for teaching me about North Korea :-)

[aishasaccount]

Woah...I actually just enjoyed a history lesson...

[Pinshnowdy]

Very well done! I was pleasantly surprised and impressed but the way you tackled this topic.

[LoudIndoorVoice]

I'M SO EXCITED FOR WHEN THIS SHIT GETS MESSY

sounds like it's gonna be super fun! :D

[trevorgoyobro]

I also vastly enjoy your videos, please do not think of me as only an insecure viewer that feels the need to build up my own self esteem by having my name on the first comment which is the result of some amount of luck mixed with your low-ish, albeit undeservedly, view count. The fact that I got my first "first" on your video is, in the words of many a 90's teenager, pretty rad.

[TheBlueELM]

I dunno Dan. Giant rabbits sounds legit.

[MisterAlexGabriel]

So... Kim Il-Sung was like the River Song of dictators?

[Jasminisuberawesome]

ah



[LongandGeneric]

I really hope you edit Wikipedia.

[mkim1224]

third

[purplefuzz111]

That awkward moment when you start watching a video and you hear "Let's talk about North Korea" and you know it's going to be a good video :)

[TboneWillsone]

@purplefuzz111 why would that be an awkward moment? It would be a moment ofhappiness wouldn't it? That's like saying "The awkward moment when I find out my wardrobe is full of Oreo's and I cry pure tears of joy."

[MattDranee]

@purplefuzz111 How is that awkward? 

[mkim1224]

@purplefuzz111 how is that awkward? do you even know what awkward means?

[trevorgoyobro]

First