Young Pioneer Tours is the self-proclaimed “budget North Korea tour operator.” This company released a statement Friday verifying the reports of a U.S. citizen “being detained in Pyongyang.” Perhaps this is part of the “off the beaten track” experience the tour company advertises.
The detainee, Otto Warmbier, is a third-year student at the University of Virginia. According to CNN, “Warmbier’s family has been informed and is working with the U.S. State Department, the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Swedish Embassy” to free Warmbier. North Korea reported, according to CNN, that he entered the country “for the purpose of bringing down the foundation of its single-minded unity at the tacit connivance of the U.S. government.”
Back home in the United States, we can’t help but ponder the real reason why a well-informed, highly intelligent and privileged university student would choose to visit a country that uses punishment, according to a United Nations inquiry, that includes “extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions and other sexual violence.”
Due to privacy concerns, we may never really be able to answer this. All we know is that Warmbier had a strong case of wanderlust — but is that an excuse to travel to a place to which the U.S. Department of State “strongly recommends against all travel?”
Warmbier joins the ranks of other Americans to be detained in North Korea — he even has his own Wikipedia page. Prior detainees include Matthew Miller, who is now the second-youngest detainee behind Warmbier and Kenneth Bae, who was arrested and released with Miller. After walking free in November 2014, Miller told the website NK News he wanted a “face-to-face with North Koreans to answer [his] personal questions.”
The media was captivated by his case. NK News titled its story on him, “Matthew Miller’s excellent adventure in North Korea.” The piece even starts off by disclosing the fact that Miller flew back to America “on the personal airplane of America’s top spy.”
To confuse fascination with glorification in the media is extremely dangerous. Perhaps Miller’s portrayal in the news as a brave and curious young explorer is what sparked Warmbier’s interest to travel to North Korea. This potential interest not only put his life up in the air, but also cost the United States millions of dollars and numerous foreign-affair headaches.
Most recently, The New York Times was able to speak with other members of Warmbier’s tour group, as evidenced by a Saturday article, who described him as a “normal college kid looking to see the world.” But is a desire to enter a country the United States has no stable diplomatic relations with and that has historically treated Americans with hostility the new normal?
The term privilege is an understatement here. The notion that college students should flex their entitlement in every corner of the world is wrong and dangerous. To Warmbier: We hope you return home safe.
To any other student looking to enter into North Korea: Don’t do it.
Why should the American taxpayer be on the hook for the inevitable millions that will be spent getting this entitled d-bag back to his pampered life? of course I hope he gets back safely, just as I’m glad the three dimwits that thought they were entitled to go prancing around the Iranian boarder eventually got back … but what are these precious flowers doing wandering in these unfriendly lands in the first place? answer that: they’re curating their own Instagram, Facebook, or whatever-the-social-networking-flavor-of-the-month-is account. Trying to make themselves look just so darned interesting when there is nothing interesting about them. This d-bag has been to Cuba recently, too (natch). Parents of dimwits like these need to cut off their funds … or pony up and be willing to pay back the State Dept and Defense Dept for all the money they spend getting these dullards out of trouble.
Final thought: while I hope he *eventually* gets home and is not executed by Korean anti-aircraft fire for his public urination at his hotel (or whatever immature thing he did, coz you just know he did something!), I hope he doesn’t come home TOO soon. Six months as a guest of Li’l Kim Jong-un and a little North Korean roughing up ought to be about right to teach him a better life lesson than he got drinking vodka til 5am the night before his flight.
I’m such a secret fan of your column, and this might be my favorite yt. You constantly impress me with your intelligence and eloquence.
“Perhaps Miller’s portrayal in the news as a brave and curious young explorer is what sparked Warmbier’s interest to travel to North Korea.”
Miller, in the news, did certainly not come across as brave or curious: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-miller-idUSKBN0HD0GN20140920
I’m am American and I went with YPT to North Korea immediately after his arrest. His arrest was not arbitrary and I myself, along with all the others in the group, had the time of our lives without absolutely no problems. This article is full of misinformation, misinformed opinions, slander, and bullshit. No wonder people think the media is a joke.
Well written.
Thank you, American Alex, for speaking out against this stupid lying garbage. I am a truck driver and world traveler (5 years, 91 countries) who has seen enough with my own eyes to know that anyone who takes the mainstream news media in this country seriously is a mindless worm. In fact, the North Koreans could learn a lot about mass mind control techniques by reading American newspapers and watching American television.
I went to North Korea with YPT myself in August 2013 and had an absolutely wonderful time, as did the six other Americans in our group of nineteen. Before departing from Beijing, we attended a mandatory briefing by the YPT staff, during which the do’s and don’ts of travel to that country are explained. The rules are so simple, a mature ten-year-old can follow them. While I hope that this young man is released, it’s a certainty that he knowingly did something wrong, as did the other four or five Americans who have been arrested or detained there (funny how the media have almost nothing to say about the roughly 5000 Americans – my estimate – who have gone to North Korea and experienced no problems).
I do not deny that North Korea is a very repressive, and in some ways a very strange place. I certainly would not want to live there. I would really like to see the regime ease up on its people – and there are signs that this is slowly happening. But here are a few facts that not one in a thousand brainwashed, misinformed Americans is aware of: our own government handed the northern half of Korea (not to mention all of eastern Europe) over to Joseph Stalin at the end of the second world war. That’s right: North Korea is an American creation! (See page 124 of “As I Saw It,” the memoirs of political hack Dean Rusk, who casually ripped Korea in half after glancing at a National Geographic map of the country.) Then, in the Korean War, when the north invaded the south, our Air Force bombed the country into oblivion, supposedly to halt the spread of communism that our own government had initiated. No one knows the exact death toll, but we killed off something like twenty percent of the civilian population, many burned alive by napalm. The leaders of North Korea are a thousand times more justified in hating and fearing the U.S. government and military than the other way around. But this animosity does not extend to ordinary Americans. In fact, I have never felt more welcome as an American in any country in the world.
I am a realist. Certainly there are dangerous countries in the world. You couldn’t pay me enough to go back to the Congo. But North Korea is not dangerous to visit. In fact, it is as safe as anyplace in the world.
Anyone reading this: stop reading newspapers and throw your television set in the trash, as I did fifteen years ago. See the world. Don’t be a typical dumbshit American.
I have a very-strong hunch that the incident will stem any future “intellectual risk-taking” on young Otto’s part.
The young jet-setter has now experienced his first month on a diet of barley soup, rice, and an occasional fish-head, while his classmates in picturesque Charlottesville are dining graciously, enjoying the Cavaliers’ success on the basketball court, and simply missing him something terribly.
Wow, there are a lot of judgemental haters on this site. Considering that you do not know this person at all, I find it facinating that you feel so empowered to disparage this young man’s character and that of his family.
Wow. This is a very strongly opinionated piece. I understand that it is your opinion, but being a sheep and following the herd is not always the best advice. We need people that stray from the herd and challenge the status quo.
As much as you would advocate freedom of speech, I would encourage you to advocate freedom of mind and travel. We should stimulate people travelling, especially countries where your government doesn’t have the best relationship with. It allows you to form your OWN opinion. One you clearly have and want to force upon others.
This doesn’t read like a free country. Here in Europe in my really free country nobody tells me where to travel and where not to.
Is he free or not? I keep reading different posts and can’t seem to fully grasp the answer.
with every decision you make every day there will be a consequence, no matter what good or bad.
1: The tension between North Korea and frankly the whole world. There I would make a risk assessment. As they do not follow any international law.
My common sense tells me there is a higher risk going right now. I would have found an alternative instead.
2:He stole a poster from a floor he wasn’t even alowed to be on. And had been warned about that. And seriously steal in North Korea, you can’t even decide what you can take pictures of. They keep you monitored all the time. So you can’t put them In a bad light.
I know you make mistakes in your life, but this is in my opinion, lack of reality, common sense. This is so stupid in so many dimensions. And the lack of respect for reality.
3: Again Religion is *$%#* up again, very Christian of you to ask him to steal a trophy, for money to help his family.
Instead of helping his family out when they had problems.
I don’t believe in God, but I’m pretty sure that won’t help you, get in.
I’m not judging him and I do feel for his family and him, and hope he will come home soon.
But this could easily been avoided. With common sense.
Good lord where is the empathy. Obviously a dumb move,terrible idea, akin to attempts to make sweet love to a blender. Yes, we all know that. It need not be the focus how stupid it was, its clear.
The issue is the injustice an American citizen (no difference if Canadian, Icelandic,etc) is getting. They should demand his release no matter his bravery/integrity (in the case of journalists reporting as is not how told to say) or folly/suicidal-curiousity (as in his case)
Who he is, what mistakes he makes, his reasons, these are not the greater issue. The issue is injustice done by NK/ respective Government for not making effort to secure the safety of a citizen.
You don’t want your tax money going to XYZ. Well many people don’t want their tax money going to parked tank # 99999999 or Israeli bulldozer #666 either. Think is you can’t decide that. Tough shit what you like, you get to choose the people who do because its the only way its doable.
The government if not to protect and provide for citizens serves no point. It’s a very scary thought to decide that human service on merit,skin color,what have you. It’s liberty for all, and protection too. So he did something dumb, but your saying something dumb with these comments of good riddance and the like. It’s a scary thought to pick and choose who justice and injustice can apply to because with the hateful way you speak,were the choice mine, oh most certainly injustice for you. I can cherry pick over your life, you bought a timeshare? Oh, lol, sure NK go ahead shove a pregnant boa up that silly arse.
Your inviting with your own cruelty the same tyranny he walked into. To me, your the bigger idiot for also destroying something good in the process.
“The Supreme Court has generally declined to find that the Constitution imposes affirmative obligations on the government to help citizens. For example, the Court has rejected claims that the Constitution obligates the government to provide welfare benefits, housing, or a public education. Instead, the Court has viewed the Constitution as restraining government from depriving persons the right to pursue various liberties, such as freedom of speech or a life free from unreasonable searches or cruel punishments. ”
In other word the government is not your mother, You are responsible for the world that you live in. It is not the government’s responsibility. It is not your school’s or your social club’s or your church’s or your neighbor’s or your fellow citizen’s. It is yours, utterly and singularly yours.
—August Wilson
He had no right to be there and worse yet was stupid enough to try and steal a political banner from the hotel. He deserves what he gets. Our diplomats shouldn’t be wasting their time.