Daily Lessons from Life 07 March 2010

"N. Korean who shopped for dictators goes public - Sun, Mar 07, 2010 The Korea Herald/Asia News Network

A North Korean colonel who spent two decades going on European shopping sprees for his country's rulers said Thursday the late dictator Kim Il Sung lived in luxury while many people struggled to survive in his impoverished communist nation, according to AP.

Kim Jong Ryul, who spent 16 years under cover in Austria, also described how the ''great leader'' and his son and successor Kim Jong Il spent millions pampering and protecting themselves with Western goods _ everything from luxury cars, carpets and exotic foods, to monitors that can detect heartbeats of people hiding behind walls and gold-plated handguns.

The colonel's account told in a new book by Austrian journalists showed the deep divide of the lifestyle between the North Korean leadership and its people, who sometimes subsist eating tree barks, knowing they will be sent to labour camps if they criticize the government!"

Yet another news reporting on North Korea and the unbelievable gap in the lifestyles between the leadership and its people. I am sure for the critics, these revelations are nothing shocking. The atrocity and the absurdity of this tightly controlled and secretive regime surprised few. In fact, if we cast our eyes across the world at countries that have autocratic and dictatorial regime, most of their leaders are keen to enjoy the very evils that they abhorred their subject NOT to indulge in!! e.g. the juntas in Myanmar for instance.

Lessons for me are:

1. if you don't want people to know, then don't do what you had done. When you do what you have done, then don't worry about if people will know as it is just a matter of when it will be made known to the world - while you are still alive and can be held accountable or when you are dead and your name is put into the world most infamous persons list!!;

2. while the corrupt way of the leaders is known in your country, there is nothing much outsiders can do for you if you continue to tolerate the very regime that treated you like dirt and instruments or chess pieces to be moved around and disposed of conveniently and without consequence. The North Korean people has to decide for themselves what need to be done to have a better regime. A position I maintain all the while. Of course, there will likely be bloodshed and unpleasant consequences as the entrenched regime will not give up easily a life of luxury and parasitic existence!;

3. another truism in life is: when you oppressed too many people for too long, some will be willing to sacrifice their life to fight for a just cause. When the critical mass is formed, the tipping point will appear and things will change in a revolutionary manner. Again, it is not a matter of it it will happen but when it will take place.

May the North Korean people decide when the day comes... Peace to the world and rulers beware - if you are corrupt you will fall, eventually!!