[00:00:08:02]
[KIM IL SUNG SQUARE
NORTH KOREA]
[00:00:10:15]
[00:00:16:14]
[KIM JONG IL
LEADER OF NORTH KOREA]
[00:00:18:10]
[00:00:18:14]
I've been to the most fucked up
place on earth...
[00:00:20:14]
[00:00:20:18]
twice.
[00:00:21:23]
[00:00:22:02]
The Hermit Kingdom of North Korea.
[00:00:23:21]
[00:00:24:00]
It's totally insane.
[00:00:25:16]
[00:00:33:20]
The thing is, when you go to North Korea,
you're not a tourist.
[00:00:36:21]
[00:00:37:00]
You're on a government sanctioned tour.
[00:00:39:00]
[00:00:39:05]
And you can't go anywhere
outside your hotel
[00:00:41:10]
[00:00:41:14]
without your guide, your translator
and your secret police.
[00:00:45:00]
[00:00:45:04]
You're also not allowed cellphones,
radios or computers of any kind
[00:00:49:01]
[00:00:49:05]
and are taken on a tightly scheduled,
highly orchestrated tour
[00:00:52:19]
[00:00:52:23]
only of the sites and monuments
that they want you to see.
[00:00:56:03]
[00:00:58:17]
So, you end up traveling
for hours and hours on empty roads,
[00:01:02:03]
[00:01:02:07]
only to see the palace of the people,
[00:01:04:05]
[00:01:04:09]
or the library of the people,
or the soccer team of the people.
[00:01:07:01]
[00:01:07:05]
The only thing
you never get to actually meet
[00:01:08:23]
[00:01:09:02]
is the people of the people.
[00:01:10:20]
[00:01:10:24]
In fact, you're not allowed
to talk to anyone
[00:01:12:21]
[00:01:13:00]
unless they're officially sanctioned
as part of the tour.
[00:01:16:00]
[00:01:22:12]
So, when I heard that North Korea
was actually exporting its own people
[00:01:26:19]
[00:01:26:23]
as a way to generate
much-needed, hard currency
[00:01:29:05]
[00:01:29:09]
I wanted to go and see
if I could actually talk to them.
[00:01:32:07]
[00:01:32:11]
And maybe find out what it's actually like
to live inside The Hermit Kingdom.
[00:01:37:06]
[00:01:41:20]
We found out
from one of our correspondents in Russia
[00:01:44:08]
[00:01:44:12]
that there were actually
secret North Korean labor camps
[00:01:46:23]
[00:01:47:02]
hidden in the depths of Siberia.
[00:01:49:01]
[00:01:49:05]
So we flew to the Far Eastern region
of Russia
[00:01:51:12]
[00:01:51:16]
and hopped on the Trans-Siberian railway
[00:01:53:15]
[00:01:53:19]
which is essentially, the only lifeline
for Siberia and the Far East region.
[00:01:57:14]
[00:01:57:18]
[KHABAROVSK
RUSSIA]
[00:01:59:12]
[00:01:59:16]
[KIM YUNG ZUN
KOREAN TRANSLATOR]
[00:02:01:15]
[00:02:03:15]
[SIMON OSTROVSKY
FREELANCE JOURNALIST]
[00:02:05:14]
[00:02:10:05]
[SHANE SMITH
VICE]
[00:02:12:08]
[00:02:12:12]
Her bum was hanging out of her shorts.
[00:02:14:10]
[00:02:16:05]
We're here in Khabarovsk in Siberia.
[00:02:19:00]
[00:02:19:04]
We're about to get on this train
for about 28 hours
[00:02:21:06]
[00:02:21:10]
[TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY
KHABAROVS, RUSSIA]
to go to the middle of nowhere.
[00:02:23:10]
[00:02:23:14]
And we're gonna go check out the secret
North Korean labor camps in Siberia.
[00:02:26:22]
[00:02:27:02]
It's hot as shit.
[00:02:28:12]
[00:02:40:06]
[NORTH KOREAN LABOR CAMPS
PART 1 OF 7]
[00:02:44:00]
[00:02:50:11]
Simon. The "Eye."
[00:02:51:21]
[00:02:52:00]
-Hi.
-My name is Shane. I'm from America.
[00:02:54:15]
[00:02:54:19]
We're here with our friend Simon.
We've been on a train for a long time.
[00:02:57:19]
[00:02:57:23]
We're going a bit goofy.
[00:02:59:11]
[00:02:59:15]
-Where are we going?
[00:03:01:04]
[00:03:01:08]
We're going to Tynda
in the Amur region of Russia,
[00:03:04:10]
[00:03:04:14]
in the Far East
to look for the North Koreans.
[00:03:07:20]
[00:03:07:24]
The thing about this is it's mind boggling
[00:03:10:14]
[00:03:10:18]
that North Korea,
the most hermetic state in the world
[00:03:14:20]
[00:03:14:24]
The Hermit Kingdom, it's actually called,
[00:03:17:03]
[00:03:17:07]
is outsourcing its labor
[00:03:19:19]
[00:03:19:23]
but they outsource their labor
[00:03:21:16]
[00:03:21:20]
[NORTH KOREAN ADMINISTRATION CAMP
TYNDA, RUSSIA]
into miniature North Korean villages
[00:03:24:04]
[00:03:24:09]
so they don't ever lose
the North Korean experience.
[00:03:27:05]
[00:03:27:09]
So, it's like North Korean-type buildings,
North Korean propaganda,
[00:03:30:20]
[00:03:30:24]
North Korean pictures,
North Korean songs.
[00:03:33:08]
[00:03:33:12]
They wake up and sing
the North Korean anthem.
[00:03:35:08]
[00:03:35:12]
They bring North Koreans in
for 3-year contracts.
[00:03:38:09]
[00:03:38:13]
After they're done working here,
they get sent back to North Korea.
[00:03:41:09]
[00:03:41:13]
They spend a month in a reintegration camp
[00:03:43:18]
[00:03:43:22]
to get all of the propaganda
that they've missed.
[00:03:45:21]
[00:03:46:01]
[NORTH KOREAN LOGGING CAMP
TUTUAL, RUSSIA]
Most of the workers are over forty years old
[00:03:48:22]
[00:03:49:01]
so they all have families back home.
[00:03:50:16]
[00:03:50:20]
So they know that if they try to run away,
[00:03:53:02]
[00:03:53:06]
then their family back home
gets in trouble.
[00:03:55:10]
[00:03:55:14]
The North Koreans are making money to
support the regime
[00:03:59:04]
[00:03:59:08]
and these poor dudes are out there
in the middle of nowhere
[00:04:02:03]
[00:04:02:07]
singing God save Kim Jung Il
and working in near slave conditions.
[00:04:07:03]
[00:04:07:07]
This is kind of the only place
where you can actually have an entree
[00:04:11:16]
[00:04:11:20]
into how they actually live day to day.
[00:04:15:10]
[00:04:15:14]
Question... Are we gonna get assasinated
for going to talk to the North Koreans?
[00:04:18:15]
[00:04:18:19]
Quite possibly.
[00:04:20:11]
[00:04:20:16]
People aren't gonna be happy to see us,
that's for sure.
[00:04:23:24]
[00:04:25:13]
-Why is it that the best stories
always take so long to get to?
[00:04:29:05]
[00:04:29:09]
Because all of the easy-to-get-to ones
[00:04:31:11]
[00:04:31:15]
have been done by programs
better than yours.
[00:04:34:01]
[00:04:35:03]
He's a prickly pear, this guy.
He's a prickly pear.
[00:04:38:09]
[00:04:38:13]
You should be British
cause you're a cunt.
[00:04:41:20]
[00:04:44:20]
Now you have to remember
that everything in Siberia
[00:04:47:21]
[00:04:48:00]
almost without exception,
is very, very fucking far away
[00:04:51:07]
[00:04:51:11]
from everything else.
[00:04:53:00]
[00:04:53:04]
And, even thought it was the height
of summer and 100 degrees outside,
[00:04:56:06]
[00:04:56:10]
because it's Russia, the heat guage
on the train had been turned on full
[00:05:00:06]
[00:05:00:10]
and then broken off...
probably circa 1971.
[00:05:03:19]
[00:05:03:23]
So, the experience is essentially
like being trapped on a boiling hot,
[00:05:07:16]
[00:05:07:20]
wreaking, drunken sauna
24 hours a day.
[00:05:12:01]
[00:05:17:14]
Oh shit. Hello.
[00:05:19:17]
[00:05:19:22]
Now we got crazy dude here.
[00:05:21:15]
[00:05:21:19]
You don't mind if I drink vodka with you?
[00:05:24:02]
[00:05:25:19]
It's a very good thing
I've taken a Xanax.
[00:05:28:01]
[00:05:28:07]
[VICE
CONTINUED IN PART 2
2001 VICE MEDIA, INC.
[00:05:31:01]
[00:00:04:23]
[VICE NEWS]
[00:00:08:00]
[00:00:08:22]
[SOMEWHERE IN EASTERN RUSSIA]
[00:00:11:23]
[00:00:13:20]
When I was a kid,
I always wanted to take the Trans-Siberian,
[00:00:16:22]
[00:00:17:01]
[SHANE SMITH
VICE]
because it seemed so far away
[00:00:19:05]
[00:00:19:09]
and romantic and freaky.
[00:00:20:21]
[00:00:21:00]
I imagined Tartars and Mongolians
cooking in their cabins
[00:00:23:24]
[00:00:24:04]
and trading with Turkmen and Urgurs
for rare and delicate silks.
[00:00:27:16]
[00:00:27:20]
But instead what I got was trees.
Lots of trees,
[00:00:31:03]
[00:00:31:07]
interspersed with rotten,
industrial wastelands
[00:00:34:03]
[00:00:34:07]
and then peppered with some
failed Stalinist industry.
[00:00:36:15]
[00:00:36:19]
And then of course, more and more trees.
[00:00:38:22]
[00:00:39:01]
It ended up being stultifyingly boring.
[00:00:41:12]
[00:00:41:16]
[NORTH KOREAN LABOR CAMPS
PART 2 OF 7]
[00:00:45:05]
[00:00:47:24]
[SHIMANOVSKAYA, RUSSIA]
[00:00:50:02]
[00:00:50:06]
I guess this is pretty romantic.
She's nice.
[00:00:52:07]
[00:00:52:13]
Anybody want tomatoes, cucumbers?
[00:00:54:15]
[00:00:54:20]
She's got some cucumbers.
[00:00:56:20]
[00:00:58:02]
Ah, you want a cucumber.
[00:00:59:23]
[00:01:00:04]
Thank you.
[00:01:01:05]
[00:01:01:11]
You're quite welcome.
[00:01:02:19]
[00:01:02:23]
My friend.
[00:01:04:01]
[00:01:04:05]
We're in Shimanovskaya
in the middle of fucking nowhere.
[00:01:08:00]
[00:01:08:04]
We've been on the train for about
twelve hours.
[00:01:10:23]
[00:01:11:02]
[GENNADY YUSHA
FELLOW PASSENGER]
I love you.
[00:01:13:07]
[00:01:17:23]
I love you.
[00:01:19:14]
[00:01:21:03]
Good for you.
[00:01:22:15]
[00:01:22:19]
Soon we'll teach him
something else to say.
[00:01:25:00]
[00:01:25:05]
This is where we've been staying
for the past day and a half.
[00:01:28:18]
[00:01:29:20]
It's very smelly.
[00:01:31:15]
[00:01:41:08]
Now the problem with these
impossibly long distances in Siberia
[00:01:44:22]
[00:01:45:01]
is that there's nothing to do
on the train,
[00:01:46:19]
[00:01:46:23]
but drink.
[00:01:47:23]
[00:01:48:02]
But your sleeping compartment
is so fucking hot
[00:01:50:01]
[00:01:50:05]
that you have to drink in the dining car.
[00:01:52:11]
[00:01:52:15]
This dining car...
[00:01:54:00]
[00:01:54:04]
This was how the dining cars were
in the 50's and 30's and 40's
[00:01:57:21]
[00:01:58:00]
on the Trans-Siberian Express.
[00:02:00:05]
[00:02:00:09]
It's pretty great.
[00:02:01:18]
[00:02:01:22]
First of all, you come into the oasis.
[00:02:03:20]
[00:02:04:00]
You've got some 3D holographic unicorns.
[00:02:07:06]
[00:02:07:10]
We've got a rearing stallion,
quite virile.
[00:02:10:10]
[00:02:10:14]
And over here, you've got vodka.
[00:02:12:21]
[00:02:13:00]
This is just booze, basically.
[00:02:15:07]
[00:02:15:11]
Here we've got our lady.
Hello. Can we look at your thing?
[00:02:18:13]
[00:02:18:17]
I love you.
[00:02:19:21]
[00:02:20:00]
Thank you.
[00:02:21:02]
[00:02:21:13]
Hi America!
[00:02:23:01]
[00:02:23:05]
And over here,
some very important dials.
[00:02:26:10]
[00:02:26:14]
This guy here likes to drink with us.
He's good vibes.
[00:02:29:11]
[00:02:29:15]
Look who's come.
We're in luck!
[00:02:31:14]
[00:02:31:18]
This is our translator.
He was born here in Russia.
[00:02:35:09]
[00:02:35:13]
[KIM YUN ZUN
KOREAN TRANSLATOR]
They lived in North Korea
[00:02:37:16]
[00:02:37:21]
until his mom said, "This is terrible."
[00:02:39:16]
[00:02:39:20]
Came back to Russia.
He's been living Russia ever since.
[00:02:43:03]
[00:02:43:07]
[SIMON OSTROVSKY
FREELANCE JOURNALIST]
He's gonna translate for us.
[00:02:45:08]
[00:02:45:12]
And then hopefully we'll get it all right.
[00:02:47:09]
[00:02:51:07]
Now I love the dining cars
on the Trans-Siberian.
[00:02:54:01]
[00:02:54:05]
The only problem is
that there's Russians there
[00:02:56:21]
[00:02:57:00]
getting drunk as well.
[00:02:58:06]
[00:02:58:10]
Oh, shit.
Hello.
[00:03:00:19]
[00:03:01:06]
How are you?
[00:03:02:24]
[00:03:03:03]
Are you okay?
[00:03:04:12]
[00:03:04:16]
Shit! In Russian, sorry, in their language.
[00:03:06:14]
[00:03:06:18]
I'm not going to speak. I told you I was
[00:03:09:06]
[00:03:09:11]
going to be on camera? Huh?
[00:03:11:18]
[00:03:12:00]
Here we are filming you.
[00:03:14:00]
[00:03:14:04]
You don't want me here?
[00:03:16:01]
[00:03:16:05]
No, no. It's just that you're too close.
[00:03:17:10]
[00:03:17:14]
Too close?
[00:03:18:09]
[00:03:18:12]
Yes, way too close.
I can't even see anything
[00:03:20:07]
[00:03:20:11]
with this eye. Only that eye.
[00:03:22:01]
[00:03:22:05]
Only with that one?
[00:03:23:01]
[00:03:23:05]
How about like this?
Better?
[00:03:24:06]
[00:03:24:10]
Yes, that is way better.
Yes.
[00:03:25:11]
[00:03:25:15]
Now we got crazy dude here.
[00:03:26:24]
[00:03:27:03]
Would you mind drinking vodka with me?
[00:03:29:14]
[00:03:29:18]
Why hasn't anyone poured me a glass?
[00:03:31:14]
[00:03:31:20]
Why are you Americans so rude?
[00:03:33:17]
[00:03:33:21]
That's for you. Here.
[00:03:35:02]
[00:03:35:06]
Come on, be civilized.
[00:03:37:03]
[00:03:37:24]
Bro, you're a Jew telling me,
[00:03:40:19]
[00:03:40:23]
how to behave?
[00:03:43:17]
[00:03:44:13]
It's a very good thing I've taken a Xanax,
otherwise I'd be a bit worried
[00:03:48:12]
[00:03:48:16]
about our seventeen-year-old friend.
[00:03:51:02]
[00:03:51:06]
Cheers.
[00:03:52:01]
[00:03:52:05]
Why did he say, "Cheers?"
[00:03:53:21]
[00:03:54:01]
It's like saying, "To good health."
[00:03:56:01]
[00:04:02:14]
The interim between mildly friendly drunk
[00:04:06:18]
[00:04:06:22]
and psychopathically,
pull-your-eyeball-out drunk.
[00:04:09:19]
[00:04:09:23]
There's this level of
"I hate your fucking guts.
[00:04:11:23]
[00:04:12:02]
No, you're okay...we're buddies,
we're buddies, we're buddies.
[00:04:13:22]
[00:04:14:01]
I wanna kill you."
[00:04:15:17]
[00:04:15:21]
So, you've gotta stay
somewhere in this gauge.
[00:04:18:14]
[00:04:18:18]
Do they think that you're a bit of a pussy
for not being a Russian tough guy?
[00:04:22:06]
[00:04:22:10]
They hate me, essentially.
[00:04:24:23]
[00:04:25:02]
Oh shit. We're in the tunnel.
[00:04:27:08]
[00:04:27:22]
I'm tickling the birdie.
[00:04:29:08]
[00:04:29:12]
No, you can't touch me there
for a dollar.
[00:04:31:16]
[00:04:32:02]
Hello.
[00:04:33:11]
[00:04:33:15]
Vice.
[00:04:35:02]
[00:04:35:16]
Vice. Gold?
[00:04:37:06]
[00:04:37:10]
Let's trade?
[00:04:39:08]
[00:04:39:12]
He's saying yes, right?
[00:04:40:22]
[00:04:41:03]
He wants to trade your ring for something.
[00:04:42:12]
[00:04:42:16]
No.
[00:04:43:11]
[00:04:43:15]
And what about this?
[00:04:44:23]
[00:04:45:02]
That's my marriage...my wife.
[00:04:46:05]
[00:04:46:09]
-Yes, that's from his wife.
-From his wife?
[00:04:47:17]
[00:04:47:21]
It's to symbolize marriage.
[00:04:49:17]
[00:04:49:21]
Then why on the right hand?
[00:04:51:04]
[00:04:51:09]
No, on the left hand.
[00:04:52:11]
[00:04:52:15]
That's not on the left hand.
[00:04:54:01]
[00:04:54:05]
Here's my left hand
and that's my right hand.
[00:04:56:05]
[00:04:56:09]
Are you nuts!?
[00:04:57:12]
[00:04:57:16]
Look, here's the right hand
and here's the left.
[00:05:00:05]
[00:05:00:11]
Dumbass! This is the right hand.
[00:05:02:15]
[00:05:02:19]
And that's the left hand.
[00:05:04:14]
[00:05:04:18]
You're bullshitting.
[00:05:06:05]
[00:05:06:09]
He doesn't remember which of his hands
is the left or the right.
[00:05:09:19]
[00:05:14:13]
I like our Korean guy,
as all this madness is going on,
[00:05:17:17]
[00:05:17:21]
chaos and everyone's drunk,
[00:05:19:22]
[00:05:20:01]
and I look over at our Korean guy
just serenely eating his mayonnaise.
[00:05:23:19]
[00:05:23:23]
-You're a Jew?
-So?
[00:05:25:07]
[00:05:25:11]
I'm also a Jew.
[00:05:26:18]
[00:05:26:22]
By the way, I don't think religion is a
[00:05:30:11]
[00:05:30:15]
topic for conversation.
[00:05:33:02]
[00:05:33:06]
-People are turning into animals here.
Things are devolving.
[00:05:35:20]
[00:05:35:24]
Go listen to your non-Russian friend.
[00:05:38:19]
[00:05:38:23]
Everyone's up in everybody's shit
and you're like, "I got an idea."
[00:05:41:10]
[00:05:41:14]
We're having a few drinks and meanwhile
you've got these fucking thugs here
[00:05:45:15]
[00:05:45:19]
with their prison, fucking hand tattoos.
[00:05:48:18]
[00:05:54:15]
So I don't understand why they are waving
their shot glasses about?
[00:05:56:23]
[00:05:57:02]
To say hello?
[00:05:58:08]
[00:05:58:16]
Come on brother,
you can tell, you're a Jew.
[00:06:01:16]
[00:06:01:20]
How about everyone chill out, we have a
nice drink and look at the countryside.
[00:06:04:14]
[00:06:04:18]
-Understand?
-Yes.
[00:06:05:19]
[00:06:05:20]
-There's no aggression on my part.
-Good, then let's be polite okay?
[00:06:07:24]
[00:06:08:03]
We're in a very good mood.
[00:06:09:14]
[00:06:09:18]
This is not our crowd. They are from
[00:06:12:01]
[00:06:12:06]
afar and just stopping in to say hello.
[00:06:13:20]
[00:06:13:24]
Why are you laughing so hard?
[00:06:15:14]
[00:06:15:18]
Quit fucking with me.
[00:06:17:20]
[00:06:18:02]
-Yeah?
-Yeah!
[00:06:19:10]
[00:06:22:18]
Here come the cops.
[00:06:24:14]
[00:06:24:18]
Let's see if the fourteen-year-old,
five foot tall cop
[00:06:27:00]
[00:06:27:04]
is gonna get rid of the drunk guy.
[00:06:29:03]
[00:06:29:11]
Being totally wasted
is so prevalent
[00:06:32:09]
[00:06:32:13]
that they have special booze police,
and whose only job it is
[00:06:35:11]
[00:06:35:15]
to throw drunks off at the nearest station
if they get too blind drink or murder-y.
[00:06:40:02]
[00:06:46:00]
[COMING IN PART 3]
Are there any problems with North Koreans
running away from here
[00:06:49:16]
[00:06:49:20]
in order to enter South Korea?
[00:06:53:09]
[00:06:53:16]
I doubt it.
[00:06:55:05]
[00:06:55:09]
That would be a betrayal.
[00:06:57:09]
[00:06:57:20]
[VICE
CONTINUED IN PART 3
2011 VICE MEDIA, INC.]
[00:06:59:20]
[00:00:03:17]
[VICE NEWS]
[00:00:07:19]
[00:00:12:05]
So,
[00:00:12:14]
[00:00:12:18]
after traveling across Siberia on one train
[00:00:15:06]
[00:00:15:10]
deep into the middle of nowhere, we switched to another train,
[00:00:18:17]
[00:00:18:21]
going even deeper into the middle of nowhere.
[00:00:21:04]
[00:00:21:11]
And finally, after two and half very drunken days on the train,
[00:00:24:23]
[00:00:25:02]
we arrived in Tynda, where the North Korean Administrative Camp was.
[00:00:28:13]
[00:00:28:24]
[NORTH KOREAN LABOR CAMPS
PART 3 OF 7]
[00:00:32:22]
[00:00:37:00]
So, we just got to Tynda.
[00:00:38:11]
[00:00:39:05]
[SHANE SMITH
VICE]
Some say it's the worst town in all of Russia.
[00:00:42:22]
[00:00:43:02]
Most depressing.
[00:00:44:09]
[00:00:44:19]
We're actually gonna try to go to the office that runs
[00:00:48:12]
[00:00:48:16]
all the North Koreans in the region.
[00:00:50:16]
[00:00:50:21]
And see if we can ask them some questions.
[00:00:53:12]
[00:00:59:07]
[KIM YUNG ZUN
KOREAN TRANSLATOR]
We met this cop on the train.
[00:01:01:07]
[00:01:01:19]
He seemed like a nice guy.
[00:01:02:23]
[00:01:03:02]
[YURI PLYASKIN
OFFICER]
He got the thugs away from us when things got a bit drunky.
[00:01:06:09]
[00:01:06:22]
And so he's offered to help us, which is good.
[00:01:09:18]
[00:01:10:03]
Because when we went to the hotel to check in, we didn't check in. Why?
[00:01:13:13]
[00:01:13:17]
Because the FSB, used to be the KGB,
[00:01:17:17]
[00:01:17:21]
are asking about us, saying,
[00:01:19:03]
[00:01:19:05]
"Let us know when they check in."
[00:01:21:06]
[00:01:21:10]
So the lady said, "I'll let them know, but I'm letting you know
[00:01:23:08]
[00:01:23:12]
that I'm letting them know."
[00:01:24:22]
[00:01:25:01]
So, we're like, "Okay. We won't be staying there."
[00:01:27:06]
[00:01:27:11]
So, we stayed in an apartment
[00:01:29:08]
[00:01:29:12]
where the water smelled like gasoline.
[00:01:31:05]
[00:01:31:09]
And then we have a cop that we're going to bring with us,
[00:01:33:23]
[00:01:34:02]
so we seem more official
[00:01:35:09]
[00:01:35:13]
when we go meet the North Koreans.
[00:01:38:02]
[00:01:38:06]
[SIMON OSTROVSKY
FREELANCE JOURNALIST]
[00:01:40:01]
[00:01:47:20]
[NORTH KOREAN ADMINISTRATION CAMP
TYNDA, RUSSIA]
[00:01:50:12]
[00:01:51:04]
We just got here and we see posters of Kim Il Sung already
[00:01:55:08]
[00:01:55:12]
and also it says here that they will lay their lives down for the revolution
[00:01:59:19]
[00:01:59:23]
of the Great Leader, Kim Jong Il.
[00:02:02:02]
[00:02:03:02]
What are we waiting for, by the way?
[00:02:04:10]
[00:02:04:14]
For one of the bosses of the camp.
[00:02:06:06]
[00:02:06:10]
Look, he's got a Kim Il Sung pen and everything.
[00:02:09:06]
[00:02:09:10]
[NAME WITHELD
CAMP ADMINISTRATOR]
[00:02:10:18]
[00:02:11:02]
[Hello,] I'm Simon Ostrovsky.
[00:02:13:18]
[00:02:13:22]
Hello.
[00:02:14:18]
[00:02:14:24]
And this is head of the publication, Shane Smith, from Canada.
[00:02:18:08]
[00:02:18:12]
- Hi.
And he's very interested to see how the
[00:02:21:01]
[00:02:21:01]
Koreans live here. Would it be possible if
[00:02:23:08]
[00:02:23:15]
you could show us around?
[00:02:24:23]
[00:02:25:10]
What's the point?
[00:02:26:07]
[00:02:26:11]
Because for us, it's a very strange lifestyle.
[00:02:28:19]
[00:02:28:23]
We've never seen anything like this in
[00:02:30:09]
[00:02:30:13]
Russia, that's why we wanted to see.
[00:02:32:07]
[00:02:32:11]
We won't enter any of the buildings. Just show us around. Tell us how everyone lives here.
[00:02:36:08]
[00:02:36:14]
We can just walk and you can say, "Here's the common house,
[00:02:38:20]
[00:02:38:24]
over here we cut down the trees."
[00:02:40:18]
[00:02:40:24]
We don't saw here.
[00:02:41:11]
[00:02:41:15]
We don't do any of that here.
[00:02:43:03]
[00:02:43:13]
I can try and start explaining it, but it's
[00:02:44:18]
[00:02:44:24]
still going to be a long story.
[00:02:47:03]
[00:02:47:10]
It's like starting an entire history class.
[00:02:50:10]
[00:02:51:03]
Are there any problems with North Koreans running away from here
[00:02:54:20]
[00:02:54:24]
in order to enter South Korea?
[00:02:58:11]
[00:02:59:03]
I doubt it.
[00:03:00:10]
[00:03:00:19]
If there was an instance, would there be any sort of punishment in North Korea?
[00:03:04:01]
[00:03:04:14]
That would be a betrayal.
[00:03:06:12]
[00:03:07:11]
A person was born, grew up, was given
[00:03:10:05]
[00:03:10:09]
an education, and fed by the country.
[00:03:12:03]
[00:03:12:08]
And what kind of a man he grew up to be?
[00:03:14:03]
[00:03:14:09]
A traitor. Goes off and runs away.
[00:03:17:16]
[00:03:17:23]
What punishment is given for traitors?
[00:03:19:22]
[00:03:20:02]
I can't really tell you because
[00:03:22:07]
[00:03:22:11]
I don't deal with that.
[00:03:23:18]
[00:03:25:13]
So as much as I understand
[00:03:27:08]
[00:03:27:12]
and you have no government permission,
[00:03:30:03]
[00:03:30:07]
we cannot allow you to enter.
[00:03:32:10]
[00:03:33:12]
So, the North Koreans don't want us to go into the North Korean camp.
[00:03:36:07]
[00:03:36:11]
They don't want us to go into the North Korean camp.
[00:03:38:06]
[00:03:38:10]
That's very surprising.
[00:03:39:10]
[00:03:44:20]
So, we came out here to the outskirts of Tynda
[00:03:47:15]
[00:03:47:19]
and we found the North Korean Administration Camp Number Two.
[00:03:51:04]
[00:03:51:19]
Surprise, surprise. They won't let us in.
[00:03:53:06]
[00:03:53:11]
But we're going to go deeper into the interior to find the actual work camps
[00:03:57:11]
[00:03:57:15]
and see if we can talk to some of the dudes.
[00:03:59:20]
[00:04:01:21]
[TYNDA TRAIN STATION
TYNDA, RUSSIA]
[00:04:03:22]
[00:04:04:03]
So, we're leaving on a one car train to go to the North Korean camps.
[00:04:07:21]
[00:04:08:00]
It's a one car train
[00:04:09:21]
[00:04:10:03]
that goes into the middle of nowhere.
[00:04:12:02]
[00:04:23:18]
[COMING IN PART 4]
[00:04:25:07]
[00:04:25:11]
So, this is our Chief of Police and he's breaking into the North Korean camp.
[00:04:30:15]
[00:04:31:14]
Oh shit.
[00:04:32:12]
[00:04:32:16]
We're literally getting caught looting right now.
[00:04:35:02]
[00:04:35:06]
We should get the vodka.
[00:04:36:08]
[00:04:36:21]
[CONTINUED IN PART 4]
[00:04:38:13]
[00:00:03:16]
[VICE NEWS]
[00:00:07:12]
[00:00:08:11]
[SOMEWHERE IN EASTERN RUSSIA]
[00:00:10:19]
[00:00:11:23]
It turned out to be a comparatively short ten hour train ride
[00:00:14:24]
[00:00:15:03]
from Tynda to Dipkun,
[00:00:16:08]
[00:00:16:12]
which was the next town that had a North Korean camp in it.
[00:00:19:10]
[00:00:21:06]
When we finally got there, it was pretty late in the day.
[00:00:23:13]
[00:00:23:23]
We had to move fast if we were going to see the North Korean camp
[00:00:26:10]
[00:00:26:14]
and get back in time before the pitch black Siberian night fell
[00:00:29:16]
[00:00:29:20]
[SHANE SMITH
VICE]
and stranded us in the forest.
[00:00:31:16]
[00:00:32:14]
We're sort of in the middle of nowhere.
[00:00:34:16]
[00:00:35:17]
But we're gonna try to go to the camp now.
[00:00:37:16]
[00:00:38:03]
[NORTH KOREAN LABOR CAMPS
PART 4 OF 7]
[00:00:39:23]
[00:00:40:02]
The old Chief of Police of Dipkun, who we met on the train,
[00:00:43:02]
[00:00:43:06]
had offered to take us out there in his new truck,
[00:00:45:16]
[00:00:45:17]
but was a bit worried about the bridge because it had recently been washed out.
[00:00:49:04]
[00:00:49:12]
We could take this. This would be awesome.
[00:00:51:11]
[00:00:52:18]
Is this us?
[00:00:53:15]
[00:00:55:24]
So we are in a race against time to go see
[00:00:59:00]
[00:00:59:04]
[SIMON OSTROVSKY
FREELANCE JOURNALIST]
the North Korean camp.
[00:01:00:15]
[00:01:00:19]
The old Chief of Police is driving us.
[00:01:03:16]
[00:01:07:09]
He'd been the Chief of Police for over a decade
[00:01:09:03]
[00:01:09:08]
[NAME WITHELD
CHIEF OF POLICE]
and consequently knew the North Korean situation there quite well.
[00:01:12:05]
[00:01:12:09]
They get paid very little, they get paid pennies and fed.
[00:01:16:13]
[00:01:16:17]
They get kopecks.
[00:01:17:17]
[00:01:17:21]
You should see their way of living. They live in smelly barns in multiples of ten.
[00:01:25:15]
[00:01:25:19]
They live in smelly barracks. Like, dozens of people all together.
[00:01:29:13]
[00:01:29:17]
They are free labor.
[00:01:33:20]
[00:01:38:08]
Yeah, I know. I think we're getting there.
[00:01:40:08]
[00:01:43:13]
The bridge is made out of old railway ties.
[00:01:47:13]
[00:01:48:00]
Our buddy, the Chief of Police, he buys this truck on credit.
[00:01:51:13]
[00:01:51:17]
Yeah.
-- And then fucking risks the whole thing
[00:01:53:12]
[00:01:53:17]
by driving across this fucking thing,
[00:01:55:19]
[00:01:55:23]
which he doesn't even know who built it or when.
[00:01:58:01]
[00:01:58:07]
Maybe we should've taken our stuff off in case he falls into the river.
[00:02:01:15]
[00:02:01:23]
He's got balls, this guy.
[00:02:03:07]
[00:02:03:11]
Yeah.
[00:02:04:04]
[00:02:04:08]
We'll have to buy him some more vodka.
[00:02:05:22]
[00:02:06:21]
Hey!
[00:02:07:21]
[00:02:14:10]
[ABANDONED NORTH KOREAN CAMP
UNOKHA, RUSSIA]
[00:02:16:09]
[00:02:16:13]
Oh my God. It's completely been cleared.
[00:02:19:00]
[00:02:20:02]
Sit here.
[00:02:21:03]
[00:02:21:12]
So, this is our Chief of Police and he's breaking into the North Korean camp.
[00:02:26:19]
[00:02:26:23]
I love it.
[00:02:27:16]
[00:02:29:21]
Now we will illegally break through on to the territory.
[00:02:33:04]
[00:02:33:09]
I love this guy so much.
[00:02:35:22]
[00:02:37:06]
This was a whole Korean village.
[00:02:39:16]
[00:02:40:02]
They had a sign here that said, "Kim Il Sung lives with us forever."
[00:02:44:05]
[00:02:44:14]
[NORTH KOREAN CAMP-1997
UNOKHA, RUSSIA]
Because I guess there have been some people who came,
[00:02:47:17]
[00:02:48:06]
Simon, who's with us, being one of them,
[00:02:50:06]
[00:02:50:10]
[SIMON OSTROVSKY
FREELANCE JOURNALIST - 2007]
they've knocked down the camp
[00:02:51:21]
[00:02:52:00]
and they've moved on to the next village down the train lines.
[00:02:55:13]
[00:02:55:18]
This used to have a slogan on it that said,
[00:02:57:24]
[00:02:58:03]
"Laboratory of Kim Il Sung's Theory."
[00:03:00:13]
[00:03:00:18]
So, they've given it over to an entrepreneur to take down
[00:03:03:17]
[00:03:03:21]
and then his benefit is he gets to sell the spare parts and metal
[00:03:07:09]
[00:03:07:13]
and stuff like that.
[00:03:08:15]
[00:03:08:19]
Let's try to open the door.
[00:03:10:04]
[00:03:10:08]
This was built by the North Koreans to resemble North Korea.
[00:03:13:05]
[00:03:13:09]
They wanted it to be like a home away from home
[00:03:15:14]
[00:03:15:18]
and this was The Laboratory of Kim Il Sung's Theory.
[00:03:19:06]
[00:03:19:10]
So we're gonna go check it out.
[00:03:20:21]
[00:03:28:04]
So, this is where they would learn about Juche,
[00:03:30:14]
[00:03:30:18]
the ideals of Kim Il Sung.
[00:03:32:10]
[00:03:32:19]
The study room was a bit freaky,
[00:03:33:24]
[00:03:34:03]
because it had the requisite painting of Mount Paektu,
[00:03:36:14]
[00:03:36:19]
which I had seen a lot when I was in North Korea,
[00:03:38:20]
[00:03:38:24]
which was where Kim Jong Il was supposed to have been born
[00:03:41:09]
[00:03:41:13]
under a double rainbow as a new star shot into the sky
[00:03:44:06]
[00:03:44:10]
to mark the joyous event.
[00:03:45:18]
[00:03:45:22]
But in actual fact, he was really born in a small log cabin near Khabarovsk,
[00:03:50:04]
[00:03:50:08]
where we had started our journey,
[00:03:51:14]
[00:03:51:18]
[KIM JONG IL
LEADER OF NORTH KOREA 1994-PRESENT]
while the Soviets trained his dad to be the Stalinist
[00:03:54:16]
[00:03:54:22]
[KIM IL SUNG
LEADER OF NORTH KOREA, 1947-1994]
cult of personality leader of Korea after World War II.
[00:03:58:23]
[00:03:59:20]
So, there's a room here full of Juche ideals.
[00:04:04:05]
[00:04:04:16]
You kind of feel like you've stumbled on a cult house,
[00:04:07:17]
[00:04:07:21]
because there are these weird things
[00:04:10:03]
[00:04:10:07]
to make candles and fires in homage to the Juche ideals.
[00:04:14:14]
[00:04:14:18]
We're finding crazy propaganda stuff because
[00:04:18:03]
[00:04:18:07]
North Korea is a cult of personality.
[00:04:20:01]
[00:04:20:05]
One man runs like a god, the country.
[00:04:23:08]
[00:04:25:09]
It's kind of got this eerie Pompeii feeling about it.
[00:04:28:11]
[00:04:29:02]
It's such a bizarre concept that there are little North Koreas
[00:04:31:21]
[00:04:32:00]
dotted around Siberia.
[00:04:33:18]
[00:04:34:00]
This would've been living quarters, right here.
[00:04:35:21]
[00:04:36:00]
Not very nice.
[00:04:37:02]
[00:04:37:14]
Pure filth.
[00:04:38:13]
[00:04:38:18]
Very disgusting.
[00:04:40:01]
[00:04:41:14]
Here's one of the old dudes.
[00:04:43:07]
[00:04:45:20]
Oh shit!
[00:04:46:13]
[00:04:46:17]
Oh, that's...
[00:04:47:14]
[00:04:48:01]
He says it's fine.
[00:04:49:03]
[00:04:49:07]
Are they North Koreans?
[00:04:50:04]
[00:04:50:08]
No.
[00:04:50:17]
[00:04:50:23]
But it'd be cool if they were...
- Yeah.
[00:04:52:05]
[00:04:52:09]
and they saw us looting.
[00:04:54:01]
[00:04:54:05]
We're literally getting caught looting right now.
[00:04:56:13]
[00:04:56:24]
All smiles.
[00:04:57:22]
[00:04:58:01]
Just smile. They'll think you're crazy.
[00:04:59:20]
[00:04:59:24]
I stole too much. Can't even shake your hand.
[00:05:02:16]
[00:05:02:20]
No worries, it's all good.
[00:05:04:01]
[00:05:04:05]
We have a real Korean, you want to tape him?
[00:05:06:02]
[00:05:06:12]
[NAMES WITHHELD
SCRAP METAL DEALERS]
He says, "You want to see a real Korean?"
[00:05:07:23]
[00:05:08:02]
Yeah.
[00:05:08:17]
[00:05:09:04]
We should get the vodka.
[00:05:10:09]
[00:05:10:13]
Hello. It's America, meet one another.
[00:05:12:24]
[00:05:13:09]
Pleased to meet you.
[00:05:15:00]
[00:05:15:02]
[NAME WITHELD
NORTH KOREAN LABORER]
[00:05:16:13]
[00:05:16:19]
Hello.
[00:05:17:07]
[00:05:17:22]
Simon.
[00:05:18:08]
[00:05:20:01]
We have to cross the bridge while it's light.
[00:05:21:16]
[00:05:21:20]
Okay.
[00:05:22:17]
[00:05:25:15]
How long have you been here?
[00:05:26:18]
[00:05:26:21]
It's been three years.
[00:05:27:11]
[00:05:27:23]
Why did you leave the homeland, come to this far away cold place to work?
[00:05:32:11]
[00:05:33:10]
Well, we, because the country sent us here to cut trees.
[00:05:36:21]
[00:05:37:09]
I feel bad for the guy because he's obviously terrified,
[00:05:39:14]
[00:05:39:18]
so we'll blur his face.
[00:05:40:20]
[00:05:41:00]
Yeah, definitely. Maybe we should let him know that we'll do that.
[00:05:42:23]
[00:05:43:02]
Yeah.
[00:05:43:12]
[00:05:44:21]
When we told him not to worry and that we would blur his face,
[00:05:47:02]
[00:05:47:06]
the North Korean worker relaxed a little and seemed much happier.
[00:05:50:06]
[00:05:50:13]
He also told us that the main part of the workers group
[00:05:53:04]
[00:05:53:09]
had moved even further up the line.
[00:05:55:01]
[00:05:55:08]
So we got into another train
[00:05:56:18]
[00:05:56:22]
and we kept going.
[00:05:57:21]
[00:06:10:21]
[COMING IN PART 5]
[00:06:14:05]
[00:06:17:06]
Should we get arrested?
- Yes!
[00:06:19:06]
[00:06:23:01]
[CONTINUED IN PART 5]
[00:06:24:17]
[00:00:08:01]
[DIPKUN, RUSSIA]
[00:00:11:23]
[00:00:14:00]
Hello!
[00:00:14:18]
[00:00:19:01]
Next morning, we got back into our one car train
[00:00:21:15]
[00:00:21:19]
and headed off into the wilderness.
[00:00:23:10]
[00:00:26:16]
And every once in a while, we'd pass logging camps
[00:00:28:19]
[00:00:28:23]
that butted up against the train tracks, that were obviously North Korean.
[00:00:32:20]
[00:00:34:09]
We're on our little train going into the middle of the forest.
[00:00:37:13]
[00:00:37:17]
This is a logging camp
[00:00:38:24]
[00:00:39:03]
run by North Koreans.
[00:00:40:17]
[00:00:40:21]
You can see there's a North Korean flag
[00:00:43:04]
[00:00:43:12]
and North Korean propaganda in here.
[00:00:45:20]
[00:00:46:10]
There! There's some North Koreans waving at us over there.
[00:00:48:23]
[00:00:49:06]
All this wood is going to England.
[00:00:51:00]
[00:00:51:19]
When we get off this train,
[00:00:53:14]
[00:00:55:21]
we're gonna go out into the camps where they actually log
[00:00:58:13]
[00:00:59:02]
out in the middle of Siberia.
[00:01:00:22]
[00:01:01:06]
Freaky, freaky business.
[00:01:02:21]
[00:01:03:01]
[NORTH KOREAN LABOR CAMPS
PART 5 OF 7]
[00:01:07:16]
[00:01:08:01]
We finally started to approach our last stop, the tiny logging town of Tatual.
[00:01:12:16]
[00:01:13:01]
Now, Tatual is a freaky place.
[00:01:15:01]
[00:01:15:05]
It's as if the Soviets had come up to the edge of civilization
[00:01:18:00]
[00:01:18:07]
[TATUAL, SIBERIA]
and dropped off their Stalinist apartment blocks
[00:01:20:14]
[00:01:20:18]
in the middle of nowhere,
[00:01:21:24]
[00:01:22:06]
and gotten back on the train and never looked back.
[00:01:24:21]
[00:01:25:05]
At the train station, we met our new driver,
[00:01:27:03]
[00:01:27:12]
a colorful local type known simply as, "The Fish."
[00:01:30:18]
[00:01:31:00]
[IGOR "THE FISH" RYBAKOV
DRIVER/FIXER]
He just brought a shotgun into the car.
[00:01:34:09]
[00:01:34:18]
Just in case.
[00:01:35:18]
[00:01:37:06]
Dog in the sidecar, dog in the sidecar.
[00:01:39:17]
[00:01:41:23]
His mouth full of gold teeth and his shiny tracksuit
[00:01:44:00]
[00:01:44:05]
confirmed what we already suspected.
[00:01:45:20]
[00:01:45:24]
The Fish and his crew were the local mob.
[00:01:48:08]
[00:01:50:08]
They've actually moved here from the camp,
[00:01:52:09]
[00:01:52:13]
[SIMON OSTROVSKY
FREELANCE JOURNALIST]
the abandoned camp that we visited yesterday, so.
[00:01:55:00]
[00:01:55:07]
Right.
[00:01:55:14]
[00:01:55:18]
So the camp we were at is done.
[00:01:57:14]
[00:01:57:18]
Now, this is the new camp, even further afield.
[00:02:00:02]
[00:02:00:06]
Right.
[00:02:00:14]
[00:02:00:18]
Yeah, we're going to their new camp where they're actually operating now.
[00:02:03:23]
[00:02:04:02]
Ask him maybe if he thinks they'll be angry or...
[00:02:06:21]
[00:02:07:00]
No, I think they will be surprised.
[00:02:09:01]
[00:02:10:03]
And he brought a shotgun.
[00:02:11:09]
[00:02:11:13]
Yeah, I think that's probably pretty useful.
[00:02:13:09]
[00:02:14:09]
Is this the camp here?
[00:02:15:13]
[00:02:16:22]
[NORTH KOREAN LOGGING CAMP
TUTUAL, RUSSIA]
[00:02:20:04]
[00:02:22:12]
So, we're here in a North Korean logging camp
[00:02:26:14]
[00:02:26:18]
in the middle of Siberia.
[00:02:28:07]
[00:02:30:14]
This is where they bring the logs from the forest
[00:02:33:00]
[00:02:33:04]
and put them onto rail cars.
[00:02:34:15]
[00:02:37:20]
Those are Korean propaganda.
[00:02:39:14]
[00:02:40:05]
There's some Korean writing.
[00:02:41:18]
[00:02:42:17]
It says,
[00:02:43:06]
[00:02:43:10]
"We're going to take action to increase productivity during the winter times."
[00:02:48:07]
[00:02:48:11]
Okay.
[00:02:49:01]
[00:02:50:12]
Here comes a Russian lady that we're going to have to...
-- She doesn't look happy.
[00:02:53:05]
[00:02:53:09]
Hello.
- Hello. Why are you taping?
[00:02:55:07]
[00:02:55:11]
[NAME WITHHELD
CAMP ADMINISTRATOR]
[00:02:56:02]
[00:02:56:06]
She immediately made a lot of phone calls and a lot of threats.
[00:02:59:06]
[00:03:00:13]
Should we get arrested?
- Yes!
[00:03:02:02]
[00:03:02:06]
They are pushing cards on me
[00:03:05:11]
[00:03:05:20]
that they are international correspondents, etc. etc.
[00:03:09:01]
[00:03:10:03]
Call me back right away.
[00:03:11:14]
[00:03:16:12]
While we were arguing with her, a van straight out of 1957 pulled up
[00:03:20:00]
[00:03:20:05]
and lo and behold, out came some North Koreans.
[00:03:22:18]
[00:03:23:09]
Hello.
[00:03:24:11]
[00:03:24:23]
Hello.
[00:03:25:15]
[00:03:25:22]
Hello.
[00:03:26:17]
[00:03:28:10]
-Can we see how you live?
-How did you come here?
[00:03:31:05]
[00:03:31:09]
[NAME WITHHELD
LUMBER CAMP FOREMAN]
Tell him that we heard the Koreans are living poorly here.
[00:03:34:07]
[00:03:34:11]
We want them to show us how they are really living.
[00:03:37:00]
[00:03:37:11]
Jason's gone AWOL.
[00:03:39:04]
[00:03:39:08]
He's in the camp.
[00:03:40:05]
[00:03:40:09]
Jason's being shuttled back to fucking Pyongyang as we speak.
[00:03:43:11]
[00:03:44:01]
Jason, our producer, slipped away with a small camera
[00:03:46:19]
[00:03:46:23]
and started filming the camp.
[00:03:48:09]
[00:03:50:23]
But we heard that you live poorly, mainly here.
[00:03:53:07]
[00:03:53:19]
We wanted to see if this was true or not.
[00:03:55:17]
[00:03:55:24]
If that is actually what you need, then please go to our representative
[00:03:59:19]
[00:03:59:23]
or to our embassy in Moscow, receive permission, and then
[00:04:02:08]
[00:04:02:14]
come with our people in charge.
[00:04:04:18]
[00:04:05:02]
You should do it that way.
[00:04:07:06]
[00:04:07:12]
Why do you film here, as if our people have committed some sin?
[00:04:10:17]
[00:04:11:21]
Let's switch places. If I kept insisting, when you do not want,
[00:04:15:01]
[00:04:15:08]
to go into your house, and see our house, would you be happy about that?
[00:04:18:09]
[00:04:18:16]
As you all know, the living standard of our people,
[00:04:22:07]
[00:04:22:11]
we are doing contract work for the purpose of improving the people's living standard.
[00:04:25:17]
[00:04:26:01]
We are all contributing to the improvement of the living standard.
[00:04:28:13]
[00:04:28:17]
With all that is taken to the home country,
[00:04:31:05]
[00:04:31:12]
[NAME WITHHELD
LUMBER CAMP FOREMAN]
each one's own house, parents, and children can enjoy a living.
[00:04:36:13]
[00:04:36:18]
There isn't any other reason.
[00:04:37:24]
[00:04:38:09]
As you have all seen on the television,
[00:04:41:15]
[00:04:41:24]
you know the situation of our home country.
[00:04:44:01]
[00:04:44:06]
It is because of that. There are no other reasons.
[00:04:46:17]
[00:04:47:14]
I understand that you took much trouble to come all the way here,
[00:04:50:01]
[00:04:50:05]
but we do not want filming.
[00:04:51:16]
[00:04:51:20]
Now what he was saying was a revelation.
[00:04:53:15]
[00:04:53:22]
We had come all this way so we could actually talk to North Koreans,
[00:04:56:23]
[00:04:57:02]
and one of the first ones we met,
[00:04:58:10]
[00:04:58:14]
was admitting that the standard of living was a problem in the home country,
[00:05:01:17]
[00:05:01:21]
which would never be admitted to in North Korea proper.
[00:05:04:13]
[00:05:04:17]
In fact, when the political boss stepped in,
[00:05:06:16]
[00:05:06:20]
he also admitted to living a hard life.
[00:05:08:24]
[00:05:09:05]
But of course, he blamed it on America.
[00:05:11:07]
[00:05:11:11]
You say that we live in a difficult condition.
[00:05:14:02]
[00:05:14:08]
[NAME WITHHELD
POLITICAL OFFICER]
Of course, we live a hard life.
[00:05:15:02]
[00:05:15:06]
Why?
[00:05:15:16]
[00:05:15:23]
Because Americans persecute us, keep blocking rice supplies and such.
[00:05:18:12]
[00:05:18:21]
That's a fact that we all know.
[00:05:20:01]
[00:05:20:07]
We live under the same conditions as the homeland.
[00:05:22:00]
[00:05:22:05]
So, do not worry about such things.
[00:05:23:11]
[00:05:23:16]
Worry about your own matters,
[00:05:24:16]
[00:05:24:22]
rather than keep harassing us.
[00:05:26:07]
[00:05:26:19]
They distort and slander, and do such things,
[00:05:28:07]
[00:05:28:23]
that's why we do not want such things.
[00:05:32:09]
[00:05:32:21]
I am really sorry to you people, you went to all this trouble
[00:05:34:21]
[00:05:35:00]
to come a long way here,
[00:05:35:22]
[00:05:36:02]
but we really do not want that.
[00:05:37:11]
[00:05:37:17]
We cannot do that. We need to get to work.
[00:05:39:16]
[00:05:40:04]
Nice to meet you.
[00:05:41:04]
[00:05:41:12]
This person has been to Korea twice.
[00:05:44:01]
[00:05:44:14]
So, he can say, "Nice to meet you."
[00:05:46:05]
[00:05:50:13]
Okay.
[00:05:51:04]
[00:05:52:05]
So they won't let us in.
[00:05:53:14]
[00:05:53:24]
You know, they don't want to get in trouble, which is understandable.
[00:05:56:13]
[00:05:56:19]
So, they're kicking us out.
[00:05:58:04]
[00:05:58:08]
We're gonna try to go to the forest
[00:06:00:09]
[00:06:00:13]
to actually find some North Korean workers
[00:06:02:06]
[00:06:02:10]
who are actually cutting down the trees.
[00:06:03:21]
[00:06:11:17]
[COMING IN PART 6]
[00:06:13:09]
[00:06:13:13]
You want a beer?
[00:06:14:11]
[00:06:14:15]
Hello.
[00:06:15:06]
[00:06:15:10]
Nice to meet you.
[00:06:16:10]
[00:06:22:11]
[CONTINUED IN PART 6]
[00:06:24:08]
[01:00:03:12]
[VICE NEWS]
[01:00:05:12]
[01:00:06:05]
[THE FOREST OF SIBERIA
TUTAUL, RUSSIA]
[01:00:09:21]
[01:00:11:02]
After getting kicked out
of the logging camp,
[01:00:13:15]
[01:00:13:19]
we headed into the forest
in search of actual loggers.
[01:00:16:15]
[01:00:16:19]
[IGOR "THE FISH" RYBAKOV
DRIVER/FIXER]
"The Fish" knew all the lumber hot spots
[01:00:18:23]
[01:00:19:02]
and after some very lurchy driving,
[01:00:20:19]
[01:00:20:23]
we found us a working cadre
deep in the forest.
[01:00:23:10]
[01:00:23:19]
This guy's really gonna want
to talk to us.
[01:00:26:02]
[01:00:26:06]
Maybe I should soften it up a bit
with the shotgun before we get out,
[01:00:29:13]
[01:00:29:17]
so they know we mean business.
-Good idea.
[01:00:31:14]
[01:00:31:18]
[NORTH KOREAN LABOR CAMPS
PART 6 OF 7]
[01:00:36:10]
[01:00:37:05]
After our heated words at the logging camp,
[01:00:39:22]
[01:00:40:01]
we decided to try to irrigate
the conversation
[01:00:41:20]
[01:00:41:24]
with the universal tongue loosener:
booze.
[01:00:44:08]
[01:00:44:12]
Beer.
[01:00:45:13]
[01:00:45:18]
Anyone want a beer?
[01:00:47:06]
[01:00:47:17]
Hello?
[01:00:49:06]
[01:00:49:10]
Nice to meet you.
[01:00:50:11]
[01:00:51:21]
They don't want a beer?
[01:00:53:06]
[01:00:53:10]
Here.
[01:00:54:15]
[01:00:56:01]
Okay to have this?
[01:00:57:00]
[01:00:57:09]
Drink it. Drink it.
[01:00:58:01]
[01:00:58:05]
Drink it?
[01:00:58:20]
[01:01:00:23]
By the way, where do these people come from?
[01:01:02:09]
[01:01:02:18]
They are from Canada.
[01:01:03:13]
[01:01:03:18]
Canada. Ah ha.
[01:01:05:09]
[01:01:05:15]
Are they saying that they want to film us working?
[01:01:06:18]
[01:01:06:19]
- Ah, logging.
Logging, you mean cutting trees?
[01:01:08:15]
[01:01:09:01]
- Yes.
- Oh.
[01:01:10:00]
[01:01:10:07]
He's got an iron bar there.
Watch his back.
[01:01:13:15]
[01:01:13:20]
How long have they been working here?
[01:01:15:20]
[01:01:15:24]
How many years?
Oh, it's different from person to person.
[01:01:18:13]
[01:01:18:18]
- Well, you?
- Me? About 5 years.
[01:01:21:04]
[01:01:21:21]
And do they live out here?
[01:01:23:10]
[01:01:23:14]
In the mountains, in a "Bang Tong"
[wagon-like camper].
[01:01:25:04]
[01:01:25:09]
[BANG TONG]
[01:01:26:10]
[01:01:26:14]
And how long do they have to stay here
before they can go back home?
[01:01:29:06]
[01:01:29:13]
After three years, some people go home to rest
and others go home permanently.
[01:01:33:13]
[01:01:34:01]
After three years, the machinery workers
for things such as sawing, tractors, cars,
[01:01:39:02]
[01:01:39:04]
such people go on a break and return.
[01:01:41:03]
[01:01:41:06]
What about the people who cut trees?
The ones involved in logging?
[01:01:43:14]
[01:01:43:17]
Yes, the ones who saw, they go home as well.
[01:01:46:01]
[01:01:46:04]
Also the ones who work well and
skilled workers, go on a break and return.
[01:01:51:11]
[01:01:51:14]
So then, what type of people permanently
go back home after three years?
[01:01:54:12]
[01:01:55:10]
Well, I would say, the ones who are not skilled.
[01:01:57:20]
[01:01:58:06]
So, the machinery workers,
we station them a little longer,
[01:02:03:07]
[01:02:03:16]
for a ten-year period or so.
[01:02:05:18]
[01:02:06:01]
So, what he's saying here is that
the majority of workers
[01:02:08:21]
[01:02:09:00]
have a ten-year plus labor commitment
[01:02:11:23]
[01:02:12:02]
to live and work in the middle of nowhere
for almost no pay.
[01:02:16:05]
[01:02:16:09]
And when we asked about vacations,
he seemed confused.
[01:02:19:13]
[01:02:19:17]
Do you have days off?
[01:02:20:21]
[01:02:21:11]
Days off.
[01:02:22:03]
[01:02:22:12]
You mean, breaks?
[01:02:23:10]
[01:02:23:14]
Days off, do you have days when you rest?
[01:02:26:06]
[01:02:26:06]
Yes, there are.
[01:02:27:05]
[01:02:27:12]
Was he forced to come here,
or did he come out of his own volition?
[01:02:30:17]
[01:02:31:03]
That's an interesting question.
I'll ask him.
[01:02:32:24]
[01:02:33:02]
-What, should we not ask that?
-No no no, it's okay, I'll ask.
[01:02:35:16]
[01:02:35:22]
- Well, the winter here is cold, yes?
- Mm. [Yes]
[01:02:37:09]
[01:02:38:05]
And during the summer, there are lots of mosquitoes.
[01:02:39:14]
[01:02:39:18]
Mosquitoes, and there are so, so many insects here.
[01:02:41:17]
[01:02:42:07]
Even then, you came back from the vacation.
[01:02:47:18]
[01:02:48:01]
When you came back, you came here voluntarily
or under the order of the home country?
[01:02:54:18]
[01:02:55:09]
They want to know that.
[01:02:57:17]
[01:02:59:01]
You came here with the intent
to help the home country.
[01:03:01:14]
[01:03:01:21]
Of course, our country, with logs.
[01:03:04:11]
[01:03:06:01]
And are they happy to be here?
[01:03:08:11]
[01:03:10:03]
Here isn't anything to like.
[01:03:11:05]
[01:03:13:02]
Is it to earn more money?
[01:03:14:15]
[01:03:16:16]
We should not say that it is to earn more money.
[01:03:18:23]
[01:03:19:11]
Here comes a van.
[01:03:21:12]
[01:03:25:15]
We were talking to our North Korean friends...
[01:03:28:02]
[01:03:28:07]
Are they Canadian investors? Probably not.
[01:03:32:01]
[01:03:32:07]
We may get into trouble.
[01:03:34:09]
[01:03:35:16]
The secretary is in the car.
[01:03:37:05]
[01:03:37:09]
-Who are these guys?
-It's the guy in the blue jacket who we talked to.
[01:03:40:05]
[01:03:40:09]
He's the Secretary to the
party organization here.
[01:03:43:02]
[01:03:43:17]
So, the Secretary of the
party organization has come.
[01:03:46:19]
[01:03:47:00]
They're gonna be told not to talk to us.
[01:03:49:14]
[01:03:49:18]
Bring the bucket over here.
[01:03:51:03]
[01:03:51:09]
Oh, it's over there.
[01:03:52:12]
[01:03:52:21]
You guys, you said that you would just pass through.
[01:03:55:02]
[01:03:55:08]
Why did you come all the way here?
[01:03:56:12]
[01:03:56:16]
Well, these people wanted to see the logging field.
[01:03:58:00]
[01:03:58:04]
You said that you will not do the logging field,
[01:03:59:23]
[01:04:00:04]
then you should have dropped the matter.
[01:04:01:16]
[01:04:02:05]
Why do you do this behind the back? You guys...
[01:04:05:05]
[01:04:05:13]
I asked this person, you guys are reporters, yes?
[01:04:07:22]
[01:04:08:05]
You are all intelligent, educated people.
[01:04:10:02]
[01:04:10:10]
If you have made a promise,
then you should keep to your promise.
[01:04:13:06]
[01:04:13:13]
This working field, this is like our private house.
[01:04:16:05]
[01:04:16:13]
So, why do you keep insisting on seeing this?
[01:04:19:11]
[01:04:20:01]
You also, as an intellectual, once you have made
a promise, you should keep your promise.
[01:04:23:06]
[01:04:23:14]
Why do you keep insisting on
doing things that we do not want?
[01:04:26:01]
[01:04:26:07]
There are many evils and conflicts [to report].
[01:04:28:00]
[01:04:28:10]
Why are they here and bothering us?
[01:04:30:14]
[01:04:30:18]
America and other countries, they do malicious
things, and there are such similar matters.
[01:04:33:13]
[01:04:33:13]
Why do they keep wanting to film us
and what do they intend to do with it?
[01:04:37:02]
[01:04:37:16]
Please just tell them not to film us since
we do not want to be filmed.
[01:04:41:15]
[01:04:42:02]
I am going to go now.
[01:04:43:07]
[01:04:43:16]
This film is no about how to work,
but about your life.
[01:04:46:21]
[01:04:47:05]
Why did you start working [for them]?
[01:04:49:13]
[01:04:49:17]
Why? Why are you behaving like this, not well.
[01:04:53:09]
[01:04:54:04]
You speak to Tataul captain?
[01:04:57:03]
[01:04:57:18]
I am the captain of Tutaul?
[01:04:59:04]
[01:04:59:09]
Talk to the Tutaul Captain? Sure you can.
[01:05:02:04]
[01:05:02:08]
Yes, yes.
[01:05:03:02]
[01:05:03:06]
I will tell you about the captain of Tynda.
[01:05:06:17]
[01:05:06:24]
Sure, talk to him.
[01:05:08:02]
[01:05:08:06]
He's saying he's going to tell the Tynda
captain boss that this guy's helping us.
[01:05:12:22]
[01:05:13:01]
They are just trying to scare us.
[01:05:14:19]
[01:05:15:10]
It was right around here
that things got a bit tense.
[01:05:18:03]
[01:05:18:10]
Yeah, these guys are coming back here.
[01:05:20:04]
[01:05:20:08]
The dude with the crow bar
is coming back.
[01:05:22:16]
[01:05:26:07]
- Do not film, do not film.
- Do not film.
[01:05:28:06]
[01:05:28:17]
[COMING IN PART 7]
[01:05:30:10]
[01:05:30:14]
We're in a high speed car chase
at 5 miles an hour
[01:05:33:20]
[01:05:33:24]
through the wilds of Siberia.
[01:05:36:05]
[01:05:36:09]
It's a game of "Chicken"
out in the middle of nowhere.
[01:05:39:16]
[01:05:40:00]
[VICE
CONTINUED IN PART 7]
[01:05:41:07]
[01:00:02:23]
[VICE NEWS]
[01:00:04:23]
[01:00:05:04]
[THE SIBERIAN TAIGA
TUTAUL, RUSSIA]
[01:00:07:16]
[01:00:08:08]
[IGOR "THE FISH" RYBAKOV
DRIVER/FIXER]
[01:00:09:24]
[01:00:10:03]
We'd finally found our North Koreans
deep in the bush
[01:00:12:04]
[01:00:12:08]
and were busy talking to them,
[01:00:13:15]
[01:00:13:19]
when things started to get a bit hairy.
[01:00:15:19]
[01:00:15:23]
[NORTH KOREAN LABOR CAMPS
PART 7 OF 7]
[01:00:18:13]
[01:00:20:05]
These guys are coming back here.
[01:00:21:21]
[01:00:22:00]
[SHANE SMITH
VICE]
The dude with the crowbar is coming back.
[01:00:24:11]
[01:00:26:18]
Do not film, do not film.
[01:00:29:03]
[01:00:29:10]
[KIM YUNG ZUN
KOREAN TRANSLATOR]
Well, no, please come this way. We are filming us.
[01:00:30:24]
[01:00:31:16]
What is that? Your off switch?
[01:00:33:13]
[01:00:33:19]
He says, "What is that? Your off switch?"
[01:00:36:17]
[01:00:36:21]
Well, look here, that is the issue.
[01:00:39:09]
[01:00:39:13]
He says, "I use it for fixing tractors."
[01:00:41:21]
[01:00:42:02]
I like "The Fish" more and more.
He took the crowbar from him and said,
[01:00:45:01]
[01:00:45:05]
"What is that? Your off switch?"
[01:00:47:10]
[01:00:47:15]
And two North Koreans came back.
Now they're giving Mr. Kim shit.
[01:00:51:08]
[01:00:51:19]
And they're quite angry.
[01:00:54:01]
[01:00:54:05]
So, we're probably gonna have to
get out of here.
[01:00:57:13]
[01:00:58:09]
For us, basically the fact that we had to leave
our home country, that in itself...
[01:01:01:11]
[01:01:01:18]
...that can't be. For us that in itself is inconceivable.
[01:01:04:14]
[01:01:05:02]
Here comes another truck.
[01:01:07:00]
[01:01:07:04]
Now we're surrounded.
They've got a truck up there,
[01:01:09:14]
[01:01:09:19]
they've got a truck behind here.
[01:01:11:19]
[01:01:11:24]
What did he say?
[01:01:13:05]
[01:01:13:09]
He said he came to tell us
that he doesn't want us filming anymore.
[01:01:16:12]
[01:01:16:16]
And he's come to block the road.
[01:01:18:10]
[01:01:18:14]
Really?
[01:01:19:15]
[01:01:27:01]
Alright. Let's go find another crew.
[01:01:30:07]
[01:01:30:11]
Let's go.
"The Fish" is the boss.
[01:01:33:10]
[01:01:35:16]
As "The Fish" took us
further into the forest
[01:01:37:24]
[01:01:38:03]
on these rugged dirt tracks,
[01:01:39:23]
[01:01:40:02]
the atmosphere on the truck got
a little bit goofy,
[01:01:42:07]
[01:01:42:11]
[SIMON OSTROVSKY
FREELANCE JOURNALIST]
because of the lunacy that was being played out
[01:01:44:16]
[01:01:44:20]
in the oddest game of low-grade
cat and mouse I've ever seen.
[01:01:47:18]
[01:01:47:22]
Ask them how we get home.
[01:01:49:17]
[01:01:50:19]
We're at a high speed car chase
at 5 miles per hour
[01:01:54:09]
[01:01:54:13]
through the wilds of Siberia.
[01:01:56:18]
[01:01:57:15]
They're stopping,
we go to try to pass them,
[01:01:59:24]
[01:02:00:03]
and then they speed up.
[01:02:01:17]
[01:02:01:21]
We go on a side road
and then they head us off at the pass.
[01:02:04:21]
[01:02:05:00]
It's a game of "chicken"
out in the middle of nowhere.
[01:02:07:16]
[01:02:07:20]
That driver is an important person.
[01:02:12:04]
[01:02:13:14]
There is going to be a control group after me.
[01:02:15:19]
[01:02:16:00]
-He is going to get blacklisted.
-Yes, yes, yes,
[01:02:18:09]
[01:02:18:13]
but I am on the blacklist
for a long time already.
[01:02:20:08]
[01:02:21:09]
"The Fish" seemed tired of this game and
suggested we pull over for some lunch,
[01:02:24:24]
[01:02:25:03]
which consisted of paprika chips, bread,
vodka and a shotgun.
[01:02:30:02]
[01:02:31:09]
A little higher.
[01:02:32:24]
[01:02:42:10]
North Koreans are going,
[01:02:43:19]
[01:02:43:23]
"What the fuck kind of journalists are these?"
[01:02:46:02]
[01:02:46:06]
Well, we've found our North Koreans.
[01:02:48:01]
[01:02:48:05]
Now let's get wasted and shoot off guns
with the mafia.
[01:02:51:08]
[01:02:51:12]
I hit it, but I didn't break it.
[01:02:53:15]
[01:02:56:08]
Turned out there was method
in "The Fish's" madness,
[01:02:59:00]
[01:02:59:04]
because our lunchtime shooting party
seemed to have cowed the North Koreans
[01:03:02:05]
[01:03:02:09]
just enough to get us out of the
wilderness, which was very good
[01:03:05:12]
[01:03:05:16]
because the all-menacing Siberian darkness
was fast approaching.
[01:03:09:24]
[01:03:11:00]
When we finally got to town,
they, of course, were waiting for us.
[01:03:14:05]
[01:03:14:09]
The North Korean security dude
just showed up and won't leave us alone.
[01:03:18:15]
[01:03:18:19]
And he's just standing there
trying to look at our passports.
[01:03:21:09]
[01:03:21:13]
And trying to see all of our stuff.
He's trying to be scary.
[01:03:24:10]
[01:03:24:14]
-You are memorizing it?
-No.
[01:03:26:18]
[01:03:26:22]
I don't need to.
[01:03:28:12]
[01:03:28:19]
And when we got on the train and said
our cheery goodbyes to "The Fish,"
[01:03:31:11]
[01:03:31:15]
we realized that half the car train
was our crew, and the other half
[01:03:34:15]
[01:03:34:16]
were North Koreans.
[01:03:35:15]
[01:03:35:19]
Happy to meet you.
[01:03:37:03]
[01:03:37:08]
That was the captain of the camp.
[01:03:39:04]
[01:03:39:08]
Great.
[01:03:40:09]
[01:03:40:13]
So, we locked ourselves
into our compartment
[01:03:42:12]
[01:03:42:16]
and spent the night backing up
our hard drives
[01:03:44:17]
[01:03:44:21]
and hiding all of our footage,
which turned out to be wise
[01:03:47:19]
[01:03:47:23]
because we were met
back in Tynda by the FSB,
[01:03:49:24]
[01:03:50:03]
the local militia, the North Koreans and
some plainclothes detectives,
[01:03:53:10]
[01:03:53:14]
who promptly detained us.
[01:03:55:00]
[01:03:55:04]
So, they asked us a lot of questions
[01:03:57:01]
[01:03:57:05]
and they kept asking us
about the pipeline.
[01:03:59:12]
[01:03:59:16]
"Are you here to shoot the pipeline?
Are you here to shoot the pipeline?"
[01:04:01:23]
[01:04:02:02]
"We don't know anything about a pipeline.
We're here to shoot North Koreans."
[01:04:04:15]
[01:04:04:19]
They knew about the Russian cop who had
taken us to the North Korean camp,
[01:04:08:08]
[01:04:08:12]
they knew about the police in the North,
[01:04:10:14]
[01:04:10:18]
but Simon refused to be intimidated
and he said,
[01:04:13:08]
[01:04:13:12]
"If you want to ask me any questions,
ask me here. I'm not going with you,
[01:04:16:11]
[01:04:16:15]
I'm not going away with you."
[01:04:18:09]
[01:04:18:13]
They finally let us go.
We freaked out a little bit,
[01:04:20:10]
[01:04:20:14]
grabbed our stuff and took off.
[01:04:22:10]
[01:04:22:14]
We quickly hired a car
and made a break for the Chinese border.
[01:04:25:11]
[01:04:25:19]
When we finally got to the border,
[01:04:27:08]
[01:04:27:12]
we realized that part of the reason
for all this panic and fear
[01:04:29:21]
[01:04:30:00]
in the North Korean and Russian side
was that Kim Jong Il,
[01:04:32:19]
[01:04:32:23]
who almost never leaves North Korea,
[01:04:34:20]
[01:04:34:24]
had secretly come
to the same place we were-
[01:04:36:22]
[01:04:37:01]
the Amor region of Russia-
[01:04:38:15]
[01:04:38:19]
coincidently at the exact same time
we were there,
[01:04:40:22]
[01:04:41:01]
[DMITRY MEDVEDEV
PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA]
to hold talks with President Medvedev
[01:04:43:11]
[01:04:43:15]
about more trade and labor agreements
between the two countries.
[01:04:46:10]
[01:04:47:15]
So, this means that while we were there,
[01:04:50:08]
[01:04:50:12]
the great leader
was selling even more of his people off,
[01:04:53:00]
[01:04:53:04]
so he could make even more money,
so he could make more weapons,
[01:04:57:02]
[01:04:57:06]
so he could extort more food and aid
and supplies from America and Japan,
[01:05:01:11]
[01:05:01:15]
who he's technically still at war with.
[01:05:04:11]
[01:05:10:23]
And this,
better than almost anything I can think of,
[01:05:14:00]
[01:05:14:04]
sums up the lunacy of the modern world.
[01:05:17:03]
[01:05:17:07]
Thank you and goodnight.
[01:05:19:20]
[01:05:32:08]
Why? We are telling you not to film.
[01:05:34:06]