RE:DFNE by RE:DFNE

RE:DFNE issue | 1

EDITORIAL • THE “HERMIT” KINGDOM: LIFE IN NORTH KOREA MISSING: PS AND QS • “LUCY” REVIEW INTERNET: THE ROUTER OF ALL SOCIAL PROBLEMS

foreword :

rguments and disagreements are not the same thing. Where arguments swell into fiery shouting matches without resolution, disagreements are merely opposing opinions. The former is a contest of volume and speed, while the latter is one of conviction - and that’s precisely the kind of thing I want more of. Without fluffing up my introduction too much, RE:DFNE is – in all honesty - my opinion on certain things. Most of the time, you’ll find that I take a more subjective stance, and the point here is to elicit a response from you. All too often, we blindly accept what we hear or see. Yet what we’re fed is not always what we should believe. With each issue, I’ll cover a broad theme and look at things we either don’t talk about anymore, or we don’t talk about enough. My aim is not to offend anyone in anyway. Instead, I want this to become a kind of “healthy discussion” between friends. I want responses, be it in agreement or in opposition. I want to know that people can still think for themselves. This particular issue began to lean towards questioning human nature, and so I went with that. In all fairness, it fits a first issue quite well, covering the core of what I’m addressing. You’ll be able to find information on North Korea, and I even

tried to look at how we treat ourselves and each other in the 21st century. In essence, it simply asks the question of “Who are we trying to be, and why?” Like I said above, if you have the urge to add your own two cents, don’t hesitate to. Send me a short mail – even a small two-liner. The fact that you’re actively commenting on things you read, and not just taking them as gospel, is sign enough that my 0.0000001% contribution to a global movement is not (completely) wasted. The RE:ACT! section is specifically for your writing, and should you wish for it to be published, it will. The other categories I’ll try and cover in every issue, with perhaps a few additions and some omissions. Other than that, I’m not quite sure what else to say – cat’s got my tongue, I guess. In any case, I hope you find something enjoyable. Let’s be independent thinkers again. Let’s be rational thinkers again. Let’s be critical thinkers again. If we can do that, then society will have nothing on us. Well, that’s what I think, anyway. What about you?

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Hermit

The “

”

Kingdom Life in North Korea

What goes on

behind closed doors...

autocratic nation hides a lot more behind its closed doors then you may know.

“Hey, how’s life in North Korea?” “I can’t complain, y’know. I risk imprisonment and all, so…”

A history abridged, ‘then’ to ‘now’

No - literally.

I’m going to skip Ancient-Korea and go straight to 1945 and the ending of World War II (WWII). Similar to how Germany was divided after they lost, Korea was split by America and the Soviet Union. The country had been annexed by Japan and when Japan was defeated, American troops moved into the South while the Soviet Union called dibs on the North. This marked the conception of the 38th parallel, a line drawn on 38˚N that divided north and south. However, little did they know how seminal this event would become later on.

e might be too used to the idea of political satire to think anything else of it other than comic relief. For North Koreans, poking fun at their officials is more like poking a wasp’s nest. In fact, in North Korea this kind of “behaviour” is a potential existential threat. We’ve reached the point where this unpredictable country is not only just secretive anymore - the New York Times labelled it the single most opaque nation the world has ever seen. Apart from the underground nuclear testing that is on such a high alert at the moment, it is incredibly difficult to receive internal information and reports on the country. Few reliable sources exist anymore. One good place for info is still Jang Jin-sung, a former counterintelligence official under the late Kim Jong-Il. He now runs his own independent news webpage with sources from China as well as within the Korean government, so if you want to stay informed about North Korea I would recommend reading his New Focus International. However, despite the stringent secrecy, the things we do know about North Korea are frightening. It isn’t even just about being unaccustomed to a different culture anymore. This is border-line inhumane, to say the least… and in the 21st century? It freaks me out. This walled-off, Asian,

WWII was shortly followed by the Cold War and the tension between America (the US) and the Soviet Union (the USSR) in the time around 1947 meant each respective state elected leaders aligned with their own causes, instead of mutually electing a single leader for the entire peninsula. The US handed power over to Syngman Rhee while the USSR gave Kim Il-sung power of the North and, all of sudden, the temporary 38th parallel line became a new border. The mistrust and underlying conflict birthed each Korea’s own belief that they were the true representation for the Korean people: in August 1948, Rhee declared the formation of the Republic of Korea, claiming jurisdiction over all of Korea; 24 days later, Kim Il-sung

declared the formation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, also claiming jurisdiction over all of Korea – awkward. According to LibertyInNorthKorea.org, the greatest division in Korea’s history came in 1950 with a war between North and South that attempted to “unify” Korea once more. The result was 3 years-worth of bombing that reduced North Korea’s population by a heart-wrenching 10%. Eventually, in 1953, an armistice treaty was signed that turned the 38th parallel into a 4km wide no-man’s land, called the Demilitarised Zone or the DMZ. And from there on…? Well, you’d think it couldn’t get much worse. For North Korea, the period from 1953 onwards was basically just the country’s self-communisation, except to dangerous extremes (as if communism in practice wasn’t extreme enough as it is). The state practically took ownership of everything, from businesses to people’s clothes. Media censorship went as far as free speech being passed as a crime punishable by imprisonment or even execution – and yes, the death penalty is a thing, not was. This law apparently only applies to a small set of crimes, but “crimes against the state” and “crimes against the people” can easily be (and are) applied broadly. This stringency against international branching-out meant the economy was crippling. North Korea was heavily reliant on trading with the USSR and Eastern bloc, so the economic decline in those countries had a direct impact on them. When the USSR became no more, the North Korean economy “stopped functioning” and fell into a national famine crisis, which peaked mid-90s. It is estimated that 5% of the population were killed from hunger alone. To top it all off, their leader Kim Il-sung died in 1994 and left a rapidly disintegrating country in the hands of his son, Kim Jong-Il.

Former president Kim Il-sung was a cult, and his son Kim Jong-Il has been crowned the most successful dictator in modern history. These guys had an entire nation of citizens in the palms of their hands. Anything they said was treated as gospel, which seems bizarre considering the totalitarianism reign and terrible standard of life people had. I’ve read, though, that it can be described as a kind of Stockholm Syndrome: after decades of oppression/captivity, people begin feeling empathy and even love towards their leader/captor. The North Korean people are shut-off from

the world, without a means of knowing what happens elsewhere in the world - international travel is virtually impossible and they don’t even have access to the internet (more about that later). They’ve been cut-off and indoctrinated into thinking this guy is like their God. Speaking of God-like metaphors: Kim Il-sung’s year of birth (1912) had North Korea redesign their calendar so that it would be their ‘year one’ – sound familiar? (Cough Jesus cough.) Kim Jong-un succeeding his father, Kim Jong-Il, did little to remedy the blatant ratification of human rights in North Korea. The world held its breath, but choked as it realised that the Kim-family was not about to give away their kingdom. Freedom of beliefs in general usually gives rise to thinking for oneself, so obviously that had to be fixed. Although North Korea says it allows free religious belief, their constitution is rather heavily based on the Juche ideologies, which are based themselves on the Marxist belief system. With the fundamentals of these philosophies against organised religion, it’s safe to say that North Korea adopts the same stance. In other words, they’re subtly contradicting themselves. ‘Preaching’ the negative impacts of religion will no doubt create a nation that grows up agnostic. Apparently religious groups like Chosun Christian Association and the Buddhist Association exist, but people within North Korea have said they are merely ways of giving the false pretence that religion can be practiced.

The worldwide web is way too unfiltered for Kim Jung-un. No no no, let’s not have internet. North Korea literally does not have access to the internet. Instead, they have a form of “intranet” which is more like a really big network server, which only has around 5 500 websites. All of these have been checked and approved by North Korean government to make sure there isn’t anything on there that would

food than you’re allowed to. Anything that the police classify as anti-socialist behaviour can be punished by death, and you wouldn’t even get a fair trial - if a trial at all. If one escapes execution, you are locked-up and inhumanely tortured until you confess. State jails have limits – not very limited ones, mind you – but underground prisons exist as well, where police officers could get away with murder. Beating and sleep deprivation are commonly implemented, but North Korean law enforcement allows “pigeon torture.” The technique involves tying the victim’s hands behind his back and hoisting him up so that he hangs from a pole attached to a wall. This excruciating form of torment can cause dislocation and – if the victims are beaten at the same time – dismemberment.

over-inform their country. Furthermore, internet labs are monitored by officials. Although centres exist where one is able to connect to the internet, the country practically watches your screen over your shoulder. The slightest suspicion of revolt, which is probably even googling the national bird of another country (GASP, THE UTTER ANARCHY!), and you’re cut-off or charged with treason... Well, maybe not, but you get the idea. It’s pretty serious. Still, this sort of oppression is however mild.

North Korea has even been called the largest prison camp in the world. One would think of it as a metaphor for the strict laws that constitute the running of the country, but it has a more literal side to it. Any political prisoners or more serious criminals are thrown into these forced labour camps and treated similarly to those in legal and illegal prisons (“illegal prisons” – what a joke). Although Kim Jong-un will say otherwise, the blueprints of these camps are unsettlingly similar to the concentration camps of Nazi-Germany. Could we be witnessing an Asian Hitler-like reign? This ruthless dictator controls his “hermit kingdom” by instilling and exploiting fear. He thrives on it, as does his successful dictatorship. The nuclear research being conducted at the moment is a worrying development and major role-playing nations like the US and Russia are not letting it go unnoticed. Still, they are cautious in their approaches because they fear sparking a missile attack or WWIII – reasonable concerns, methinks.

Anything that the police classify as antisocialist behaviour can be punished by death, and you wouldn’t even get a fair trial - if a trial at all.

We can survive without religion or internet, but no food and we face certain death – or at least a painful decline to it. North Korea experienced a drought during 2011 but the country’s food shortages are still at national-famine levels.

Currently, the World Food Program estimated that nearly 2.8 million North Koreans are experiencing devastating under-nourishment, likely due to the government favouring its own officials and the military. Starving your country to bribe them into your control? Intense stuff. Deliberately rationing food to your country is ludicrous enough, but publically executing people every now and then is social regression at its worst. Crimes to justify this treatment range from stealing state property to hoarding more

Basically, Kim Jong-un is not only ruling his own country by fear, but dare I say the rest of the world as well. Hm.

But hey, maybe he still needs to come around, right? Things might still get better. Hopefully international influence will become more prominent and, however terrible Kim Jong-un comes across, he did promise to pave the way towards a new, clear future for North Korea afterall. (Whoops. I think I misspelt “nuclear.”)

MISSING

s ’ Q D N A P’s

Could this spell social collapse?

wouldn’t say I’m an old-fashioned stickler for manners, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate basic courtesy from people. I admit that my idea of what “basic” means is probably entirely different from your understanding. However, when it comes to dealing with strangers, or even your immediate family, I shudder at the thought that we would need to debate what a standard for manners should be. I want civility to be seen on a scale of ‘friendly’ to ‘Ghandi’, because anything less than that kind of minimum is not unsocial - it’s anti-social. HI, I’M JOMIRO, AND I’M A HIKIKOMORI. Yeah, I do tend to shy away from direct social contact. I can openly confess to that and I’m totally aware of the fact that I consciously do it. Admittance is the first step towards change, right? So, follow suit; you know you do it too. The Japanese have coined a brilliant word (of course they have, gotta love ‘em) for those who avoid people or social interactions, especially if they can’t hide

behind their Facebook or Whatsapp. They’re called “hikikomori” and that term perfectly sums up the major issues I have with people’s fundamental disregard for other human beings. It sounds a bit like a dystopian perspective, but being willingly oblivious to the individuals around you is very unhealthy, and can have detrimental effects. Common courtesy is very rare Where I’m most conscious of a people-ignoring person (PIP) is on the bus, which I take every morning. The impulse reaction upon sitting down, for most commuters, seems to be putting in earphones or going to sleep. Albeit a seemingly acceptable way to pass the time, you think it means that all interactions are negated. Why can’t you introduce yourself to the person that sits down next to you, or at least make eye contact and smile for you-know-what’s sake? You have no obligation to fall in love with every stranger that you graze an arm with, but just acknowledge the fact that they exist, and that they are physically there. Call me philosophical, but seriously: grow up and cheer up.

Before we get off at the next stop, something else that’s hardly ever done is thanking the bus driver. I’ve made a concerted effort in trying to remember to do so, and I appeal to you to do the same. These civil servants are paid very basic salaries, spend their days on busy roads with idiot drivers, and have working-hours that aren’t always very forgiving. I don’t see what is so hard about saying a quick “thanks” on your way out. You’d be surprised how much they take that to heart. Speaking of saying “Thank you,” I feel like we have become incredibly presumptuous. We automatically presume that we are entitled to certain things, which is why we don’t understand it when people call us rude or ungrateful. Have you ever heard someone saying “Chivalry is dying?” Not to sound arrogant, but I gave up on opening doors for people when they gave up acknowledging that I was doing it. It sounds really immature, but take it for granted and don’t expect it to come around a second time. It is really important that we remain mindful of the tiniest gestures that often disappear under our superficial, badly-made radars. From someone letting you pass first, to the barista serving you coffee, to the guy driving your bus… Drop the friggin’ ego, and thank them. R-E-S-P-E-C-T Aretha Franklin said it, guys. Perhaps I’m not going to convince you to belt it out like she did, but at least look at those seven letters and think about what they mean. If anything can rid the world of conflict for good, I am convinced that the sub-heading up there is the answer. Just saying.

The majority of offices have cleaners employed that come around with a vacuum or duster once in a while. The problem with this is that the majority of people grew up in a similar environment, and seem to have adopted this concept of I-do-they-clean into their everyday lives. Respect comes in the form of picking up your mess as well, and be it in the bathroom or in the kitchen, cleaners are not there to tidy up after you. They keep spaces in order and looking clean, but do them a favour and wash your own coffee mug. Something else which I know all too well, is the treatment of hawkers. My route to school used to include a large intersection with three-phase traffic lights. The wait was always long, and the spot was prime for hawkers to sell their beaded crafts, magazines, or cellphone car-chargers. What started as a polite “No, thank you” turned into either having your window wound up, or - even worse winding your window up as a hawker approached. People would blatantly ignore the vendors to avoid communicating with them. You feel guilty, they are too persistent, you don’t know how to say “No” in a nice way… but honestly, in reality, it’s disgusting. Put yourself in their shoes: these are people with feelings and families; this is their livelihood. There is no obligation to purchase out of sympathy, but would striking up a small conversation ruin your day? Because it would most probably make theirs. Awkward moment… So, what now?

I don’t know anyone who wakes up on Monday and skips to work, leaving a trail of sunshine and fluffy rabbits behind them. The beginning of another week in the office is a buzz-kill for most people, but this doesn’t mean you are exempt from being polite and treating the people around you with basic respect.

Make it your new year’s resolution, make it your goal for the week, put it on your list for Santa… I really don’t mind. Just be aware of your Ps and Qs.

I know how hard it is to be happy in front of other people when you have a dark cloud looming above you. Nevertheless, I am tired of colleagues – even the people you don’t really deal with at work – being regarded as nothing more than place-holders in the office. Uhm, hello, they are still people…? Not knowing their name doesn’t mean they don’t have one. Introduce yourself when you find yourselves making coffee in the kitchen, say “Good morning” to them, ask them about their weekend or their day, or – get this social breakthrough - just wave.

(See what I did there?)

All that’s left for me to say now is: Thanks for listening; seriously.

Lucy

Â«Â«Â«Â«

“We’ve codified our existence to bring it down to human size, to make it comprehensible; we’ve created a scale so we can forget its unfathomable scale.”

pace has forever, completely fascinated me. It always has, and always will. The inconceivable size and pure vastness of this world beyond our understanding is something I cannot even begin to imagine, and it is the single thing (quote-unquote) “in this world” that excites me not to be able to explain. Lucy is the first movie I have ever seen that takes this idea of humans and how we scale and structure concepts in order to understand the basic models we live-out, and sets it up against an infinite backdrop of the indescribable, fundamental essence of everything: existence itself.

Mind you, speaking of time... Luc Besson (pictured below, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012), defined time as “the only true unit of measure.” That, without time, there is no such thing as existence or proof there-of actually, like... well, existing - which is a preeetty unfathomable concept in-and-of itself, if you ask me.

The one draw-back that some people may find in the movie (and I die inside even saying that there may be a draw-back at all) is that the ending is somewhat climatic, but still incredibly anticlimatic and open-ended. In a way, however, it tries to embody and convey the message that perhaps we aren’t meant to reach full brain capacity, as it would just be too much for us to handle.

Centered around a focal Lucy, played brilliantly by Scarlett Johansson (who has gained more and more of my respect with every movie she’s acted in, like Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Avengers, Under the Skin and Her), the plot goes from an innocent girl becoming a drug mule to her being the one human to have access to 100% of her brain – albeit it’s the drugs leaking from their packet inside her intestines, in overdose quantities, that allow her to do so (kids, don’t get ideas). Apart from being full of all the action and fight-scenes one needs from a Hollywood movie these days, it has a spiritual and philosophical depth that I can really appreciate. It challenges the idea of human beings only using 10% of our cerebral capacity and pushes the boundaries to ask the question scientists around the world are trying to demonstrate: what happens if we tap into the other 90? And should we? The first traces of this theory (apparently) appeared in an influential paper published by William James in 1907, The Energies of Men. Without the technology we have today, it’s fair enough to argue that this guy must have been pulling ideas from thin air, but when you realise that the initial blueprints of cell theory were derived by the Ancient Egyptians and Ancient Greeks (Aristotle himself, to be precise), then you wonder whether a hundred years is actually such a long time ago.

The film also asks a lot of questions and brings-tosurface a million and one theories and counter-theories, but it fails to answer a lot apart from the fact that we are wasting our potential - we are a page from a thousand chapter book and, with the right consciousness, we could actually open any page from that book that we’d like to. Although, what happens when we do open all the pages remains to be discovered; and after watching the film, in Lucy’s words herself: “Life was given to us a billion years ago. Now you know what to do with it.”

This space is yours to fill. Have an opinion? Have something else to add? Feel like making a point? Know of suitable content? Disagree with something youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve read?

I want to know about it. Shout at me, agree with me, or finish my sentence. Go. jomiro.eming@outlook.com

re:ally?

Internet: the router of all social problems

lthough “enthusiastic” and “addicted” are synonyms in the dictionary, I would never use them interchangeably. Immediate connotations with the latter might be drugs, alcohol, or sex. Alas, I’m concerned about something much less rock ‘n roll. This particular addiction is virtually undetectable: the internet. A friend of mine rather casually passed a comment in the office, but it really got me thinking. It turns out that Mobileinsurance.com recently conducted a study showing a shocking statistic: on average, we spend about 4 years on our mobile phones. 4 years? Going by the World Health Organisation’s global life expectancy, this amounts to about 5.7% of our lives. Perhaps spending 6-ish% of your life on a cell phone doesn’t seem that significant, but maybe look at it this way: 90 minutes every day, condensed into one, long IM chat, means you’d start and finish between a president’s entire term in office, see a leap year come-and-go, and would have texted from the beginning to the end of WWI. How’s that for perspective? If 4 years of our lives are spent on mobile devices, I shudder to think how much of our lives are vacuumed into the internet. Furthermore, how much time does that mean we put towards actually seeing people these days? Irrespective of the fact that we use the internet a lot for work in this day and age, I don’t think we are benefitting from living in cyberspace. eMarketer collected information from their respondents that showed people average 23 hours online per week. Post calculations, that comes to a staggering 13.65% of our lives. Using the same expectancy as above, I’ve worked it out to be about 9.5 years. Look past the numbers and tell me that’s not scary. With everything I’ve just said in mind, is it a wonder at all that we’ve become so socially-numb? I’m not surprised we struggle to hold relationships, get past awkward conversation, and make new friends. Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, or BBM have all dissolved a certain sense of urgency. Not even 3 decades ago, meeting for a coffee at 2pm was concrete. Nowadays, it seems to stop at a runny attempt at making plans. “We must meet up soon!” Even 15 minutes before the scheduled meeting time: “Oh, sorry. Something came up. Tomorrow?” The anonymity of talking through an SMS makes people much less sensitive to the consequences of their actions. Let’s ditch the superficial façade we’ve adopted. Make rules of not touching your phone at a party, switching off WiFi at home, or having time-limits to computer usage. Anyway, it’s beautiful outside and my friend has a day-off. I’m going to go and take her out for a drink. Spend your afternoon how you want to, just don’t waste the next 10-odd years on your phone, on the internet, or on your butt. #sorrynotsorry

Images:

re: ce nt

Many thanks to Matt Paish for his eye-opening photos on North Korea (www.flickr.com/photos/mattpaish)

re: le va nt Photo taken by Jomiro Eming

re: vie w Sketch of Scarlet Johansson done by MarmaladeMoron (www.deviantart.com)

re: al ly? Pho to taken by Jo mi r o Emi n g

cover a nd fi ll er sh ots Pictures taken by Jomiro Eming, but a huge thank you must be said to the stunning Yeshe Stylianou for posing so perfectly for the camera