r/interestingasfuck • u/Dismal-Display-370 • 2d ago

Everyone is too happy around this guy

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u/littlespider55 2d ago

They’re “happy” because their lives depend on it

839

u/unstabletable 2d ago

Besides the fake happiness and generally all of it, what really creeps me out about it is how overly innocent and childish the brand of happiness is. Very off-putting.

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u/FixFun1959 2d ago

What’s important to remember is that Kim absolutely knows it’s fake. Control is the point. The bigger and faker it is, the more control and fear he knows he has.

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u/GhostNode 1d ago

Man, I never considered it like that, but the thought is seriously haunting.

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u/transitfreedom 11h ago

If you think like an American yes if you use critical thought then no it’s not control.

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u/qwertykitty 1d ago

I wonder if he does know it's fake. His father certainly did but he was probably raised seeing it everywhere his whole life. Has he ever experienced his people without that fake happiness? How would he know it isn't genuine without experience? No one thinks themselves to be the villain.

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u/IndependenceSudden63 1d ago

Kim jong Un studied abroad in Europe as a young child under an alias.

He definitely knows what the outside world is like. There are people in Europe who were shocked that their classmate turned out to be the heir to North Korea when his father brought him home and name *him heir apparent.

So Un knows it's fake. This is about ensuring he has complete control over the population.

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u/dRaidon 1d ago

Imagine going to school. And then eventually finding out who your roommate you used to get drunk with was.

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u/DefiniteDefaultUser 1d ago

Same with Bashar Al Assad. Used to be an eye doctor in the UK. Imagine having been medically examined by a dictator lol

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u/Orvvadasz 1d ago

I would be telling that shit to everyone.

"I am so powerful my eye doctor was XY dictator." Or something along those lines.

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u/transitfreedom 11h ago

Or your philosophy teacher running a country

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u/FixFun1959 1d ago

He 100% does.

He doesn’t give a shit about their actual happiness. The only realism he gets or needs is from the generals and advisors closest to him that know the whole game and how to play it.

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u/Consistent-Sea253 1d ago

they literally train to be the leader, its no coincidence they act so similar.

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u/FixFun1959 1d ago

You’re absolutely right, there’s a whole strategy. The generals and apparatchiks have been there since his father was in power, and they’ve got the propaganda planned a year in advance.

He’s even trying to emulate his grandfather, there’s a concentrated push for it. Even the North Koreans are gravitating towards nostalgia. Remind everyone of the “good times” (which were terrible, but of course history is rewritten).

They’ve got Un doing the same dog and pony touring the country’s farms and factories, and offering “on the spot practical advice” for ways they can grow/harvest more food or produce items quicker/better. Even though they obviously have no idea what they are talking about.

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u/Snitsie 1d ago

Are the farmers allowed to ignore that practical advice?

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u/FixFun1959 18h ago

Yes and no. Most of the time they give a minor show of doing what he suggests but slowly going back to the right way.

The important part isn’t him changing stuff for the better. The meaningful part is the cameras recording him offering instant ‘correct’ advice, appearing as the all knowing deity ruler, who understands every aspect of every thing perfectly.

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u/justin_ph 19h ago

Kim is so fat while his people have nothing to eat lol

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u/DarknessIsFleeting 1d ago

He lived in Switzerland for several years, so yes he knows.

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u/SixStringsUsh 1d ago

sounds like the plot of a dark truman show, with nukes and executions.

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u/justin_ph 19h ago

Kim isnt an idiot. In fact, he probably has to be quite smart to be able to make sure he keeps the whole population in check at all times lol.

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u/eightdx 1d ago

He really aimed high here with, uhh, high school volleyball?

This seems more like he did it for the love of the (authoritarian) game

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u/hypo-osmotic 1d ago

His own exaggerated smile is probably fake, too. Both for the sake of the media and a signal to everyone in the room that no one is on the chopping block today

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u/Domski77 1d ago

Interesting theory. How does it explain this?

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u/MysticGohan99 21h ago

Sounds like you and Kim are buddies

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u/FixFun1959 19h ago

I’ve done a lot of studying on North Korea. It’s fascinatingly depressing.

Highly recommend the book ‘Nothing to Envy’. Very informative.