British YouTuber Harry Jaggard recently joined a marathon in North Korea. His intention was not to run but to get inside the country and record videos.
The YouTuber, who has over 2.4 million subscribers, was surprised to be allowed to record a lot more than expected. He spent five days in Pyongyang this April, visiting places like war museums, beer joints, monuments and even the subway.
His YouTube video about the North Korean experience has gone viral, gaining 2.4 million views on the platform.
Although it was a guided tour, he called it a “highlight reel” meant to impress visitors. Harry, 27, had always wanted to visit lesser-known places and called the experience strange yet eye-opening.
His guide had warned that North Korea would raise more questions than answers. After his North Korea experience, Harry agreed.
“To have the freedom that I was given was crazy. They were very relaxed,” Jaggard told the New York Post.
“They showed us the tour that they wanted to show, it was definitely the highlight reel. It’s like going on a tour of America but only seeing Las Vegas — like the shiny parts,” he added.
Jaggard believes North Korea doesn’t fully understand how powerful influencers can be in revealing hidden realities. Though no journalists were allowed, Jaggard believes influencers like him fall in a grey area.
He flew from Beijing to Pyongyang and found the city clean, grand and peaceful. It was very different from what he expected. However, propaganda was everywhere, praising the leader and warning against outsiders.
“It’s literally everywhere you look. I couldn’t read it, but what I got translated is pushing this one ideology that the leader is the best and keeping the country protected from the outside world,” Jaggard told the publication.
His hotel felt like it was from the 1970s but was clean and comfortable. It was the only place with the Internet. He was worried about hidden microphones in the room.
North Korean ‘propaganda’
A local tour guide proudly showed him a photo with leader Kim Jong Un and called it “incredible”. According to the guide, the people of North Korea see Kim as their strength. North Koreans are raised to solve problems without outside help, the guide added.
One guide even claimed COVID-19 had come from South Korea through hot-air balloons. Privately, a guide asked him questions about America, Donald Trump and the reason behind people’s apparent dislike of North Korea.
Anyway, Harry Jaggard feels locals are heavily brainwashed. Some may know the truth about the outside world but stay silent out of fear, according to him.
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