[nonethewiser]

Honestly true. They are probably patriotic, far from the larger problems, have cognitive dissonance (“im not living in a dystopian shithole because that would be hopeless “, etc. All it takes is one glaring mischaracterization by western media and their beliefs that they are misunderstood by the West are confirmed. They probably even know of many of the bad things that happen but are able to rationalize it.

[rl3]

On the contrary, DPRK has a long history of threatening people's families to keep them in line.

The simplest explanation here is also the most cruel:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37425542

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisons_in_North_Korea

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoeryong_concentration_camp