Friday, March 29, 2024
 
One Traveling College Student Finds Prank Doesn’t Go Over Well With the Locals

WASHINGTON, D.C. Mar. 16 (DPI) – Otto Warmbier, the 21-year-old University of Virginia student who is looking at 15 years in a gulag for pilfering a political sign in North Korea, got some harsh treatment online as well: What, thousands of readers asked today, was he thinking?

Warmbier appeared before cameras during a staged trial in Pyongyang today, pleading for forgiveness before scores of stone-faced North Koreans.

Warmbier reportedly tried to take a political sign from his Pyongyang hotel, and North Korean officials detained him as he was leaving the country Jan. 2. The North Koreans handed down his sentence this week. They also accused him of being an operative of the CIA, which readers of course dismissed, and which seemed especially unlikely given the nature of the young man’s prank.

On almost every western news site that offers reader feedback, comment boards generally expressed amazement at the young American’s bad judgement.

Over the years Westerners arrested by the North Korean regime for almost any reason are ultimately released after concessions are made to the North Korean government, although lately – with relations worsening – such a scenario seem less likely.

The theft reportedly took place on the “hidden fifth floor” of the hotel for foreigners in Pyongyang. Here is a Youtube video of that location, which other young western tourists took huge risk to video:

Non US comment boards were even harsher toward Warmbier:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3494513/American-student-detained-North-Korea-sentenced-15-years-hard-labor-trying-steal-political-banner.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/north-korea-sentences-u-va-student-to-15-years-of-hard-labor-in-prison/2016/03/16/87fc5538-eb8e-11e5-a6f3-21ccdbc5f74e_story.html

Among the most popular remarks on WashingtonPost.com:

Lesson No. 1: Don’t travel to North Korea. Lesson No. 2: Don’t steal.

Any American “touring” N. Korea should be expecting this. How could you not? Their dictator is quite literally a narcissistic lunatic that hates our frikkin’ guts. Of course you’re going to be arrested!

What kind of moron would go to North Korea?

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/16/asia/north-korea-warmbier-sentenced/index.html

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