Masikryong Revealed: Inside North Korea's Enigmatic Luxury Ski Resort

[@coreyhodder5]

The Tubby Tyrant is my new favourite name for Kim

[@joeyr7294]

Agreed lol

[@Wake13]

Hahah sure is! The alliteration is perfectly hilarious.

[@rustyholt6619]

definitely better than "fat little boy"

[@willm6871]

He's not fat he's big boned

[@kermitthefragg]

New? He's been referred to as the Tubby Tyrant regularly for years.

[@bradcwatson]

I'm from Texas. I got to say that is one of the least offensive and yet still funny impressions of a Texan. Good job!

[@matsv201]

to be fair, texans are just offended by vegan meals and electric cars.

[@Flies2FLL]

Get fat, say something bigoted, and drive your pickup like an idiot = Instant Texan.

[@reboundrides8132]

The guy is always talking shit about Americans 😂 inferiority complex if I’ve ever seen one.

[@JeRefuseDeBienPrononcerBaleine]

@@matsv201 They like their guns so it's natural for them to like their cars to be like them (explosion based propulsion)

[@matsv201]

@@JeRefuseDeBienPrononcerBaleine yes of cause.. expansion engine.

[@ArkhamSith]

“His weekly exercise stops at waving his hands for more cheese” Gold. Comedy gold.

[@MAGGOT_VOMIT]

Simon: "Would you think about the starving people there??" Me: Ummm.........🍇🍊🍍🥖🥨🧀🍖🥩🍗🍔 no I don't think so. 😂

[@monkeytrousers8562]

Oldish bloke here. Your wonderful 'touristy' descriptions , including cadence and alliteration, were very reminiscent of the amazing travel documentarian Alan Whicker. Class act, man, class act.

[@ROE675]

What he meant by "his people would never have to tighten their belts again", really meant was that they would no longer have belts.

[@JeffSlapper]

Yes, they have long since eaten their belts for the leather.

[@razorburn645]

Belts are counter revolutionary!

[@shawndavis7249]

4:40 No need for an apology. As an American, I can tell you that was spot on.

[@garyfranklin8712]

The thought of Kim Jong skiing down a hill makes me laugh inside 😂😂

[@paulstewart6293]

People forget that Kim and his sis were educated in Switzerland in the most expensive school in the world. These guys speak loads of languages and know lots of stuff!

[@ronald3836]

It shows that a good eduction, presumably based on western values, does not prevent one from becoming a genocidal dictator if the opportunity presents itself.

[@proximamidnight1581]

@@ronald3836 who did he genocide?

[@ronald3836]

@@proximamidnight1581 his own people are starving to death

[@ronald3836]

@@proximamidnight1581 and North Korea has an entry on Genocide Watch. Apparently women who expect a child from a non-pure Korean (e.g. with Chinese ancestry) have to undergo forced abortion.

[@proximamidnight1581]

@@ronald3836 nope that award goes to the worst regime on the planet,the USA.

[@pmgn8444]

As an American, places that are on my list of vacation spots to avoid: 5 - Afghanistan. 4 - Somalia. 3 - Russia. 2 - Iran. 1 - North Korea.

[@it.snowig]

Afghanistan is actually a very safe and nice place to visit. Just not for Americans

[@OppressedIn4K]

@@it.snowig it is currently ran by the Taliban so it isn’t safe for anyone in the West.

[@dragonsdynamite6403]

Okay.

[@mtscldstankie4048]

Americans visited a lot of those places you've listed and brought their democracy in their bags 💣

[@Sergei-11111]

North Korean ski resort is called massacre'on? I literally couldn't make this up

[@skymaster4121]

Well, you did….but still its quite funny 😂

[@owenshebbeare2999]

Only possible with quaint American mispronunciation.

[@Sergei-11111]

​@@owenshebbeare2999 well, pardner, ye might try and fool me with yer fancy-shmancy "-kryong", but I see the God damn thing for what it is, I'll tell you that!

[@cheekydaminen5227]

Could we get one on North Korean military infrastructure? There are allegedly tunnels under the country just for the kim family

[@quinnzykir]

Fallout: North Korea

[@jeffdroog]

They're secret! Lol Nit much to report on,when there's literally no information on the subject...I'd rather they invested their time on videos about things we actually know about.

[@chitlitlah]

​@@jeffdroog It could be a short, a very short short...

[@jeffdroog]

@chitlitlah Hinestly,nothing would make me more angry lol I'm already super annoyed that every channel has used shorts as an excuse to not upload real content.Theyre tacky,and I hate them lol

[@matthew_natividad]

@@quinnzykir metro NK edition

[@aq5426]

OK, I'm a heckin chonker--but I found "The Tubby Tyrant" hilarious af. :D

[@bernadmanny]

Alliteration is powerful.

[@jamesolmsted3471]

I mean, if you’re a dictator whose country has a big recurring problem with famine and malnutrition then I figure fat shaming’s ok. Not otherwise tho

[@leeb8186]

"what sort of tourists would be happy to relax on a beach knowing there were people starving just a few hundred meters away?" That really underestimates how callous the average person can be. American Dad made an entire B plot in season 1 about that very thing

[@FUL0H8]

I’m Joe from America, and I approve of that great British humor, especially when the banjo started up. Tip Top M8 xD

[@zachaliles]

"you'll never have to tighten your belts again" The next day..... Belts are banned and punishable by death for possession.

[@Loralanthalas]

Remember: communism fails because no one will work if they don't have to worry about "money". 🙄

[@xlukas93]

The beach resort reminds me of awaza in turkmenistan maybe you could do an episode about that one too, or aschgabat in general

[@dorianlindberg1662]

Omg, Simons cowboy impression is absolutely amazing lmao!!

[@charleshoy6181]

Now this is guy I would have a drink with. Love the videos

[@Whittz.Youtube]

You had me at tubby tyrant

[@padawanmage71]

Gives new meaning to the term ‘Bread and Circuses’.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:30 - Chapter 1 - Tourist dollars 5:15 - Chapter 2 - Wonsan blues 8:40 - Chapter 3 - The crisp, mountain air 13:05 - Chapter 4 - A haunted wreck - Chapter 5 - - Chapter 6 -

[@FelixMannSchwarz]

No need to apologize, we need more Texan simon! Spot on 🤣

[@FelixMannSchwarz]

@@JIMDEZWAV GIB ME THE STALE SOCKS AND GET GONE TEDDY! GOBBLESS. Sent from 1958 bagger 281 strip mining machine.

[@pakde8002]

There's no shortage of people willing to overlook the suffering of others in order to enjoy a low cost premium vacation. In fact that pretty much sums up every tourist destination in the developing world. Given the artificial limitations for earning foreign capital the plan was sound and apparently somewhat successful until covid hit. Unfortunately even if a sustainable success the profits would likely go into Kim's pocket or weapons development, not for the people.

[@proximamidnight1581]

He’s not just building hotels,he’s transforming the countryside as well,developing the civilian economy,building huge greenhouses,fisheries,cattle farms,etc…they’re not backwards because they want to it’s because the sanctions prevent them from developing. But you never hear about that,all you hear about crazy nk,and nobody asks why they are in the situation they are in.

[@Rootiga]

@@proximamidnight1581 north korean bot located

[@EmilyCheetham]

Oh definitely the profits would go to the Kim family and go to fattening him more and into his nuclear weapon program. That’s why even if it were the most luxurious resort on earth for the cheapest price for a luxury resort I’d refuse to do. Add to that if you so much as stepped a toe. out of line whist there (be it accidentally leaving a bible where citizens could find it, taking a poster, calling out Kim, giving tampons to North Koreans, watching a movie/show from outside North Korea etc.) you could end up in a concentration camp & even if you get out and are sent home you may be so damaged you die within days. So no thank you.

[@EmilyCheetham]

@@proximamidnight1581we know why they are in the situation they are in. There’s famines of varying degrees, Kim has closed the border so supplies aren’t getting in. Only 20% of the land in North Korea is suitable for growing crops, there are sanctions on many brands not being allowed to sent their goods into North Korea (some Kim decided but many the UN decided), the government for aid isn’t being handed out to everyone because there isn’t enough food. That’s just some of the crisis that just food related.

[@djquinn11]

@@proximamidnight1581: The Tubby Tyrant does not deny himself and luxury item while the general population doesn’t have enough to eat.

[@canaanval]

Sweet! I was just looking at this place on google maps last week, good to get some better info on it!

[@kingnaz313]

I’m going to vacation in North Korea this spring it’s gonna be super fun

[@-Katastrophe]

Where else in the world a ski resort is considered a megaproject

[@duncancurtis5971]

According to Kim South Korea doesn't exist.

[@badluck5647]

Sochi

[@SirkyNL]

Ski resort Mt.Everest😂

[@timothythompson3042]

Simon that's why I say it's so easy for British people to emulate an American accent. That was perfect. Sounded like my old meat dept boss in this small southern US town I'm from lol. Btw your vids has some serious drip, and the content is lit.

[@stigrabbid589]

Southern accents are closer to British accents than most other American accents. That is part of why Brits can do good Southern US accents.

[@MrMuz99]

I'm Scottish and whenever I try a Southern accent I always end up drifting into Cletus Spuckler from The Simpsons.

[@shannonmcstormy5021]

Few people will visit a country to vacation where they could be arrested for no reason, prosecuted for no reason, and face draconian punishment.....again, for no reason. The arbitrary law enforcement and criminal justice "system" is one where few would feel safe. I'm confident that every room at this "resort" has surveillance and most of the customer service personnel are North Korean Intelligence operatives. So, who wouldn't want to visit?

[@teelesynclair5902]

Poor Otto Warmbier, they really messed that poor kid up, dumped him back on the Americans when it was clear he was dying. His parents say he had obviously been abused, his foot was scared, his limbs deformed and his teeth had apparently been messed with too. I personally don't believe he did anything wrong, they say he stole a propaganda poster but I don't think he would be reckless enough to try that in NK. Even if he did, he did not deserve what was done to him

[@OkalaborationO]

Looks like it gets about as much snow as Beach Mountain, North Carolina 😅

[@jaysleezy5464]

North Korea gets more snow than Switzerland or Iceland...

[@OkalaborationO]

By “it” I was referring to the ski resort not the country.

[@etzool]

"Ah, boy howdy!" As an American, I approve of this message. :D

[@jerelull9629]

Not a horrible "Texas" accent, Simon.

[@michaelsullivan7407]

Why is your volume so low! I have to turn my phone all the way up only to have commercials deafen me!

[@grahamariss2111]

He was educated in Switzerland so that is probably where he got the idea of a winter sport tourist industry.

[@proximamidnight1581]

Yeah but nk is also mostly mountainous country,so it makes sense.

[@fabiohaderli5089]

Subtitles calling it "massacreon" just fits too perfectly

[@mtvdvm4940]

My only advice Simon is that when you visit Texas, as you should, wait till you and any new Texan mates you have made at the bar have had at least a couple pints of shiner bock prior to you breaking out the southern / Texan accent lol. Will likely go over better as a joke with a little lubrication of the cerebrum. But in all seriousness it is good for a laugh and that comes from a born and raised rural Texan.

[@fridaynighttherapy]

Fantastic as usual

[@dotter8]

_"I met a traveller from an antique land..."_

[@carlstanland5333]

Wow, and I thought MY hopes and dreams were dashed.

[@jeffreyb.2817]

All I have to say about being a tourist in North Korea is "Otto Warmbier".

[@AlreadyTakenTag]

What was he going to do with a silly propaganda poster anyway? Really goes to show how insecure Kim is. I've seen some tankies say that Otto somehow deserved to go to a camp over a piece of paper that had absolutely no value to national security. The wonders of dictatorships...

[@owenshebbeare2999]

True, what was done to him was hyperbolic, but don't forget he acted like a twat in a country known for madness.

[@FinUgShiet]

​@@AlreadyTakenTag Propably he was a western spy 😂

[@jeffreyb.2817]

@@AlreadyTakenTag The people with him, insist that he was at a club at the time the poster was stolen. However, your point is still valid. What was he going to do with a propaganda posters? I would think they would want him to have one. Spread the propaganda World wide.

[@matthew_natividad]

@@AlreadyTakenTag or Kim’s guards just wanted to show they were doing their job

[@laurentderuyt4220]

I've been to the Masikryong resort in 2018, it was indeed very luxurious and packed with wealthy North Koreans and Chinese tourists. Also traveled to the beach areas near Wonsan, and at Kumgansan resort. North Koreans love going to the beach, and these can often be packed with families enjoying BBQs and singing (yes they do have portable karaoke). Your assumption that no North Koreans go to the beach or skiing because some of them are starving isn't based on any objective fact or analysis. Every country has a wealthy elite that enjoys more luxury than others. It's also the case for NK. Besides the elite, there is also a middle class that enjoys simple pleasures such as going to the beach.

[@malverdeislove]

Custard Underpants should be the name of a punk band.

[@SuperpowerBroadcasting]

Excellent video.

[@DoctorDork]

The stinging indictment at the end was very fitting.

[@SS-qo4xe]

OK. You have my vote for Presenter of the Year.

[@Techstriker1]

0:04 Looks like that van was going to slap into the building before it cut the clip. 🤔

[@cheeseontoastbrah]

It's still on my list of places I want to ski, I went to Africa to ski just to tick it off and I can confirm certainly not worth it but is what it is

[@ronald3836]

Did you ski in Antarctica yet?

[@scottfraser706]

There's snowy mountains in Africa? Or did you ski on some sand dunes?

[@ronald3836]

@@scottfraser706 the Kilimanjaro has snow, or at least used to have it. And maybe South Africa has mountains? (Not sure.)

[@ronald3836]

There is Afriski in Lesotho and Tiffindell in South Africa. Algeria and Morocco have several ski resorts.

[@MrDlt123]

I heard that Kim Jong Un is the only man to ski up a ski slope, and invented skis, ski slopes and mountains.

[@stefan4365]

Simon's Texan accent is so bad it's good.

[@safetymikeengland]

good job

[@DorchaEagla]

Interesting video

[@TheJube97]

Hi Simon, could you please make a video on europes most expensive building, Finnish nuclear plant Olkiluoto, reactor 3

[@Kiwi-ICU-RN]

I watched a vid about some snowboarders who went here - it’s still like $5k for three days.

[@mattwoodford1820]

you saw "who would enjoy luxury while people are starving?" I'd answer, the word's elite would cos they do so on a regular basis. Would like to check out the ski resort though!

[@unotechrih8040]

Megaprojects videos about oppressive regimes are always really interesting for some reason.

[@confuciuslola]

Funny, now that I think about it, a whole lot of other resorts do function to keep the poors out of sight. So the North Korean resort being built for the elite and deprive the rest of the population, getting nothing from it, is actually in the holiday resort tradition.

[@pakde8002]

Yes that's SOP at every tourist destination in the developing world. I live on the island of Bali and it's no paradise for the locals.

[@shanemerrill8925]

No offense at all, you look pretty similar to my sister lolol

[@stop736]

So you’ve been to Vail I assume…?😂😂. It’s exactly that way.

[@betaich]

It also worked for Cuba, Yugoslavia and Hungary. They were all popular tourists spot by western tourists (in case of Cuba only US AMericans were forbiden from travel) while still being communist countries with huge gulag like prisons.

[@ToTheNines87368]

The contrast between how Simon talks about Kim Jong Un in this video compared to the one on his Biographies channel is very interesting and stark. He sounds almost reluctantly hopeful in the 4 year older video.

[@xyz7572]

There was probably a different script writer for that video, then. Simon has several writers and editors per channel to help keep up a steady flow of videos.

[@comentedonakeyboard]

Would make for a cool Bond Villain Lair

[@JKlein713]

There are a lot of places I'd like to visit. Ulaanbaatar, for instance. But North Korea is not on that list.

[@rbs1997]

KZbin auto-translate subtitles calling it Massacreon is the most North Korean thing

[@timshulepov]

1:40 -- "tubby tyrant" LOL. Rolls off the tongue!

[@rightkerfuffle]

I’ve skied there…….it was great.

[@zachaliles]

What is their obsession with hard hats? It seems like a in large amount of the footage I've seen about North Korea they're wearing hard hats a lot of the time. Does the sky have a habit of falling there? More so than normal, of course.

[@joelhernstrom6060]

Safety first!

[@1987FX16]

3:20 Technically he didn't lie, he just didn't say it was because everybody will starve and need a smaller belt...

[@JohnSmith-rw2yn]

I haven't been this early to a Simon video since Top Tenz Net and no beard 😂 If people avoided countries for human rights issues or prejudice views, I don't think anyone would go on holiday anywhere in the world, grand ski resort or not. 😅

[@jenniferlee1993]

Tuby Tyrant is perfect for him.

[@chrisoram7054]

'Tubby Tyrant' Looooool

[@duncanself5111]

Mmm🤤 Wonsan Special

[@bishopmabry2054]

Is it bad that I kinda wanna go ski here?

[@Dank-gb6jn]

No. Everyone is entitled to their opinions/desires.

[@loumencken9644]

Resist the temptation. Unless you want to end up like Otto Warmbier, that is. He went to North Korea with a tour group but was arrested for "stealing" a propaganda poster and sentenced to 15 years in the DPRK gulag. He was released early due to international pressure but arrived back in the US in a coma and died shortly thereafter. The cause of death is controversial. The coma was in all likelihood caused by some sort of torture, but the North Koreans claimed the cause was botulism. However, not only did his US doctors find no sign of botulism, the official North Korean explanation doesn't speak much better of them: "No, we didn't torture him, but our prisons are such filthy hellholes you can catch a fatal disease usually caused by improperly canned food or dirty water."

[@cheeseontoastbrah]

​@Lionel Mandrake he played the game of fuck around and find out and he certainly found out. Like if you're going to north Korea use your head and realise they aren't playing games or going to care about your customs

[@bishopmabry2054]

@Casper's Studio probably not worth the ski then 😅

[@Negaimo]

It's hard to keep a nation fed under crippling economic sanctions when you have to continuously pour money into a nuclear program to keep your regime running, knowing full well that if you abandon your nuclear program said regime will collapse. I do hope DPRK opens soon as both Wonsan and the Ski resort sound like absolutely wonderful places to visit!

[@HyBr1dRaNg3r]

Was the ending “song” ever used by Mythbusters back in the day? Sounds very familiar🤔

[@Bozzemoggel]

what nice places. Would love to go there... apocalyptic tourist areas without actual tourists... sounds awesome!

[@paulmeredith2037]

Hi Simon can you please do a video Sir Nicholas George Winton MBE was named a British Hero of the Holocaust by the British Government. Winton was awarded the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Fourth Class, by the Czech President Václav Havel in 1998. he was a British humanitarian who helped to rescue jewish children who were at risk from Nazi Germany just months before the start of World War II he saved 669 children all of them would’ve probably have been killed by the Nazis if he hadn’t got them out please do a video on this man thank you Paul.

[@FinUgShiet]

Ow yeah that's an interesting story If I ever heard one!

[@roberw1912]

There should be link to the booking site for the hotel. It looks lovely.

[@TheBigMWoz]

Isn’t Jamaica poverty stricken also? People vacation there all the time!

[@dicksonluiakitperday2532]

Greg accent Simon!!!

[@tylerj.6973]

I know I've been asking a lot, but can you do a megaprojects video on the sprint missile? Or at least put it in a side projects

[@jwouldgo2531]

thanks for upload. wonder what the medical standard is if you go bit too hard on the 40 degree slope. helicopter to????

[@Raghzor]

That song at about 13:10, does anyone know what it's called? I've heard it on podcasts too and I really like it!

[@kevin-jg5nq]

Do they have electricity for that fancy ski resort?

[@TheGweilo701]

“Tubby Tyrant” 😂

[@Crewger16]

You should do a video on the yak-1.

[@FTL1511]

Tubby Tyrant 🤣🤣🤣👏

[@Jeremiah12thLvlGeek]

Simon's American Southern accent actually isn't too bad. I'm Canadian, tho'. People from the American South may disagree.

[@armadillomaster]

Could we have one on the Wonsan Airport?

[@mikecar52]

How many times have you posted this?

[@cptnlou6328]

I was at the DMZ a few months ago with binoculars. People just carrying hay on their backs, fake windowless buildings, a tractor that was probably propaganda, sad to see with your own eyes.

[@ashb7846]

16:35 I mean, considering I’ve had people get angry at me for taking a bathroom break, or demand I take a lunch break another time because they were going to return when I said I’d be gone for 30 minutes, or the fact that I’ve worked for places where we legally need a 30 minute break, and their loophole was to have us work 10 hrs and instead of letting us leave, they made us clock out for a half hour at the days end, wait another 5 minutes after we clocked in from our “break” and then clock out for the day so on paper we were all taking the legally mandated break, I’d say PLENTY of people are just fine with exploiting others just so their own day can benefit themselves.

[@johannjohann6523]

To show you just how much Kim Ung just doesn't get it. What people would visit N. Korea to ski 1) when there are so many other places to choose from. 2) Who would want to visit a country, even for a couple days, that is known to execute its people "in public" (broadcast on tv) for the heinous crime of listening to the "wrong" music? I'd sure be guilty :)

[@maxheadroom8888]

Been there, done that

[@tokyosmash]

NK is still terrified of COVID, it was weird going to Panmunjom and the NK side being unkept and no NK soldiers was spooky.

[@keitadarkwolf2591]

What sort of tourist would lounge on North Korean beaches knowing starving people lived just over the hill? The same kind of tourists who visit such resorts in their own countries knowing that there were poor and homeless people... in their own country.

[@bodyloverz30]

Russian & Chinese!

[@carlosvargasbatman]

Lol I immediately thought of the USA when he said this. Cities are built for tourists not residents.

[@Ashannon888]

Big difference in going somewhere in your own country and flying around the world to visit one.

[@Loralanthalas]

We've proven several times over that INDIVIDUALS who have more money then many nations could solve would hunger crisis several times over. If we gave an actual shit: no one would be hungry or without a roof over their head. And dont you tell me that damn lie of "finite resources" ONE goddamn boat at the bottom of the ocean is worth 17 BILLON.

[@Loralanthalas]

...BILLION even 😂

[@jlynch1024]

That's a pretty good "Joe American" accent you got there SImon. 🤣

[@paulstewart6293]

King charlie is having a party soon and we will pay!

[@Opiuth]

Is there any after ski🤔

[@Brainspoil]

Don't underestimate the selfishness of people. Just look at the amount of people going to Dubai without a care in the world that it's all built on modern slavery, and that these people still live there in the outskirt of the city because their passports has been taken away so they can't return home. Not a second thought, because the only thing that's important is themselves.

[@jeffdroog]

Every known civilization is built in slavery,genocide,and property theft...What are you really arguing? If you're a human,you're literally just as much to blame for all that is awful as much as everyone else is.I don't see you running a campaign across the globe to create a better place for everyone.

[@Loralanthalas]

And how many are still holding iPhones, lithium batteries, and wearing diamonds and Nikes!!! Oh shit, look at what people REALLY care about versus the shit they think they should say to make them popular!

[@Brainspoil]

@@Loralanthalas I agree with you. People care more about how they are perceived than anything else. I wonder if Apple finally stopped using child labour in their Chinese factories like they said they would.

[@jeffdroog]

I'm not sure what you're aware,but ALL OF NORTH AMERICA,is built on slavery,and the near total genocide of its original inhabitants...

[@Mcbignuts]

Ppl acting like Mexican workers In the usa are paid 30 dollars an hour lmao

[@fin-ed6oj]

PLEASE DO THE UK ELIZABETH CLASS AIRCRAFT CARRIERS

[@lanawright1353]

I don't know much about international policy, but it seems kinda messed up to me that in order to sanction a government, we effectively cripple the economy through sanctions, which are felt most by normal people, not the government. Like, is there not a different route that doesn't subject millions of people to poverty?

[@proximamidnight1581]

It is messed up. I’m glad that someone actually understands it. But point of sanctions is exactly that,to impoverish people to cripple their economy and to make them so desperate so that they would rise up and overthrow their government. And this isn’t some conspiracy theory this is what those who impose sanctions expect to happen and admit so in official documents that this is their aim.

[@denisecorzette1676]

🤚 Hello Simon

[@michellelaroche2189]

Why does the rest of the village need electricity when you can build a ski resort?

[@Wamboland]

To be fair, without covid this might have worked. I mean, I would never travel to north Korea, but I guess if the prices are good, there are enough ppl that just don't care.

[@franciscodanconia4324]

There's no amount of discount that would make me risk ending up like Otto Warmbier.

[@kinglouis6974]

@@franciscodanconia4324 lol I was going to comment the very same …. Covid got nothing to do with it , North Koreans hate America ,it’s not safe because if you go missing who is gonna come looking for you

[@noremorsewoodworking2258]

Masikryong: Where going off-piste will get you shot.