The Terrible Plan to run Luxury Cruise in North Korea

Help me make more videos by supporting me on Patreon here: / sidenote
This ship finds itself at the center of almost every crime the DPRK has committed in the region. It was North Korea’s primary asset in crime - a true spy ship - shrouded in mystery and notoriety for most of its life.
When DPRK tried to repaint its controversial past by turning it into a luxurious cruise ship, it turned out to be a colossal failure, earning itself the nickname of the 'least luxurious cruise ship in the world by many.
This video is about an infamous spy-cum-passenger cruise ship and a dark chapter in the Japan-North Korea relationship that made this ship invincible in Japanese waters.
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Check out the channel of my narrator, Alec Belmore: / @historyandintrigue
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Produced, Written and Edited by: SideNote
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I DO NOT AUTHORIZE ANYONE TO TRANSLATE MY VIDEOS INTO A DIFFERENT LAGUAGE AND UPLOAD THEM ON THEIR CHANNEL. DOING SO SHALL BE VIOLATING COPYRIGHT POLICIES. PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME SEND COPYRIGHT STIKES TO YOUR CHANNEL.
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Music by Tom Fox
Written, Edited and Directed by SideNote

[@SidenoteChannel]

Sorry for the worse audio quality. My computer broke down in the middle and I couldn't get the chance to clean the audio.

[@134343]

No worries, still a great video!

[@pickledpigknuckles6945]

I asked yeonmi park to cover this story such great content maybe you could communicate with her & aid her effort to cover this subject

[@BatCaveOz]

@@pickledpigknuckles6945 You should probably do a little research on Yeonmi Park, prior to asking for her factual input.

[@pickledpigknuckles6945]

@@BatCaveOz I never said she had lower probability of being an Air headed Lass

[@nickram81]

Sounded fine to me.

[@youcanpunchmeintheface]

Feel bad about the Zainichi Koreans, they barely had any choice in both countries. Either poorly treated in Japan or facing hardship in NK

[@AmazingJ69420]

Even to see that N.K just lied about a "Socialist Paradise in the world" N.K Is Ruining lives

[@roddymcniven8734]

Yeah, if they came to the uk they could have lived in five star hotels

[@LarryWater]

Maybe they should move to South Korea.

[@Tonyx.yt.]

still, even sub optimal condition in Japan would be far better than in North korea

[@Darkest_matter]

@@Tonyx.yt. not in them days..

[@westrim]

It's vital to note that in the 50s, North Korea was ahead of South Korea by most economic indicators, and South Korea was in the grip of a military dictatorship that would last until the 80s that was usually better than North Korea, but not always by much. Japan itself was still only midway to recovery. It was not the clear and stark rich free(ish) vs poor authoritarian divide we see today. So both the returnees, and even to a great degree the Japanese, would not have had anything like the expectations that lay in our modern minds.

[@jigrodrigues]

That is true. Until the late 70s north korea had a much higher standard of living than today and in that time south korea was starting it's industrial big push, but it's living conditions werent great for much of the population, plus it was also a dictatorship (even if a less heinous one). It was in the 80s that the gap became evident and in the 90s south korea bloomed and north korea turned into the hell we know now.

[@rosehipowl]

This is exactly what I was going to reply. Both North and South Korea had/have dictatorships, and for all intents and purposes, the North was doing much better. It feels a little disingenuous? to ignore that. The Zainichi Koreans weren't going just because they had been lied to or brainwashed, they were going because it was better than South Korea (at the time) and they were not going to have the issue of being an ethnic minority in an extremely homogeneous country. The propaganda certainly didn't hurt, but it's simply not true that these people went from a developed country to an undeveloped dictatorship, nor is it true that they could've just gone to SK instead and had a better life there. It's only very recently that we see SK as the success story, or even Japan as developed.

[@Darkest_matter]

@@rosehipowl that is true. Japan in the 90s was going through gang wars, drug epidemics and bombings.

[@callowaymotorcompany]

@@Darkest_matter Everywhere in the 90s was a bad place to live. Global crime peak iirc

[@mga59xbd38]

@@callowaymotorcompany, The 90s brought modern culture and technology. Shame about the crime epidemic, though.

[@Trek001]

I went on one of these trips - I liked the ship and even ended up visiting the Bridge at the invite of the Master when it became clear I was fascinated by it. For a few moments, maybe two or three minutes, I was even permitted to take the wheel... Which means I am most likely the only westerner to Helm a North Korean ship and I asked the Master to sign my logbook to that effect which he happily did

[@emerson.mayers]

thats awesome man!

[@Darkest_matter]

I mean, you go to north Korea because you want a trip back to a simpler time.. right?

[@thefreedomguyuk]

Why support the regime with inbound tourism ??

[@profleapstrum506]

X

[@ncrawford1488]

That would be an awesome story to be able to tell!!! It is so cool that you did this!

[@swifty8770]

2 of my mothers cousins were people who moved to North Korea because of the discrimination and wanted a better life...the rest of my family stayed in Japan tho...(We have no way of contacting them now).

[@marykatherinegoode2773]

*DO NOT MOVE.* I will be frank: the Japanese stupidly base nationality on bloodlines and kosekis and a lot of other ideas that should have been thrown in the trash a long time ago. (Being run by old men does not help.) But in Japan, you have rights. Japan went psycho in the 1930s and 1940s, very true, but at least you get to know that the odds of them going on a rampage to retake Korea are next to zero: in NK they teach the people to be constantly vigilant and await the return of the USA or Japan. In Japan, you get to eat. Your mother's cousins may not even be alive anymore since famine keeps happening intermittently. Stay free, friend. Pray that they have remained alive.

[@pshindigamingmobilegamer2609]

you like to be identified as koreans or japanese just curious

[@sesetio338]

@@pshindigamingmobilegamer2609 ...

[@jacobrzeszewski6527]

Is that a GuP profile pic I spy?

[@davidjacobs8558]

there were a lot of communist sympathizers among Zainichi. These kind of people hated South Korea calling it puppet state of USA. And those are the ones who migrate to North Korea. let me ask you. did your parents or grandparents migrate to Japan before WW2 is over? or After.

[@stanleybest8833]

A North Korean cruise line is like surfboard rentals in the Antarctic .

[@cloutmastermemes2007]

Literally

[@davidjacobs8558]

problem with North Korea, is there is literally nothing special to see. NK is temperate climate, NK's nature looks like any other place on earth in temperate region, nothing special about it. and NK's man made structures are inferior to the rest of the world. So, unless you want to experience 3rd world poverty for some odd reason, it's not worth the effort.

[@Sinyao]

There are actually people who go surfing where the ice shelves collapse into the sea, because the waves are intense. Then again, there are tours to North Korea...

[@junkobash2365]

In fact, a lot of these zainichi koreans wanted to go back to their homeland due to a discrimination in Japan and promised life back in North Korea which turns out to be a blunt lie. Zainichis are even discriminated in South and North Korea because of a linkage to Japan. Kim Jong-un's mother is zainichi and he hides it as it is not "pure blood". It is very unfortunate what zainichi koreans had to go through. The situation for them is a lot better now though.

[@davidjacobs8558]

What these kind of videos fail to mention is that most Zainichi were illegal migrants who entered Japan AFTER WW2 was over. Not people who were forcibly taken to Japan during WW2 (even thought there were tons of Koreans who went to Japan voluntarily). These Koreans were either Communist who escaped South Korea, because they considered SK to be puppet state of USA, or people who were looking for jobs in prospering Japanese economy. ie, they had no intention of returning to SK.

[@davidjacobs8558]

As you mentioned, Kim Jung Un's mother was such case. Her father migrated illegally into Japan AFTER WW2. because he was a communist sympathizer. and he had daughter born in Japan. They boarded the ship which took them to NK, because they wanted to live in Communist country. It's ironic that Commies who hated SK, went to Japan to live.

[@WalkingW1]

Sad

[@KentHambrock]

That was a trip. I had no idea about any of that history. Thanks for such an excellent breakdown!

[@giantblob7075]

Quality is so high. Cant wait for more videos

[@Warp__]

1:14 might have to fix that sub

[@zacharyberghoff3875]

glad it wasn't just me that noticed

[@Zelosis_]

Very interesting video, I knew of the Korean population in Japan and how some were kidnapped by NK but I had no idea about the ship. Also just a quick note, you may want to check out a pop filter as some of the Ps were a bit loud in this video. Great work!

[@davidjacobs8558]

It boggles the mind why NK kidnapped some random Japanese people. If they were scientist, engineers or someone important, I would understand, but they kidnapped some nobodies. some people argue that NK kidnapped those Japanese to teach NK spies how to behave in Japan, but that's none-sensical, since NK had plenty of Zainichi who could do just that.

[@rayyanarviandri140]

Thanks for uploading again man

[@WoddCar]

The video length is just fine, 15 to 20 minute videos are best to me

[@adesuwa9112]

Same here

[@danriddick914]

Woot!! So glad you're back!

[@sutherlandA1]

15:29 that floating hotel in the background was originally in Australia on the great barrier Reef before relocating to Ho Chi Minh City for most of the 90s before being purchased and moved to North Korea

[@bababababababa6124]

Great video Although slight oversight at 6:03

[@SidenoteChannel]

This is like a curse to me. I always make atleast one typo or mispronunciation, no matter how much I try not to.

[@ObjectPresents]

@@SidenoteChannel It's okay, everybody make mistakes. It's not a big mistake, tho it would be better if you could learn from it.

[@kedgee]

Thank you for making videos again. I love these longer form videos, as it mean's you'll be able to add more information in one video. I can see that based on the two videos since your return, you're getting more views per video if you keep uploading. Your videos are great, so yeah, keep uploading high quality videos like this!

[@SidenoteChannel]

Thanks to you for watching.

[@alexturlais8558]

This is horrifying, but you can't present leaving Japan as leaving the 'free world'. In Japan they were discriminated against by the state and society, they were hardly free.

[@l.ga.1061]

I agree. Theres a big racism problem in asia that has to be adressed

[@kinoirvoidjustice]

@@l.ga.1061 discrimination*

[@Churros1616]

It really suprises how they still dare to call Japan during those days the free world. Ridiculous

[@alexturlais8558]

@@kinoirvoidjustice no, racism. Japan in particular was incredibly racist during WW2, and continued to be after the war.

[@kinoirvoidjustice]

@@alexturlais8558 i dont think nationalities are races, the right word is discrimination but yes, racism in japans case

[@MichaelWilliamz]

Fascinating story! Who would of ever thought something like this existed? Thanks for sharing.

[@YungGing]

So happy to see you back!! I really like your content!

[@frodosadventures8757]

The floating hotel is in the background in one if the shots in this video. It was moared on the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. It turned out to be a bit of a disaster and was sold. I heard a while ago that it turned up in North Korea. Oh! I've just found your video about it!

[@TheVGMajor]

Wow the Japanese being evil? That's definitely never happened before and they definitley don't need to apologize for their many war crimes.

[@cn8299]

You think they're the only ones that are "evil"? Shall I run you down the many things the US did over their short history? How about the Brits? The French? The Belgians? The Russians? The Portuguese? The Spaniards? We all have blood on our hands if you want to play this game. Get over it already. You may as well still hold the Egyptians today accountable for what they did to the Jews 4000 years ago. Or the Mongolians for doing what they did to the Chinese, the list goes on and on and on. Case in point, humans are just evil, live with it.

[@legitbeans9078]

Cough Unit 731 cough

[@itsuki6883]

The youngest person the North Koreans kidnapped was Megumi Yokota, who was just 13 years old at the time.

[@davidjacobs8558]

It boggles the mind why NK kidnapped some random Japanese people. If they were scientist, engineers or someone important, I would understand, but they kidnapped some nobodies. some people argue that NK kidnapped those Japanese to teach NK spies how to behave in Japan, but that's none-sensical, since NK had plenty of Zainichi who could do just that.

[@nickborcic8177]

That's just awful. What a terrible thing to happen to anyone.

[@Quetzalcoatl_Feathered_Serpent]

@@davidjacobs8558 Gotta understand that North Koreans think everyone is a threat. every man, woman, child. To them they are all threats to the regime. If a child or a person saw them doing something suspicious, honestly it could be a random thing or a phone call, or just looking at them eating something or simply taking pictures. They likely took that as being compromised and thus grabbed the person at the first opportunity. Well the NK had plenty of Zainichi who could have taught them Japanese and some behavior traits. Its likely that there was a limit in what they knew. The NK agents likely grabbed natural born japanese citizens cause they in comparison we much more highly educated and likely have a better understanding of their culture and habits. Then grabbed a couple every couple of years to keep up to date. Children being kidnapped was likely to teach younger agents who were probably long term implants or in brainwashing youth.

[@Brick-Life]

awesome new video after so long!

[@SidenoteChannel]

I try to upload sooner but i guess I'm just slow or something

[@Brick-Life]

Awesome Man Gyong Bong 92!

[@shellroy9746]

First time watching you! Wow. What an awesome video.

[@JB-yb4wn]

What an interesting story! Subscribed!

[@YXUHUNTER]

Great video!

[@Rancid_One]

Your “ SideNote “ comments about the features of this vessel reminded me .. that sounds just like the C.I.A.s features over this last 6 decades .

[@bes03c]

Very interesting, I just subbed

[@lucasfragoso7634]

Nice addition of the footage with the floating hotel in the background lol

[@AudieHolland]

It felt more like the 'Luxury Cruise' part served as introduction to a much more in-depth look of North Korean - Japanese relations and history. Fascinating!

[@warchitect73]

90,0000 is ninety thousand?

[@virgilstarkwell8383]

This would make a great sit com

[@gregatkinson7276]

This video includes WAY more than what the title suggests.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Thanks

[@HorseWithNoBane]

Quite the history for that cruise line.

[@ljphoenix4341]

The two videos since Sidenote's return have been around boats... Is this channel going to be centred around boat history now?

[@SidenoteChannel]

Hahaha.... Nah, man. This was only a coincidence. I'm pretty much done with boats at this point. No more boats videos anymore.

[@westrim]

Sideboat!

[@JasperHa]

Looks like an upgrade to the typical Carnival cruise.

[@jamesstuart3346]

Great video...very well-produced and highly informative

[@beth-bi9yv]

This is heart breaking.

[@elgoog7830]

Good topic to discuss. I feel like these countries are barely spoken about. I even find it strange on how I've crossed very little documentaries about the Korean war/conflict. I say conflict, because most of the 'wars' the US is involved with, are legally labeled conflicts. It's the media that labels it a war.

[@cloutmastermemes2007]

The Korean War is called the forgotten war. It pisses me off we barely learn about it in America Bc it’s so damn important. It literally is the reason why the north east asain world is the way it is. It makes me sad Bc USA soldiers did 90% of the work to save South Korea. The South Koreans literally could not save themselves and the USA said fuck that and pushed them literally all the way to the Chinese border but China and the ussr joined the war. Directly with boots on the ground. The ussr was not supposed to do this Bc it would lead to nuclear war so the ussr used their own pilots to fight back against USA jet pilots. And China sent waves and waves of men by the millions to be absolutely slaughtered and imprisoned. The NK captives after the war were asked if they wanted to stay in South Korea or Japan and a lot of them did not want. Go back home at all

[@davidjacobs8558]

USA calls wars "conflicts", if US congress did not declare them as wars. so US definition of war doesn't really matter in reality.

[@bidenhatesamerica]

Mount kumgang eh? Now that’s a good one

[@MFMegaZeroX7]

I'm shocked to hear the music I normally associate with Historia Civilis. If you don't mind me asking, where did you get this track?

[@Tclans]

15:30 the building in the back looks oddly familiar to the 'floating north Korean Hotel'

[@NoName-sb9tp]

That’s 5 stars accomodation, but the stars are so small that we need super microscope connected to all of the world super-computers to see them.

[@justfrankjustdank2538]

3:15 love the historia civilis music :)

[@emzshea]

At 16:47 did anyone notice just how many cameras the dining room on the ship had?! I mean it is standard North Korean behaviour but stunning to see photo evidence of a small room with at least 10 cameras!

[@braydensrandomvideos1628]

When I first heard the title I was like oh my gosh!

[@adoptian2801]

im from singapore and i didnt know we lent a ship to North Korea

[@bmanmadd717]

poor boat ending up being made and owned in North Korea i hope it gets a overhaul and ends up in a better place then what it currently is

[@moggsly5669]

Add backtound sound (not high tho just so u hear it but like not so sp hogh)

[@56independent42]

14:35 and here i was thinking it was so posh it had a tea tap... eurgh.

[@Pakanin]

I was onboard this ship in Wonsan in mid-august 2019 so at that point it still excisted.

[@Pakanin]

Was also allowed to take a lot of photos which seemed strange.

[@Dr.ZoidbergPhD]

I'd be mad as hell if I got on that ship after paying $500

[@jaqhass]

06:04 That's not 90 000. One digit too many.

[@sashamellon822]

This is so so so so sad

[@ClayAsbury122]

I am blankly but enthusiastically clapping.

[@blackdesertsage9836]

Regarding the map, Its sea of japan not east sea, no matter how much the koreans want it to be called.

[@andrew_li]

When the names of the seas were standardised in 1929, Korea was under Japanese colonisation and thus didn't have a say in the naming, despite the term "east sea" having been used for the past 2000 years including in old Japanese maps. It's a body of water shared by 3 countries, not just Japan alone. To some it's just a name but to others its a mark of a colonialism, and the term "East Sea" does have historical and cultural roots. This is a much more sensitive topic that shouldn't be embarked on carelessly.

[@anuvisraa5786]

@@andrew_li east sea is a useless name east from who? Korea is not the center of the world you know

[@andrew_li]

@@anuvisraa5786 "east sea is a useless name east from who? Korea is not the center of the world you know" The sheer irony and audacity... you've got to be kidding me.

[@Darkest_matter]

@@andrew_li well, it's east Asia, and it's after the Korean peninsula which kinda divides the sea from the landmass.

[@okaywhatevernevermind]

just call it sea of friendship so no one gets offended

[@NyanyiC]

Those poor sons😞

[@emjackson2289]

Bet it has a cracking Abba and Bucks Fizz tribute singing duo on though. Seen Park Avenue on That Peter Kay Thing? Think them.

[@dengamleidiot]

Great video ! Love the editing. However, you do need a pop-filther for your voice-over

[@JwinBaby]

What’s up Broski 🦋,

[@wombatwilly1002]

Meals consist of grasshoppers and peat moss? lol

[@brandonmacc7052]

15:57 nobody is smiling...

[@llYossarian]

16:05 - How do you _"eventually_ screech to a halt"?

[@davidjacobs8558]

What these kind of videos fail to mention is that most Zeinichi were illegal migrants who entered Japan AFTER WW2 was over. Not people who were forcibly taken to Japan during WW2 (even thought there were tons of Koreans who went to Japan voluntarily). These Koreans were either Communist who escaped South Korea, because they considered SK to be puppet state of USA, or people who were looking for jobs in prospering Japanese economy. ie, they had no intention of returning to SK. Son Masayoshi, who is famous for being the CEO of Softbank, and the richest man in Japan, was such case. Also, Mother of Kim Jung un (yes, current NK dictator) was such case also. They entered Japan AFTER WW2 was over, not before.

[@evil993]

"ah shit, this place is becoming a US puppet state, better GTFO somewhere THAT won't happen. Anyways, off to Japan!" Lmao

[@davidjacobs8558]

@@evil993 commies don't see the irony in that. but, it is also true that Japan allowes communist party, unlike SK, where Communism is illegal.

[@789know]

@@evil993 SK at time is much worse than japan and communist was brutally supressed or even executed in mass in korean war

[@evil993]

@@davidjacobs8558 just thought that was pretty funny, Though I feel we are at a time in many countries where I can't help but feel the better option isn't to silence opposition, but rather, to show their ideology can't/doesn't work. Without a forum for discussion, I feel people will drift further and further apart in our current climate of rampant misinformation. Like some places outright banning even mentioning a specific name, and everyone cheers as if that's a good thing.

[@davidjacobs8558]

@@evil993 Communism is like pyramid scheme. There are tons of people who are dumb enough to believe it is going to work, even if you explain to them why it does not work.

[@Literallyarealhuman]

We been fooled before and we will be fooled again

[@MountainDewComacho494]

Horrifying!

[@NyanyiC]

Moving people around like pawns🙄

[@caddymac1207]

Dear god the footage from the ship. Hell on earth.

[@AboutHreinzi]

at 15:34 that building in the background, looks familiar.

[@vladsnape6408]

I wonder how many Zainichi Koreans now living in North Korea regret leaving Japan.

[@davidjacobs8558]

They instantly regretted after land on North Korea. They try to warn their relatives in Japan to not to make the same mistake by sending them coded messages in letters. because North Korean authorities sensored the letters sent back to Japan. one of such letters said "Mountain Fuji is taller than Mountain Baekdu" hoping the relatives understood what he was trying to convery.

[@789know]

They should really never leave japan. Japan despite all its discrimination is still much better than NK and south Korea at that time. Korea overall is pretty underdeveloped at that time. And north at that time is better than the south economically. South Korea at that time is equally authoritarian

[@davidjacobs8558]

@@789know SK was not equally authoritarian as NK. North Korea Kim Il Sung killed all his political enemies. Where as South Korean presidents did not kill their political enemies. Putin is killing his political enmeies left and right, even today. South Korea was nothing like that.

[@Red-Feather]

A woman I know had a brother who went to North Korea in this program. He soon wanted to return but was not able to.

[@Ted_bayly]

i board the ship docked in the town square in wonsan in October 2019, it didn't seem to be into much disrepair by DPRK Standards but clearly not going anywhere in a hurry. They claimed the reason for its docking was due to japan overreacting to them launching satellites which.

[@dennythedavinchi3832]

I just don't get their illogical blames. They always get away with excuses with blame game.

[@pickledpigknuckles6945]

Isn't it ironic don't you think it's like Vacation Cruise Lines in The D.P.R.K. North Korea it's like 🌧️ Rain on Your wedding 💒 Day

[@SrD1D0]

The first sentence of the video is factually incorrect. It was only the first time that specific ship (MGB 92) had visited ROK in years. However, there have definitely been other DPRK ships visiting ROK ports during that time (as recently as 2005)

[@chrissoto7187]

Poor people got tricked.

[@jimclarke1108]

Has it got a drain plug in it?😵‍💫

[@kelvinnkat]

What happened with the video at 6:18?

[@gg3675]

TL;DW: It's slightly shittier than every other cruise ship

[@jacklinhart7957]

*Reads how "infamous spy ship" is transcribed at **1:14* I'm sorry, a what?

[@myrandomlife8881]

6:03 ita written 90.0000 instead of 90.000

[@somethingsomething404]

Who ends a video like that in 2022? I assumed my phone died lol

[@zainisdabomb]

5:47 how’s man gonna get military training and still fall over walking 2mph

[@ptvrussian2]

Damn, they got got 😔

[@alexsozansky]

Did somebody say...parkchung?

[@samuelalves4092]

6:03 that 900 thousands right not 90

[@BGerbs66]

Ah yes the only true writing of ninety thousand, 90,0000

[@coolerhot646]

"luxury cruise" without clean water lmao.

[@DawsonsMemes]

Ships using garden furniture and calls it “luxury”

[@Dr-Zoid-Berserk]

Man, I wish Japan made anime about this kind of real life drama instead of only doing high school or medieval fantasy.

[@khmnc]

6:03 you can't fix it now, but i think you have too many zeros there

[@__.__-_.]

14:25 a state of D E S P A I R

[@tibbers3755]

11:31 wait wait hold the phone, i need some elaboration. im hearin north korean weapon systems were partly developed from consumer goods?

[@ilhamleo6348]

They using ps1 component to make nukler misille

[@Darkest_matter]

Iraq or Iran used ps2's and turned em into a super computer for missiles.

[@JamesBond-ny8bq]

1:12 subtitles 😂😂😂

[@colormetakenaback]

Wow that whole ship is a poop deck

[@stevenr.rodriguez9997]

1:14 lol I see you subtitles

[@edc1569]

90,0000!?

[@siriosstar4789]

A North Korean cruise involves anchoring at sea and watching missiles drop all around you .

[@davidjacobs8558]

missiles are more expensive than what they can profit from cruise.