They Did WHAT in Korea?
Kijong-Dong and the World's Tallest Flagpole
![Picture](/uploads/5/8/8/3/5883420/8674019.jpg?343)
Just five years after the end of World War II, America found itself in yet another war -- this time, within the context of the Cold War. America joined the South Koreans in their efforts to resist the communists of North Korea. After three years of back-and-forth fighting, hostilities finally came to an end in July of 1953.
Not long after fighting stopped, the village of Kijong-dong cropped up on the North side of the border between North and South Korea. According to North Korean officials, the village is home to 200 families who work a collective farm and are perfectly content with the life Communism has allowed them. With brightly painted concrete buildings and other facilities, Kijong is a very peaceful and luxurious village, a symbol of the great life that Communism can provide -- or at least it appears to be.
In reality, American intelligence agents have discovered that nobody actually lives in Kijong-Dong, and never has. The village, it turns out, is completely empty.
Essentially, Kijong-Dong is the world's largest piece of propaganda, built to attract South Koreans to the North Korean -- the Communist -- way of life. Lights go on at regular intervals, crews routinely enter the city to clean and conduct maintenance, and voices are played over loudspeakers to give the illusion of inhabitants. Though its people have been starving for decades, and the economy failed long ago, somehow the government found enough money to build an entire city to be used just for show.
In the years since Kijong-dong's construction, North and South Korea have engaged in a game of one-upmanship. In the 1980s, South Korea built a 320-foot flagpole along the border; naturally, North Korea built one 520-feet tall in Kijong-dong.
To this day, the world's tallest flagpole is in a fake, empty village.
Not long after fighting stopped, the village of Kijong-dong cropped up on the North side of the border between North and South Korea. According to North Korean officials, the village is home to 200 families who work a collective farm and are perfectly content with the life Communism has allowed them. With brightly painted concrete buildings and other facilities, Kijong is a very peaceful and luxurious village, a symbol of the great life that Communism can provide -- or at least it appears to be.
In reality, American intelligence agents have discovered that nobody actually lives in Kijong-Dong, and never has. The village, it turns out, is completely empty.
Essentially, Kijong-Dong is the world's largest piece of propaganda, built to attract South Koreans to the North Korean -- the Communist -- way of life. Lights go on at regular intervals, crews routinely enter the city to clean and conduct maintenance, and voices are played over loudspeakers to give the illusion of inhabitants. Though its people have been starving for decades, and the economy failed long ago, somehow the government found enough money to build an entire city to be used just for show.
In the years since Kijong-dong's construction, North and South Korea have engaged in a game of one-upmanship. In the 1980s, South Korea built a 320-foot flagpole along the border; naturally, North Korea built one 520-feet tall in Kijong-dong.
To this day, the world's tallest flagpole is in a fake, empty village.
The U.S.S. Pueblo
![Picture](/uploads/5/8/8/3/5883420/3218615.jpg?242)
In January of 1968, a small US naval cargo vessel, the U.S.S. Pueblo, was seized by North Korea in international waters. North Korea claimed it was in Korean territorial waters, and was therefore subject to seizure. In taking the ship, Koreans killed 2 Americans and took 83 prisoner. Prisoners came to be used as propaganda, as Koreans published hundreds of pictures of the American captives to rub in what they considered a major victory over the United States. In these photos, Americans can be seen flipping the bird to their captors. Initially, Koreans did not know what this sign meant; when they found out, they beat and tortured the sailors.
After eleven months, Korea agreed to release the prisoners, but kept the ship as a prize. To this day, it is a major attraction and point of pride in Korea; people come from all over the country to board the ship.
The U.S.S. Pueblo is the only ship commissioned by the US Navy that is not in American hands.
After eleven months, Korea agreed to release the prisoners, but kept the ship as a prize. To this day, it is a major attraction and point of pride in Korea; people come from all over the country to board the ship.
The U.S.S. Pueblo is the only ship commissioned by the US Navy that is not in American hands.