RedAngie
Sea Level Lady
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2015
Heartbreaking. I gotta feel bad for the guy, despite how dumb it is to go to NK. In your twenties, you feel invincible- I honestly think I have family members who would go to North Korea for the adventure EVEN after hearing this story. There needs to be restrictions on Americans traveling there, this tour company shouldn't be allowed to operate if it puts lives in danger.
It was a Chinese tour company. The U.S. has no power to stop them from operating. Even though this particular company just announced they won't accept U.S. citizens anymore, there are other Chinese companies that will. Restrictions won't stop anybody determined to go. U.S. citizens have been able to easily circumvent the ban on visits to Cuba for decades, and the same will apply if travel to North Korea is banned.
When I was traveling in Morocco, I met this guy who had a list of countries "that my mom told me not to go to". He was hitting up things like Venezuela, Iraq, Nigeria, the Congo and Mali, and was VERY proud of that fact. Morocco was an extremely tame destination for him. As I said above, when you are 20 you feel invincible, and pushing the envelope is a point of pride.
The above seems to have been this guy's motivation for visiting.
Mine are in college and have been handling their own affairs for quite a while, which is exactly the way we like it. I would have flipped out and played every single parent card imaginable if they tried to visit NK. I just don't see what would have drawn anyone to want to visit in the first place?
His father didn't play any parent card; indeed, he actually encouraged his son to take the side trip when the son mentioned it and even provided the funds for it.
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I don't think Warmbier's medical condition was intentional on the part of NK, but rather a serious accident or mistake. What good is a prisoner in a coma to them?