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SHANE SMITH: Where are going now?
MR. KIM: We are going to military demarcation line.
SHANE SMITH: Your political indoctrination continues when
the North Koreans take you to their side of the DMZ.
And going to the DMZ from the north is a completely
different animal than going to the DMZ from the south.
From the south, you have to go through checkpoint,
checkpoint, checkpoint, checkpoint.
On the North Korean side, you go from Pyongyang.
It's about a 2 and 1/2 hour drive.
But when you go there, actually, it's a
lot more laid back.
Although you do notice, on the drive in, there's a hell of a
lot more troops on the North Korean side.
And everywhere there's these massive monuments.
And you're like, what are those monuments?
And they say, oh, they're filled with dynamite.
And if there's ever an invasion, they blow up, and
they fall down.
And they are tank barriers.
And unlike the South Korean side, you can
shoot what you want.
You can point at people.
you can give them the finger.
You can do whatever you want.
You can drink beer.
[LAUGHTER]
SHANE SMITH: So basically, it's a big
"fuck you" to the South.
It's a big "fuck you" to the Americans.
We're in Panmunjeom, in the demilitarized zone, where the
armistice was signed between the DPRK and the UN.
SHANE SMITH: All they want to do is tell you about how bad
the Americans are, this is where we defeated the American
imperialist aggressors, this is where North Korea shut down
the biggest military power in the world.
And that's what everything is designed to do.
We're on night vision because there's no electricity in
Panmunjeom.
We got in trouble for shooting.
They said we might get charged for a criminal offense.
So I'm trying to do this as quietly as possible.
All you hear at the DMZ is talk of reunification.
SHANE SMITH: Is this is a political thing?
Like are you trying to reunify?
They won't mention--
just reunify, reunify.
You think one day they will be unified?
SHANE SMITH: At that point you go--
these guys are serious, serious dudes.
And then, on the way back, you stop off and you have a meal.
And they're like, oh, you're hungry?
Hey, let's just stop at this-- any old restaurant.
And they're pretending, like, this is like any restaurant.
We just showed up.
Hey, McDonald's on the side of the road.
But let's say there's seven of you.
You get to the restaurant.
There's seven places laid out, and the whole of the
restaurant is empty.
It's been choreographed.
They've been waiting for you for two days, all set up-- the
whole restaurant waiting to go.
We're in Kaesong, in a nice restaurant.
We just had a lovely meal.
You have lunch, which is like 50 plates of little shit.
Again, you can't eat any of it.
But it's like-- just look how much food we have.
We're so great.
Kinda quiet.
Kinda quiet.
[SIGH]
[INAUDIBLE].
So your first two days there you're
like, crazy food, politics.
Crazy food, politics.
So you start to get a bit freaked out at this point.
Thank you.
FEMALE SPEAKER: Yes.
SHANE SMITH: [LAUGH]
Bye-bye.
FEMALE SPEAKER: Bye.
And then on the way back, you know, thinking, this is the
fourth largest army in the world, all along this border.
And they've threatened America with nukes--
and Japan with nukes.
I'm like, how can they have nukes?
They don't have electricity.
It's like turn-of-the-century industrial Britain.
How do they have nukes?
SHANE SMITH: So, after driving back from the DMZ and our
choreographed lunch, you realize that everything is
going to be choreographed.
Like, hey, what do you want to do tonight?
Want to go for a few beers?
And you're like, hey, this isn't so bad.
Sure, let's go out for a few beers.
And you go out to the sort of state-sanctioned karaoke
place, which is only, really, for foreigners and really
high-ranking party officials.
[SINGING IN KOREAN]
[APPLAUSE]
SHANE SMITH: Now the guards have been waiting.
They've studied their whole life, you know, English, and
they've studied political dialectics.
So that they're the best and the brightest.
And this is like the top position.
But they have to wait all year for about 10 days for any
tourists to come.
So there's kind of this weird-- like they're holding
back their excitement because they get to eat, and they get
to drink, and smoke cigarettes, and all these
great things.
And you can see them vibrating--
they're so excited.
You know, yeah, have some cigarettes.
And they're like, "oh god," and drinking, but they are
trying not to show it.
Check one, two.
MR LEE: [LAUGH]
Check two, one two, one two.
SHANE SMITH: This is for you.
[SINGING IN ENGLISH]
She doesn't like my song.
[APPLAUSE]
[INAUDIBLE]
SHANE SMITH: To the museum?
MALE SPEAKER 1: Museum.
SHANE SMITH: Museum, yeah.
SHANE SMITH: The International Friendship Exhibition Hall.
And we're going to buy some ties.
SHANE SMITH: Bad for you?
It's bad for everybody.
MR LEE: [LAUGH]
SHANE SMITH: [SINGING IN KOREAN]
What does it mean?
Hello?
FEMALE SPEAKER 1: I'm glad to meet you.
SHANE SMITH: I'm glad to meet you.
That's why you shake hands.
SHANE SMITH: But that's why, when you sing it, you always
shake hands.
MR LEE: Yeah.
Tomorrow we have a big day.
FEMALE SPEAKER 1: [SPEAKING KOREAN]
SHANE SMITH: Goodnight.
SHANE SMITH: Oh, OK.
MR LEE: This morning.
FEMALE SPEAKER 1: This morning.
[LAUGH]
SHANE SMITH: I see you this morning.
So we went out on a night on the town in Pyongyang with our
guards, which is good, because the guards weren't enjoying us
as human beings.
Today they threatened Jamie, who's filming this, with--
what was it?
Gross, insensitive crimes to the republic, or something?
JAMIE: Criminal offenses.
SHANE SMITH: Criminal offenses.
JAMIE: --which would have severe repercussions.
SHANE SMITH: All we had to do was buy like six bottles of
blueberry wine, and everybody was fine, except for Mr. Lee.
He wanted to fight with us after we disrespected
[KOREAN], the song that says, "pleased to meet you."
So we're drinking soju.
And we're going to bed now.
He got mad at me.
Mr. Lee got mad at me.
He goes, it was the first song I taught you!
OK--
[LAUGH]
I don't remember the first song you taught me, Mr. Lee.
OK, honeybun.
Goodnight.
[APPLAUSE]
SHANE SMITH: So once they get through with the
indoctrination--
like, the Pueblo and DMZ-- of