For those wondering if Tahrir Square and similar events across North Africa and the Middle East can be repeated in Pyongyang, recent headlines out of Korea appear to answer the question. While their compatriots are busy using the Internet and social media to link up for everything from brainstorming to demonstrations, North Korean college students are serving as corvee labor on construction projects.
And not just any construction – the conditions, work schedule, and lack of safety are reportedly so bad that “hundreds” (also in Korean) are dying from the forced labor (additional English info here). These students aren’t being punished for committing a crime, they are simply being put to work to help beautify Pyongyang for next year’s centennial of Kim Il-sung’s birth.