North Korean Labor Camps - VICE NEWS - Part 4 of 7

SHANE SMITH: It turned out to be a comparatively short
10-hour train ride from Tynda to Dipkun, which was the next
town that had a North Korean camp in it.
When we finally got there, it was pretty late in the day.
We had to move fast.
If we were going to see the North Korean camp and get back
in time before the pitch black Siberian night fell and
stranded us in the forest.
Well, we're sort of in the middle of nowhere.
But we're going to try to go to the camp now.

The old chief of police of Dipkun, who we met on the
train, had offered to take us out there in his new truck but
was a bit worried about the bridge because it had recently
been washed out.
We could take this.
This would be awesome.
Is this us?

So we are in a race against time to go see the North
Korean camp.
The old chief of police is driving us.

He'd been the chief of police for over a decade and
consequently knew the North Korean
situation there quite well.
RODION MIKHAILOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN]

SIMON OSTROVSKY: They get kopecks.
RODION MIKHAILOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN]
SHANE SMITH: What's kopeck?
SIMON OSTROVSKY: Pennies.
RODION MIKHAILOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN]

SIMON OSTROVSKY: They live in smelly barracks--
like dozens of people all together.
RODION MIKHAILOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN]

SIMON OSTROVSKY: Yeah, I think we're getting there.

SHANE SMITH: The bridges is made out of old railway ties.
Our buddy, the chief of police, he buys this truck on
credit and then fucking risks the whole thing by driving
across this fucking thing, which he doesn't even know who
built it or when.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: Maybe we should have taken our stuff
off in case he falls into the river.
SHANE SMITH: He's got balls, this guy.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: Yeah.
SHANE SMITH: We'll have to buy him some more vodka.
Hey.

SIMON OSTROVSKY: Oh my god, it's completely been cleared.
RODION MIKHAILOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN]
SHANE SMITH: So this is our chief of police, and he's
breaking in to the North Korean camp.
I love him.
RODION MIKHAILOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN]
SHANE SMITH: [LAUGH]
I love this guy so much.
This was a whole Korean village.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: They had a sign here that said, "Kim
Il-Sung lives with us forever."
SHANE SMITH: Because, I guess, that there have been some
people who came--
Simon, who's with us, being one of them--
they've knocked down the camp.
And they've moved on to the next village
down the train line.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: This used to have a slogan on it that said,
"laboratory of Kim Il-Sung's theory." So they've given it
over to an entrepreneur to take down.
And then his benefit is he gets to sell the spare parts
and metal and stuff like that.
Let's try to open the door.
SHANE SMITH: This was built by the North Koreans to resemble
North Korea.
They wanted it to be like a home away from home.
And this was the laboratory of Kim Il-Sung's theory.
So we're going to go check it out.

So this is where they would learn about Juche, the ideals
of Kim Il-Sung.
The study room was a bit freaky because it had the
requisite painting of Mount Baekdu, which I had seen a lot
when I was in North Korea, which was where Kim Jong-Il
was supposed to have been born under a double rainbow as a
new star shot into the sky to mark the joyous event.
But in actual fact, he was really born in a small log
cabin near Khabarovsk, where we had started our journey,
while the Soviets trained his dad to be the Stalinist,
cult-of-personality leader of Korea after World War II.
So there's a room here filled with Juche ideals.
You kind of feel like you've stumbled on a cult house
because there's these weird things to make candles, and
fires, and homage to the Juche ideals and we're finding crazy
propaganda stuff because North Korea's a cult of personality.
One man runs, like a god, the country.

SIMON OSTROVSKY: It's kind of got this eerie, Pompeii
feeling about it.
SHANE SMITH: It's such a bizarre concept that there's
little North Koreas dotted around Siberia.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: This would have been living quarters
right here.
SHANE SMITH: It's not very nice.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: Pure filth.
SHANE SMITH: Very disgusting.

SIMON OSTROVSKY: There's one of the old dudes.

SHANE SMITH: Oh shit.
Oh that's--
RODION MIKHAILOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN]
SIMON OSTROVSKY: He says it's fine.
SHANE SMITH: Are they North Koreans?
SIMON OSTROVSKY: No, but it'd to be cool if we were, and
they saw us looting.
SHANE SMITH: We're literally getting caught in
looting right now.
All smiles.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: Just smile.
They'll think you're crazy.
RODION MIKHAILOV: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN]

SIMON OSTROVSKY: He says, you want to see a real Korean?
SHANE SMITH: Yeah.
We should get the vodka.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: [SPEAKING RUSSIAN]
SHANE SMITH: [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
Hello.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: Simon.
We have to cross the bridge while it's light.
SHANE SMITH: Oh, OK.
KIM ZUNG YUN: [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
LABORER: [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
KIM ZUNG YUN: [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

LABORER: [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]
SHANE SMITH: Well, I feel bad for the guy because he's
obviously terrified.
So we'll blur his face.
SIMON OSTROVSKY: Yeah, definitely.
Maybe we should let him know that we'll do that.
SHANE SMITH: Yeah.
When we told him not to worry and that we would blur his
face, the North Korean worker relaxed a little and seemed
much happier.
He also told us that the main part of the workers group had
moved even further up the line.
So we got into another train, and we kept going.

Should we get arrested?
SIMON OSTROVSKY: Yes.