Randi Kreiss

Holiday trip breaks bad for American student

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We aren’t going to hear from Otto F. Warmbier for a while.

Last week, Warmbier, 21, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after he admitted to stealing a political poster from his hotel room during a five-day trip to Pyongyang, North Korea.

Warmbier, a University of Virginia student, was visiting the hermit kingdom with a China-based tourist group called Young Pioneers, an outfit that attracts mostly 18- to 25-year-olds looking for a holiday adventure. He was arrested in January, and at his trial last week he pleaded guilty, while sobbing hysterically before the cameras.

Wambier’s story is a cautionary tale. The first caution is that North Korea is neither a legitimate nor a safe tourist destination. Think crazy, authoritarian dictatorship. Think Kim Jong-un, a living deity, according to his press releases. Think constant threats to obliterate the West with nuclear missiles. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is a black hole, and anyone venturing inside risks falling through.

The fact that the tourism industry treats the country as a viable “vacation” spot, describing it as “mysterious” and “fascinating,” is dangerous and misleading. Western tourists in North Korea are supporting the economy of the world’s most repressive and horrific violator of human rights.

Warmbier, by all accounts, was out drinking all night before his scheduled morning departure from Pyongyang in January, and he never showed up at his plane. Surveillance videos from his hotel room show him stealing the poster, which he was going to exchange for a used car back at school. As a college prank, the entire escapade was lame. And Pyongyang is not UVA.

Warmbier is guilty of stupidity, naivety and inexperience. He would not have touched the poster if he knew anything at all about the Kim Jong-un regime. And he should have known.

Political posters, particularly the ones making reference to any of the Kims, are considered sacred objects. They are ubiquitous in North Korea, and deemed untouchable. According to The New York Times, people have been sent to prison for countless mind-bogglingly insignificant infractions, such as unintentionally sitting on a newspaper that carried a photo of the Great Leader.

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