Video: The Vice Guide to North Korea

I know, I know, you’ve seen a thousand permutations of this same tour circuit, but this one is so much edgier and funner than the rest of them. We take for granted that we can satize anything (well, except for Ohmmad-May and the Oran-Kay) without consequences, and occasionally describe ourselves as brave for it. You want brave? These guys smuggled videocameras into North Korea for the express purpose of making a satirical documentary. Now that’s brave:

The culture shock is only funnier because you get the feeling that this might be the first time in a loooong time the filmmaker, Shane Smith, was not stoned.

It’s so surreal. There’s nothing normal that happens — ever — in this whole country.

The result is well worth watching and very funny. Start at part one; their excellent video player will spool you through the rest of the five available episodes. I’m definitely looking forward to the rest of them, particularly the part after Shane shares his cigarette with his minders and fails a surprise urine test shortly afterward. A big hat tip to GI Korea for this one.