{"id":314,"date":"2005-08-05T16:49:54","date_gmt":"2005-08-05T16:49:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.randomwire.com\/?p=314"},"modified":"2026-04-03T22:42:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T20:42:34","slug":"mighty-memory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/mighty-memory\/","title":{"rendered":"Mighty Memory"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='__iawmlf-post-loop-links' style='display:none;' data-iawmlf-post-links='[{&quot;id&quot;:10685,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.kottke.org&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20251004114626\\\/https:\\\/\\\/kottke.org\\\/&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-11-02 16:47:28&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-11-11 14:20:14&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-11-21 01:40:14&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-11-26 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07:49:42&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-31 17:39:50&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-09 14:45:17&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-14 16:22:13&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-14 07:30:00&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404}],&quot;broken&quot;:true,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-14 07:30:00&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:404},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:10687,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/en.wikipedia.org\\\/wiki\\\/Uriminzokkiri&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20250701125758\\\/https:\\\/\\\/en.wikipedia.org\\\/wiki\\\/Uriminzokkiri&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-11-02 16:47:34&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-11-17 06:43:29&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-17 04:41:07&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-21 09:06:43&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-25 07:49:42&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-31 17:39:53&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-09 14:45:17&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-14 16:22:14&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-14 07:30:03&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200}],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-14 07:30:03&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;}]'><\/div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"144\" class=\"wp-image-69481\" src=\"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/kimjongil.jpg\" alt=\"Kim Jong-il\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Saw a link to this article on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kottke.org\/\">kottke.org<\/a> and just had to forward it on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>SEOUL<\/strong> (<a href=\"http:\/\/today.reuters.co.uk\/news\/newsArticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&amp;storyID=2005-08-02T073619Z_01_KWA227341_RTRIDST_0_OUKOE-ODD-KOREA-MEMORY.XML\">Reuters<\/a>) \u2013 North Korea\u2019s Dear Leader Kim Jong-il never forgets a phone number, a cadre\u2019s career or a line of computer code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to an article posted on Tuesday on a Web site run by North Korea, Kim wakes up early every day for intensive memory training where he sits down and commits to his keen mind items such as the phone numbers of workers in his Stalinist state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c<em>I remember all computer codes and telephones that workers are using now,<\/em>\u201d Kim was quoted as saying on the Web site \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Uriminzokkiri\">Uriminzokkiri<\/a>\u201c, or \u201cAmong our People.\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>North Korean propaganda is ripe with the amazing achievements of its Dear Leader. The highly controlled state also closely monitors its citizens to make sure they do not speak out against Kim or challenge his rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kim pilots jet fighters, pens operas, produces movies<\/strong> and accomplished a feat unmatched in the annals of professional golf by shooting 11 holes-in-one on the first round he ever played. \u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s good to know that the aging dictator of one of the last and most secretive dictatorial states in world is spending his time wisely by memorising the phone numbers of his comrades! The people who come up with the sort of stuff must either be amazingly dedicated to the \u2019cause\u2019 or are having a huge laugh at the expense of the population who have to take all this in whilst living in a state of perpetual starvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this crazy world wonders never cease to amaze me!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Saw a link to this article on kottke.org and just had to forward it on: SEOUL (Reuters) \u2013 North Korea\u2019s Dear Leader Kim Jong-il never forgets a phone number, a cadre\u2019s career or a line of computer code. According to an article posted on Tuesday on a Web site run by North Korea, Kim wakes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[18,11],"tags":[348],"class_list":["post-314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-korea","category-rant","tag-politics"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":933,"url":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/planet-samsung\/","url_meta":{"origin":314,"position":0},"title":"Planet Samsung","author":"David","date":"17th March 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"With North Korea increasingly sabre rattling and relations with the south breaking down under South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's conservative hard-line approach things are becoming increasingly tense along the 38th parallel, the most heavily fortified border in the world. Combined with the north effectively-being allied with China and the south\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Design&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Design","link":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/design\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/north-korean-propaganda-poster3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":467,"url":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/seismic-reaction\/","url_meta":{"origin":314,"position":1},"title":"Seismic Reaction","author":"David","date":"9th October 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"So Kim Jong-il dropped a bit of a bombshell today (haha) with the underground detonation of a nuclear bomb in northern North Korea. Seems to me it can serve little purpose other than to wind the rest of the world up and brings it one step closer to an ugly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Korea&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Korea","link":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/korea\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nuclear-test.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nuclear-test.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/nuclear-test.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2691,"url":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/south-korea-invaded-by-kpop-groups\/","url_meta":{"origin":314,"position":2},"title":"South Korea Invaded by K-pop Groups","author":"David","date":"27th September 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"South Korea has been\u00a0invaded, not by its\u00a0neighbour\u00a0from the North, but from troops of long-legged girls in the guise of carefully manufactured Kpop groups. The small\u00a0peninsula\u00a0of around 50 million people has seen an explosion of Kpop girl groups in the past year who all pretty much look and sound alike (arguably)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Korea&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Korea","link":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/korea\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/girls-generation2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/girls-generation2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/girls-generation2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/girls-generation2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/girls-generation2.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":103,"url":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/korean-dvds\/","url_meta":{"origin":314,"position":3},"title":"Korean DVDs","author":"David","date":"17th July 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"The DVD of \"A Tale Of Two Sisters\" (previously reviewed here) that I ordered from South Korea arrived today in perfect condition. Wonders never cease to amaze me how something can be shipped half way across the globe and still cost no more than it would to buy it on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Film&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Film","link":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/film\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/ttsdvd1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":309,"url":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/red-ted-shanghai\/","url_meta":{"origin":314,"position":4},"title":"Red Ted in Shanghai","author":"David","date":"26th July 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"The past weekend was hectic, to say the least - I covered well over 500 miles in the car and am now crashed out at home with my brain on autopilot - no thinking required! The good news is that Red Ted has returned triumphant from his diplomatic trip to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;China&quot;","block_context":{"text":"China","link":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/china\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/rt_china1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":558,"url":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/dmz\/","url_meta":{"origin":314,"position":5},"title":"DMZ","author":"David","date":"9th May 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"\"The Korean Demilitarized Zone is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. The DMZ cuts the Korean Peninsula roughly in half, crossing the 38th parallel on an acute angle, with the west end of the DMZ lying\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Korea&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Korea","link":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/korea\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_4618-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_4618-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_4618-scaled.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_4618-scaled.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_4618-scaled.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_4618-scaled.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=314"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93988,"href":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314\/revisions\/93988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/randomwire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}