They both have a bit in common. They’re both communist Asian states that the US went to war with during the Cold War and did not win. But the messaging regarding the two states is a lot different. DPRK is treated like the worst dictatorship ever, that kills you and your family for even thinking that the Kims are less than gods, whilst also starving. But Vietnam, they say… nothing.
Why isn’t Vietnam demonized like DPRK?
Vietnam gets exploited for cheap sneakers
Korea is officially still at war with the US and Samsung. But wtf are they gonna do about it? Korea has nukes :) Amerikkka is bitter because of it.
North Korea will never give up its arsenal. It’s all that is keeping us alive. Look at Saddam Hussein - and we never forget that North Korea was named as part of the “axis of evil” a year before the United States invaded Iraq. Do you think we would be stupid enough to believe American promises after all this? We are a nuclear power. That is not negotiable. We are willing to talk about limits freezes - but we would need to be given something in return security, in the form of diplomatic recognition by Washington and guarantees of nonaggression from China, Japan and the United States.
-Kim Jong Un
Why isn’t Vietnam demonized like DPRK?
The simple answer is because the ROK exists. DPRK gets demonized as an example of socialism while the ROK gets praised as an example of capitalism. You see a similar dynamic with China vs Taiwan/Hong Kong/Singapore.
For the US, everything around that region concerns China. Vietnam is still considered a strong strategic country for the “containment” of China. The scaremongering of the DPRK plays perfectly into keeping South Korea and Japan in the strong grip of the US to counter China.
Vietnam is still considered a strong strategic country for the “containment” of China.
China hasn’t exactly been some benevolent geopolitical neighbor to Vietnam
yep, I don’t blame any of China’s smaller neighbours for being cautious about China.
I don’t blame DPRK for being cautious of China for following western sanction regimes against them, but the rest of the southeast Asian nations grievances with the PRC are overblown and exaggerated. Nothing akin to what the Americans did
they have when compared to the imperialist americans who slaughtered millions. equating disputes with fishing ships and territorial waters to full blown invasion and genocide is absurd
equating disputes with fishing ships and territorial waters to full blown invasion and genocide is absurd
I don’t see anyone even suggesting they’re equal.
Also, consider that the PRC has previously launched a surprise land invasion of hundreds of thousands of soldiers back in 1979.
Again, in case it needs to be emphasized, pointing out China and Vietnam’s tensions is not equating China to the US in any way, that would be absurd.
It is a zero-sum game between whether Vietnam supports China more, or America more. Those are the multipolar blocs of power. That’s why they are being compared. The question being implicitly asked underneath this discussion is “who would Vietnam side with in a war or cold war between China and America? Or would they remain neutral” or put another way, in a correct-thinking anti-imperialist manner: Would Vietnam fight against imperialists or with them, or would they try to fail their duties of internationalism and solidarity and remain neutral?
There are legitimate concerns and hopes that Vietnam would participate as part of the ring of containment against China, alongside Japan, Occupied Korea, Occupied Chinese Taipei, India, etc. That they are brought up in this light isn’t damning? It’s the tug-of-war meme where you see who’s on your side and go wtf?
they have when compared to the imperialist americans who slaughtered millions.
You realize Vietnam is AES state? You don’t have to do this
and? Does that make them immune to criticisms of revisionism and collaboration with imperialists? China is guilty of this as well. There is a liberal rot in both of their foreign policy apparatuses, and they need to purge them and stand in solidarity with each other - not bicker and run off to America when spurned. Both are far too chummy with the Israelis and Americans. There’s only so long the “we trade with everyone equally” excuse holds up to scrutiny before it collapses, and that was some time ago. Capital has strong footholds in both, and this is a serious problem that is warping their decision making to be more nationalistic and short-sighted.
In a vibes-based historical context, the difference is that SK still exists as a US puppet regime. Vietnam doesn’t have a frozen conflict to contend with, so the propaganda has much less usefulness. Demonizing real Korea is part of maintaining the narrative to justify the status quo forced upon the peninsula by the US.
Because in the American cultural imagination the Vietnam War was a horrifying slaughter and a complete loss. But the nature of the loss depends on who you ask. Chuds say politicians hampered the generals, liberals will say lack of morale or something.
Vietnam is kinda unique in that most Americans at this point think about it through movies rather than an actual event. And movies always portray it in the negative, as a complete tragedy. So for modern Vietnam to be demonized you’d have to somehow portray what exists now in Vietnam as worse America’s involvement and that’s not possible
The US Empire is trying to treat Vietnam like they did China in the 90s, and is trying to leverage Vietnam’s socialist market economy into pivoting them away from China and towards the US. The DPRK cannot be treated as such.
The US failed to pivot China, and will likely fail with Vietnam as well as both are socialist countries and practice shows that by maintaining control of the large firms and key industries and a dictatorship of the proletariat, porkie can’t act freely and reinstate capitalism.
I’ve seen boomers still get enraged over “Hanoi Jane”.
Lol that pic used to be the background on my phone. I’m pretty Fonda Hanoi Jane.
Don’t be, IIRC she walked that back, sort of blamed the Vietnamese for misleading her, and abandoned Vanessa Redgrave (her co-star in Julia) when she expressed an actually radical position of anti-zionism.
Oh no I don’t love Jane Fonda. Just that pic.
Vietnam kicked our ass. I think at a subconscious level even chuds can respect their military prowess. Also, not an economic threat.
Vietnam lets us have cheap resources(be it material or labor).
That’s it. That’s always it. If the USSR let the USA come in and let them have cheap resources, we wouldnt have said shit about USSR and the cold war wouldnt have existed. It’s literally always a fight for resources.
It’s why the China hate is ramped up. from about the 80s until the early 00s China was a great partner thanks to the cheap labor. Now that labor wont be as cheap, and China is way better at being unified and protecting themselves from western interests. Im sure you could make a chart of how many “china will collapse soon” articles have been made as Chinas presence has strengthened.
US is still occupying the South and is therefore at war with DPRK. The media knows this and gives it the kind of coverage it gives any other country that the US is currently at war with.
Where does your t-shirt come from?
I also want to add that DPRK does do exports to other countries but it’s all done in a clandestine manner which sees the workers of the DPRK get a fraction of what they’ve owed.
Its been revealed that amazon prime video capeshit “Invincible season 3” was offshored to an animation studio based in the DPRK.
The brutality and collective punishment of the economic sanctions translates into an ideology shield to justify those sanctions.
In addition to the points mentioned here, DPRK assisting the Russian SMO (based) didnt help things in the liberal court of public opinion.
Also westerners genuinely believe in great man of history bs and thats why every american knows who the “dictator” of north Korea is but can’t tell you the names of literally anyone else in the country (or even who their state reps are)
The DPRK is extremely isolated. It can say basically whatever the fuck it wants about its enemies and there’s no consequence because what are they going to do, sanction it more? And what would its enemies do if it attacked them less, sanction the DPRK less while the DPRK still maintains its nuclear program?
Vietnam actually has diplomatic relations with the US and many others where it stands to benefit by playing nice.
Possession of nuclear weapons
if DPRK let us have cheap labor and/or materials, we wouldnt give a fuck they have nukes.
The very reason they have sovereignty over their own resources is because of the nukes
yes but if they had nukes and let US corporations come in, we wouldnt care.
Imf loan
