Alí Lameda, A Poet Imprisoned in North Korea (Alí Lameda, Un Poeta Preso en Corea del Norte)

How much do you know about what goes on in North Korea? Probably not much. Perhaps you think that a lot of what is said is just negative propaganda by anti-communists. But what if I told you that a Venezuelan communist was imprisoned there and got to see how horrible the prisoner treatment was up close?


Now, you must be wondering... what was a Venezuelan poet doing working in North Korea? Today's story is precisely about this man and what led him there. Ali Lameda was a passionate dreamer, who believed that the world needed more of what East Germany, Romania and North Korea (among other nations) had implemented at the time. The message of Karl Marx was like music to his ears. So he decided to contribute to Kim Jong Il's cause.


But he didn't expect that a slight, small criticism of what Kim's government was doing in terms of propaganda would cause him... a world of pain, both literal and even spiritual, as the North Koreans attempted to destroy the man over decades.  


Does it sound horrific? Probably - but it might just have a happier ending than you think. Find out everything about this relatively unknown case in this week's episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast!


Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/1184