Have You Ever Wondered How North Korea Got The Way It Was?

The opening credits of Max Fisher's explanation of the historical events that produced the bizarre, tragic North Korea we know today simply states "Why Is North Korea So Crazy?", and i'm sure it's a sentiment that a lot of us wonder about too. After all, there is a certain amount of mystery surrounding this closed-off country, from their nuclear program to the unprovoked attacks on neighboring South Korea, it all adds up to a residual ingrown paranoia that we can't seem to shrug off.

To find out how they got to the state they're in, Vox takes us back to the early 20th century and tries to explain some of the reasons around why North Korea got to the where they are today, the Pyongyang regime that commits grave human rights abuses whilst diverting funds towards a nuclear weapons program. It raises the question of how should we, the international community, respond?

The question of 'love them or hate them' as a country or threat is a mute point to make until you try to understand them better and Max Fisher goes a long way to starting you on that journey.