• Fried_out_Kombi@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Why does everyone always focus so much on architecture? Like, if you really wanna visualize how South Korea is materially much better off than North Korea, just use the satellite view at night where North Korea is almost completely absent of lights.

    There’s a million better things to criticize North Korea for besides having commie blocks. Especially considering the pic they chose genuinely doesn’t look that bad.

    Such a weird attempt at a meme from these folks.

    • Barbarian
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      1 year ago

      “Commie blocks” can be quite nice if renovated and repaired regularly. The big problem with them is when they’re basically left to rot, with elevators that haven’t been inspected in over 2 decades, corroded water pipes, and jury-rigged electricals.

      Edit: Should also probably mention that tenement blocks were absolutely perfect for their explicit goal: building pretty decent housing cheaply and quickly for post WW2 countries flattened by war.

      • ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.de
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        1 year ago

        And they provide high-density housing where everyone lives close to public transit and few people need a car. Then, your work, a mall, a park etc. can be three tram stops away.

        • Barbarian
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          1 year ago

          I’m sure they do. They’re used in basically every country, to a greater or lesser degree. It just seems that when talking about a formerly or currently communist country, tenement blocks suddenly become “commie blocks”, as if it’s a uniquely Soviet style of housing or something.

      • Eldritch@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        They are not “commie blocks” they are an architectural design referred to as brutalist which was used around the world at the time. And their disrepair is on par and quite familiar to those of us familiar with tenements and slumlords in wealthy Nations. So it’s got nothing to do with Communism of any stripe.

    • azertyfun
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      1 year ago

      You don’t need to do a very good illustration job for people to associate NK with famine, abject poverty, and an oppressive regime. The pictures do an alright job at that, and everyone understands what this meme really says: NK can’t feed its citizens, SK is rich and prosperous almost beyond belief, especially considering that NK had a big head start after the war.

      Like c’mon, this is just the wrong meme to post in “the right can’t meme”. In fact “capitalism prosperous, communism poor” is a 60+ year old meme at this point. Maybe we should start articulating capitalism’s own problems through memes rather than stupidly “dunk” on capitalists for touting what is arguably capitalism’s greatest success story.