×

This post is locked. You won't be able to comment.

2955
2956

My grandpa gave me this super long mechanical pencil from Pyongyang, North Korea.OC (i.imgur.com)

submitted by bogzaelektrotehniku

all 143 comments
sorted by:
best
topnewcontroversialoldq&a

[–][deleted] 440 points441 points  (13 children)

That looks like a standard sized pencil to me.

[–]Alarmcdxreacl 54 points55 points  (0 children)

10/10

[–]LordOfTrubbish 35 points36 points  (1 child)

You are now banned from /r/Pyongyang

[–]AmselRblx 18 points19 points  (0 children)

TIL north korean government has a propaganda subreddit.

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 46 points47 points  (8 children)

It's like 2 centimeters longer than standard

[–]PornstarVirgin 73 points74 points  (4 children)

Wow that is MUCH larger than usual

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 52 points53 points  (2 children)

Not much but like it feels kinda strange when I hold it.

[–]bmp08 53 points54 points  (1 child)

That’s what she said!

[–]M_krabs 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That's what she said

[–]Deitaphobia 5 points6 points  (0 children)

so are North Korean Centimeters

[–]Ope_Skuzeme 11 points12 points  (1 child)

Hmm, I’m not sure if that can be considered “super” long. Judges?

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I'll allow it

[–]Im_not_a_liar 67 points68 points  (2 children)

Scale?

[–]sfled 47 points48 points  (1 child)

Longest pencil from Best Korea! Does not need yellow bellied imperialist running pig-dog scale!

[–]Taxevader70 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I AM A RED BLOODED AMERICAN YOUR COUNTRY PROBABLY LOST A WAR TO US ANYWAY AND I DEMAND TO KNOW HOW MANY BULLETS LONG IT IS!!!!

[–]gustav_lauben 327 points328 points  (26 children)

Where's the fucking banana!?

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 303 points304 points  (11 children)

I usually just call them eating bananas but to each their own

[–]dubcatz6969 71 points72 points  (4 children)

“Papa, where are the eating bananas?”

“Next to the fucking bananas!”

“Which is which?”

“The fucking bananas are older, they might be a bit browned.”

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 13 points14 points  (3 children)

I rarely mix them up these days

[–]dubcatz6969 5 points6 points  (2 children)

… not since the accident…

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Accidents

[–]dubcatz6969 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Some would say a bushel or bunch of accidents.

[–]burrito_butt_fucker 9 points10 points  (1 child)

Thanks for being so understanding

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

so understanding much tolerance

[–]MajoredInPhilosophy 4 points5 points  (1 child)

May I introduce u/BananaBlower?

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The answer my friend is blowing in the wind

[–]Xora005 1 point2 points  (0 children)

relevant xkcd.

[–]theveryrealreal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sounds like someone that just hasn't tried.

[–]buntopolis 10 points11 points  (1 child)

You think they have bananas just laying around in North Korea?

[–]theveryrealreal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Doubtful. Those bananas are hard at work building a brighter future for everyone.

[–]LuckyAce398 40 points41 points  (3 children)

Silly question but why would this be in English?

[–]Bakelite51 49 points50 points  (1 child)

For export. During the Cold War, North Korea actually used to export industrial goods quite a bit to socialist countries that were also aligned with the USSR. East Germany and all the Warsaw Pact states, Cuba, Angola, Mozambique, Syria, Gadaffi’s Libya, etc.

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I am from Serbia (former Yugoslavia)

[–]similar_observation 22 points23 points  (0 children)

until the late 1970's, North Korea was considered better off economically than South Korea as the north had kept the industrial areas while South Korea was more dedicated to agrarian industry. This meant while North Korea could still make things and sell it abroad, South Korea could only dedicate to food exports... starving their own citizens in the process.

This is all entirely simplified for brevity, but the two Koreas have basically switched places in the last 40 years.

[–]deadsix6 142 points143 points  (11 children)

You know how that was smuggled out ...

[–]oxwof 140 points141 points  (8 children)

The handwriting on the paper is Russian (or something Cyrillic anyway), so it likely wasn’t smuggled out at all. Russians have much greater access to NK and its goods, or at least they used to.

[–]DrumpfTinyHands 31 points32 points  (3 children)

Ah, so it was kiestered for simple jollies?

[–]wunderbarvik 9 points10 points  (1 child)

If your not using your prison wallet as your main carry your doing it wrong.

[–]DrumpfTinyHands 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No truer words been written.

[–]bens111 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Keistering is for liquids whereas boofing is for solids I’m pretty sure

[–]averagevegetable- 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Serbian cyrillic.

[–]TokenEntryWasBetter 4 points5 points  (2 children)

Judging by the OP's username I think Croatian

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 7 points8 points  (1 child)

How dare you

[–]TokenEntryWasBetter 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I just checked your profile. I apologize.

I was close tbough!

[–]Alan_Smithee_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It belonged to Butch’s father?

[–]hardslappy 13 points14 points  (1 child)

I'm not convinced that's longer than a normal pencil

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

How dare you

[–]J-MoneyBangBang 28 points29 points  (3 children)

I didn’t realise Kim Jon un stationary was this banging

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

They don't call him Kim Jong Pen for nothing.

[–]coldshadow31 0 points1 point  (0 children)

IDK, I'm more of a fan of a Kim Jong Un in motion instead of an immobile one.

[–]Jossue88 9 points10 points  (3 children)

It's got a listening device inside of it.

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 11 points12 points  (2 children)

Your phone does, too.

[–]Jossue88 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Nooooooooooooooooo! smashes phone

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Too late. they know

[–]SpiffyMagnetMan68621 11 points12 points  (5 children)

I like how it says “pyongyang, korea” lol

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 9 points10 points  (4 children)

Because there's only one Korea

[–]SpiffyMagnetMan68621 4 points5 points  (3 children)

Yeah, its just funny to see a physical expression of the NK view

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I was joking. But yeah

[–]SpiffyMagnetMan68621 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Eh, is reddit, hard to tell sometimes

They really believe in one korea so forgive me for missing the joke lol

[–]Thejerseyjon609 32 points33 points  (12 children)

Extra large because you only get 1 mechanical pencil in N Korea and I has to last you entire life. Don’t lose it

[–]similar_observation 4 points5 points  (1 child)

That's a pretty neat pencil. Looks like any modern drafting pencil. What size lead does it use? How does it write? Does it have a centering function? Will it burst into flame if you insert kurutoga lead in it?

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Just regular 0.5mm, it writes great aaaand yes

[–]jra85 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That's a lyong pyen.

[–]FooBarU2 10 points11 points  (1 child)

check it for wires/internal recording device!!

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I've got nothing to hide from my better Korean brothers

[–]90bubbel 2 points3 points  (1 child)

ah yes let me show this "super long" pen with nothing for scale.

[–]SleepylaReef 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Where’s the banana?

[–]TheRickBerman 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If you have cheap clothing that says ‘made in China’ it’s also probably from North Korea.

The bulk of the work is done in Korea, then finished in China and exported.

North Korea gets money, China gets cheap labour, sanctions are evaded, we get cheap clothes - everyone wins!

Oh, not the slaves in North Korea. Maybe this whole arrangement is monstrously evil.

[–]dutchoboe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Coin for context?

[–]HungryCats96 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Myohangsan is a mountain to the north of Pyonyang, near one repository storing gifts presented to the three leaders of the DPRK by foreign governments (Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un). There is a hotel at the mountain for tourists/guests of the government. I wonder if your grandfather got the pencil in Pyongyang or if he visited the mountain?

Do you know what your father was doing in the country, or when he visited? I was in country several times in the late '90s for the USG, just wondering if I might have worked with him.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I want to know why it just has a mountain name in “” on it… “Myohyang Mountain”.

[–]not_a_droid 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am seriously jealous of this; does it write upside down?

[–]kain459 1 point2 points  (0 children)

.5 or nothing

[–]man2809 2 points3 points  (3 children)

This table might be missing a pencil??

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 2 points3 points  (2 children)

🤫

[–]man2809 1 point2 points  (1 child)

North Korea wants to know your location.

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's fine, we were Yugoslavia, we were bros with NK back in the day

[–]Mojambo213 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Looks normal to me, need repost with a banana for scale. And also a normal mech pencil if possible as secondary scale.

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm on it sir.

[–]hangs2theLEFT 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Compensating

[–]ILikeToMeltStuff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s cool

[–]CXyber 1 point2 points  (1 child)

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You were my brother Kim Jong Unanikan

[–]yesnomaybenotso 1 point2 points  (14 children)

Who sold North Koreans the design for mechanical pencils?

[–]zalinuxguy 2 points3 points  (9 children)

Man, we're not talking semiconductor blueprints here. Mechanical pencils are not so difficult to design or make.

[–]yesnomaybenotso 0 points1 point  (8 children)

I never said i have a problem with it lol but it’s a western invention and the Un family cut off western contact, but still gets movies and basket ball and apparently mechanical pencils for themselves. It’s just funny is all.

And not difficult to design or make is exactly the point, but yet the style of the design, like the tip of the pencil being shiny metallic plastic even, the aesthetic stuff, is exactly the same as the evil western version.

You don’t find that both too coincidental to be an accident and kind of funny at the same time?

[–]zalinuxguy 3 points4 points  (7 children)

To me, it just looks like a generic mechanical pencil that can be bought in every stationery shop in the world.

[–]yesnomaybenotso 1 point2 points  (6 children)

Right…it is exactly that. That’s my point. You’d think if the Kim family thought western influence was so evil they’d change something about it to make it “their own”. Or if it was truly so evil, treat it like the Amish treat electricity and avoid it lol

[–]zalinuxguy 0 points1 point  (5 children)

Thing is, how many different ways to make a mechanical pencil are there?

[–]yesnomaybenotso -1 points0 points  (4 children)

🤷‍♂️ I’m not the one that calls western influence evil, that’s not on me lol

[–]zalinuxguy 0 points1 point  (3 children)

If you're expecting ideological consistency from dictators, I'm not sure what to tell you.

[–]yesnomaybenotso 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I’m not, I just wanna know who cut that deal lol

[–]zalinuxguy 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Eh, communist regimes all throughout the cold war were cutting under-the-table deals with western countries to have some money coming in. This is not that unusual.

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Anyone?

[–]yesnomaybenotso 0 points1 point  (2 children)

It just seems unlikely that a country that’s completely isolated from the western world, and is allegedly anti-western influence, landed on the exact same English invented design that’s used throughout the western world. Like very unlikely.

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Soviets, Chinese?

[–]yesnomaybenotso -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Most likely, but it’s also kind of funny that both of those places also use(d) the western design and espouse western culture is evil lol not too evil to reinvent the wheel I see, very convenient lol

[–]maverick118717 1 point2 points  (1 child)

They wrote that in English lettering? Is there any Korean writing on it?

[–]sundayontheluna 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Gonna need a banana for scale

[–]BlueBunner 0 points1 point  (1 child)

You know what they say, everything is bigger in North Korea

[–]JetpackKiwi 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Does it have a listening device hidden inside?

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] -1 points0 points  (1 child)

It does, just like your phone

[–]Bogmanbob 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is it good quality and writes well?

[–]just-an-anus -2 points-1 points  (1 child)

Looks like North Korea is overcompensating for something.

[–]robexib -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Lack of food, mostly.

[–]Soapyfroggirl -1 points0 points  (0 children)

as an avid mechanical pencil person this is not even remotely long but I WANT ONE FOR ITS UNIQUENESS enjoy its novelty and create things which may be profoundly needed up in the dprk: kindness, healthy affirmations, etc ;)

[–]Ok_Intention3541 -5 points-4 points  (1 child)

Need a banana

[–]bogzaelektrotehniku[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fucking banana?

[–]VeronicaVonsAce 0 points1 point  (0 children)

HANGUL expert here!