But are they any good? I suppose they must be, as they seem to retain their jobs, but how do they rank overall?
Also, I tend to think that maintaining these interactions going might be a way to let more information into Naughty Korea and might actually have a positive influence in the long run.
baxtr · 44m ago
> Jin-su spent most of his time trying to secure fraudulent identities which he could use to apply for jobs. He would first pose as Chinese, and contact people in Hungary, Turkey and other countries to ask them to use their identity in exchange for a percentage of his earnings, he told the BBC.
"If you put an 'Asian face' on that profile, you'll never get a job."
He would then use those borrowed identities to approach people in Western Europe for their identities, which he'd use to apply for jobs in the US and Europe. Jin-su often found success targeting UK citizens.
"With a little bit of chat, people in the UK passed on their identities so easily," he said.
Interesting. I was under the impression that most large employers perform basic background checks on new employees?
apwell23 · 18m ago
> basic background checks on new employees?
yes background check is done on UK person's identity and then Jin-su shows up to the job.
This is a happening a lot for regular tech jobs. Person who interviews and person who shows up for job are completely different ppl. we had to start taking screenshots of faces in interview so we can compare. This is happening big time.
baxtr · 1m ago
Ok makes sense. And once you see his face in the interview you realize it’s not the UK person?
yapyap · 2h ago
Odd that he was sent abroad to do it, I always assumed they just did it from NK instead of abroad.
Also only having to give 85% to the regime seems pretty weird to me, it’d seem more logical to give 100% to the regime and have them provide the workers with a very cheap bed and food
tdeck · 17m ago
Every regime needs some way to encourage people other than "we'll kill you if you don't". Letting them keep 15% makes the work more attractive.
dizhn · 2h ago
Maybe it's not so bad in North Korea? :)
deadbabe · 24m ago
It’s bad but not as bad as we’re made to believe, people still have lives worth living. They live, they laugh, they love. They do fun normal stuff, they have free thoughts, they have family.
yapyap · 1h ago
lol.
dlachausse · 2h ago
They probably hoped that the remaining 15% was just enough to keep the workers from defecting. That combined with the threat to brutally torture and kill their family that remained in North Korea were probably pretty effective motivators to stay loyal to the regime.
apwell23 · 16m ago
No. They don't need to worry about defections. Unless the guy really wants condemn his whole extended family and next 7 generations into labor camps.
tough · 8m ago
Its quite presumptuous to assume that
1. Every citizen will have ties or family to -think of-
2. The current regime (which is now on its third generation) will last 7 generations more.
3. You have any descendants at all
deadbabe · 17m ago
perfect example of why you shouldn’t bother hiring these cheap offshore engineers.
you’re hiring an engineer thousands of miles away in another country for a fraction of the cost of an American engineer and you just assume they can be trusted with access to your most sensitive data and systems? And that they even are who they say they are and not just a frontman for some cabal?
horns4lyfe · 2h ago
Tech employers would of course rather pay the North Korean regime than hire Americans at competitive wages
crop_rotation · 1h ago
I doubt these North Koreans are getting hired due to wage disparities (these are roles supposed to be in the US where they have a contact person in the US), more like they have perfected the interview process as the most important thing in their life.
phendrenad2 · 38m ago
I got the impression from the article he was working with people in Turkey and Hungary to use their identities to get jobs in the UK and US. So US company found this amazing Hungarian dev who would work for 1/5 what an American would ask for, but they paid for it either way their privacy (hey wait a minute, sounds familiar...)
tough · 7m ago
there was recently this soham dude on SV/YC doing the rounds a few weeks ago
if all you do everyday is interview, you obviously get great at it
Also, I tend to think that maintaining these interactions going might be a way to let more information into Naughty Korea and might actually have a positive influence in the long run.
"If you put an 'Asian face' on that profile, you'll never get a job." He would then use those borrowed identities to approach people in Western Europe for their identities, which he'd use to apply for jobs in the US and Europe. Jin-su often found success targeting UK citizens.
"With a little bit of chat, people in the UK passed on their identities so easily," he said.
Interesting. I was under the impression that most large employers perform basic background checks on new employees?
yes background check is done on UK person's identity and then Jin-su shows up to the job.
This is a happening a lot for regular tech jobs. Person who interviews and person who shows up for job are completely different ppl. we had to start taking screenshots of faces in interview so we can compare. This is happening big time.
Also only having to give 85% to the regime seems pretty weird to me, it’d seem more logical to give 100% to the regime and have them provide the workers with a very cheap bed and food
1. Every citizen will have ties or family to -think of- 2. The current regime (which is now on its third generation) will last 7 generations more. 3. You have any descendants at all
you’re hiring an engineer thousands of miles away in another country for a fraction of the cost of an American engineer and you just assume they can be trusted with access to your most sensitive data and systems? And that they even are who they say they are and not just a frontman for some cabal?
if all you do everyday is interview, you obviously get great at it