No...I'm Totally South Korean!!!

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: "No...I'm Totally South Korean!!!"

Date: April 8, 2026
Host: Jack Armstrong
Podcast Network: iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

This episode blends tongue-in-cheek humor and sharp commentary as Armstrong & Getty discuss a variety of topics ranging from the annoyance of "automatic shut off" features in modern cars, the annual "party school" rankings, and a deep dive into North Korean tech workers infiltrating US companies. The episode moves seamlessly between lighthearted banter and more serious commentary on authoritarian regimes, with a specific focus on the peculiarities and perils of working under dictatorships like North Korea.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Modern Car Annoyances: The End of Automatic Shut Off

• [00:26 - 01:47]
  • Jack brings up a Wall Street Journal article about the most hated feature in modern cars—the automatic engine shut-off during idling—and how it is reportedly going away, partly due to policy changes during the Trump administration.
  • The hosts and listeners express universal frustration at this feature, claiming it’s pointless and even dangerous.
  • Quote:
    • Jack: "Oh my God. Where it stops running for like 30 seconds, accomplishing freaking nothing. I don't care what anybody says, it can't add up to anything." [00:45]
    • Guest/Co-host: "People trying to make a left turn and you break enough that it cuts the engine, then you go to go and it hesitates and yep, next thing you know, you're getting rear ended. Oh, I hate that feature." [01:16]
  • They note the workaround options: disabling the feature each time you drive or installing a device via a mechanic.
  • Policy shift is attributed to widespread public hatred and Trump’s administration dismissing the feature as unnecessary for climate policy.

2. The "Party School" Rankings: A Meaningless List?

• [02:05 - 04:25]
  • The annual "Top Party Schools in America" list sparks a rant on its pointlessness.
  • Main argument: College party culture is more about people than location or reputation.
  • Quote:
    • Jack: "I thought the list was dumb when young. I mean, for each individual human being, there's nothing stopping you from partying as hard and as much as you want." [02:27]
    • Guest/Co-host: "Boy, I'm drunk and out of my mind on shrooms and listening to a great band, but I sure wish I was at a good party school, right?" [02:45]
  • UC Santa Barbara tops the list this year, which they joke is more about the locale than academics.
  • Both hosts reflect on how college experiences come down to relationships—the “people thing”—not geography.
  • Quote:
    • Jack: "If you don't have good friends you're hanging out with...that's the key, is the people thing." [04:04]

3. North Korean Tech Workers Posing as South Koreans

• [04:25 - 07:52]
  • The main segment explores how North Korea profits by having remote tech workers infiltrate U.S. companies, posing as South Koreans.
  • They quote and act out a real exchange between a recruiter and a suspected North Korean, in which the recruiter requests the candidate to insult Kim Jong Un as a test.
  • Quote:
    • Recruiter: "One of the tests that we do is trying to get them to say something like, Kim Jong Un is a fat, ugly pig. Could you, could you say that for me?" [05:33]
  • The candidate is extremely uncomfortable, highlighting the danger even in a virtual setting.
  • Jack raises a moral question: Is it fair, considering this person might be risking their life and those of their family members just to earn a living?
  • Guest/Co-host counters that, regardless, companies simply cannot hire North Koreans and that this is a “foolproof test.”
  • Quote:
    • Jack: "To live in a country where you couldn't even come close to whispering that you don't approve of the current leader or you'll end up dead." [07:14]

4. Dictatorships, Fear, and Succession in North Korea

• [07:52 - 11:09]
  • Discussion deepens into authoritarian cultures, especially North Korea. The hosts riff on succession: Kim Jong Un’s 13-year-old daughter is frequently seen at his side, possibly being groomed as his heir.
  • Quote:
    • Guest/Co-host: "And the one thing Korea watchers know is proximity at those events is everything. That is the pecking order." [09:41]
  • Reflections on similar practices in Soviet Russia—specifically how nuclear scientists were threatened with death if an atomic test failed, highlighting the culture of fear.
  • Conversations maintain the show’s humor:
    • Jack: "They're all porky. Is that a flex? Like look at me, I got so much, I've got all this food while you starve kind of a thing." [08:20]
  • Yet, the underlying tragedy is not lost: the immense risks faced by ordinary North Koreans under an oppressive regime.

5. North Korea’s Culture of Absurdity / Dictatorship Realities

• [11:12 - End]
  • The hosts mock North Korean propaganda, referencing 60 Minutes footage of traffic guards directing non-existent traffic as a symbol of absurdity under dictatorship.
  • They joke about the surreal relationship between Dennis Rodman and Kim Jong Un.
  • The episode ends with a consensus on being staunchly "anti-dictatorship."

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jack on climate features in cars:
  "Yeah, just stupid, stupid, forced climate change bullshit. Accomplished nothing. So maddening." [01:39]

• On college party rankings:
  Guest/Co-host: "Give me a break." [02:43]

• On North Korean IT interview test:
  Recruiter: "'Kim Jong Un is a fat, ugly pig.' Could you, could you say that for me?" [05:33]
  Jack (on North Korean fear): "If he gets caught, he's going to be murdered and perhaps his old family...the next two generations or whatever to make sure that they made their point." [06:38]

• On career risk under dictatorship:
  Guest/Co-host: "In the nature of science is you fail and you learn from it...Do you want the cigarette or don't you?" [10:29]

• On psychological gymnastics in autocracies:
  Interviewer/Commentator: "They have traffic guards that stand out on these empty roads, directing traffic that doesn't exist." [11:20]

• On Dennis Rodman’s North Korea diplomacy:
  Jack (sarcastically): "Dennis Rodman, greatest rebounder of all time in the NBA, went to visit. Right." [11:38]

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Additional Insights

• The episode manages to mix light, almost slapstick banter (plenty of Simpsons sound effects and pop culture riffs) with undercurrents of sobering commentary on life under authoritarianism.
• There is an ongoing thread comparing the differences between free societies—where even dumb regulations annoy but don’t threaten life—and the dangers under dictatorships, where a simple slip of the tongue can be deadly.
• The discussion about policy shifts and car features subtly references broader themes: how bureaucratic fads catch on, the role of government in daily life, and the unpredictability of change based on political winds.
• The segment about party schools serves as an allegory for personal agency—reinforcing the show’s recurring theme that it’s the people and personal choices, more than institutions or systems, that shape experiences.

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Important Timestamps

• 00:26 - 01:47: Rant on automatic car shut-off feature
• 02:05 - 04:25: Laughing at college party school rankings
• 04:25 - 07:52: North Korean tech worker infiltration & the "Kim Jong Un test"
• 07:52 - 09:51: Succession in North Korea, leadership optics, and dangerous allegiances
• 09:51 - 11:05: Soviet bomb histories and anecdotes of authoritarian absurdities
• 11:09 - End: North Korean traffic guards, Dennis Rodman, and final anti-dictatorship consensus

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Tone and Style

• The hosts maintain a sarcastic, skeptical tone throughout—humorous but critical, especially when discussing government regulations and authoritarian regimes.
• The dialogue is candid, sometimes irreverent, but pivots smoothly to more earnest moments, especially when touching on the realities of life under dictatorship.

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Summary Takeaway:
This episode offers an entertaining yet pointed critique of regulatory overreach, the superficiality of college ranking culture, and, most powerfully, the harrowing reality for people living under regimes like North Korea—delivered with Armstrong & Getty’s signature irreverence and wit.

Transcript

[Jack]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

[Guest/Co-host]

What? Me? No, I'm totally South Korean. Seoul. Seoul, Great city. You should come visit me someday. It's one more thing. Armstrong and Getty.

[Jack]

I liked that noise.

[Guest/Co-host]

The classic Simpsons tugging at the collar noise.

[Jack]

A couple of things.

[Interviewer/Commentator]

First,

[Jack]

this was a good clickbait meet for. For me the other day in the Wall Street Journal. The thing on modern cars that people hate the most is going away. Oh, did you see that?

[Caller/Listener]

I have no idea. But I'm hoping that it's what I'm thinking.

[Jack]

The automatic shut off thing.

[Caller/Listener]

Yes.

[Jack]

Oh my God. Where it stops running for like 30 seconds, accomplishing freaking nothing. I don't care what anybody says, it can't add up to anything. They showed some studies. Some studies show. Yeah, studies from universities where they reward scientists who talk about climate change. You can't convince me it makes any difference to have your car stop running from idling for 30 seconds a couple times a day.

[Caller/Listener]

Dangerous.

[Guest/Co-host]

It can be. Definitely.

[Jack]

I've had that problem where I need to go and my car's dead, but

[Guest/Co-host]

people trying to make a left turn and you break enough that it cuts the engine, then you go to go and it hesitates and yep, next thing

[Caller/Listener]

you know, you're getting rear ended. Oh, I hate that feature.

[Guest/Co-host]

Luckily, my car, I can turn it off. But some cars you have to like, order. You have to have a mechanic install some gizmo to defeat it.

[Caller/Listener]

I can hit a button to turn it off in my car, but I have to do it every time I turn the car on.

[Jack]

Yeah, just stupid, stupid, forced climate change bullshit. Accomplished nothing. So maddening. But anyway, it's.

[Guest/Co-host]

I love it when it cuts off my engine while I'm in the diamond lane because I'm doing so much against climbing climate change. Oh, you people. God, you have no grasp of reality.

[Jack]

And guess why it's going away. Trump. Trump administration said it's bullshit. It doesn't do anything. We're getting rid of it.

[Caller/Listener]

Amazing.

[Guest/Co-host]

Yeah.

[Jack]

And people hate it. So there you go. There's that one. To mention this before we get to the. I'm from North Korea. South Korea. The dumb list of the top party schools for college in America came out as it always does every year. Oh yeah, and the older I get, the dumb. I thought the list was dumb when young. I mean, for each individual human being, there's nothing stopping you from partying as hard and as much as you want.

[Guest/Co-host]

I can attest to that.

[Jack]

Well, everyone can attest to that. So. Yeah, so. Well, I would have really partied a lot harder if I'd have been at this school instead of that school. Give me a break.

[Guest/Co-host]

Boy, I'm drunk and out of my mind on shrooms and listening to a great band, but I sure wish I was at a good party school, right?

[Jack]

Anyway, this year, the number one party school is Santa Barbara. UC Santa Barbara. Man, if you're going to UC Santa Barbara, you're partying. You're on the beach, you're in, like, the nicest spot on planet Earth, practically, while you're in your pretending to go to college, in many cases learning nothing, doing nothing but partying. That's quite the lifestyle.

[Guest/Co-host]

Yeah, it was funny. My kid could have gotten into UC Santa Barbara and said, no, no, the program's not strong enough. And I'm like, wow, you're better than.

[Jack]

Yeah, I spent a couple of days in Santa Barbara a year before last with the kids. We're at a hotel. I don't remember where we're going. But anyway, I thought people go to

[Guest/Co-host]

college and live here.

[Jack]

It's stunning. Okay.

[Guest/Co-host]

Yeah, there was, and it would be wonderful. On the other hand, there was absolutely zero to recommend where I went to school. Like, geographically, there's nothing. Champaign, Urbana, Illinois. Go there sometime. Trust me, there's no reason to be there, except that there's a university there and we managed to have a hell of a time.

[Jack]

Well, yeah, Me, the same. I mean, I went to college in a place where most people don't want to be, and it's all about people. I mean, you're hanging out with people you really, really like. You're having the time of your life. You could be. You could be somewhere looking at the ocean. If you don't have good friends you're hanging out with, you would. I mean, it's not like you're not going to make friends at that college. But that's the key, is the people thing. Yep.

[Guest/Co-host]

Here, here. So, speaking of college and careers and getting ahead and that sort of thing, this is amusing slash interesting. I brought this story at least once to the show that North Korea is profiting enormously by providing remote technical workers for US Tech firms because they have so many, you know, computer geeks and all that work all over the world, but they're not allowed to hire North Koreans. And so the North Koreans go to a great deal of trouble to hide the fact that they're North Korean. Sometimes they'll hire Americans or. Or other people around the world to do a video interview. Then they actually take over and do the work to Bring revenue to the North Korean regime, which is desperate for hard currency. Also. They gather intelligence through that. But anyway, this is actual audio and video, which won't do you much good in this context of an Asian IT worker who has claimed to be South Korean. And the interviewer wants to make sure.

[Recruiter/Tech Industry Insider]

Yeah, I mean, I was, I was in the process of saying, like, we get like a lot of imposter candidates, you know, particularly North Koreans, like, posing as, like, people that they're not. So one of the tests that we do is trying to get them to say something like, Kim Jong Un is a fat, ugly pig. Could you, could you say that for me? Sorry, no. Kim Jong Un, you know, the leader of North Korea. Yeah,

[Interviewer/Commentator]

I.

[Jack]

So I just say. I should say like that. Yeah, yeah, if you could. Because.

[Recruiter/Tech Industry Insider]

Because it's one test so that I know that you're not. Not North Korean.

[Jack]

Yeah.

[Recruiter/Tech Industry Insider]

Can you say it? Damn.

[Jack]

He really don't want to say it.

[Guest/Co-host]

He got up and left and we cut out some of the hesitation because it got a little long.

[Jack]

Yeah, I don't know how comfortable I

[Guest/Co-host]

was looking wide eyed into the camera.

[Jack]

Um, I don't know how comfortable I am with that. Yeah, I mean, you don't want to put money in the pocket of the North Korean government, but maybe that guy gets to feed his family on something other than three kernels of corn. If he does the job and if he gets caught, he's going to be murdered and perhaps his old family and the thing they do in North Korea like the next two generations or whatever to make sure that they made their point.

[Guest/Co-host]

You're a compassionate man, Jack, but a SAP. I will point out that these companies, they can't hire North Koreans. And that's a foolproof test.

[Jack]

Yeah, I'd say that's a foolproof test. How awful is that? To live in a country where you couldn't even come close to whispering that you don't approve of the current leader or you'll end up dead.

[Guest/Co-host]

Oh, my God. You couldn't even say. You know, there are moments I wonder whether the regime is making the right decisions. What do you mean? That would get you executed.

[Jack]

He's a fat, ugly pig.

[Guest/Co-host]

Kim Jong Un is a fat, ugly pig.

[Jack]

He is.

[Caller/Listener]

Somebody should play that audio for all of the people touting the big fat Trump wearing a diaper things at these. No saying, no dictator. You want to see a dictator?

[Jack]

Yeah. No kidding.

[Guest/Co-host]

Yeah. Well said. Yeah.

[Jack]

Jackasses.

[Guest/Co-host]

Wow, that's heavy. I mean, it's, it's. It was amusing on One level, but it's, it's heavy.

[Jack]

You don't think Kim Jong Un is a. He's big boned. You just think he's big bone.

[Guest/Co-host]

No, I think he's big guy, handsome, not a bad looking fella. If I swung that way I'd, you

[Jack]

know, Was his dad.

[Guest/Co-host]

He could give you a hell of a lifestyle.

[Jack]

Was his dad or granddad fat? I don't remember.

[Guest/Co-host]

Yes. They were all rotund.

[Jack]

They're all porky. Is that a flex? Like look at me, I got so

[Caller/Listener]

much, I've got all this food while you starve kind of a thing.

[Jack]

Yeah.

[Guest/Co-host]

I don't know if it's a flex or just a function of having that much food and booze.

[Jack]

Probably not very flexible. Good one, sir. But he probably has people to put his shoes on for him.

[Caller/Listener]

His daughter's just as evil as he is.

[Jack]

Oh yeah. And she's gonna be in charge.

[Guest/Co-host]

His, his 13 year old daughter.

[Caller/Listener]

Oh yeah.

[Guest/Co-host]

There was a video sheir apparent.

[Caller/Listener]

Yeah, she was, they did some big weapons display the other day and there's video of her driving around in a tank and she, I mean she's gonna, she's going to be him with hormones like bad ones.

[Jack]

She's thin though.

[Guest/Co-host]

Wow. Kind of a looker. Wow. She's a child. Great analysis there. Wow. She's 13. Jesus, dude. Wow. Sound like Trump back in the day.

[Jack]

Okay.

[Guest/Co-host]

Which was disturbing. Yeah. So they, they have her dressing like him.

[Caller/Listener]

Yeah.

[Guest/Co-host]

They altered her haircut so it looks a little more like his girl version.

[Jack]

And then are they feeding her cake all day long?

[Guest/Co-host]

And again, the weight, I don't think is that significant an aspect of this. But she's also now consistently pictured right next to him.

[Caller/Listener]

Yeah.

[Guest/Co-host]

At official important state functions. And the one thing Korea watchers know is proximity at those events is everything. That is the pecking order.

[Jack]

Got those dictatorship year old daughter, those dictatorships. And I can't believe that they actually do this because I would think it would be counterproductive at some point. But I was listening to about when the Soviets tested their first atomic weapon to let the world know, hey, ain't just the United States got an atomic weapon, we got one too. Stalin was there to see it. All the scientists knew they were going to be executed if it didn't work. They were told that. So if you're a nuclear scientist on the bomb, you were there hoping it went off because you were gonna be executed. Yeah. And it went off. And it went off.

[Interviewer/Commentator]

Okay.

[Jack]

So they got an award.

[Guest/Co-host]

Hey, boss. In the nature of science is you fail and you learn from it. And then you do better next time. Yeah, right. Do you want the cigarette or don't you?

[Jack]

Or. Or I can think of more clearly and my hands are a little more steady if I don't think I'm going to be executed if I screw up.

[Guest/Co-host]

Yeah.

[Jack]

I'm just surprised. They think it's a productive way to do things. And there's like, there's like eight of me in the whole country that know how to do this. You're going to execute me if this one doesn't work. But that was the plan and they all knew it.

[Guest/Co-host]

Kidnap a German and make him do it.

[Jack]

Wow. Yeah.

[Guest/Co-host]

Crazy. So we're anti dictatorship then. Okay.

[Jack]

Yes.

[Guest/Co-host]

Decided. Yep.

[Jack]

Guess what?

[Guest/Co-host]

He don't want war. That's one thing he don't want.

[Jack]

He said in the past that he

[Caller/Listener]

would destroy the United States.

[Jack]

People around the world. Around the world.

[Interviewer/Commentator]

You know, one of the weirdest things I saw on 60 Minutes one time about North Korea is they have traffic guards that stand out on these empty roads, directing traffic that doesn't exist.

[Jack]

They just.

[Interviewer/Commentator]

They just wave track it traffic through, tell them to stop, and it's just a guard standing out there doing that for hours a day.

[Jack]

And Dennis Rodman, greatest rebounder of all time in the NBA, went to visit. Right.

[Guest/Co-host]

Strike a peace accord for some reason.

[Interviewer/Commentator]

Well, I guess that's it.