The media might portray it as just a failed state run by a mad dictator, but today we'll find out that things might be just a little bit more complicated than they seem. 

In today's episode we cover:

• Post Second World War - US vs. USSR in the Korean Peninsula
• The Korean War
• The post-war years
• North Korea & China
• Nuclear weapons (and why do they really have them?)
• Kim Jong-un
• North Korea in 2020
• 4 weird facts about North Korea (haircuts, marijuana, holes in one & the calendar)

Key vocabulary: Isolated, Feature, Animates, Neat, Slap bang in the middle, Powerhouse, Pariah, Hermit, Dictator, Recapping, Peninsula, Annexed, Colony, Guerilla, Construct, Jurisdiction, Backing, Stronghold, Armistice, Thriving, Polar, Unwind, Dissolution, Toppled, Precarious, Cozy up, Buffer, Affiliated, Perished, Enriching, Uranium, Volatile, Ruthless, Erratic, Counterpart, , Offensively, Reprisal, Offensive, Deterrent, Bargaining, Diplomatic, Concessions, Dismal, Prestige, Credentials, Longevity, Portrayed, Missile, Legitimacy, Gestures, Surreal, Brutal, Sentenced, Lighthearted, Curtail, Trivia, Feats, Sank, Hole in one, Phenomenally, Enlightening

Full transcript and key vocabulary available on the website www.leonardoenglish.com/podcasts/north-korea-the-hermit-kingdom

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Keywords: Learn English, vocabulary, lessons, idioms, aprende inglés, idiomas, aprender inglês, apprendre l'anglais, imparare l’inglese, ingilizce öğren,英語を習う, تعلم الإنجليزية