Your last observation is analogous to the liberal brainwashing here. Making people afraid of freedom and all that independence and getting ahead stuff.
Much easier to get your check in the mail and buy some legal heroin.
That's exactly what occured to me. Miss Parks goes on to tell how if she knew she wouldn't be killed and would have enough to eat she would gladly have gone back to North Korea because all the decisions were already made for her. She says it takes a very brave person to be free.