Censorship in North Korea

According to North and South Korea by Greenhaven Press, North Korea’s leadership “focuses on regime, survival, reunification, and achieving status as a “great and powerful nation.” To accomplish this, the modern-day leader Kim Jong-un relies heavily upon military and security forces. Kim Jong-un abuses his power as the hereditary dictator to prevent the citizens from leaving, learning too much, and having free speech. These forces and Kim Jong-un’s abusive leadership disrupt the citizens and take their rights away. To illustrate, citizens in North Korea have limited rights because they don’t have freedom of speech. If a citizen of North Korea were to speak negatively about the government, they and their family would ‘disappear.’ Furthermore, they don’t have freedom of the press because news providers go through the government before the people. Because of these limits, North Korea has evolved from a peaceful country to a commanding and dreadful dictatorship. This conversion occurred out of a misuse of power by Kim Jong-Il and current leader Kim Jong-un. Their abusive power was not checked, as there was no way to check the government in North Korea. Since there are no checks on power in North Korea, the innocent citizens there are often victimized. The people follow the laws and do what they are supposed to, as they had always done, but they are still punished. Kim Jong-un rules

The Republic of Korea (ROK) is widely deemed as democracy and has freedom of press, but there are emerging concerns that freedom of expression in the ROK has faltered. The ROK has the fastest internet in the world with 90% of the population identified as internet users; many label ROK as a world leader in the online industry. However, the ROK imposes extensive censorship on online contents especially concerning North Korea. Additionally, the ROK President’s will often permeates the newsroom culture. Due to the ROK’s reconciliation policy toward North Korea, the media is monitored when doing press coverage on North Korea; the media has to refer Kim Jong-il as chairman instead of dictator and treads lightly on North Korea refugee problems.

George Orwell’s 1984 creates a dystopian society in Oceania by presenting a unrelenting dictator who uses his power to control the minds of the population to keep that power in his hand. Parts shown in 1984 are ever present in North Korea today, the fact that both society’s are under dictator rule, the parallels between the Kim Dynasty and Big Brother, and keeping

Clearly it is not acceptable for countries to select what their population can view. North Korea is an excellent example of a regime that depends on mass censorship to prop up its existence. Every media stream

North Korea and the United States have vastly different lifestyles defined by the treatment of leaders, political structure, economic freedom, societal norms, and their surprising similarities. In “The Girl with Seven Names” by Hyeonseo Lee, she gives insight into life in North Korea, highlighting the large differences between not only the U.S. but the entire world. South Korea’s strict political presence and rules around economic freedom differ broadly from the United States of America. North Koreans

The government claims that citizens get the full amount of basic rights and claim that DPRK has the best rights in the world ( Federal Research Division, 172-175). Contrary to what they said, the DPRK is one of the most repressive governments on the face of the earth. Their constitution claims that they get freedom of religion, speech, press, and more ( 175-176). The North Korean government instead ignores every single word in their own constitution (United Nations Human Rights Council 3). The Supreme People’s Assembly meets only once a year ( Federal Research Division, 175-176). The current state of modern North Korea is based off the policy of aggression, fear, and governmental brainwashing. (Daily Mail Reporter). North Korean citizens can and will be placed in a labor camp if they do anything that goes against the regime (“North Korea”). Not only can North Korean citizens get placed in a labor camp for going against the regime, but foreigners can and will be placed in a labor camp for committing that crime, too (David Brunnstrom). In the North, the government boasts about many of their so-called achievements and superiority over the others. Their media constantly shows how plentiful and how powerful the country is (“Kim Jong Un's New Year Address”). Videos and images of industry, food, technology, and stocked stores picture the country as a perfect

According to the Daily NK website, the new service, despite its cost, has proved popular among affluent party members in Pyongyang” (“North Korea’s Media Control”). Mobile phones were banned for four years in North Korea then re-introduced to upper class party members in Pyongyang. North Korea controls not only the media of North Koreans, but their lives. North Koreans are not allowed to have the ability to communicate with the outside world or be informed about current events happening around the world. In 1984 both the inner and outer party are surveillance 24/7 but for the proles, they are left alone.

1984 demonstrates a dystopian society in Oceania by presenting a relentless dictator, Big Brother, who uses his power to control the minds of his people and to ensure that his power never exhausts. Aspects of 1984 are evidently established in components of society in North Korea. With both of these society’s under a dictator’s rule, there are many similarities that are distinguished between the two. Orwell’s 1984 becomes parallel to the world of dystopia in North Korea by illustrating a nation that remains isolated under an almighty ruler.

Would you live in a place where there is no worldwide internet, no phones, or where none of any kind of your usual advertisements do not exist?(rhet) Well, in North Korea, millions live without knowing what it is like to live your kind of life where media is usually freely distributed and absorbed everywhere. The North Korean citizens are constantly being malnourished of information with the exception of the government's propaganda. To clarify, the North Korean regime's extreme media censorship should be suspended allowing the citizens free access to all kinds of media.

Understanding how North Korea as a country defines itself in a changing world. Where do they derive their customs and practices, political standings and military power? Define North Korea’s history leading into the modern age and define its culture and characteristics and how they interact with the world today. Understanding a subject as broad as the term culture begins where the culture began with the birth of civilization and the people that influenced it. There are many factors that play a role in the shaping of a nation none so much as turmoil and conflict and the Korean peninsula saw its fair share for the better part of a millennia. A complete statistical breakdown of North Korea shows a struggling nation that strongly depends on

The Secret State of North Korea offered a great look into what basic things North Koreans are lacking. Even within the realm of Communism. Lack of freedoms, lack of food, lack of community, lack of trust, lack of a social society, lack of programs for children, lack of equality, and a lack of information. When Kim Il-Sung created North Korea, the government was based on Marxism and Leninism, called “Juche.” Just as the Soviets, the North Koreans followed suite with massive inequality between the government officials and the common people. The documentary showed its viewers what the government is omnipresent in the everyday lives of its people, so much so that recordings of daily life are illegal, and “random” searches take place commonly.

Within the book the topics of domestic surveillance and the use of organizations to uphold this surveillance was discussed. The control of the ideologies of the people in North Korea and the importance of that control is shown in this quote "Within any society, dominant elites are capable of controlling the inflow of information and influencing the values and behavior of the majority...This is why the organized life is so important for the continuous survival of North Korea's system. It should be seen as one of, admittedly, many ways of exposing North Koreans to the information the regime considers necessary for manufacturing the "correct" attitude to the world" (Lankov Kwak Cho 210). The organizations discussed within the research article

Most people probably think 1984 is completely fiction, but there are many drastic similarities between 1984 and North Korean Society. These societies have forced labor camps, powerful dictators or government parties, and the use of propaganda. Both of these societies slowly gained power over many years and took full control of their country or territory. On the other hand, they differ when it comes to they way they designed their governments. Both 1984’s and North Korea's societies are similar in the ways they control, torture, and deprive their people, but differ when it comes to government organization.

Potter Stewart, an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, once said,“Censorship reflects a society's lack of confidence in itself”(“Potter Stewart Quotes”). A well-built, structured society can tolerate dissent. On the other hand, some governments censors their citizens to suppress opposing opinions. This is relevant to the novel 1984, by George Orwell, and today’s North Korean government as both countries use the same types of censorship to censor information and ideas and influence their citizens’ opinions. In the novel, the totalitarian government, which is called the Party ruled by a god-like figure who is Big Brother, controls every aspect of human life ranging from action to thought. This control can be seen

In the United States, Americans are given the freedom to communicate through social media, which has taken away the priority of verbal communication. In other cultures, namely North Korea, communication isn’t allowed through technology. North Korea is a communist country making technology unattainable due to its isolation from the rest of the world. The life of a typical North Korean is simple: do what the government expects. Quite the opposite, in the United States an average American can do and say what they believe in. In the realm of communication, both countries have their differences and similarities; language, individualism, power distance, gender roles, and other aspects make North Korea diverse.