The Role Of Government Censorship In North Korea

North Korea is a country that is ruled by a dictator and has a communist government. A communist government rules all the land and gives the same amount of money and supplies to all the people in the country. “Daily Necessities were obtained from the Public Distribution System (PDS)” (95,Hassig). The PDS shut down in 1995 because foreign aid was cut off expect for Pyongyang, the capital city. In rural areas, a lot of the children were born as “no-count” meaning that when they were born they weren’t counted as part of the existing society and didn’t have supplies given to them. North Korea was once a unified country with South Korea until September 9, 1948 when it became a separate country. From 1910 to 1945 Japan had ruled

Censorship is the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security. There are good reasons why censorship is used, such as some information might have to be censored for the content it might display and which in turn might cause a disturbance in peace. Countries try not abuse the fact they are allowed to do this because they are the ones who create the rules. However, China is abusing this fact and has been doing it to the point people are fearing what they can post or use on the internet. This issue was brought up in recent years because it has many different types of medians that were found in the New York Times. Firstly, the discussion

Eliminating the knowledge of past protests and resources pertaining to them from the history books, allows the population to remain ignorant on the subject. This control over the media is censorship at its worst. In a very similar instance, the Russian population is also currently experiencing this restriction of knowledge. “All Russian media is now controlled by the government — just like in Soviet times… In March, the Kremlin put Chinese government-like restrictions on the Internet, and cracked down on the few remaining independent news outlets and bloggers left in Russia” (McIntosh 300). As the state unites under one media source, the people are forced to accept the Putin’s government sanctioned propaganda outlet. This systematic withdrawal of all news sources denies the Russian people exposure to anything else. The same could be said for the censorship of the internet in North Korea. “The contents of the web site consist mostly of political propaganda such as the superiority of the North Korean regime, the North Korean leader’s greatness, North Korean people’s happiness, and attacks on the US and the South Korean” (Cheng et al. 659). Riddled with deceit, nothing but a positive view on the North Korean regime is permitted to be posted. This limitation of speech is a hazard to not only the views of the people, but any hope for progression. With the fear of

China today still follows a similar style of governing by blocking websites, altering news and punishing scholars (Buckley). In addition, due to the concealment of information citizens of China are living life in ignorance (Buckley). These actions might jeopardize the prosperity of China in the future just as it did during the Qin Dynasty. Ceasing media censorship now in China may benefit their society in the years a head due to all of the conflict in the apparent world around

Censorship has been adopted in many societies as well as the governments of our world. As the history of the world expands we see many countries try to censor what their citizens see. When the countries do this they are not assisting the country, they are leading it into a self-destruction. A good example of this would be America in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. This nation is destroyed in a futuristic war that only lasts a couple of minutes, if not seconds. Other fitting examples include the Nazi regime and the Soviet Union, both governments censoring their population in what they could read, write, and see. As we know both of these governments did not succeed and ultimately were obliterated and the countries were punished. Government censorship not only wounds the ability for people to grow and expand in their thought process, but it eventually causes the ultimate self-destruction of the nation.

For a society to function, it requires a balance of control and censorship. In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the government abuses its function as it disrupts this balance. The superintendent government does this as it controls the news media, entertainment, and communication. In this dystopian world, the government also censors literature and the internet. This theme of control and censorship also occurs in the verisimilitude the world presents today. Although this sounds far off, this government theme of censorship and control appears in countries like China, Cuba, North Korea, Germany, and even ‘the land of the free’, the United States of America. Sure some of these countries use their authority in control and censorship to regulate any top secret and classified documents,

Therefore prior censorship poses real dangers to freedom of expression because if authorities are able to suppress future publications, it becomes impossible to verify the justification of such actions. This will undoubtedly lead to abuse of power to prevent government criticism. Some governments allow an appeal process that puts the government in control as court processes by their nature are expensive and slow thus giving control to the authorities for the timing of the flow of information. This creates another problem as news like any other product or service is a perishable commodity, “so that success in court after lengthy proceedings will often prove a pyrrhic victory” . In some jurisdictions, like the USA, prior censorship is prohibited save for the protection of minors, that is, Article 13 (1) and (2) of the ACHR states:

The article advances its ideas by explaining each individual aspect of the censorship touching upon the groups and methods used to censor, the exact restrictions in each category, and the effect of the suppression on the citizens. Beina provides details about both sides of the restrictions, giving accounts from both the government and civilian side in order to give comprehensive coverage about the true situation in China. The Golden Shield Project also known as “The Great Firewall,” is the Chinese government’s way of placing immense internet restrictions on its citizens. The firewall applies methods such as keyword filtering, deep packet inspection, and blunt website blockage to ensure that western ideas do not make it to the minds of its citizens. This is comparable to the Fahrenheit 451 society where literal fire is used to block these ideas. In both societies the goals are the same; prevent values that are considered unideal from reaching its citizens. The similarities between these two societies continue into the ways that they restrict press. The CFR (Council on Foreign Relations) states, “the [Chinese] government employs a

China is one of the most controlled countries in the world. The Chinese constitution states that the people of China have freedom of speech, of the press, and of demonstration. However, this article in the constitution also states that the Chinese government has the authority to censor anything in the country when freedom of speech or of press could potentially be harmful to the country. So, in China, you are free to speak, but only about what the government says is okay to talk about. Also, protesting in China is a very dangerous task, as shown in the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989. But, in August 2009, Chinese Internet users were able to “indefinitely postpone” the use of censorship software on all new computers in China, called the

Eritrea is the most censored country, as on the CPI, they rank as the most censored, with less than 1% of the internet able to access the web or even a computer for that matter! The tourists that visit Eritrea are also extremely censored, with most of the civil war going outside in the outmost regions. This causes all tourists restricted to only travel within the capital city of Asmara. This is the most extreme case of censorship within the world. You might say North Korea is the worst, but no. They have more options than any citizen that has ever lived in the State of

The Freedom of Speech is granted to every American citizen and has been since it was founded in 1776; however, not every nation grants that right. China, as a communist nation, retains most individual freedom rights from its citizens. Although in the Peoples Republic of China’s (PRC) 1982 constitution, people are guaranteed Freedom of Expression and Press; it is often violated by the current corrupt government. The government demands the news to be 80% positive and 20% negative, altering the facts n occasion. In contrast to that, America has recently become more involved with the pressing issue as well because of the involvement of Google. Thus it has shined the light on government censorship and corruption. China’s government corruption

Governments use censorship to keep power and authority. The novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury takes one into the world of a futuristic society. The government in this futuristic society prohibit many items and actions that seem ludicrous today. However, it is not as absurd as one may think. Government censorship still takes place in the world today. One way the government uses censorship is in the form of literature. One can also find interference in the news media. Governments use censorship in entertainment as well. In addition, the internet and types of communication also fall victim to government censorship. Governments in Fahrenheit 451 and in history want to establish control over citizens as well as terminate any ideas that contradict

State media sources are tightly controlled so as to prevent the North Korean public from accessing any information that does not come from the country's strict government bureau of information, and this means that many North Koreans are grossly misinformed about the position of North Korea in the world and believe, for example, that their meagre lifestyles are preferable to the terrible conditions in other countries. Visitors to North Korea routinely report tight levels of control, with mobile phones confiscated for the duration of the visit and all movement tracked by an official government-supplied 'tourist guide'.

There are lots of countries that use internet censorship. A few of them are China, North Korea, and Russia. China is one of the leaders in using and censoring the internet. They have the biggest internet censorship system on the globe. Their system grew rapidly compared to most of the other countries censorship systems.

Censorship has always been a controversial topic. People will always want to know the truth. The more democratic a nation is the more information is available. In these cases governments will usually try to moderate what information is being circulated. By definition censorship is legally defined in Australia as “the official inspection of books, journals, theatre, film, music and popular media of many forms before release (prepublication) to ensure that they do not offend against legal proscriptions instituted by governments” (Moore, 2013). In this essay censorship will take a broader term in which it will also encompass instances of when governments try to provide incentives of getting rid of information, omitting or restricting access to it through other means. Many people experience censorship whether they know it or not and it is always debated if governments should be able to censor information. There are a lot of cases where censorship should be allowed and cases where it should not be. This essay will highlight instances and circumstances of when a government should be able to censor information.