Hazel Smith North Korea Chapter 2 Analysis

The rising tension over the sinking of a South Korean ship reached to a serious conflict between South Korean and North Korea. South Korean is accusing North Korean for firing the torpedo on purpose which resulted in 46 sailors deaths. According to Yonhap news, North Korean military official accused the South of intruding into North Korean waters in the Yellow Sea. North Korea sends a warning message to South Korea by firing torpedo to warn South Korea to not intrude in to their waters in Yellow Sea. North Korea doesn’t want to admit to their mistake; instead they are threatening to retaliate with military actions if South Korea won’t stop with accusations.

The dystopian novel, Anthem, and North Korea have similarities and differences that links them together as well as distinguish them from one another. North Korea is a country that is ¨protected¨ by their leader, Kim Jong-un, the North Koreans worship Kim Jong-un as a god. In the novel, Anthem, their government is solely based upon everyone living and working for the benefit of others, never themselves. Everyone in the society is equal, one is never better than the other. Both North Korea and Anthem are similar in ways in which they are to never question their leaders, they are all told what to do and believe. The country and the novel are alike and conflict each other, in this essay we will go in depth.

The Korean War existed as a bi product to the hegemonic struggle between the contrasting political views of communism and capitalism. The event became the first military conflict of the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union, and it commenced on June 25th, 1950. These powers would continue to battle through the use of surrogate wars and political propaganda. War began to change exponentially with technology, and atomic warfare threatening, and still threatens, the life on earth. War changed to a mutually assured destruction. As a result the Korean War never truly ended, the Cold War carried on, and the 38th parallel still divides the North and South. From an American perspective, the Korean War contributed to the Cold

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.

The general argument made by Harry J. Kazianis in his work , “The North Korea Nightmare”, is that North Korea chose to isolate themselves thinking that is better for their country but in reality it is not . He writes “there is only one thing that is clear: Tensions on the Korean peninsula are only going to get worse”. In this passage , Kazianis is suggesting that Kim Jong Un is not doing a great job running his country and is causing his country to become isolated from the other countries . Kim enjoys flaunting around his new weapons .”Every time Kim tests a new weapons system — or decides to parade them down the street — the world goes into a panic.” This shows that Kim enjoys the reactions of other countries causing mass destruction and contemplating

In chapter 4, Hazel Smith illustrate how wartime influenced on the state and party building in North Korea. As South Korea estimated that North Korea lost a half of its population, the damage by Korean War was extensive (Smith, 97). Through the war, however, North Korea seemed to give Party authority so that they could function as decision maker. In addition, Kim Il Sung’s authority was also uniquely strong. His leader authority, mass mobilization, and policy of self-reliance were important elements of the North Korean post-war state. As she says in chapter 5, children were supposed to learn about Kim Il Sung (Smith, 123). Moreover, North Korean people were not allowed to have international publication (Smith, 126). These Smith’s explanations

Half a century ago, war erupted in Korea on June 25,1950, along the thirty-eight parallel that separated North and South Korea, The Korean War set all the rules for East/West superpower conflict in the nuclear age. And in so doing brought the world closer to an all out atomic race that is still proliferating today.

Before the Korean War took place, a significant historical event that led to the partitioning of Korea into two is the later part of the Japanese occupation, where Japan colonized Korea during World War II. Korea was under Japanese control for 35 long years, from 1910 to 1945. The nation was able to gain its independence when Japan surrendered on August 15 in 1945. The main factor which aided Korea towards freedom from Japan was the Allies of World War II, also known as the United Nations today. The Allies included 20 nations, with the United States, the Soviet Union, China, and the United Kingdom being the larger entities. The Allies joined forces against the Axis powers, which mainly comprised Germany, Italy and Japan, who were trying to protect nations against communism (promoted by the Soviet Union and China) and plutocratic-capitalism (promoted by the United States).

South Korea in the 1960s was a time of political turmoil as the nation has just experienced perhaps its most significant historical event: The Korean War. The two Koreas, South and North Korea, were already separated before the conflict but the war created new social and ideological hostilities in the minds of the nations and its people. The Korean War was an important transition point in terms of defining the national identity of individuals experiencing the event. According to Kelly Jeong, given Korea’s strong history of patriarchal social order, the state, both South and North, believes “nation as a collective, universally male subject” (129). When defining Korea’s national identity as a largely masculine one, then it could be said that

“One people, one nation” is the National philosophy of South Korea which has coupled with American geopolitical benefits in this Asian expanse shaped the primary push and draw reasons and causes for children of Korea to be

On September 28, 1950, the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment arrived in Pusan, South Korea in what would be Australia’s major contribution in the war effort against invading forces from the north of the Korean peninsula, to the Korean People’s Army (KPA). “Following Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies’ endorsement of UNSC Resolution 82, this would see the beginning of a three year conflict in which Australia would commit 17,000 troops and suffer over 300 fatalities, only five years after the end of the Second World War, (AWM, 2016)”. In what was predicated as Australia’s commitment to providing peacekeeping troops for the United Nations to preserve the freedom of South Koreans, the Korean War would eventually play a fundamental role in solidifying Australia’s shift in vital military alliances, in particular the post WWII development of the United States in surpassing the United Kingdom as a key protector of Australia.

The third source that I decided to use was an English newspaper. The headline from the article was the first thing that stood out, suggesting that Trump might bomb North Korea next. The article barely covers the event, instead, it covers Eric Trump's comments and the possibility that North Korea can be next. The newspapers instigates that the United States might use military action against North Korea though including Eric Trump's statement hinting that his father is not afraid to make "North Korea...next on the hit list if Kim Jong-Un carries on developing atomic weapons" (Daily Mirror, April 14, 2017). The newspaper just adds more fuel to the existing tension between the United States and North Korea with such a provocative statement.

This paper will be a summary of North Korea that will cover some of the history behind the country. This history is essential for showing why the country operates as it does. I will then cover political, military, economic, social, and information aspects that try to give a picture of a general life in North Korea. In the midst of doing so, I will attempt to demonstrate an updated operational picture of North Korea as I see it being pertinent in a military operation. I will jump topics out of order as each aspect plays into other aspects, life, and functionality of North Korea.

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 article, “With North Korea, we do have cards to play,” was featured in The Washington Post, a center-left publication, on 4/20/2017. The author of the article is Charles Krauthammer. Krauthammer is a weekly writer for The Washington Post, a Fox News commentator, and a Pulitzer Prize recipient (Charles Krauthammer). This piece argues for a diplomatic solution to the North Korean crisis in which China places strong pressure on the North Korean government in order for them to give up their nuclear program.