How Is Kim Jong-Il A Machiavellian Dictator

Kim Jong-Un is severely abusing his power of leadership in North Korea. As he becomes stronger in the political world, he appears to be channelling what is a crazed

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.

The current dictator of North Korea is Kim Jong Un. Although it is not confirmed, it is believed that Kim was born in the early 1980’s and is in his early thirties. (Kim Jong UN Fast Facts Cnn Libary.)On December 31, 2011, Kim became dictator after his father, the previous dictator, Kim Jong il, passed away. This shows that Kim quickly rose to power as a dictator at a young age. Under Kim’s rule, North Koreahas carried out 5 nuclear tests in less than six years. ( Business Insider) This is an important point because Kim’s use of nuclear bombs has caused panic and fear throughout the world, including the United States. These are a few different ways Kim Jong Un Is

Kim Jong-Un, the First Chairman of the National Defence Commission, an ambitious and arrogant guy. His ambitious identity could be exposed from: ‘Threatening to fire his increasingly capable missiles toward the United States’ and ‘By declaring war on South Korea’ [Inside the mind of

Have you ever wondered if anything has stayed the same for over half a century? Look no further; in the drama, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, an important theme is all power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This simple statement is true for Ancient Rome and it is also true for North Korea today.

The government structure of North Korea has its existence in one man, Kim Jong Un. It existed in his father, Kim Jong Il, before him, and in his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, before him. North Korea has one of the few successful hereditary dictatorships based on a personalistic regime where the leaders are worshipped as almost a deity (after Kim Il-sung’s death he was made “eternal president”) creating a dynastic transfer of power (Aoki, 2012). In China the one party of the Chinese Communist Party will rule as an Authoritarian body over the nation, but in North Korea the sole power rest dangerously in the arms of one person. Some of the reason for this dissimilarity between the two government structures lies in the country’s differing political cultures.

“I would tell him that I have tried. That I have tried to keep memory alive, that I have tried to fight those who would forget. Because if we forget, we are guilty, we are accomplices,” Elie Wiesel tells his former self (118). Wiesel has dedicated a majority of his future to fighting against the world’s silence with lessons such as these found in his memoir, Night. Even after undergoing the mass genocide called the Holocaust and hearing of the experiences from one of the victims himself, the world has fallen into a time of suffering yet again. Today, North Korea’s line of oppressive rulers practice their absolute control on Korean lives just as the Nazi’s oppressed the Jews. Following the second World War, the Korean War took place resulting in the country splitting in two: communist North Korea, or the Korean Worker’s Party, and democratic South Korea, or People’s Republic of Korea. This event began the brutal reign of the Kim family, consisting of Kim Ill-sung, Kim Jong-ill, and Kim Jong-un, on North Korea. For three generations, North Koreans were burdened with decades of torture, starvation, and manipulation. Now, the world is seemingly turning its eyes away from North Korea and labeling it a lost cause. There is little hope in store for these Koreans as Kim Jong-un expands his control globally with a new force of destruction: nuclear weapons. Similar to the concentration camps depicted in Elie Wiesel’s memoir, Night, the people of North Korea continue to face oppression

Such principles that resonate with many of the citizens include the fact that Goldstein is an enemy of Big Brother, their leader. Therefore, The Party naturally engages their citizens into an activity that directs hate towards Goldstein in which, “the face of Emmanuel Goldstein, the Enemy of the People, has flashed onto the screen” (11) which then prompts a public backlash against him. This scenario in which propaganda is used to alter the public’s mindset is also frequently seen in North Korea’s government. The government along with North Korea’s leader aim to “create an image of god like proportions about themselves by controlling the information that their citizens have about them, and using their own selected media to sway the people’s thoughts and opinions” (Martinez). In order to fulfill these requirements, North Korea has a history of brainwashing their citizens by providing them false information. These tactics include dealing with many negative situations that involve their government.

Life in North Korea’s high contrast with life in the United States is marked by nonexistent personal freedoms and harsh punishments. One example of restricted freedom in shown in their leader, Kim Jong-un. He, who they address as Dear Leader, is treated like

George Orwell’s 1984, gives readers a glimpse of what it would look like to have a future with a totalitarian government. A future where one person will control everybody through manipulation and fear. These types of governments continue to exist in certain countries today, one of them being North Korea. North Korea’s government is similar to the Party in 1984, in which their government is a totalitarian dictatorship where Kim Jong Un, their singular leader, controls everything. Both governments in North Korea and 1984 are led by dictators, “Big Brother” in 1984 and Kim Jong Un in North Korea, who are similar in many ways. Their similarity is due to the various techniques they use, which include mind control, propaganda and deprivation of freedom. It is clear that both governments use a variety of different methods of manipulation to control to their citizens.

To begin, Alexander the Great is an example Machiavelli uses himself. He was a King of Macedonia who managed to conquer much of Europe and maintain that land. In The Prince, Machiavelli says no leader in his principality is complete without being prepared. Militaries are needed and expecting the worst is necessary for a leader. Alexander the Great exemplifies qualities of a leader because he “actively increase(d) his resources in a way that they be made available in difficult times” (Machiavelli 24). Instead of being idle in prosperous times, one must be proactive and prepare for attack. Wiseness is a trait Alexander the Great had. Secondly, Theodosius the II had virtù in a way that made his kingdom prosper. He was balanced in understanding politics and military action. By managing to prevent the collapse of his empire and becoming the longest running Emperor in Rome, he was successful because of a agglomeration of his values making an idea virtù. Theodosius II was diplomatic yet forceful. Thirdly, Korea’s division has created two leaders, Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-In, who demonstrate both virtù and the founder’s interpretation of virtù. The two leaders are like night and day; one of them is harsh and impulsive, whereas the other has diplomacy and compassion. Despite a war and years of feuding, the two have managed to arrange to sit down and end the war. In the past, at least one of the countries have been refusing to

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.

Machiavelli in his work informs the prince that even if he does possess certain qualities he shall always appear to his followers as retaining all of these qualities as shown in the following quotation “A prince, therefore, need not necessarily have all the good qualities I mentioned above, but he should certainly appear to have them… He should appear to be compassionate, faithful to his word, kind guileless, and devout… He should not deviate from what is good, if that is possible, but he should know how to do evil, if that is necessary” (Machiavelli 57). Machiavelli highlights that image is extremely crucial for rulers and they must alter the perceptions of their people in regard to him in order to appear in control at all times for the purpose of maintaining and sustaining control. This idea is overturning

Given the poor state of the nation's economy, North Korea's government has to rely upon the cult of personality in order to keep the population in check. Most art in the country venerates, either directly or indirectly, the 'great leader' Kim il-Sung or his successor, the current North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. Among the population, there is a strong level of belief in such apparent absurdities as the idea that Kim il-Sung created the entire world, or that Kim Jong-il controls the weather (Martin, 2004).

Over the course of history, it can be determined that the most evil of dictators follow the same set of characteristics. Generally, these tyrants rule with an iron fist, deploying military power whenever they feel they should. They often funnel their state’s coffers into their own personal bank accounts, and it is common for dictators to force their people to treat them with the utmost reverence and respect. These traits are seen in rulers like Hitler, Stalin, Mugabe and Hussein. However, there is one dictator set apart from the rest--the North Korean former President Kim Jong Il. It is Il’s eccentricities, of which there are many, distinguish from the other members of Dictator’s Club.