Introduction The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, better known as North Korea, is a country in east Asia. North Korea officially describes itself as a socialist state, but it is widely recognized as a dictatorship. Kim ll-sung is the first supreme leader of North Korea, and the grandfather of the current leader, Kim Jong Un. Under the regime of the Kims, North Korea isolated itself away from the rest of the world. It is a perfect archetype of a “closed society”. Since the beginning of the rule of the Kims, the condition in North Korea have worsened, where citizens have little to no civil rights. For years that Kim Jong Un and his ancestors have ruled North Korea, they have made it their mission to eradicate people’s minds and put themselves …show more content…
The man, the legend, the one and only, supreme leader, Kim Jong Un. Standing at a height of 5’9, and 210 pounds, he is one of the world’s youngest supreme leaders, and in under 4 years, has managed to continue his own father’s legacy. Kim Jong Un has managed to successfully take complete control of North Korea just like his past family members who have been in power. At age 32 the supreme leader happens to own the longest list of honorifics anywhere, in which every single one of them is unearned, and is also most likely the last hereditary male in power. Kim is the third and youngest son of his father, and the second-born son of Kim II’s second mistress, Ko Young Hee. His grandfather, Kim Il Sung, ruled for 46 years, with Kim Jong Il, his son, taking over after his death in 1994. Kim Jong Un took power after his father's death in 2011, in which he was favored for by his father. Kim Jong Un has two older brothers, named Kim Jong-Chul and Kim Jong-Nam, who should’ve been next in line, but weren’t when their father decided to not make either one supreme leader because they were too “feminine in character”, while Jong-un was "exactly like his father". Around the same time he took power, he got married, in an arranged marriage, to a woman named, Ri Sol Ju, who is a former cheerleader and singer. Mrs. Kim is seen a lot with her husband in public. (unlike his
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
In present, Kim Jong Un in North Korea has been ruling the country with suppression possessing much darker ambition. Since Kim Jong Un wanted more authority he has killed anyone who has threatened his power, even his uncle. As a consequence, citizens of North Korea are facing difficulties such as starvation and cold
In the book Northing to Envy, Barbara Demick describes North Korea as an undeveloped country. “You can see the evidence of what once was and has been lost…” (4,Demick) The North Koreas aren’t up to the modern world and still haven’t learned that all humans need rights to be happy. Many aspects of human rights are broken in North Korean society that affect the people negatively, making them feel violated.
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.
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.
North Korea is an extreme isolated country and is known for continuously violating human rights. Defectors, North Koreans who escaped the isolated country, “continue to report that North Korea maintains a record of consistent, severe human rights violations, stemming from the government’s total control over all activity”(North Korea: Government). The similarities between North Korean society and the society in the dystopian novel 1984 by George Orwell are very much alike. A government constructed by sole trust in a supreme leader, complete control over the media, and sectioned ministries with individual roles that restrict the people from various free will behaviors and thoughts are the factors that have facilitated the control over the
North Korea appears on the international stage as a country existing beyond the world we all know. It isolates its citizens from the rest of international community and does not obey any rules determined by international law, but requires respect and recognition. Moreover, North Korea is one of the countries that remains aggressive towards its neighbors and applies various terrorist techniques, i.e. illegal contraband, political terror and mass abductions of other countries’ citizens in its foreign policy. The reasons for which the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) behaves so unpredictably and irrationally are diversified. First of all, the DPRK as a country is managed very irrationally – regimes of Kim Il-sung and
There is only one politic system that is existed in North Korea; the autocratic system has been stabilized in the country for a few decades, and it has been running by only one family. Indigence is established in North Korea because of the autocratic system that has been running by only one family. The communist economic is a system that has been established in North Korea since 1948 after the second world war; since then, the country has been led by only Kim’s family. Kim Jong-Un is currently North Korea’ supreme leader; he has been in charged since 2011, following his father who was considered a dictator in many eyes of other countries. The Kim’s family has been controlling the country for more than a half of a
In North Korea all aspects of life are ruled by the government, which essentially takes away human rights. North Koreans, rich or poor have this idea put into their head that their dictator is a supreme god. If someone had the idea of not worshiping the supreme leader in public, they would be sent to a labor camp. North Koreans who try to leave North Korea without permission may be shot on the spot or sent to a labor camp where they may never be released. In every house, no matter where you lived, there is a picture of the supreme leader that you pray to every day. When the supreme leader of North Korea, Kim Jong II, died recently, on December 17th 2011, there was a parade held that had mourners when the casket passed by. As the Supreme Leader’s casket passed by , the mourners were observed to see if they were actually crying. If they didn’t seem like they were sad enough they were sent to prison camps along with other North Koreans that didn’t join the parade. At these Labor camps imprisoned North Koreans are taught how important is to worship the supreme leader and sometimes kept there with their families for as long as they live.
Kim Jong-un[4] (Korean pronunciation: [ɡ̊imd͜zɔŋɯn]; born 8 January 1983;[2] also romanized as Kim Jong-eun, Kim Jong Un or Kim Jung-eun)[5] is the supreme leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). He is the son of Kim Jong-il (1941–2011) and the grandson of Kim Il-sung (1912–1994). He has held the titles of the First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Chairman of the National Defence Commission, the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, and presidium member of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea. He was officially declared the supreme leader following the state funeral of his father on 28 December 2011.[6] He is the third and youngest son of
The fact that North Korea strips their citizens of the right of free thinking robs the citizens of their ability to be human. According to Evelyn Glennie, we can be defined as human by the fact that we “often turn to
Kim Jong Un, the name itself brings fear, terror, and despair in the hearts of millions. This so-called leader, terrorized the people of North Korea since April 11th, 2012; his cruelty is subject to the fact he has no mercy towards anyone who speaks against him, no matter if they are a civilian or political figure. The supreme leader is perceived as a devil, as he has total control over the country, using his power to manipulate the North Korean media. People are unaware that there is a genocide that is happening at this very moment. Although, many people may not believe this argument, a genocide is defined as an act committed with the intent to destroy, and unfortunately that is exactly what Kim Jong Un is doing. He is eliminating all the bureaucratic parties that oppose him (1). In this country, there are internment camps that are still functioning with the sole purpose of forced labour and extermination. Similar to the captives in the Holocaust, prisoners endure lifetime isolation, inhumane conditions, and humiliation. Therefore, the North Korean internment camp, Kaechon is proven to be just as horrid as Dachau.
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).
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is an improvised country, mostly isolated from much of the world that has committed numerous human rights violations. Ruled by Kim Jung Un, North Korea has created a personality cult around the Kim family for several decades, which has kept the Kim dynasty in control with an iron first. Any opposition to the regime is quickly silenced, and many citizens are starving through the huge economic downturn in the country. The DPRK has tense relationships with many Western powers, especially the United States due to its aggressive military policies. In February 2013, it has been repeatedly and continuing their nuclear weapons programs despite heavy backlash from the international community. Fortunately