North Korea (officially named the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK) is a single-party Communist state in south-east Asia, ruled since 1949 by the Korean Workers' Party (KWP). Regarded by many in the international community as a pariah state (meaning that it is an outcast), North Korea has in recent years become increasingly poverty-stricken, with many of its citizens having barely enough food to survive.
The KWP is kept in power largely thanks to a combination of international concern for North Korean citizens and the patronage of the Chinese government, which exports large quantities of food to North Korea in return for KWP assistance in certain areas. Until the 1990's, North Korea also received significant quantities of
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This has to be taken in the context of the considerable global recession that has been in play since 2008, the results from which North Korea was largely shielded due to its insularity. In general terms, the North Korean economy is still far poorer than most other Asian nations.
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).
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'.
North Korea is widely regarded as one of the most insular
North Korea is known to use misleading propaganda to appear as a great and power, well-built country when in reality its people are suffering greatly. The leaders know they are in the wrong yet will not admit it and seems to not truly care so long as they are powerful militarily
It is a totalitarian state under the rule of Kim Jong-un. Although Kim Jong-un may present himself as if everything is under control, he is responsible for one of the most dilapidated economies. There is an elite class who are able to enjoy some of the privileges of modern day life, but the people of lower status have close to nothing. The people of North Korea have no freedom of speech, which can relate to the ability to participate. “Criticism of the regime or the leadership in North Korea, if reported, is enough to make you and your family ‘disappear’ from society and end up in a political prison camp.
Nestled in the north peninsula of Korea in East Asia lies North Korea also referred to as The Peoples Republic of Korea and is divided into nine provinces. The nation has an extensive infrastructure, but not modernized and is underdeveloped. Communism consumes North Korea where isolationism and dictatorship are staples in the government. Every aspect of the nation is state regulated and laws are carried out diligently with serious reprisal for disobedience. North Korea prides itself on their military abilities and puts forth the interests of the military before anything. Despite severe food shortages, economic instability, and lack of electricity, North Korea is undeterred in their efforts to maintain the fourth largest military in the world.
North Korea is a communist country filled with many beliefs and power over their people. The country has been a big talk lately making big news in media. They seem to be the center of attention. What’s behind all the controversy? North Korea is an oppressive regime because human rights aren’t allowed and free speech isn’t given.
Its known for its tyranny and unfairness. North Korea is communist country in Asia since 1925 when it first separated from South Korea. Conditions in North Korea are bad.No one is allowed in or out of the country. Life in North Korea can be considered hellish. More than 80% of the people don’t know what is outside of the border. Some people in North Korea are living in severe depression, and some families cannot see their other families who live outside of North Korea. It is like a prison.According to some of the articles I’ve read, there are work camps that are very harsh. People are forced to have abortions if they exceed the limit of children they’re supposed to have. There are work camps, rationed food, and the citizens of North Korea have almost no human rights. North Korea has incredible numbers in military, but its economy is struggling. North Korea is not one of the countries you would have in mind when it comes to tourism. Citizens don’t even have the full rights they deserve. Due to this stress and eagerness, many people have escaped and hopefully now live in a new and free nation, while some people lost their lives in this horrible
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
North Korea faces many challenges affecting their economy. One of the many challenges is that the supply of coal, oil and electricity has declined and affected all regions of the economy. Since North Korea is run on the Juche Idea theory foreign trade is not encouraged, therefore they have had chronic shortages. Industrialized capital stock is beyond reconstruction because of the years of under investment. North Korea invests most of their money in military spending and that draws off means needed for civilian consumption and investments. Climate changes have exasperated food shortages caused by ongoing systemic problems. The following have also been exasperated by the weather change collective farming practices, insufficient fertilization and persistent shortages of tractors and fuel.
“Dictatorship is a form of government that restricts the right to political participation to a small group or even to a single individual.” North Korea is well known for having a dictatorship as their form of government. This country is cut off from the rest of the world, “the founder of North Korea, first president Kim II Sung , created the country's policy of juche or "self-reliance," which has essentially cut off North Korea economically and diplomatically from the rest of the world even in times of great need such as famines.” “Between 150,000 and 200,000 North Koreans live in prison camps surrounded by electrified fencing, according to South Korean government estimates and Human Rights Watch.” The article also states that about 40%
North Korea is possibly the least accessible, and "the most brutal and repressive country in the world." (Martin, 2006) Since its formation after World War II very little information has left the country. What has left are the defectors and the stories of horrible atrocities against humanity the government is bestowing upon its citizens. Classified as a democracy, it is just a mask hiding the Kim Dynasty's totalitarian ways.
The impact North Korea poses on the global community outweighs its geographical size. Having only a landmass about the size of Mississippi, North Korea houses a population of 23 million people. This small communist county is one of the most isolated and controlled places in the world. Formed after World War II and having only two leaders during its time of existence, this country has displayed defiant acts against the global community throughout its history. Currently under heavy sanctions by the U.N., North Korea illustrates a blatant disregard to international law through trade of prohibited goods. Its obsession with nuclear weapons in recent years, its continuous disregard to human life and its affiliation to terrorism creates fear
Article one titled “A Kim in his counting house; North Korea’s awful economy” explains North Korea’s collapsing economy. North Korea suppresses most economic data. The information is created by using near statistics of its trade with other countries. We can use those countries records and a jazz for population growth and inflation to get a close estimate of that country’s economy. In 1950s through the 1970s its economy outgrew the capitalist’s country of South Korea. All their resources were placed towards production. Although today North Koreas per capita GDP is only one 40th of South Korea’s at a whopping $600 year. Korea spent almost 3,000,000,000 each year in the military. There are 1.2 million people in the Army out of 25 million people in the whole entire country. They have huge conventional arsenal, rocket launchers and nuclear tests. Most countries who invest highly in the military grow economically. North Korea however their economy has gone up only a little. North Korea’s exports in 2015 were no higher than that at their peak in late 1970s, while per capita imports were 2/5 lower. The underperformance is remarkable either for a country that is neither a failing country nor at a state of war. So where North Korea go wrong? The collapse of the Soviet Union hit North Korea hard in 1990s on addition bad weather and agricultural reduction collapsed in the 1990s that led to famine in which hundreds of thousands of people died. Also North Korea’s nuclear bombing test has
In 1953, North Korea emerged as a Stalinist state after the Korean War. Kim Il-sung, first leader of North Korea, remodeled the nation according to a new ideology he developed called Juche. “Juche is a radical nationalistic ideology promoting autonomy”(LNK, 2015). This ideology is a core principle in the creation of the regime and has heavily influenced the decisions of the regime in today’s society. Currently, the North Korean regime is controlled Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, grandson of Eternal President Kim Il-sung. The current policies of the regime reinforce the nations autonomy by isolating the nation from the rest of the world and implementing self-sustaining practices. These self-sustaining practices have been detrimental
State institutions are different for North and South Korea. South Korea offers universal healthcare to its citizens and strongly protects private property rights (“South Korea” 2017). Although North Korea claims it offers universal healthcare, reports have stated that it does not; also, almost all property is owned by the state (“North Korea” 2017). Corruption is extremely high in North Korea compared to South Korea and there is also no effective tax system (“North Korea” 2017). The North Korean government controls all economic activity and most industries that account for the GDP are owned by the state (“North Korea” 2017).
And North Korea’s hunger problem continues to this day: Pyongyang has relied upon “emergency” international humanitarian relief for over a decade and a half. Earlier this year the DPRK lodged an urgent appeal to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) for another round of food aid. North Korea is thus the world’s first and only industrialized economy to lose the capacity to feed itself.’’
The System of North Korea, is it effective? North Korea has dilemmas economically and politically which hinders its effectiveness. Overall, the amount of information falls short due to the resistance to share their data. However, we can make some comparisons and conclusions from what has been collected. Economically,