Nothing From The Korean War On North Korea

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.

North Korea has been labeled as a mysterious state as the country is secluded from the rest of the world. The Democratic People 's Republic of Korea is a small country with a population of 25 million and is under a communist model of power. The country has been under control of the Kim dynasty since 1948, it began with Kim Il-Song and since then they have remained in power to this current day. The leaders are plastered all over the city of Pyongyang, with statues and murals on the wall and with the citizens wearing pins with the previous leaders to show their dedication to the regime. The city itself is a front to demonstrate a dynamic and advanced country. The regime has been successful for years, regardless of the fact that the government is repressive and the numerous violations of human rights. After the mismanagement of the famine crisis, which resulted in possibly millions of deaths. How is it possible for the regime to be still intact, especially when so many countries before them, have failed. The regime has successfully indoctrinated children at a young age through their education system, the barricading of information and their implanting of fear among the population.

To the point of unhealthy obsession, not unlike a cult. If Kim Il-sung had asked for her life, she would have given it gladly. At the other end of the spectrum, Jun-sang “lived with a fear that was so internalized that he wasn’t able to articulate it, but it was ever-present” (35). His parents has insured that he knew to keep his mouth shut about personal beliefs. When Kim Il-sung died-“he had been contemplating his own reaction, or lack thereof, with an intellectual detachment, but suddenly he was gripped with fear. He was alone, completely alone in his indifference- The revelation was followed quickly by another, equally momentous: his entire future depended on his ability to cry. Not just his career and his membership in the Workers’ Party, his very survival was at stake” (pg. 98). Junsang like many North Koreans had to accept his position in life without question lest he risk massive consequences for himself and his family. Jun-sang could not have been the only North Korean to have been indifferent to the death of Kim Il-sung, but any likeminded individuals would never be able to publically show anything but desperate

Family traditions are passed on from generation to generation, however they are not always static rules. Tradition is like a living organism that adapts to change over time. In order to understand modern North Korea’s family customs, it is important to consider the tradition of the past. Before North Korea’s liberation from Japan in 1945, North Korean families operated differently than they do today. Their ideology was founded on Confucius’s principles of family, including “only a country where family life was harmonious could be peaceful and prosperous” (Asia Society). The family is an integral part of society the same way a cell is important to a body (Suzy, 264). The government is even considered “one family” that everyone is a part of (Monday). Every individual in a family has a role and every family has a role in society. The ideal family is modeled from Kim Il Sung’s nuclear family (Suzy, 268). It is clear that family is a fundamental priority in North Korean society.

1945-1950: Kim Il-Sung eliminated members of the Northern Korea Worker's party and other homegrown socialists, as well as leading nationalists and political democrats in order to begin securing full political power. Secret Political, Concentration Camps Established the 1950s: A system of secret political prison camps was set up in order to sustain the large-scale purges of the late 1950s.1950s: Kim had members of rival factions, including those in the Soviet, Yanan, and Domestic factions, either exiled or executed. By the late 1950s, the numbers in the purges increased significantly. Thousands were executed publicly while still more were sent to rural areas, mines, hydropower dams, and prison camps. Kim Il-Sung Eliminates All Detractors 1960. Kim Il-Sung's Final Purges Clear the Way for His Son 1970s. The Mass-Starvation of the 1990s: Widespread famine devastated North Korea, killing over 2.5 million, and perhaps upwards of 3.7 million, North Koreans, more than 10 percent of the population. Twenty thousand people starved to death in South Hwanghae Province, which is about ten percent of the area’s

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.

Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick follows the lives of six North Koreans who have experienced a great deal of hardship and turmoil living under one of the most notorious communist regimes. Throughout the years these North Koreans lived through the death of their great Kim Il-Sung, the rise to power of his successor Kim Jong-Il, and the horrific famine that has left many in despair. Although North Korea is constantly in the news globally it is surprising to realize little is known about the country itself. Communist dictatorship has shut out the North part of the Korean peninsula from the outside world and has ruled with an iron fist. In the years following WWII Kim Il-Sung and

“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

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea is a novel by Barbara Demick, the Beijing bureau chief of the Los Angeles Times. It is published by Spiegel & Grau in the United States. It was originally published in 2009, however this version that I had read was published in 2015, with a chapter put on the end of the tome to update it to more recent events. Demick starts out the piece in North-eastern North Korea, specifically the city of Chongjin, the third largest city in North Korea, a major part of the North Korean steel industry. The subject that the author pursues is how an average North Korean lived in the transition of regimes and the struggles that it came with.

Nothing to Envy Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick is a narrative non-fiction novel that shows the importance of propaganda in a totalitarian regime. As the story unfolds, the six defectors leave North Korea because of the famine. Because the country ran out of food and fuel, they left in order to survive; it was never out of disloyalty to their country. Up until their departure, several of the defectors were loyal believers that North Korea was the best country in the world. North Korea still stands today and is able to indoctrinate its people because of its effective use of propaganda.

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

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

The novel I read was titled Nothing To Envy by Barbara Demick. Throughout this book Demick outlines the struggle these subjects by the names of Mrs.Song, Oak-Hee, Mi-Ran, Jun-Sang, Kim Hyuck, and Dr.Kim had to go through. Not to mention all the characters listed all suffered from the Arduous March, which involved massive starvation and economic failure caused by the North Korean government's currency. From this novel, I learned that I have it easy and I have never truly had to go through any of these things these poor people have had to go though. Throughout this report I will expose you to some of the things this society had to go though.

North Korea beings a country engulfed by hunger and poverty can not risk showing their citizens the lifestyles of flourishing countries. This alone can start a subvert of the government, as to why they will not permit it to happen. They make it seems like certain pleasures do not exist. In a way it makes it seem like they are stronger than their adversaries. Luxuries in the country are everyday things to people in more progressed countries like the United States. The citizens do not know of this through media control thus thinking they are living a great life and better than average living standard. Despite this not all are contained and many escape which signifies the insubordinates shown in 1984 who do everything to turn on their government. Whether it be doing the bare minimum such as eating or loving an object, or running away from the

Hyeonseo Lee gave a presentation on TED Talk entitled, “My Escape from North Korea”, summarizing about her life in North Korea. She was born and raised there and sing patriotic songs. All the history books told her that North Korea was the best country in the world. As she got older, a famine struck North Korea in the mid-1990’s. Although, she never experienced starvation, she witnessed the events first hand. This was the pushing point for Hyeonseo, who decided to leave North Korea. Due to China and North Korea’s stringent border policies and the Chinese government immigration policy, the life of a North Korean refugee is challenging and extremely risky. They risk being deported back to the very country that they escaped from. There are reports and stories about the violation of human rights and labor camps in North Korea. She would live in China for ten years before moving to South Korea. Hyeonseo was forced to help her family escape from North Korea. The regime caught Hyeonseo for sending money to her family. Lee’s family to be relocated by the order of the North Korean government. She needed to smuggle them through China to a South Korean embassy in Laos. Unfortunately, Hyeonseo Lee’s story won’t be the last we hear about the abysmal conditions in North Korea. There are, potentially millions more, stories detailing the humanitarian disaster in the country and we must take steps to prepare for the eventual collapse of the country.