Orwell Warns Us of an Impending Dystopia in 1984, Is North Korea This Foretold World? Discuss Similarities

As evident through the striking similarities between the totalitarian government of 1984 and the Communist regime of North Korea, it really is as if Kim Il Sung obtained an early copy of George Orwell’s 1984 and used it as a blueprint for his system (Hitchens n.p.). George Orwell had been exposed to various types of imperialism throughout his early life, leading to a realization of his resentment for authority. Orwell produced the novel with the intent of warning future societies of the dangers of totalitarian governments, yet North Korea epitomizes a flawless depiction of the very authority that Orwell yearned to avoid through providing a detailed illustration of the ramifications of submitting to a tyrannical government (Merriman n.p.).

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.

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 government in 1984 is also known as “Big Brother”, he is always watching. If Big Brother does approve your intelligence he will send you to the Ministry of Love where they get tortured, they will suffer, and usually results in death. In 1984, execution is common for citizens, in North Korea if people are caught in a major crime it will also result to a public execution. Children that love the “enemy” will be hung in the story. Telescreens are a major help to the government, the telescreen can never be turned off. Only the people in the inner party have the right to shut off their telescreens. The people have no freedom or privacy, these telescreens monitor their every move. In every home of North Korea they have speakers and pictures of their leaders, the speakers remind them what to do every day, every day they had to clean those pictures.

George Orwell’s 1984, widely known for its chilling descriptions of the dystopian society of Oceania, warns of a world in which individuality is virtually destroyed as one oppressive government controls all aspects of life. Decades after the novel’s publication in 1949, various nations today draw unsettling parallels with the characteristics of the government described in 1984. North Korea is one such example, particularly seen as a controversial topic in global debate. Although North Korea and Oceania in 1984 both possess totalitarian governments that attempt to control and restrict individualism, the means in which each government originated and gained authority differ.

Being completely controlled and even afraid is a part of people’s everyday lives, those of North Korea. Hatred towards this totalitarianism is a philosopher and novelist, Ayn Rand. Rand has written a novel, Anthem, to display the impact of totalitarianism and how she opposes this type of system. Between the everyday life in North Korea and the dystopian society in Anthem, are many similarities and some differences. The structure of the governments, the state of the people, and the little progress made within North Korea and the society of Anthem can certainly be compared.

North Koreas government uses its power to control information and restrict independent thought and freedom. The BBC News mentions, “North Koreas economic hardships or famines are not reported to the domestic audience” (North Korea’s Tightly Controlled Media). This shows how the government in North Korea uses their power to keep the inhabitants of the country blind to issues that would cause worry amongst them. The BBC News author later on mentions that rather than inform its citizens on real life issues occurring, they are informed of technological advances developed by their leaders’ revolutionary thinking. By doing this the North Korean government keeps the people blind and ignorant to complicated

If you take notes about North Korea and the novel 1984 they have some similarities. For example in 1984 create this big hate towards Goldstein as well as North Korea towards US. They have to praise towards a leader and anyone who disobey the law gets torture. Kids are taught in a young age to hate their “Foes” and obey and love their leader. They both have propaganda about how their leader and their government are.

In 2001 journalist, Barbara Demick, author of Nothing to Envy: Six Ordinary Lives in North Korea, moved to Seoul, South Korea as a correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, where she was to report over both North and South Korea. When she was in North Korea, Demick found it was immensely difficult to report anything as their trip was very closely monitored. They were assigned “minders” who would make sure that: no unauthorized conversations took place, that they visit specific monuments, and allowed no contact with ordinary citizens. While in South Korea, Demick began speaking with North Koreans who had defected and escaped to South Korea and China. As she spoke with the people who had defected, Demick uncovered what lied beneath the façade

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.

Undoubtedly, Eurasia is George Orwell’s image of what a totalitarian society is and how he thinks it would feel to live in such a country. However, it would not take much imagination to think of such a society, especially being as 1984 was written only four years after North Korea officially split from South Korea. Whether or not this is a coincidence, North Korea and Eurasia have many similar characteristics, such as their focus on spreading propaganda, their treatment of citizens and government workers, and their rewriting of history. The telescreen is one of the most recognizable objects from 1984, but the idea of an item that endlessly spews out propaganda is not too far off from what actually happens in North Korea.

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.

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.

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 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