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. The government of North Korea and the government in Anthem are very similar. The two governments are totalitarian, meaning the government has absolute control over everyone. …show more content…
There is even an existing demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea. Both governments are strict and allow no exceptions. How controlling the governments are especially affects the state of the people.
Another comparison between North Korea and the place in Anthem is the state of the people. In North Korea, the opinions and thoughts of the people do not matter. Everyone praises their leader King Jong-il because they know of no other lifestyle. Controlled is the word to use to describe the people in North Korea. For over fifty years, the people of North Korea have known nothing other than to bow down to their leader. Also in North Korea is an area where “criminals” are held. Imagine being a toddler and being taken to this prison camp just because your great,
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Barely anything has progressed in North Korea and nothing progresses in Anthem. In North Korea, the health and medical assistance has not progressed. According to an online article, “A Chance for Progress on North Korean Human Rights,” North Korea has one of the highest rates in the world of TB cases outside of Africa. Help is being offered, as seen in an online documentary “Inside Under Cover in North Korea,” but it is difficult to enter North Korea because of their strict regulations, and it is a very little amount that people know about North Korea. As for the mental state of the people, no progress is made. The people continue to be brainwashed. As said in an online article, “North Korea’s Brainwashing Plans are Being Foiled by Queen Elsa: Children are Taught to Hate the U.S. from Kindergarten- but Secretly They Love Pop Music and Frozen,” children in North Korea are raised being taught to hate the United States, Japan, and South Korea. They also grow up being taught to swear by the dictator. Because they know that the future will be in the hands of the young generation, they brainwash them to continue this totalitarian government and communistic society. What is being shared about the economy of North Korea is that it is growing. Of course, most are uncertain about this claim because North Korea does not share economic data. In Anthem, the no progress
North Korea profoundly corresponds with Oceania by being a highly militarized nation. Although it has been decades since the Korean war, there has been an everlasting tension between North Korea and
Cultures around the world are divide by their distinctive characteristic of people, and how people interact within their society. Most cultures are driven by the way their environment has been set for them. Many of cultures have to adapt to the way their environment are due to the conditions that are set for them and the amount of resources that they are provided. The biggest drive for culture are the historical custom. Most countries continue to carry their ancestor custom so that the tradition may stay with them throughout their years, in which making other countries distinctive from one another. One of the particular country that will be discuss in this report is North Korea. In this report, I will be discussing the North Korean culture, with describing their living condition in the country, common issues that they face with on a daily bases, and common threat that they pose on other countries.
The United States has a complex government that builds on democracy whereas North Korea has communism centered on totalitarian rule. Both had their conflicts during the past and still are struggling in the future. Even though their government has two different sides to tell about they too have some similarities. One country having majority rule and the other having "political authority [whom] exercises absolute and centralized control over all aspects of life" (definition: totalitarianism at dictionary.com). Going through the growth of their economy, the citizens are opening their eyes each and every day to a government that has different branches with their checks and balances, exposure to several political parties, having their civil
North Korea is a country that is ruled by a dictator and has a communist government. A communist government rules all the land and gives the same amount of money and supplies to all the people in the country. “Daily Necessities were obtained from the Public Distribution System (PDS)” (95,Hassig). The PDS shut down in 1995 because foreign aid was cut off expect for Pyongyang, the capital city. In rural areas, a lot of the children were born as “no-count” meaning that when they were born they weren’t counted as part of the existing society and didn’t have supplies given to them. North Korea was once a unified country with South Korea until September 9, 1948 when it became a separate country. From 1910 to 1945 Japan had ruled
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.
To first start off both the society of Anthem and North Korea have a lot common rules. The society of Anthem is restricted to to leave their position and disobey the society's rules. Meanwhile North korean citizens are restricted to leave and disobey the “Great Leader”. Both instances there is that one person the does goes behind the leaders back and disobeys. In Anthem it was Equality, he sneaks off and finds a cave to stay in against the society's back. The same inteins applies in North Korea, it is a huge crime to go behind the leaders back but, I'll goes behind the back of the “Great Leader” and sneaks to South Korea. For Equality's mistake of disobeying he is beaten till he release the truth but, for Il his parents, friends, and other
A journey to North Korea and Oceania are very similar. They both have powerful leaders that control everyone and everything. Both their governments are totalitarian, they do not tolerate any individual freedom. All citizens think alike, if they disobey the rules of the government they will be sentenced to torture, death or sent to a concentration camp.
Also the lack of jobs has led to the majority of the people to be below the poverty line. And the ones with jobs do not get paid much or at all due to government corruption. For example, “Men are forced to work long hours for the government, often without pay, and those that don’t show up for work risk imprisonment”. Which has led to men working worthless jobs and women becoming the breadwinners of the families but still not having the same respect as men. The North Korean government is forcing these men to work for free while their families have no food to eat. Brainwashing and propaganda are also major aspects of the regime to keep the people scared of the world outside North Korea, namely the United States, Japan and South Korea. As shown, “Ak (evil) may be the single most commonly used word to describe Americans. The derogatory term nom, similar to calling someone a bastard, is inevitably attached to the end of any word referring to Americans”. Children from a young age are taught to refer to Americans in such manner to install fear in them to always distrust Americans and their aid. Americans are the worst of the worst type of people, according to the Kim regime, because they prevented the reunification of the two Koreas. Followed closely behind by the Japanese, since there is still resentment from the Japanese colonial rule. South Korea is not as
I believe that North Korea is similar to the society in the book Anthem. I believe this for the reason that they are both collectivism societies and their leaders go to extreme ends to protect their collectivism (71). Firstly, they are both collectivism societies which means that the citizens are taught to work for the greater good instead of just themselves. If they aren’t contributing or making the culture better, than the leaders would not approve of their action. For example, in North Korea the citizens have to work for the greater good and are not encouraged to be individualized. Another example, is that in the book Anthem they are not allowed to speak the word “I” because that hints towards individualism which the society is not about
The country of North Korea compares rather closely to the world in Ayn Rand’s Anthem. Both nations of people are very closed off from the community and the outside world. The citizens only know about what the government officials want them to know about. In North Korea everyone depends upon and worships their leader, Kim Jong Il, almost as though he is their god. They all only depend on what they classify as “we” and they rely only on that because they do not have access to anyone else or even know what it means to be an individual. In both the book and North Korea, the citizens are locked down and watched with a careful eye. Breaking the rules in Anthem would send you to the Uncharted Forest, which is very similar to what happens to those
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
In North Korea, compulsory conscription of men women, and sometimes young children, along with public executions of military leaders, instills fear in the citizens. The government also continues to subject its power over citizens through threats and using the punishments of those who do not follow their laws to embody fear and control over the citizens. This ultimately leads to more control and manipulation of the individuals by the government through the fears of the public and lack of rights individuals can
A quote in the book by Ray Bradbury “We must all be alike, not everyone born free and equal, as the constitution says, but everyone made equal. A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon. Breach man’s mind.” The quote shows how both governments are very similar, both have communist systems and try to make everyone equal. Everyone in those societies has a very bland life, everyday is the same as the last. Everyone in North Korea does the same thing, speaks to the same people, and eats the same thing. Their lives are just like the ones in the
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.