The Repression Of North Korea

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.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be governed by a dictatorship? What laws do the citizens of a dictatorship have to follow? Who is the dictator, and what is he/she’s responsibilities? Where else in the world is dictatorship being practiced? A dictatorship is a government ruled by a dictator that grants citizens limited rights and is practiced by many countries. Today, North Korea is the most widely-discussed county that is governed by a dictatorship.

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 country of North Korea has long been under the watchful eye of not only the United States but also the United Nations for many years over concerns of it nuclear weapons program but now, they are being looked at for an entirely different reason. Recent reports about the inhuman treatment of an estimated 200,000 North Korean citizens in the countries six political prison camps are been closely looked at. These reports show the mistreatment, starvation, and even unlawful killing of North Korean citizens from everything from owning a Bible to watching soap operas.

A commision that was established in 2013 by the United Nations Human Rights Council in order to investigate human rights violations in North Korea stated about human rights violations in North Korea, “The gravity, scale, and nature of these violations reveal a State that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world” ("OHCHR | North Korea"). This sentiment is shared among many human rights organizations, including Amnesty International UK (“North Korea Country Profile”), Human Rights Watch (“North Korea: UN Inquiry Needed”), and many other international organizations. Prison camps in North Korea have been likened to those from the Holocaust (Anna Fifield) by some former holocaust survivors, comparing the current camps to those that they experienced in Auschwitz. Prison camps in North Korea are used for a wide swath of reasons beyond what one would normally consider a crime. You can be imprisoned for many reasons, including speaking against the government, being in contact with South Korea, crossing the border, officials who fail to implement a policy, being related to anyone who does any of these things, and more seemingly arbitrary reasons (“North Korea: Political Prison Camps”). What makes these punishments so much worse is the awful punishment and treatment that prisoners at these camps receive. It’s been reported that around 40% of prisoners die from malnutrition (“North Korea: Political Prison Camps”), and many more die from other reasons. Every person who survived one of these prison camps who has been interviewed said that they witnessed at least one public execution. Many of the camps that we know of provide no bedding or blankets to their inmates, which is made worse by the fact that the temperature in the regions of these camps are -20 to -30 degrees Celsius, which is -4 to -22 degrees Fahrenheit, on average (“North Korea: Political Prison Camps”). However,

“Three Generations Of Punishment”, a 60 Minutes interview conducted by Anderson Cooper, is a thought provoking look inside North Korea’s political work camps. In this interview, we speak to Shin Dong-hyuk, former resident, and escapee of one of said concentration camps, Camp 14. One hundred and fifty thousand people inhabit Camp 14, which lies fifty miles outside of the city of Pyongyang. This camp, as well as many others, follow the ‘Three Generations of Punishment’ policy institutionalized by former leader of North Korea, Kim Il-Sung. This law decrees that if someone commits a political wrongdoing, he, and the two generations after him, will live in work camps for their whole lives as a form of punishment. Kim Il-Sung put this system

In the first part of the 20th century, Korea was controlled by Japan, which wiped out most of Korea’s culture and even banned the Korean language. The suppression of their culture only led to bitterness and helplessness. After Japan had lost the war, Korea became a divided country. American troops landed in the southern

Human rights violations in North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea are in a category of their own because there is no correspondence to the human rights enjoyed by those in the democratic world. Even though it is enshrined into the country's constitution the rights are not being enforced by the government . In February 2014, the United Nations released a 400 page report outlining a record of first-hand testimonies with documented unspeakable atrocities" committed by the country. The Democratic People's Republic of North Korea is having difficulty advancing into the modern world due to censorship strictly imposed by the government, harsh political prisons, and a history of massive famine.

Though many developed countries have reaped the benefits of Democratic Governance, a wave of Unitary Governments, paired with the malevolence of terrorism, has acted as a malignant plague across the world. Throughout the globe, dictators have seized control of numerous states, and their abundant populations and militaries. A quintessential exemplification of this phenomenon is Kim Jong Un’s rule over North Korea. Since rising to power following the death of his father in 2011, the CIA estimates that Kim Jong Un has ordered the execution of over 70 officials. In addition, the North Korean government has been accused of a myriad of human rights violations against its 25 million citizens. Furthermore, North Korea was recently accused of a cyberattack against Sony, as well as a

I know freedom to you probably doesn’t mean much, since we’re in America and freedom is (most of the time) equivalent to waking up in the morning, but in North Korea it’s not even a thought in the head of most people. Like most people I would enjoy seeing the North Korean regime taken out of power. The only good thing that they might be doing is controlling their people.

This is a country led by an individual who doesn’t have the country and its people’s best interests at heart. What he says goes, and this is a dangerous system as the rewards are low but risks high for society and the country as a cohesive unit. “Deadly attack dogs, kidnappings, public executions, starvation, thought-control, religious persecution and forced marriages. A new United Nations report reveals in grim detail how the North Korean government terrorizes its own people. It also declares the country’s young dictator, Kim Jong, guilty of crimes against humanity” (Smith). Kim Jong is a ruthless dictator who uses any means possible of oppression to subdue his people. The international community took a while to, but finally started to take action and labeled him as a criminal against

North Korea, under the leadership of the dictator, Kim Jong-Un, is considered as a country that greatly lacks human rights. Basic freedoms have been limited under the Kim family. According to Human Rights Watch, 2014 UN Commission of Inquiry discovered that the abuses in North Korea were much beyond those of other countries in the current world. Abuses include rape, extermination, enslavement, murder, torture, imprisonment, forced abortions, and other types of sexual violence. Additionally, several secretive prison camps are being implemented in the “Democratic People’s Republic” of Korea. Those who oppose the government are usually sent to confront starvation, forced labor, torture, and abuse. Due to severe punishment, independent media, religious freedom, and civil society do not exist. North Korea also greatly focuses on ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, despite its humanitarian issues. With North Korea committing these immoral actions, the United States strongly considers that an act must committed. Currently, China is considered as North Korea’s most important ally. China is the main source of trade, food, arms, and energy. By attempting to convince China to distant themselves from North Korea, a big change is possible. Without China’s support, North Korea would be greatly weakened, in terms of military and economy. If China stops helping North Korea and the country is put into

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.

North Korea use “torture, execution, and the allocation of food” (“The Nightmare”) to control information and people. The people of North Korea do not get the message that their government actually does this to their people because they control information. The Los Angeles times states that “ The state determines where people may live and what work they may do, severely restricts access to TV and radio” (“The Nightmare”). The North Korean government does not allow people to watch their television or listen to the radio because they are controlling what information people get to listen to or watch. North Korea does this to oppress their people and limit their knowledge what is actually going on in their country. Finally, oppression is still all over the world, especially in places like North Korea because they check and control all the information that people

The Korean peninsula has been inhabited for roughly 40,000 years. Many significant events throughout Korea’s history have played important roles in shaping Korea’s culture into what it is today. The name Korea originally rooted from “Koryo,” which was the succeeding dynasty in 918-1392 after the Tongil Silla period (period in which the peninsula was unified). Korea was imposed by Japanese colonial rule and finally liberated at the end of World War II in 1945. Following the end of the war, Korea faced an internal battle, resulting in the division of the country into two parts: the north, which is the People’s Republic of Korea backed by powerful communist allies such as China and Russia, and the south, which