The world is not a perfect place. It is filled with disease, poverty, war, and corruption. The amount that these aspects take over the everyday lives of citizens is what separates corrupt states from non-corrupt states. North Korea is one of the most corrupt nations in the world falling behind only Somalia. The transfer of power in the nation to Kim Jung-un following the death of his father, Kim Jung-il, has resulted in no cure for this corruption and more so even worse circumstances. This unbelievable corruption in North Korea under the Kim Jung-un regime is able to persist because of the characteristics of the nation’s rule of law, limited government, regulatory efficiency, and open markets where it is ultimately a part of the fabric of
Although most governments put positive spins on things, normally, they would at the very least give us a glimpse of the truth. North Korea doesn’t do that. Finally, Demick concludes that The citizens of North Korea aren't treated the way they should
George Orwell’s 1984, gives readers a glimpse of what it would look like to have a future with a totalitarian government. A future where one person will control everybody through manipulation and fear. These types of governments continue to exist in certain countries today, one of them being North Korea. North Korea’s government is similar to the Party in 1984, in which their government is a totalitarian dictatorship where Kim Jong Un, their singular leader, controls everything. Both governments in North Korea and 1984 are led by dictators, “Big Brother” in 1984 and Kim Jong Un in North Korea, who are similar in many ways. Their similarity is due to the various techniques they use, which include mind control, propaganda and deprivation of freedom. It is clear that both governments use a variety of different methods of manipulation to control to their citizens.
The government claims that citizens get the full amount of basic rights and claim that DPRK has the best rights in the world ( Federal Research Division, 172-175). Contrary to what they said, the DPRK is one of the most repressive governments on the face of the earth. Their constitution claims that they get freedom of religion, speech, press, and more ( 175-176). The North Korean government instead ignores every single word in their own constitution (United Nations Human Rights Council 3). The Supreme People’s Assembly meets only once a year ( Federal Research Division, 175-176). The current state of modern North Korea is based off the policy of aggression, fear, and governmental brainwashing. (Daily Mail Reporter). North Korean citizens can and will be placed in a labor camp if they do anything that goes against the regime (“North Korea”). Not only can North Korean citizens get placed in a labor camp for going against the regime, but foreigners can and will be placed in a labor camp for committing that crime, too (David Brunnstrom). In the North, the government boasts about many of their so-called achievements and superiority over the others. Their media constantly shows how plentiful and how powerful the country is (“Kim Jong Un's New Year Address”). Videos and images of industry, food, technology, and stocked stores picture the country as a perfect
Kim Jong-Un started the building of North Korea already falling into an evil state. Seen in, “Kim Jong-Il began to prepare Kim Jong-Un for succession to leadership in 2010. Upon his father’s death in December 2011, Kim Jong-un assumed power.” Kim Jong-Il lead a very vicious and up front country, Kim Jong-Un entering would naturally work harder to succeed his father's dream along his own. North Korea was set on the brink of failure due to the leaders and the way they entered their dictatorship. The start of a good nation is the family dynamics, but Kim Jong-Un shakes the family foundation. This is clearly shown, “Whole families are affected if a person violates a law or is sent to a prison camp- meaning grandparents, parents, and children of the offender are sent to work too.” Knowing that is one mistake can lead the whole family into hard labor or possible danger causes people in North Korea more acceptable to evil acts happening to them. Now people who tend to live in fear look for anyway out, possibly revolting or causing a tidal of backlash on the government and eventually causing it to crumble, the foundation isn't strong enough to bare them. Becoming aware of a problem and actually facing it is two totally different things, the people of Korea know that first hand. According to intelligence reports from North Korea, “there were 17 public executions in 2012, the first full year
Since the year 1948, we, the people of North Korea have endured intolerable human rights abuses by the hand of our very own government. As individuals in this world, we are enervated with the governments unmindful treatment of its people. We demand an authentic democratic nation free from the reign of Kim Jong-Un. Must we rely on foreign nations to administer aid in times of famine while our “supreme leader” misspends funds formulating weapons of mass destruction? Must we live in a constant state of fear if we make one selves concerns heard? No, we must take the government into our own hands to better guide North Korea's political, civil, and monetary
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, better known as North Korea, is a country in east Asia. North Korea officially describes itself as a socialist state, but it is widely recognized as a dictatorship. Kim ll-sung is the first supreme leader of North Korea, and the grandfather of the current leader, Kim Jong Un. Under the regime of the Kims, North Korea isolated itself away from the rest of the world. It is a perfect archetype of a “closed society”. Since the beginning of the rule of the Kims, the condition in North Korea have worsened, where citizens have little to no civil rights.
Kim Jong-un is the present leader of North Korea who took the full power of the country being still young, but for his father he was the most prepared of his descendance. He took over in a country in poverty, with a high military preparation and especially well-developed nuclear weapon technology. At the same time, Kim Jong-un has made history in his territory and is seen as a leader that is willing to improve the population’s needs, including the economic.
Have you ever wondered if anything has stayed the same for over half a century? Look no further; in the drama, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, an important theme is all power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This simple statement is true for Ancient Rome and it is also true for North Korea today.
ABC News stated, “North Korea: Lives of luxury for elite as Kim Jong-un rolls out nationwide reform to combat widespread poverty.” The strict set of rules North Korea lives by is setting the nation up for failure. Their leader is a temperamental, immature, and power hunger man that will lead that nation to defeat. Kim Jong-un is testing with nuclear weapons and is threatening us and many of our allies. Jong-un is spending the money that can be used to help the nation thrive to help him gain personally. There is said to still be an estimated 120,000 prisoners still in labor camps. At these labor camps, torture and executions are common.
Kim Jong Un’s iron fist extends to all domains of the North Korean life. In the digital realm, the restricted intranet serves as a propaganda echo chamber, where only a select few get access to the universal internet that we all use all use every day, however most of these individuals are merely part of a hacking elite look for expanding the military capabilities on North Korea via the digital battlefront. In the social world, a citizen's social class will determine their fate through their education and job opportunities, ensuring only the most loyal of citizens will be able to sustain a well providing job, but no matter what job is at stake, it all must serve the wishes of the Kim Regime. The power of the Kim Regime extends outwards into dozens of outside countries, where laborers are forced to work indefinitely in cruel conditions, however recent moves by the Trump administration may put change North Korea’s ability to exploit the labor. In addition to immense human rights violations of the state-sponsored labor, nothing quite compares to the Nazi-esque labor camps where any citizen will get sent to if they for even the most minor of criticisms of the government. Finally, North Korea continuously creates
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
In the article “Better Tomorrow?” from The Economist, we learn about the reality of life, and practices made by the North Korean government. Their many unknown truths regarding what occurs in the North Korean border. That has risen the concern that North Korea is more corrupt than previously expected. Ever since Kim Jong Il passed away, his son Kim Jong Un has made some extreme actions. Recently, he sent is uncle who was once known to be the second most powerful man in North Korea, to be exiled. Showing to the public that he isn't afraid of killing those who are believed to betray him. Since late 2011, Un has placed economic development zones to spark needed foreign investment into the countries economy. To make North Korea seem to be well
“North Korea is officially the world's most corrupt country, according to the Corruption index 2011 from Transparency International, which ranks countries on a scale of one to ten” (Katy Stoddard). The Corruption index 2011 from Transparency International shows that North Korea is an overwhelmingly suppressed place. North Korea is one of the poorest and most underdeveloped countries in the world because they are so isolated. They isolate themselves from the rest of the world because they do not wish to let on the information that the rest of the world is leading a much better life(in terms of economy, crises etc.). Since the country is ruled by a totalitarian form of government, it intertwines with why North Korea is underdeveloped. The little
It's one thing to know that third-generation strongman Kim Jong Un maintains an iron grip on North Korea's 25 million people. It's another thing to read the horrifying particulars of how his regime wields its control — through starvation, torture, rape, summary executions and the disappearance of tens of thousands of citizens into an extralegal prison labor-camp system.
Within the last few decades, the internal affairs in South Korea have been anything but smooth. The public demand for a democratic future is prevalent, but it is unquestionable that the authoritarian leaders and government have had a larger impact that any democratic ones. The strong hand of leaders like Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee allowed South Korea to persevere through difficult times and explode onto the international market. The measures leaders in the 60s, 70s, and 80s took to get Korea to the position of wealth it reached have had some dire consequences that are still felt today. There is no sign of stopping either, as the country has been preoccupied with many other issues and has had democracy thrust upon them, leaving many flaws in the system. The power vacuums, unbalanced social structure, and violent riots have been constant effects brought on by the rise and fall of South Korea’s authoritarian past. This instability and volatile nature of modern South Korean government and society is the most well defined and over-arching theme caused by authoritarian policies and decisions