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politics of north and south korea
political analysis of south korea
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The Narrow Prospect of North Korea
The fate of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, one of the few remaining communist countries, lies in the hands of rulers who have abused their power, limiting the freedoms of the people and creating a single-minded administration. Although it carries the potential to be as prosperous as South Korea, North Korea is unfortunately constrained because the Communist party has heavily focused on its military and nuclear power, while ignoring other vital aspects such as its economic prosperity and the interests of its people. Since the Cold War, the Soviet Union has influenced North Korea which has trapped it in a political situation that affirms its notorious reputation of abuse, restrictions, and precarious risks. Kim II Sung, who ruled from 1948 until his death in 1994, his son Kim Jong-II, who inherited supreme power, and the Communist Korean Worker’s Party (KWP) have been the decision makers of the entire country, holding the responsibility of determining its prospect. Therefore, as a result of North Korea’s political alignment with the Soviet Union, communism in North Korea perpetuates famine, facilitates militarization, and threatens neighboring countries.
The surrender of Japan in World War II in August 1845 led to the immediate division of Korea in which the United States administered the south and USSR controlled north of the 38th parallel after the Korean War (Korea North). This has resulted in the establishment of two separate nations with significantly different economic and social systems. However, the most significant discrepancy is their political systems as the United States exercises a democratic-style governmental control while the Soviet Union implements a Comm...
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... not last in the long-term and will eventually fall just as the Soviet Union did in 1991, following its footsteps once again to a doom.
Works Cited
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Lerner, K. Lee. "North Korean Nuclear Weapons Programs." Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security. Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 346-350. Global Issues In Context. Web. 21 Apr. 2010.
Lanʹkov, A. N. North of the DMZ: Essays on Daily Life in North Korea. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland &, 2007. Print.
Miller, Debra A. North Korea. San Diego: Greenhaven, 2004. Print.
"Korea, North." Countries of the World and Their Leaders Yearbook 2008. 2008 ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2007. 1061-1074. Global Issues In Context. Web. 21 Apr. 2010.
Salter, Christopher L., and Charles F. Gritzner. "Introducing North Korea,." North Korea. 2nd ed. New York: Chelsea House, 2007. . Print.
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.
Today, China and North Korea are two extremely powerful communist countries. However, communism was not always present. In fact, communism was a new political theory proposed and published on February 21st of 1848 by Karl Marx in his famous “Communist Manifesto.” In 1949, approximately one hundred years after the Communist Manifesto was written, Mao Zedong came into power and henceforth, adopted a form of communism. It was after World War II and the Chinese Civil War, that the Chinese Communists were able to overthrow Chiang Kai Shek and the Chinese Nationalist Party; hence, this new government swore to form a “brand new” China, which modeled and resembled closely to Marxism-Leninism. North Korea and China’s geography, mutual history, and ideology proved to make them similar in many aspects in terms of reforms and revolutions; however, it was not until death of Mao Zedong and the rise of Deng Xiao Ping in the mid-1970s that drew the distinct line between North Korea and China communism.
Japan was imperializing late nineteenth century to early twentieth century. Korea was a Japanese colony. After World War II, the Japanese had to get rid of the colony. North Korea became Communist. South Korea wanted to be democratic. Later North Korea crossed the 38th parallel and entered South Korea. The United States answered by telling the United Nations to help South Korea. The United Nations did and they pushed North Korea so far back they hit the northern tip of china. China went into the war to protect their borders. At the end of the war they went back to where they were in the beginning. Neither side won. Between 1992 -1995 North Korea did many good things. It says on BBC News Asia that North Korea became involved in the United Nations and they agree to freaze nuclear weapon program those where the good they did but then there was a huge flood that created a food shortage this was also on BBC Asia. In 2002 it say in BBC Asia that nuclear tension increased in North Korea and United States. The North Korean communist nation controls the citizen’s religious beliefs so they have to belief in jushe which is a belief that they have to look up to North Korean leaders. The North Korean leaders make sure the citizens of North Korea belief in it if they don...
Joint Security Area (JSA) is a South Korean film which deals with the relationship between North Korea and South Korea. In the film, two North Korean soldiers are murdered near the border. Sophie, an officer from the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission, investigates the incident. With evidence and information, she tries to find the truth of the incident. In JSA, the incident takes a place in 1999. North Korea and South Korea have been divided after the Korean War ends in 1953. Although around 50 years passed after the division, its influences remain and the film describes them. This paper is going to argue how JSA deal with the North Korean people and prospects of Korean reunification with referring to other resources.
U.S, Department of State Website (2012) Background Note: North Korea. Retrieved on 20 May 2012 from: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2792.htm#profile
Leaders throughout history are usually looked up to, however, there are few that will always be remembered in a negative way. Two leaders in history that may be questionable whether they were actual leaders, were both responsible for blindly leading people: Adolf Hitler and Kim Jong Un. Hitler was once known as a great leader, who managed to convince not only a whole political party, but many individuals throughout Europe to oppress, mass murder and commit a genocide against a race, which lead to about six million Jews to perish (Biography.com). While in today’s time, Kim Jong Un, the current dictator of North Korea, is leading his country into a peculiar situation, due to the fact that there are many opinions on North Korea in current event (CNN). These controversial individuals have many similar and opposing characteristics that will be discussed throughout this paper.
Under the rule of Kim Il-Sung, North Koreans worshiped a “Great Leader” who oversaw what political scientists across the board define as a “highly centralized brutal regime” (Manyin 2012, 1). Kim Jong-il, the “Dear Leader,” on the other hand, arguably produced remarkable economic stability through by forcing male citizens to join the national military. Yet, following in the footsteps of his father, Kim Jong-il entered into office largely through militaristic means. Kim Jong-il, nevertheless, had to prove that he was masculine enough to rule a country largely isolated from external global influences. Accordingly, Kim Jong-il served in his father’s previous position as General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea in 1997. One year later, the North Korean public voted for Kim Jong-il to serve as chairperson of the National Defense Commission. While Kim Jong-il served in his father’s previous position, leaked information about a rogue nuclear program that reached the office of former President George W. Bush emerged as North Korea was on the verge of achieving economic stability (Ishiyama 2014, 570). Consequently, Kim Jong-il reinstated isolationist policies that established North Korea as a “hermit kingdom” which is considered extremely challenging for political scientists to assess systematically (Ishiyama 2014, 570). Considering how Kim
Kim, Yongho and Yi, Yurim “Security Dilemmas and Signaling during the North Korean Nuclear Standoff”, Asian Perspective, Vol. 29, No. 3, 2005, pp. 73-97
Being a citizen in North Korea comes with a lot of sacrifices because you are isolated from the rest of the world. North Korea hides the fact that they have prison camps where people work for free, are not fed, and sometimes punished and killed from other countries. They lock people up because of what their family members do, and then they suffer and live a life in prison. Locally organized groups known as People's committees are an important aspect in the development of controlling the lives of Koreans since their country became independent. But, in a way, North Korea controls the lives of its people anyway because the government censors the information that is given to the people by only releasing information on the radio, television, and internet that is approved by the government. The government considers mass media very important, and most homes in North Korea have access to a radio as a result of a government project that provides households with the ability to get radio broadcasts with important information. The internet is almost non-existent in North Korea. There is only one network; Kwangmyong, which can be used only as a closed domestic network. The only way to even get access is to work for the government or by getting approval. Another thing the government controls is transportation; only the military and government is allowed to own a vehicle. In North Korea, you also need permission
My paper will be about North Korea’s transition to a new regime. After reflecting on materials that we’ve already read, there is a need to have a collaboration by the major players surrounding the Korean Peninsula. The three countries that I want to investigate are China, Russia, and the U.S. To understand the history of these three countries and the current political situation that will lead to a peaceful transition of a new North Korean regime. Throughout the years, there have been many fluctuation’s in the relationship of these three countries. Some years China, Russia, and the United States seem to have similar motives, but yet so different at the same time. Furthermore, the last thing that any of these
North Korea has long held one of the worst records of human rights abuses in all the world. Former President George W. Bush famously referred to North Korea as part of the “axis of evil” while former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice named it an “outpost of tyranny.” Even with investigations carried out by independent journalists and various non-governmental organizations, we know little of the plight of the North Korean people due to the government’s strict control on information that flows in and out of the country. Most information comes by way of North Korean citizens who undertake the treacherous journey to emigrate out of the Hermit Kingdom to safer shores.
Throughout the global media North Korea’s isolation and Harsh rule has become increasingly secretive, although some facts have been detected (“North Korea Profile”, 1). According to data collected from The Guardian, eighty-one out of one-hundred people in South Korea have access to the internet, yet in North Korea around .1 out of one-hundred people have access to the internet . Not only is the greater population of North Korea disconnected from outside sources, yet leaders in North Korea are also isolated from outside sources; putting themselves at a disadvantage. North Korea may launch a war, but they are unaware as to what they are up against because of its secrecy . Around one million are serving in the North Korean Army, but when South Korea’s army; combined with the U.S’s army (their ally), the ratio of the North Korean Army is signi...
As Klinger warns, “Time is running out for the North Korean people, but too many have already perished as the world turned its back” (Scism). North Korea is in a huge crisis and its citizens need help since they are suffering atrocities similar to the Holocaust (Hong). According to Lee, a North Korean defector, there is no freedom at all (Scism). As well, nights are completely dark due to power outages or shortage of electricity (Scism). Also, spying one another is encouraged and North Korean women can be killed if they get pregnant by a Chinese man (Scism). Yet, there are citizens who do nothing about it since they cannot compare it to any other system ("Kang Chol-hwan"). Consequently, the only way to save them is if the rest of the world
South Korea, once a broken country filled with broken families, has transformed itself into a fine example of perseverance in a tough situation. South Korea and its neighbor to the north have developed past where they were before the Korean War, but in different ways. The two countries, while certainly dependent on each other, are vastly different. Their conflicting styles of government and their differing cultures speak for themselves in this case. South Korea has, over the years, changed dramatically from the crippled country of the Korean War into a blossoming beacon of Asian cultural and economic changes. The combination of its recent economic importance, its heavy cultural influence, and its constant danger of participating in a war makes South Korea one of the most influential countries in the world.