In North Korea life was incredibly different, and is still different, from life in America. The residents of North Korea live in extreme poverty, while Kim Jong Il and any member of Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea live as if they were kings; their meals filled with delicacies the citizens of North Korea can only dream of. Although it’s found strange to most in "normal" society, Kim Jong Il is revered as a God, because it is he who gave them all the “luxuries” in North Korea. When in actuality, he is the sole culprit of North Korea’s extreme poverty. Now, Kim Jong Il wasn’t always the ruthless dictator that so many around the world know of, he was a harmless child like all of us had once been. He was born on February 16th, 1941 however some official records state he was born in 1942. Mystery shrouds Kim Jong Il’s true birth place; in North Korean records, he was stated to have been born at the Paektusan Secret Camp in the Sobaeksu Valley, Samjiyon County, Ryanggang Province. Official North Korean biographers write that at Mt. Paektusan, his “official” birthplace, "Flashes of light and thunder, the iceberg in the pond of Mount Paektu emitted a mysterious sound as it broke, and a bright double rainbow rose up," signaling a new star in the heavens. More likely however, are the other records that state his birthplace to be Vyatskoye in the former Soviet Union where his family had been exiled. It is explainable why North Korean records would give their Grand Leader such an immaculate birth, Mt. Paektu a symbol of Korea, is known as a sacred mountain because in Korean mythology, it is where the ‘Son of the Lord of Heaven’ descended and the first kingdom of Korea could begin. There is a reason for the extreme absurdity that i... ... middle of paper ... ... nature. Talk of which of Kim Jong Il's sons would succeed him spread rapidly, none of the three seemed all to capable nor in very high favor with their father. On Decemeber 17th, 2011, the Dear Leader of North Korea passed away due to cardiac arrest, leaving the North Korean population weeping and mourning heavily for their now deceased leader. Kim Jong Il's legacy is a heavy one to bare, not much is truly known about him in all honesty. His life began in secrecy and the rest of his life continued from there never to seemingly ever get better. An extreme dictator who commanded the obedience and love of all who lived in his kingdom may be seen as a vicious tyrant to all of those away from him, but in the eyes of the North Koreans, he will always be their Dear Leader and his sons and future grandsons will carry on the brutal regime that encompasses North Korea.
Blaine Harden, former national correspondent and writer for the New York Times, delivers an agonizing and heartbreaking story of one man’s extremely conflicted life in a labor camp and an endeavor of escaping this place he grew up in. This man’s name is Shin Dong-hyuk. Together, Blaine Harden and Shin Dong-hyuk tell us the story of this man’s imprisonment and escape into South Korea and eventually, the United States, from North Korea. This biography that takes place from 1982-2011, reports to its readers on what is really going on in “one of the world’s darkest nations” (back cover of the book), that is run under a communist state and totalitarian dictatorship that was lead by Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, and currently lead by Kim-Jong un. In Escape from Camp 14, Shin shows us the adaptation of his life and how one man can truly evolve from an animal, into a real human being.
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.
North Koreans cannot even say Jand’s name, the photo of Jand at Kim Jong Il’s funeral is no longer available to be seen. The reason North Korea’s leader can do something like alter history is because they have no one to stop them or question them on why they are doing so. Leaders can and have also created events in history, just like in 1984. (Radio Free Asia)
In addition, the leader’s death was around two decades ago, yet there are over 500 statues of him (Bristow). It is remarkable that North Korea’s life and culture are different from South Korea’s. Bristow writes about these cultural differences between the isolated North and allows the reader to compare and contrast with the developed South. It is true that status symbolizes respect and honor for their past leaders, but North Korea’s massive erection of statues – coupled with the belief that the leader is still alive today – is an uncommon idea that is rooted in an isolated and repressive country. In terms of religion, North Koreans believe in Buddhism and Confucianism, whereas South Koreans believe in Buddhism and Christianity. The differences show that both of these countries stand on the opposite sides of the religious pole. North Korea favors a religion that is widely held by the Chinese, while South Korea embodies a religion that is expressed by the West. Confucianism, at its most basic principles, includes a leader ruling over its people, whereas Christianity pushes for individuals in a society to make important decisions. While
North Korea is notorious as the “Hermit Kingdom”. Defensive and secretive to the point of paranoia, its history as well as its present conditions remains shrouded in mystery. What little we do know can be murky at best. The central govern...
North Korea stands apart from the rest of East Asia. They future I predict for North Korea is uncertain, they are on a road to disaster. East Asia is a well-populated booing area. The region’s economic growth is phenomenal; they are integrating technology, and making long term plans for the future. North Korea is the only exclusion. North Korea is poor, isolated, and appears to have little grasp in reality. North Koreas leadership is focused on dictatorship, and on tactical measures to make other countries believe they are superior. They video shows the poor conditions that every North Korean has to live in. They force their children to dance and do gymnastics, from my interoperation just in case a tourist comes. I anticipate a collapse in the North Korean government, and more severe economic downfall, and civil war to break out. I do not believe the old saying “history repeats itself”, what I do believe is we can learn from other countries mistakes. I think that North Korea should take a gander at Syria and take notes of the way protestor’s rebel against the central government.
North Korea is ruled by Kim Jong-Un a dictator who was born in Pyongyang, North Korea on January 8th, 1983. Kim Jong-Un is a controlling dictator who wants everyone to follow what he says. Kim Jong-Un became the leader of North Korea in 2011, inherited his position from his father Kim Jong-il. Kim Jong-Un has continued the country’s nuclear testing and the development of bomb technology,internationally it was disapproved. He has promised to focus on educational and economic improvement and is engaging in his approach to leadership.(Bio.com) Kim took over his father's position when his father passed away. Kim Jong-il died of a heart attack on December 17, 2011 at 8:30 in the morning while traveling to an area outside in North Korea. During
During his rule there was decrease in trading because their main trading partner, the Soviet Union, had just collapsed. Not only that, but there were also numerous floods and droughts that occurred too. This left North Korea in famine, since there was only a certain amount of farming land, this left Kim Jong-Il to worry about his power. With the remaining amount of farming land, he instead decided to use those resources for the military instead of the citizens experiencing famine at the time. After this incident, in 2003, it was found out that North Korea was producing nuclear weapons, but Kim Jong-Il said it was only for security reasons.
Suki Kim’s first-hand experience with being inside North Korea gives valuable is sight it to how the country is run. The people have no individuality everyone is one inside of the group. People are worried about what could happen to them or their families if they say something bad. Then there is the lack of outside knowledge that is kept from
Kim Jong-un became the supreme leader of North Korea in 2012 after his father, Kim Jong-il passed away. Kim Jong-un is very similar to his father and predecessor. All he wants to see is
It was his elder brother who was supposed to be the next leader, his previous actions and many negative opinions from acquaintances about his qualities and aspects denied that, however. On the other hand, Kim Jong-Un was praised and given many titles very early on, he was hailed for being very identical to the previous leader. Before even becoming leader, he was listed as a candidate for the Supreme People’s Assembly in 2009, and later that year he was given a post on the National Defense Commission. Furthermore, he was also given the high rank of a four star general. He was unofficially declared the supreme leader after his father’s death as he was assumed in office in December 17, 2011. It wasn’t until April of the following year that his position was validated after acquiring various titles including one of the country’s highest bureaucratic authority. His time as leader has led to the rapid advancements of the North Korean military power as well as nuclear bombs. He recently has been in the talks of making peace with South Korea and agreed to talk over a peace treaty with the South Korean
It can be argued that North Korea has been a totalitarian state since the formations of the Democratic People’s republic of North Korea on September 9th 1948. In 1949 Kim-il sung became the chairman of the workers party of Korea. Throughout 1949 Kim-il sung’s power began growing rapidly, as he created totalitarian rule in North Korea and eliminated any other parties that stood in his way. Kim-il sung became the Prime Minister of North Korea from 1948-1972. In 1972 he became president and ruled as such until 1994. Finally, he was made the Eternal president of North Korea for eternity. Kim-il sung ruled as a cruel totalitarian leader using fear as a tactic to force other to believe in the false accusations he was saying. An example of this was that he said the diseases that were spreading across North Korea were intentionally caused by the United States. When people didn’t believe him he created a large purge to force people to accept his remarks. Kim-il sung also used prison camps to get rid of anyone who opposed him. When Kim-il sung died his son Kim-Jong il too up power of North Korea in 1994. ...
North Korea is a misinterpreted place it is not a good place. Most of the people there are blind. The people there starve, no food, and no clean water. Elder and children are blind, so children are shot and skinny for malnutrition. North Korea is like a jail or a black hole, North Korea has no internet or cell phones. In North Korea the towns are not the best, they are on the verge of breaking. There are pitchers of the leader everywhere, no family pitchers. Imagine having no family pictures up in your house and only pitchers of the president. People bow to pitchers of the leader for thanks and forgiveness. If an American went to North Korea he/she probably would not be allowed in the leader has to approve he or she’s entry, and
For countless years North Korea has appeared to be the "Redheaded Stepchild" of the modern world, being one of the last communist states, now armed with new technology and weapons it could pose a serious threat to the first world. Being led by one of the most mercurial and enigmatic families of political leaders, the Kim dynasty has sacrificed the safety and well-being of its people for the development of weapons of mass destruction. The current state of North Koreas
Unlike Hitler, Kim only became leader of North Korea after his fathers death. On December 19, 2011, the government of North Korea announced the death of its leader Kim Jong Il, his son and successor, Kim Jong-un, began the process of assuming the leadership of the country. "Just two days before the nation was to celebrate the 100th birthday of his revered grandfather and the founder of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Kim Il-sung, the North Korean military launched a rocket intended to put a satellite into orbit." ("Kim Jong Il Dies"). That ended in failure, when the rocket broke up over the Yellow Sea. It was extremely humiliating for the new leader, and it led to global speculation as to whether anyone would challenge his rule. What really bothered the other world l...