North Korea

1. Preface

The North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un kept appearing in the headlines recently because he suddenly stopped showing up to events and it was speculated that he had passed away. However, after not being seen in the media for three weeks, he appeared again at an event where he cut the ribbon on a fertilizer factory.

Because of this incident, I began searching up some things about North Korea and its leader. How disconnected North Korea was from the rest of the world sparked my interest and I decided to write an essay about it.

2. What is North Korea?

North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is a country in East-Asia. The country is bordered by China and Russia to the north and by the Republic of Korea (South Korea) to the south. Pyongyang is the country's capital and largest city. The language spoken in North Korea is Korean, but there are dialectal differences to the Korean language spoken in South Korea.

North Korea is known to be one of the most secretive countries of the world. It is exceedingly difficult for residents to leave the country and for visitors to enter the country. It is illegal to listen to foreign broadcasts, so North Koreans have little to no idea of major world events. The reason North Korea remains so secretive is because the government wants as little influence from abroad as possible, in order to protect the North Korean culture. Poverty in North Korea is extensive: it is estimated that 60 percent of the population lives under the poverty line.

The current supreme leader of North Korea is Kim Jong-un. His father Kim Jong-II and his grandfather Kim II-sung were the previous leaders of the country. There is not a lot of information available about Kim Jong-un. Things like his age, children and partner remain vague or unknown.

3. History

From 1910 to 1945, Korea was ruled by the Japanese; North-Korea was not a separate country back then. Korean resistance groups operated along the Chinese-Korean border, fighting guerrilla warfare against Japanese forces. One of the guerrilla leaders was Kim II Sung, who later became the first leader of North Korea.

The Japanese rule over Korea ended on 15 August 1945 upon the Surrender of Japan in World War II, and the armed forces of the United States and the Soviet Union occupied the territory. Korea was split at the 38^th parallel; a circle of latitude that is 38 degrees north of the Earth's equator.

The Soviet Union occupied the north, while the United States occupied the south. However, the Soviet Union and the United States were not able to agree on a way to bring the country back together. In 1948, two separate governments were set up: the north was called the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the south was called the Republic of Korea. Both claimed to be the ‘real’ government of Korea.

This caused a lot of tension between both leaders, eventually leading to a breaking point. In June 1910, the North Korean army invaded South-Korea, setting off the Korean War. After three years of fighting, causing over 2.5 million military and civilian victims, the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed on July 27, 1953. However, a formal peace treaty was never signed, and tension between the two sides continued.

The culture of North Korea began developing after the Korean war. Kim II Sung shaped the country according to the nationalist ideology of “Juche” (self-reliance). The state took control of the economy, collected agricultural land, and claimed ownership of all private property. North Korea kept secrecy around their political and economic operations by controlling the media and restricting travel from and to North-Korea.

Because of the investment in mining, the production of steel, and similar industries, North Korea’s civilian and military economy boomed. However, by the 1980s, the economy began to decline, and it almost completely collapsed after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

When Kim Il Sung died of a heart attack in 1994, his son Kim Jong Il became the new leader. He instituted a policy called “Songun Chong’chi”, or military first, establishing the Korean People’s Army as the leading political and economic force.

In the 1990s, there was long period of famine, resulting in the deaths of between 240,000 and 420,000 people. This was caused by widespread flooding that damaged crops and infrastructure. In 1996, the government accepted UN food aid.

In 2011, Kim Jong II died from a heart attack and his youngest son Kim Jong-un was announced as his successor. Kim Jong II is currently still the leader of North Korea.

4. Goverment and politics

North Korea is a one-party state: a government form in which one single political party constitutes the government. The governance of North Korea is dictatorial administration. A dictatorship is a form of government characterized by a single leader or group of leaders and little or no toleration for political pluralism or independent programs or media.

According to its 2016 institution, it is a socialist state. North Korea is governed by the Ten Principles of the One-Ideology System; they establish standards for governance and guide the behaviours of the residents (see appendix 1). The principles need to be memorized by every citizen and they ensure absolute loyalty and obedience to Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-Il and Kim Jong-un.

Kim II-sung, Kim Jong-Il and Kim Jong-un together are referred to as the ‘Kim dynasty’. The Kim dynasty is a three-generation lineage of North Korean leadership. Kim developed a cult of personality that was strongly associated with the Juche state philosophy, which was later passed on to Kim Jong-Il and Kim Jong-un. Juche is described by the North Korean government as "Kim Il-sung's original, brilliant and revolutionary contribution to national and international thought”.

Kim II-sung is seen as the ‘eternal president’, and his son Kim Jong-Il is seen as "Eternal General Secretary" and "Eternal Chairman of the National Defence Commission". Kim Jong-un isn't just the supreme leader of North Korea, he is also head of all major governing structures: he is Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, and Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army. The Workers' Party of Korea has an estimated 3 million members and dominates every aspect of North Korean politics.

5. Culture and society

North Korea has over 25 million residents. It is one of the most ethnically homogeneous countries in the world. Almost all residents are Korean, with the exception of a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese.

Living in North Korea is vastly different from life in any other country. All televisions and radios are tuned to state channels and listening to foreign broadcasts is illegal. It is said that there are only three channels available in North Korea. This causes North Koreans to have little to no idea of major world events. It is also nearly impossible to travel abroad or even travel to another town in North Korea without permission.

As mentioned in chapter 1, many residents of North Korea are extremely poor. They often rely on aid agencies, such as the United Nations, for food. North Koreans that disagree with the government or demand a change, are brutally punished, and sometimes killed. They can also be sent to re-education camps, where they will have to endure hard labour and ideological indoctrination to relearn the regime's values.

Many North-Koreans are not able to afford a car or even a bicycle and rely on public transport. Cell phones are not rare in North-Korea, but they can only be used to call other North-Koreans; calling foreigners is impossible.

There are many other oddly specific things banned in North-Korea as well:

All forms of birth control are banned in North Korea, because Kim Jong-un wants to create a bigger population of social workers.
Christmas is not celebrated in North Korea, since it is an atheist country and religious practices are banned. Therefore, residents are unable to buy or own Christmas decoration. However, the birthday of birthday of Kim Jong-Suk, the deceased grandmother of Kim Jong Un, falls on Christmas Eve and is celebrated.
The North Korean government has approved 28 hairstyles, and all North Koreans must follow the same hairstyles, as other hairstyles are banned.

6. Sources

Disclaimer: Because North-Korea is such a secretive country, the claims about North Korea that are made on the internet might be false.

Appendix 1

They were officially announced by Kim Jong Il in 1974. The original Ten Principles, to which the name “General Kim Jong Il” has now been added, are as follows:

We must give our all in the struggle to unify the entire society with the revolutionary ideology of Great Leader Kim Il Sung.
We must honor Great Leader comrade Kim Il Sung with all our loyalty.
We must make absolute the authority of Great Leader comrade Kim Il Sung.
We must make Great Leader comrade Kim Il Sung’s revolutionary ideology our faith and make his instructions our creed.
We must adhere strictly to the principle of unconditional obedience in carrying out the Great Leader comrade Kim Il Sung’s instructions.
We must strengthen the entire Party’s ideology and willpower and revolutionary unity, centering on Great Leader comrade Kim Il Sung.
We must learn from Great Leader comrade Kim Il Sung and adopt the communist look, revolutionary work methods and people-oriented work style.
We must value the political life we were given by Great Leader comrade Kim Il Sung, and loyally repay his great political trust and thoughtfulness with heightened political awareness and skill.
We must establish strong organizational regulations so that the entire Party, nation and military move as one under the one and only leadership of Great Leader comrade Kim Il Sung.
We must pass down the great achievement of the revolution by Great Leader comrade Kim Il Sung from generation to generation, inheriting and completing it to the end.

Written in June 2020.