For years the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) has been the butt of many jokes and satirized heavily in films like The Interview in western culture. The country nicknamed the hermit kingdom has peaked my interest since I was a kid when the country would make empty threats at the US and other countries which would be laughed off by the media. However, I did not start to look into the country until after I began to learn more about its brief history and from there I could not help myself but delve into the disturbingly backwards world that is North Korea.
It is important to know a little back story about Korea before we move into any of my bizarre findings about the country that keep me hooked on it. In the 1950s, fresh off of the Second World War, the United States entered the Cold War with the USSR. With China already under communist rule, the US saw its interests in the Pacific sphere (mainly Japan) as being in jeopardy. Due to the Korean Peninsula being no longer controlled by the Japanese as a result of their defeat in World War Two, a power vacuum formed with the USSR and the US wanting control of the country. Two factions formed, a communist party supported by China in the north and a pro-western party supported by the UN in the south. War broke out in late 1948, and by 1950 the South Koreans were on the verge of defeat, which prompted a UN response. This response was an invasion of the Korean Peninsula, spearheaded by the US, which proved to be extremely effective. In fact, far too effective as it drove the North Koreans so far north that they entered China. This trouncing resulted in China, now backed by the USSR to invade the peninsula on behalf of the North Koreans which caused much political turmoil as the UN did not want to start a war with China and subsequently the USSR. After fighting and tense negotiations, in 1953 the peninsula was split along the 38th parallel and two counties were formed. US backed South Korea, and Soviet backed North Korea. This year marks the 63rd year North Korea has been separated from the western world despite the fall of the Soviet Union and the Chinese opening up to capitalist culture, making the country the world’s living time capsule for what life was like in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin's rule in the 1940s, making it all the more interesting.
After the war ended, the Soviets installed the dictator they had been grooming to rule the newly formed DPRK. While technically an elected president, Kim Il-sung was the only name on the ballot. He was designated as eternal president in 1974, meaning he is still president to this very day despite having being dead since 1994. So starting off weird probably isn’t the greatest first step in building a nation. Fast forward through the genocide that continues to this day, trying to build nuclear weapons, and overall isolation to the reign of Kim il Sung’s son Kim Jong il. It is said in North Korean propaganda that when he was born a double rainbow appeared and a new star formed to herald his birth. He succeeded his father in 1994 and ramped up the crazy. On top of the fake cities built on the 38th parallel to make it appear the country is doing well, and the overt propaganda to reinforce it, Kim Jong il was heralded as the architect of the country by state sanction media due to his crazed building frenzy under his father’s rule and into his rule in North Korea. The capital city of Pyongyang sits mostly empty as it is reserved for the political elite, however the city is dotted with large buildings, hotels and monuments to make it look like a thriving metropolis. Most of the buildings are unfinished inside and are just an elaborate façade. However, his and his countries architectural genius was called into question with the building of the Nampo dam in the late 1980s. Due the Korean peninsula being very mountainous, the amount of farm land is few. This being said the Nampo dam was built to provide energy for North Korea, however ended up flooding much of their farm land causing a famine that continues to this day and has failed to provide substantial power to the country which still resided predominately in the dark. Despite this the dam has remained until May 11th 2016 when it was reported to have partially collapsed. So the two leaders of the country up to this point have continued mass genocide, stagnated the economy by refusing to trade with the western world, and created a dilapidated façade to cover up for the famine stricken and struggling country. So, what could get worse of weirder in the following leaders. Well Kim Jong il’s oldest son and heir to the “presidency” Kim Jong nam fell out of favor with his father and the country when he was arrested in Japan after trying to sneak into Tokyo Disneyland in 2001. Kim Jong il’s two remaining sons Kim Jong chul and Kim Jong un were now his only two options to take over in his death. Before his death in 2011 the choice was made by Kim Jong il and the party to name his youngest son Jim Jong un to succeed his father. Kim Jong un has now held power in the country for a little over four years, and has ramped up the crazy even more by launching satellites into space, and threatening South Korea, USA and Japan with nuclear weapons of which they continue to test. The minute detail of synopsis does not due the ruling family justice in how bizarre and crazy they are, so I implore you to look into them further if you are even slightly interested.
From the countries troubled past and odd leadership, it is no surprise the country itself is odd beyond belief. The country has virtually no economy, and is actually known for selling its people to modern day Russia to work in mines and cut down trees for money. Due to the lack of economy and insistence in staying in their own shell, the country and its people look like any Soviet affiliated country of the early 1980s. The propaganda, vehicles, monuments and architecture are all have failed to be updated in over 30 years. This making North Korea the only place in the world where you can see what life was like in the Soviet Union, and for a price you can pay to take tours to the border in South Korea to peer into the country. The people are oppressed beyond belief. If one member of a family is arrested, the whole family is thrown into hard labor and concentration camps. Then, two more subsequent generations must be born into the camps before they any member of that blood line can be released. Besides being oppressed, the majority of people are impoverished and famine stricken. The UN has air dropped food into the country for years to the dismay of the government, and China (North Korea main and almost only ally) has sent trains into North Korea with food and supplies. However, China has stopped the practice after two trains were sent across the border and were not returned as they were dismantled for scrap adding to China distancing themselves from the floundering country. North Korea as a country is truly in a sad state that is no laughing matter unlike the countries leadership.
North Korea will always fascinate me for how odd and closed off it is. I am sickened by the conditions the people live in the country, and baffled by the leadership choices and lineage. While I have omitted so much of the odd and deplorable from this article to spare everyone from reading a novel, it should be noted that there is much more going on in North Korea that should be seen. The reasons above are the keys to why I find the country so fascinating, but while they seem funny and quirky it should still be recognized that there is so much going on behind the scenes in this country that can only be classified as crimes against humanity. I implore you to do your own research and learn about North Korea to not only find out the crazy happenings about the country that I find so captivating, but to become educated on the issue so that you too may raise awareness for the people of North Korea to ultimately see the people freed from the oppression that is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
