North KoreaA World Cultures Case Study

Ancient History

Korea's unified history dates at least from the kingdom of Silla (c.670–935), which unified the peninsula in the seventh century

The Buddhist-influenced kingdom of Koryo (935–1392) followed. (The English name "Korea" comes from "Koryo.")

The Yi dynasty (1392–1910) adopted Confucianism as the state ideology

Japan came to rule the Koreans directly, when that country subordinated the Yi royal family in the colonial annexation of 1910

Japanese Rule of Korea Japan in 1938 outlawed use of Korean language in an attempt to

eradicate Korean national identity

Deep lament and resentment toward invaders prevailed in Korean literature and music

During World War II, Japan took more and more of Korea’s resources, including its people, to feed its imperial war machine

Japanese surrender on August 15, 1945, causes the peninsula to come under divided rule: the USSR occupied Korea north of 38th parallel, while U.S. occupied southern section

Emergence of North Korea

The Soviets endorsed a group of former guerrilla fighters as national leaders of North Korea

This included a thirty-two-year-old legendary anti-Japanese guerrilla fighter, Kim Il Sung

The North Korean state was founded on September 9, 1948, three weeks after American support of the South Korean state emerged, under leader Syngman Rhee

With Soviet support, the northern leaders had carried out socioeconomic reforms including free distribution of land to the farmers, a gender equality law, and public ownership of key industries

Korean War (1950-53)

Soviet Union and the United States could not agree on how to unify Korea

Forces removed in 1949, Korea remained divided

June 24, 1950: North Korea invaded South Korea

North Korea decided to unify the country by force

June 25, 1950 - the armies of North Korea crossed the 38th parallel into South Korea

South Koreans were no match for the north

gained control over much of South Korea

Truman reacted quickly by ordering the use of limited American air and sea forces in Korea

no declaration of war from Congress

called it a "police action" in the name of containment

Legacy of Korean War

Neither Korea signed armistice

State of war continues

Both Koreas considered themselves the only legitimate authority

Both Koreas had authoritarian dictatorships at least through 1987

40,000 US troops remain to guard South Korea

US supports pro-American authoritarian regimes

North Korea: Chinese troops leave

North argues that South Korea is an occupied country, not independent

North sees US troops as a threat

http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/22/world/asia/korea-demilitarized-zone/

Kim Il Sung

Juche Ideology

National independence

Economic independence

Military independence

Focus on people’s needs

Aligned with USSR and China

Plays them off against each other until 1991 (Communism fails in USSR; becomes Russia)

Standard pattern of brinksmanship to get what he wants

Achievements (?) after Korean War 1960s: North Korea was richer than the South

everybody had shelter and clothing

nearly eliminated illiteracy

1970: every village was wired for electricity

VERY dependent on Communist allies

oil, rice, fertilizer, pharmaceutical, industrial equipment, trucks, cars, medical equipment

when Communism starts failing around the world, North Korea is left without

electricity starts to become sporadic, eventually only on Kim holidays

wealth squandered on military

25% of gross national product spent on military

one million men under arms (4th largest in world)

Kim Il Sung harnessed power of faith didn't want to be like Stalin; wanted to be like Santa Claus

wanted to be regarded as a father supernatural abilities

all families were to have a framed picture of the great leader inspectors would stop by unannounced to make sure it was in perfect

order

created anticonsumerist society government provided everything one needed (in theory)

2 sets of clothes per year - winter and summer

food provided in public distribution style staples of rice, soy sauce, cooking oil, gochujang (bean paste)

national holidays - might get pork or dried fish Holiday being Kim family birthdays

North Korean jobs were paid more like an allowance movies, haircuts, train tickets, make up, cigarettes, etc.

1990s North Korean Famine

The famine stemmed from a variety of factors

Economic mismanagement and the loss of Soviet support caused food production and imports to decline rapidly

A series of floods and droughts exacerbated the crisis, but were not its direct cause

The government proved too inflexible to effectively curtail the disaster

Estimates of the death toll vary widely

Out of a total population of approximately 24 million, somewhere between 240,000 and 3,500,000 North Koreans died from starvation or hunger-related illnesses, with the deaths peaking in 1997

Recent research suggests the likely range of excess deaths between 1993 and 2000 was between 500,000 and 600,000

By 1997, population was getting 128 grams (or 1 cup) of food per day from government

Propaganda machine urged its people on the "Arduous March" as a metaphor to remind the population that it could be worse

Dawn of a New Kim

Kim Il Sung died July 8, 1994

people began converging on statues on Kim Il Sung to pay their respects

grief was legitimate and orchestrated; became a patriotic obligation

orchestrated parades and mourning

body embalmed and put in underground mausoleum, much like V.I. Lenin

son Kim Jong Il had become leader; Kim Il Sung was later named the eternal president

Kim Jong Il (1994-2011)

continual downward spiral of economy

most of famine under Kim Jong Il

nuclear proliferation

2006 - declared they had successfully conducted their first nuclear test

2007 - confirmed that North Korea has nuclear weapons

even after the advent of cell phones and the internet, technology is kept strictly monitored to keep population oblivious to outside world

militaristic activities began to escalate

2008 - reports of Kim Jong Il to be in poor health

died in 2011; son Kim Jong Un became leader

lack of experience became an issue

Kim Jong Un (2011-present)

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/02/kim-jong-un-north-korea-understanding

Pyongyang

Capital of North Korea

Population: 3.2 million (2008)

erupted literally from scratch after the Korean War

Kim Il Sung wanted to showcase North Korean might

foreigners will be fooled to believe that the city is recovering from "Arduous March"

homeless, peasants, or undernourished are removed from city

women with traditional clothing will pretend to read books on benches

foreigners are treated to multicourse banquets, Internet access, electricity

gone as soon as tourists leave

Black Markets

North Korea may have begun with communist principles in mind, but very capitalist black markets have arisen despite government crackdowns

Some black market merchants even manage to move goods across the border from China, bringing in food and raw materials

Smuggled South Korean DVDs combat the propaganda of the Kim regime, which tells its citizens that South Koreans are worse off than they

Vehicle ownership in North Korea is allowed only for the military and the government

travel for citizens is severely restricted

in the 1990s, corrupt military and party elite made a habit of registering vehicles and then hiring private drivers to pick up people who needed transportation, essentially creating private taxi companies that are crucial to smuggling operations around the country

Demography

Population: 24,851,627 (July 2014 est.)

Literacy Rate: 100%

Language: Korean (dialect different than the South)

Social Classes government officially claims that North Korea is a classless society

clearly a class society starkly divided between the politically powerful and politically powerless

The highest ranking people in North Korea are Kim Il Sung's family and relatives, followed by his old comrades and their families

The next level is made up of the families of Korean War veterans and anti-South Korea sabotage officers

The vast majority of North Koreans are ordinary citizens who are divided and subdivided into ranks according to their family history and revolutionary or unrevolutionary origin

Status is regularly reviewed, and if any member of the family commits an antirevolutionary crime, other members of the family are also demoted in status

Prison Camps

Some 154,000 North Koreans live in prison camps

six camps, surrounded by electrified barbed wire

Two camps allow for some "rehabilitation" and release of prisoner

The rest are prisons for life

Torture, malnutrition, slave labor and public execution are ways of life in the camps

it is estimated that 40 percent of camp prisoners die of malnutrition

Food

The foundation of North Korean meals include cold noodles (Naung-myon), tofu, short-grain rice and porridge

Meats such as poultry, duck and beef are also North Korean staples, as are seafood and veggies While North Korean cuisine has a reputation for being milder than South Korean food, North

Koreans use a variety of savory broths and condiments, such as bean paste, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes and chile paste, to flavor dishes

Due to food shortages in the 1990s and early 2000s, government handouts of rice and meat have been sporadic at best

Kimchi is generally composed of cabbage or cucumbers soaked in a ginger, garlic and chile brine and often flavored with bean paste

Traditionally, North Koreans made kimchi to last the entire winter, storing the brined vegetables in jars, but that practice has decreased due to modern refrigeration as well as the country’s food shortages in the early 2000s