North Korea
A place of little to no freedom. No leaving the country. No breaking curfew. No understanding of the world around them… But do they care? It seems not, as North Koreans do not know of a world any different than their own. Although the newest generation may be finding ways to access the world around them through the internet that is nationally banned. North Koreans often live a life somewhat based on secrecy, strict rules, and simply not knowing. North Korea is a place that, to our generation, is told to be bad. That’s pretty much where it ends. We don’t know why it’s bad, just that it is! We know they’re incredibly smart… But why? We know that South Korea is definitely considered to be better, but why? There are many questions, and little answers. No matter how much you think that you know about North Korean beliefs and history, I can guarantee that by the end of the article, you will know- and understand- North Korea much more.
North Korea is known as a powerhouse that rules on fear and no freedom. This much is true: most kids go to school on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and part of Saturday. Generally, they go to school until 5, eat dinner at school, then go to a private tutor. Sometimes, they spend the night at the school. Korean students must be constantly learning, taking notes, paying attention in class, and always pushing their minds to the limits because only few eventually can go to college to become successful. If you think the US is competitive to get into colleges… Well, you're in for a surprise. Most North Korean students hardly have a live outside of school. And did you know that in North Korea, families are forced to pay for desks, chairs, building materials, and money to pay for the heating costs of the buildings? Kids are sometimes put to work at school by the teachers to make goods for the government and gathering discarded materials. (http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/rick-newman/2013/04/12/heres-how-lousy-life-is-in-north-korea) With a GDP per-capita of 1,800.00 providing the neccesary things to thrive are extremely difficult.
To make things worse, they can’t leave. The can’t. Period. That’s it! Just like us going to Chicago to see our Aunt, they can’t do that. They are stuck in Korea for as long as they live. I’m going to just say this pretty blandly: That would suck. And, they really do not have any access to the outer world. Internet? Yeah right! Few of the millions of North Korean residents have access to internet- what they do have access to, is not the internet we know today, The lucky few have limited access to the “government blessed” websites, that must be specifically chosen as ‘appropriate’ and ‘non-revealing.’ Government officials, and professors, have access to this, However, as our world transformed into the more tech-savvy and developed lifestyle, we are starting to see more smart teens crack the system.
Many of you may have heard much about the immense military threat that comes from Korea, but a little-known fact is that all of those threats of nuclear war and military attack are actually when the North Korean government is in desperate need. This is the weakest moment: they threaten because they have food shortages, or need other kinds of economic assistance. “Any time the North Koreans are screaming or behaving badly, somethings going on that they're not happy about.” Says Stephen Haggard a professor at the University of California, San Diego. He is considered an expert on North Korea. In the end, many people predict that North Korea will crumble, from either rebellion, or basic things such as failure to feed their own people.
Another thing that North Korea's have is prison/concentration camps. We thought the Nazi’s were the worst of their kind, but, sadly, the same idea of torturing all prisoners to death remains a major issue in North Korea. In North Korean prison camps, you are basically guaranteed a death sentence, one way or another. Most prisoners end up dying from many causes: generally being either starvation, torture, illness, or work accidents. These camps, unfortunately, are life-long. The seemingly endless ways of death vary, some including infanticides (death upon birth), torture, illness, or starvation. Some of the worst ways to die in existence! A common form of a concentration camp is a internment camp. This form of a camp is for perceptible ‘political prisoners.’ Their parents, children, and of course brothers and sisters are deported as well. Always in central or northeastern Korea, everyone fears these remote camps. Labour colonies in extrasolar valleys- or, in other words, separate from the outside world, are the most common. !50,000 to 200,000 men, women, and children are living in each internment camps. Thats more than the city of Salt Lake City in Utah! 40% die of malnutrition. That is definitely one of the worst ways to die.
Here are some facts about the home life of those living in North Korea. Keep in mind that at least 12,000,000 people (half of the population) live in extreme poverty, so life in North Korea is much more different than what many of us know today. These facts are from: http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/rick-newman/2013/04/12/heres-how-lousy-life-is-in-north-korea
Most workers earn $2 to $3 per month in pay from the government. Some work on the side or sell goods in local markets, earning an extra $10 per month or so.
– Most homes and apartments are heated by open fireplaces burning wood or briquettes. Many lack flush toilets.
– Electric power is sporadic and unreliable, with homes that have electricity often receiving just a few hours per day.
– Families that can afford them often have two TVs, according to New Focus International, a website that features dispatches from North Korean exiles; one TV is pre-set to state channels airing propaganda, while the second, illegal set is used to watch South Korean TV programs. Even so, fluctuating voltage in the electrical current often causes the screen to keep changing size, "going from big to small repeatedly," according to one exile report.
So next time you hear about the immense power or threat from North Korea, think about it. Is it really better to live in fear and poverty, or to have a comfortable life in a friendly subdivision with a least a flush toilet and where the light doesn’t flicker on and off repeatedly! Is North Korea really all that smart? They may have smart people, but how smart is the way of living? Comment your thoughts below!
