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North Korea: A Case Study

Bria Bush

University of North Georgia

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North Korea: A Case Study

As with most country-specific case studies, the history of the country and its people is

paramount to understanding the current state of affairs. The Democratic Peoples Republic of

Korea, or North Korea, is no different. While the history of the Korean peninsula goes back

thousands of years, it is only within the last 60 years that North Korea has grown from a thorn in

the side of developed nations into the most unpredictable state with nuclear capabilities in the

world.

Why Study This Case?

North Korea is one of the worlds last hardline Communist nations. Since its creation in

1948, North Korea has been antagonistic toward Western nations, specifically the United States,

South Korea, and Japan, and has cut itself off from most of the world. The collapse of

Communism in Eastern Europe and the breakdown of the Soviet Union robbed North Korea of

many important allies and trade markets. This isolation led to an ultranationalistic country that

relies on state-controlled media, blatant propaganda, brutal human rights violations, and extreme

censorship with access to the outside world restricted to foreigners and a select few citizens.

Since the end of the Korean War in 1953, the North has pursued, through both violence

and diplomacy, reunification with the South. In 1991, the North was granted a seat in the United

Nations along with the South. The two countries signed a historic nonaggression pact in

December 1991. The agreement allowed the reunification of families separated since the Korean

War. The agreement also banned the making of nuclear weapons by either country. However, this

treaty was annulled by North Korea in 2010.

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Major Geographic and Demographic Features

North Korea comprises the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. The country is roughly

the size of Mississippi with Pyongyang both the capital and the largest city. To the north, North

Korea is bordered by China and Russia, on the south by South Korea, on the east by the Sea of

Japan, and on the west by the Yellow Sea. Almost the whole country is covered in mountains and

hills. North Korea has one active volcano named Mount Paektu which is also a sacred place to

the North Koreans. North Korea has several major rivers including the Imjin, Yalu, and Taedong.

Koreans are a ethnically and linguistically homogeneous people. As of July 2016, North

Koreas population was estimated at approximately 25,115,311. A small community of Chinese

and a few ethnic Japanese reside in North Korea. Traditional religions are Buddhism and

Confucianism with some Christianity and the Buddhist/Christian combination Chondogyo.

However, in reality, religious activity in North Korea is virtually missing. Several state-

sponsored religious groups do exist but only to provide the impression of religious freedom.

North Koreans are strongly encouraged to embrace juche, a government philosophy which

advocates self-reliance and nationalism, as an alternative to organized religion. The life

expectancy in North Korea is approximately 67 years for males and 74 years for females.

(Central Intelligence Agency, 2016)

Historical Development of the State

According to Korean legend, Tongmyong, the god-king, founded the nation in 2333 B.C.,

after which his children ruled over an undisturbed kingdom for more than a thousand years. By

the first century A.D., the Korean peninsula was split into the kingdoms of Silla, Koryo, and

Paekche. In A.D. 668, the Silla kingdom brought together the peninsula. The Koryo kingdom
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came after the Silla kingdom in 918. The Yi dynasty, which replaced Koryo in 1392, lasted until

the Japanese took over Korea in 1910.

Throughout much of its history, Korea has been the target of invasion and been

influenced and fought over by its more powerful neighbors. Korea was occupied by Mongols

from 1231 until the early 14th century and was destroyed by Chinese rebels in 1359 and again in

1361; Japan launched major attacks on the peninsula in 1592 and 1597. To protect themselves

from such frequent pummeling, the kings of the Yi dynasty began a closed-door policy. Although

the Yi kingdom pledged fealty to the Chinese rulers, Korea was independent until the 19th

century. At that time, Chinese, Russian, and Japanese competition in Asia led to war. Having

defeated its two adversaries, Japan established control in Korea. The Japanese colonialism period

was comprised of tight control by Tokyo and by cruel efforts to supplant the Korean language

and culture with those of Japan. Japan formally took control of Korea in 1910. (U.S. Department

of State, 2001)

Japan occupied the whole Korean peninsula until the end of World War II. After their

defeat in 1945, Japan withdrew its forces, and the Allies split Korean peninsula into two

occupied areas. Soviet troops occupied land north of the 38th Parallel, and land south of this line

was occupied by American troops. The Soviet Union and the United States started a series of

meetings in an attempt to agree on a new government for all of Korea. These efforts were,

ultimately, unsuccessful. In 1947, the United States presented the question of Korea's future to

the General Assembly of the United Nations. The General Assembly ruled that the U.N. would

supervise elections in both occupied areas. Elections, under U.N. observation, were carried out in

the south, which led to the Republic of Korea (South Korea) being created. The Soviets,

however, declined to hold elections and decided to install a Communist state in the north. The
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Democratic People's Republic of Korea was created. The ruling body for this new state was the

Korean Workers' Party, and was led by Kim Il Sung.

In June 1950, North Korea launched an attack on South Korea. The United States and the

U.N. sent troops to protect South Korea. North Korean forces were, at first, successful in pushing

the U.N. forces back and nearly taking all of the South. After an unexpected landing at Inchon,

South Korea, U.N. forces gained the advantage and drove North Korean troops back across the

38th Parallel to the border North Korea and China share. In response, the Chinese deployed

thousands of troops to North Korea and pushed the U.N. troops back to South Korea. On July 27,

1953, a cease-fire was signed by China, North Korea, South Korea, and the United States. The

border between North and South Korea, however, remains one of the most dangerous and

unstable areas in the world as no formal peace agreement has ever been signed by the countries

involved.

Political Regime

North Korea is a state controlled by the Korean Workers Party. Kim Il Sung, who ruled

North Korea at its creation in 1948, held absolute power. Often referred to as the Great Leader,

Kim was President of North Korea and the General Secretary of the Korean Workers Party.

Following his death in 1994, Kim Jong Il, his son, gained power and Kim Il Sung was

posthumously declared the Eternal President.

The North Korean constitution establishes a Supreme Peoples Assembly. The Supreme

Peoples Assembly has authority to approve or change laws and to form domestic and foreign

policy. The Assembly is also in charge of approving government programs and budgets,

awarding amnesties, and appointing judges to the country's Supreme Court. Delegates of the

Assembly are elected to a term of four years. Citizens who are at least seventeen years old can
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vote and be elected to the Assembly. Even with this constitutional process, though, the Korean

Workers Party is the only political authority in North Korea.

A court system comprised of the Supreme Court at the top, regional courts in the middle,

and peoples courts at the bottom exists in North Korea. Judges are almost always members of

the Korean Workers Party or are, at least, controlled by them. They are trained in judicial

processes for just three months before taking office. The defendant has the right to defend

themselves and to have counsel, but only have access to public defenders. Presided over by

judges elected for two-year terms, the lowest-level courts can try civil and criminal cases. Two

assessors also participate in the proceedings. Decisions are by majority vote. The Supreme Court

is given the power to supervise the operation of the lower courts in their implementation of the

law. Its judges are elected by the Assembly for a term of three years. The court is expected to

render judgments in agreement with the policies of the Government and the Party.

(Encyclopedia.com, 2002)

Society

The reputation of North Korea is often blanketed with images of its leader, Kim Jong Un,

and nuclear weapons. For a country that is constantly in the press, though, its remarkable to note

that they have still managed to keep so many secrets from the outside world. With a population

of approximately 25 million, inquiring minds around the world are left speculating about what

its like to be a citizen of North Korea.

Most people, some of them even experts, assume that all North Koreans are the same:

identical robots who follow the leader without question, but former British ambassador to

Pyongyang, John Everard, once said, "North Korea is a real country with real people." (Tatlow,
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2013) Keeping that in mind, it cannot be concluded that Kims activities are sincerely supported

by all of his people.

The North Korean government would like the world to believe that its citizens are just as

technologically advanced as their Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean neighbors. The

government releases photos of young girls on their cell phones in the park (Reuters, 2011), video

of them chatting on the phones as they walk around Pyongyang (Korea Central News Agency,

2011), and information about Internet cafs in Pyongyang (Kyodo News, 2005). In footage

released by the country, showing the mourning of the death of Kim Jong Il, citizens learn of his

death via a thin, high definition TV (Huffington Post UK, 2011). The government wants

outsiders to think that the entire population has access to the Internet and cell phones. It is

important for the North Koreans to advertise this; if it promotes its peoples quality of life as

being second to none, there will be less international pressure for North Korea to reform. If the

North Korean government doesnt have to deal with international pressure, it will be able to

suppress unrest much easier.

Current Issues

The North Korean people have virtually no freedom of religion, as the government

prohibits them from practicing their beliefs and severely punishes anybody who is caught doing

so. The countrys constitution encourages freedom of religion, however, this is ignored by the

government. The government exclusively supports the Chondogyo religion because its religious

ideas are very much in line with the political ideas of the state. Chondogyo is more of a political

movement than a religion and is used for political purposes only. Throughout Kim Il Sungs

reign, a cult of personality was created, which benefitted him immensely. In North Korea, the

Kim family of dictators are revered as deities and replace religious symbols. Every school, public
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building, and private home displays portraits of the Kim family. Kim Il Sungs and Kim Jong Ils

ideological writings and statements are the main basis of education for children and adults.

Children are taught that the Kim family came from heaven and transformed into humans on

Mount Paektu. While religious buildings such as Christian churches and Buddhist temples do

exist, their purpose is largely to display the cultural heritage of Korea. The existence of these

buildings also helps to foster the illusion of religious freedom in North Korea. It is estimated that

approximately 65% of North Koreans are atheists while the remaining 35% belong to state-

sponsored religious groups (Alton, Chidley, & Cox, 2013).

Freedom of speech, likewise, is nonexistent in North Korea. The government censors all

media and does not tolerate the free expression of opinion. Criticism of the government is

prohibited and rigorously penalized. The North Korean people have been manipulated into

believing that they live in an utopian society that is surrounded by malicious, evil, imperialistic

countries that want nothing else but to harm them.

Similarly, freedom of the press does not exist. The North Korean press aims to promote

communism, justify the dictatorship and shape the peoples perceptions by the use of

propaganda. Media reports are frequently biased and rarely contain accurate, or even believable

(to those in the West) information. In 2006, referring to North Korea and similar countries such

as Libya, Eritrea, and Saudi Arabia, then-Executive Director of the Committee to Protect

Journalists Ann Cooper said, "People in these countries are virtually isolated from the rest of the

world by authoritarian rulers who muzzle the media and keep a chokehold on information

through restrictive laws, fear, and intimidation." (CPJ.org, 2006) The North Korean government

justifies their policies by arguing that they are needed to protect their people from the bad

influence of hostile countries and cultures.

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Propaganda regarding the Kim family is the most outlandish. Headlines coming out of the

country include: North Korea to Move 30 Minutes Backward to Create Its Own Time Zone,

(Sang-Hun, 2015) Red Skies and Stormy Seas Heralded Kim Jong Il's Death, State Media

Says, (NBC News, 2011) North Korean Leader Claims He Invented Hamburgers, (Savage,

2004) Unicorn Lair 'Discovered' in North Korea. (Quinn, 2012) The cult of personality for the

Kim family goes so far as Kim Il Sung claiming to control the weather and Kim Jong Il's birth

being hailed as "heaven sent" by propagandists. State media has often reported impossible feats

such as scoring a perfect 300 the first time Kim Jong Il tried bowling, and shooting eleven holes-

in-one the first time he played golf.

Human rights violations in North Korea are voluminous. Forced labor is regularly

imposed as a form of punishment. People are routinely sentenced to labor camps if they express

political or religious beliefs that are contrary to those of the state. These camps are exceedingly

inhumane, as torture and ill-treatment are widespread (Amnesty International, 2009) and

executions, both public and secret, of prisoners is typical (Korea Institute for National

Unification, 2009). When Kim Jong Il died, many public gatherings were held. Those who were

caught not attending or in attendance but not crying were sentenced to periods of imprisonment

in labor camps (Daily Mail Reporter, 2012).

According to the most recent report by the U.S. State Department, there are currently

between 80,000 and 120,000 prisoners in North Korean labor camps, including children.

Prisoners are fed 100 grams of mashed corn or one bowl of salt soup a day, resulting in severe

malnutrition. Prisoners must also work for at least eighteen hours a day and are routinely

transferred to punishment cells if they arent capable of completing their work on time. These

cells are twenty-four inches wide and forty-three inches high, making it impossible to stand, lie
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down, or stretch. Up to ninety prisoners must sleep in a room fifteen by twenty feet that is so

filthy and crowded that diseases are rampant and the majority of inmates suffer from parasites

(Lee, 2002).

North Koreas current leader, Kim Jong Un, even had his own uncle executed by firing

squad in December 2013. Jang Song Thaek was accused of "attempting to overthrow the state by

all sorts of intrigues and despicable methods with a wild ambition to grab the supreme power of

our party and state." His uncle had been considered Kim's second-in-command. "Despicable

human scum...worse than a dog" is how North Korean press described the once-powerful uncle.

(Connor, Windrem, & Gittens, 2013)

Even though the Kim dynasty has earned a defiant reputation for acts of provocation and

abhorrence for the West, this cannot be said to be true for the individual people of North Korea.

Recalling a conversation he had with a North Korean, John Everard writes, They had been

taught to hate Americans, but most of them did not. One of them told me that they had worked

with Americans during one of the thaws in relations with that country, had liked them and hoped

that they would return. (Tatlow, 2013)

It's hard for one to find the silver lining in North Korea. A country that is so utterly

different from the United States on virtually all fronts is difficult, at times, to even comprehend.

That so many of its people buy into what they are told despite evidence to the contrary speaks

volumes about their reverence and devotion to their leaders and the states ability to keep its

people in the dark about the outside world. One would hope, though, that as the rest of the world

becomes more and more connected through technology, North Korea will have no choice but to

ease off on its restrictions. It will be quite the spectacle to see its peoples reaction and how they
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reconcile what theyve been told their entire lives by the government and what is actually so.

Might an Arab Spring be coming to North Korea? Only time will tell.
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Works Cited

Alton, D., Chidley, R., & Cox, C. (2013). Building Bridges: Is There Hope for North Korea?

Oxford, UK: Lion Hudson.

Amnesty International. (2009). North Korea: Torture, Death Penalty and Abductions. London,

UK: Amnesty International.

Central Intelligence Agency. (2016, September 28). Retrieved October 4, 2016, from The World

Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kn.html

Connor, T., Windrem, R., & Gittens, H. (2013, December 12). 'A very worrisome sign': North

Korea executes uncle of leader Kim Jong Un. Retrieved October 5, 2016, from NBC

News: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/other/very-worrisome-sign-north-korea-executes-

uncle-leader-kim-jong-f2D11736135

CPJ.org. (2006, May 2). 10 Most Censored Countries. Retrieved October 4, 2016, from

Committee to Protect Journalists: https://cpj.org/reports/2006/05/10-most-censored-

countries.php

Daily Mail Reporter. (2012, January 13). Punished for not crying: Thousands of North Koreans

face labour camps for not being upset enough about death of Kim Jong-il. Retrieved

October 1, 2016, from Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-

2085636/North-Koreans-face-labour-camps-upset-death-Kim-Jong-il.html

Encyclopedia.com. (2002). Korea, North. Retrieved October 1, 2016, from Encyclopedia.com:

http://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-

maps/korea-north

Huffington Post UK. (2011, December 19). Kim Jong Il Dead: North Koreans Mourn Loss Of

Leader. Retrieved October 4, 2016, from The Huffington Post:

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http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/12/19/north-koreans-mourn-loss-of-leader-

video_n_1157231.html

Korea Central News Agency (Director). (2011). Koryolink: North Korea's New 3G Cellular

Network [Motion Picture].

Korea Institute for National Unification. (2009). White Paper on Human Rights in North Korea.

Seoul, Korea.

Kyodo News. (2005, August 18). European-Style Cafe Opens in Pyongyang. Retrieved October

4, 2016, from Kyodo News: https://adra.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5859

Lee, S. O. (2002, June 21). Retrieved October 6, 2016, from Senate Judiciary Committee:

http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/lee_testimony_06_21_02.pdf

NBC News. (2011, December 22). Red Skies and Stormy Seas Heralded Kim Jong Il's Death,

State Media Says. Retrieved September 29, 2016, from NBC News:

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/45763055/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/t/red-skies-stormy-

seas-heralded-kim-jong-ils-death-state-media-says/

Quinn, B. (2012, November 30). Unicorn Lair 'Discovered' in North Korea. Retrieved October 3,

2016, from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/30/unicorn-lair-

discovered-north-korea

Reuters. (2011, November 21). Secretive North Korea opens up to cellphones. Retrieved October

2, 2016, from Deccan Chronicle:

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/world/asia/secretive-north-korea-opens-

cellphones-045
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Sang-Hun, C. (2015, August 7). North Korea to Move 30 Minutes Backward to Create Its Own

Time Zone. Retrieved October 3, 2016, from The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/08/world/asia/north-korea-time-zone.html?_r=0

Savage, S. (2004, July 8). North Korean Leader Claims He Invented Hamburgers. Retrieved

October 3, 2016, from RedOrbit.com:

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/70622/north_korean_leader_claims_he_invented_

hamburgers/

Tatlow, D. K. (2013, January 27). 'Real' Life in North Korea . Retrieved October 4, 2016, from

The New York Times: http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/27/real-life-in-north-

korea/?_r=0

U.S. Department of State. (2001, September). U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets/Background

Notes. Retrieved October 3, 2016, from U.S. Department of State:

http://www.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/southkorea/5049.htm
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