Month: January 2019

Through out the years that Kim Il-sung was North Korea’s “Great Marshal” he created the illusion that he was God. In earlier chapters it spoke of how he had the ability to create “supernatural phenomena” such as his name calming the seas when sailors sung it allowed. It was publicized that a “mysterious fog” would descend when ever he went to the DMZ, and that he himself caused the “tree’s to bloom and snow to melt.” Kim Il-sung skillfully crafted himself into this god-like image, to the point that when he died his people we completely devastated. When the news hit that their God had died people felt as though they had lost their way. I noticed their relationship with their leader was not only that of a faithful follower but that of a child. Mrs. Song stated that she felt a “electric jolt” which she had only previously felt when she received word that her mother had died. It was apparent that in every instance when someone found out they went into shock. They were “numb”, “blank” and lost in the silence of the situation. These people could see the words being spoken but a part of them could not hear them because it was too painful. Every child has a love hate relationship with their parent and this can be seen in the different reactions that Kim-Il-sung’s people had to his death. Some creed profusely while other had to “spit in their hand” to make their face look as though they were morning their leader. Sadly the only correct way to grieve was to cry, there were no other emotions these people could display because Kim Il-sung was not only their father he was their god.

When reading chapter six of Nothing to Envy, I found myself hurdled back in time to a memory of where I was when America was attacked. The feelings of raw emotion overtook me as if it were that day again in 2001. The way the author, Barbara Demick asked her interview subjects where they were on that given day that Kim Il-Sung was pronounced dead and was able to see the people perk up and “suddenly describe with great animation and detail their movements on that day,” gives me an understanding of what the North Koreans felt during what they deemed a difficult time.

I am not by any means comparing the two events, but simply stating that certain life events can forever be engrained into our minds and we can be sent back to a time with absolute clarity when asked to recant a memory. For the North Koreans, they came across as conflicted at the news of his passing. Some seemed genuinely upset and there was a lot of people clearly worried about their future. How were they going to be taken care of? Who was going to lead them and provide for them? When September 11th happened, I myself wondered about my safety and what was going to happen to our country. After reading half of this novel, I find we are similar to the North Koreans, maybe not through our politics but simply by our human nature.

In the book “Nothing to Envy”, the story of two young teenagers falling in love in North Korea is told. In North Korea, love and romance is not something that is ever spoken of or openly discussed. It is totally rare that you would see a couple kissing or even holding hands in public in North Korea. Many North Korean defectors even say that when they were in South Korea, it was very shocking to see couples kiss in public. PDA is not allowed and is heavily looked down upon. These two teenagers who had a blossoming romantic connection would meet up at night, when everything is dark and all the lights are out just to take walks together and talk to each other. They took three years to even hold each others hands. It’s crazy to me that in North Korea, love or being in love is something to almost be ashamed of, something to be hidden.

January 23,2019 : After reading the article, “Hardly Known, Not Yet Forgotten, South Korean POW’s Tell Their Story,” it appears that during war in the 1950s the South was worse off than the North. The South gave back 76,000 POW’s while the North only gave back 8,000 POW’s. The North kept 72,000 POW from South Korea and denied their existence.

In the book, “Nothing to Envy,” it portrays that in today’s era the North seems like a horrible place. But, when you look back at history, Southern people have ran to the North. Stated in the article, “Former POW’s who managed to escape back to South Korea said they were simply not informed that a prisoner exchange was taking place, or even that the war was over,” (Radio Free Asia 1). This shows how they did not know what was going on with their people and country.

Barabara Demick went to North Korea interviewed many people there and came back with a story. As an author, she only got bits and pieces which makes me question her writing and the information she states. I would rather hear a story from actual North Koreans than an American. She also states, “..their country has betrayed them,” this is very astonishing because the North Koreans do not speak this way about their people nor their culture. I would also want to know how she met these individuals she interviewed. What lengths did she take and how did she come up with the interviews she took? What makes her interviews and stories so valuable? How many other journalists have similar stories as her? I believe she is taking World History and is mimicking and infusing it into this story. Could I be right? Looking forward to read more!

In reading the artical “Hardly known, Not yet forgotten” I now feel as if I have a better understanding of the happenings of the prisoners of war in north Korea.

The article tells the story of a Few POW’s ( Prisoners of War ). For those who servived to tell their stories, being able to share them is an undertaking in its self. Allowing someone to know who you are, facing the dangers of huge repercussions. On top of this North Korea still denies having POWs’. Due to the fact that any and all POWs were supposed to be released.

Most if not all POWs were sent in to working camps, or forced to fight for the North. “POW’s were not only used as forced labor. While the war was still under way, they were often given North Korean uniforms and redeployed as soldiers to fight the other side, defectors said. Some were
lucky enough to be taken prisoner by the South once more, and a policy of voluntary repatriation by the South Korean and US forces after the Armistice meant that they could remain there.” (Hardly Known, Not Yet Forgotten).

North Korea’s have been told how to conduct themselves in every aspect of their life from how they dress, what they eat down to how they talk. They have even been stripped of their sexual freedom to explore their bodies with others. Despited being heavily regulated, there still seems to be a subculture of rebellious tendencies. This can be seen not only in Mi-ran and Jun-sang’s relationship but also in how the defectors speak of the way in which couples conduct them selves in the dark. I found it interesting that even though North Korea forbid its citizens to have relationships until their late twenties that Kim Jong-il was allowed to be ” a playboy in his youth” while other “party officials caught in adulterous affairs” would loose “their jobs.” It was even more radical that North Korea closed all of its “brothels” and “kisaeng houses” in order to repress all sexuality. They executed all “pornographers” which could never happen in America considering the huge porn addiction epidemic. Part of me thinks that it might be a good thing that there is no pornography or sexualization of people because at least when people in North Korea fall in love with someone it seems to be extremely respectful and innocent. It lacks the dark tainted view of an American mind that expects what they view on the internet in a sexual relationship and if they don’t receive it then often times Rape ensues. We as a culture are hurting our selves so much every time we check out from reality and check into a fake sexual world full of people that are made of plastic and moan on command. Intimacy stands for “IN TO ME YOU SEE” not fantasy and fake love. We as a nation have a lot to learn from North Korea in this regard, I think that ultimately a health sexual stance is somewhere in the middle but we have to stop using sex to check out and numb up.

I was shocked to read how prude and conservative North Korea is. Even though they no longer wear the “monstrous hats” or the ” extraordinary coverings” which were “7 feet long, 5 broad and shroud the figure from head to toe”, women were still controlled and expected to adhere to a certain standard set by the regime. I found it hilarious that the defector who was working in the sex industry in South Korea stated “it would be unimaginably terrible” she “couldn’t even think of” an “unmarried student getting pregnant.” Considering that America views teen pregnancy and pre marital pregnancy as a normal every day occurrence I think it would be such a contrast to live there. Maybe the women and men are able to focus more on school with these rules and expectations or maybe they are just like us and plagued with a sexual desire to connect with others and explore our natural urges. It is evident that at least some young adults in North Korea share the struggle of remaining a virgin until wed lock. Over all, the women are “very rigidly secluded, perhaps more absolutely so than women of any other nation” they are in league with that of the women who suffer from the Taliban and ISIS oppression.

While reading Nothing to Envy, I find myself being in shock throughout most of the chapters. There was a section that brought a smile to my face and made me appreciate that even when people are faced with hardships, people still can find joy and happiness.

In their giddiness, they paid little attention to what was happening around them.

pg. 89

When Mi-Ran and Jun-Sang are in their courtship, they find their conversations with one another to be a nice distraction from the world around them. Their lives seem to melt away and allow them a sense of peace. You can clearly see a love that is blossoming bright amongst the dreary landscape. For them, it was thrilling and a little rebellious. Not only did they lie to their parents and sneak around but they had in depth conversations about their insecurities. From these conversations, they forged a bond that allowed them to be supportive of one another. In this time where no one can be trusted, it must have been nice for these two people to be able to have their friendship.

It was a relatively safe way to rebel against the confines of their lives.

pg. 89

I found this section of the book really interesting simply because North Koreas leader was able to “ward off” natural human instinct. Through even more rules and regulations, the leader of North Korea enforced dress code policies for both men and women. It went as far as to determine the hairstyle a women can have based on status and age. There was rules for it all. At one point a ban on young marriage was implemented. He recommended that a man could not marry until aged thirty and a women couldn’t marry until aged 28.

The Motherland and nation hope and believe that the youngsters will uphold the beautiful tradition of marrying only after they have done enough for the country and people.

pg. 81

We as humans need the closeness of other humans to help us to want to keep going. To thrive and become a better version of ourselves. Mi-Ran had let her grades in High School drop because she didn’t understand the point of it all. It wasn’t until her boyfriend told her to have hope that she could make a better life for herself, that she realized if she failed it wasn’t going to be because she allowed herself to fail. She wouldn’t be the one to blame. Their relationship I believe helped to save her from giving up. It shows what a friendship can do even in hard times.

In reading “The True Believer”, it reminded me of this movie called “One, Two, Three”. It was about a young couple who met and fell in love. Scarlett the heiress to the Coca-Cola Company, and Otto was a die heart Communist. In the movie the young man states “Unlike you western Capitalist, we Communist have no, class system”. There is always a class system, a difference between the haves and the have nots.

Like we read there were three broad classes. The core class, the wavering class, and the hostile class. There was a class system in Tae-woo’s family, his son got the best food, shoes, and clothes. Mrs. Song served the best food at Oak-hee wedding. A lot of winking and head noting. Well!!