Month: February 2019

Believe it or not, Kim Il-sung appeared to be more celebrated in death than in life. His demise proved nothing less than an opportunity to catapult his followers into propaganda overdrive. Rumors that the Supreme Leader wasn’t actually dead spread, and one film even claimed that if North Koreans cried enough, Kim Il-sung might come back to life. Moreover, the confusion was exacerbated by the grandiosity of his funeral and the absurd social notions expected of the people. The government dedicated a 10-day mourning period in honor of the leader, topped with a temperature-controlled mausoleum and mandated gifts of chrysanthemums or wildflowers. Citizens were required to pay homage to one Kim Il-sung’s 34,000 statues twice a day at any cost, even if they had to visit during their lunch breaks. Even still, the people took their duties as a honor to the point where admiring him became like a contest to see who could be the most devastated. Guards needed rope to hold back devouts, and spontaneous outbursts of grief became synonymous to patriotic obligation. A few extremists even went as far as to starve themselves or jumped off buildings. It’s hard for me to believe how Kim Il-sung could create a cult of personality so effective that people were willing to end it all for him. His death confirmed the terrifying extent of his power and crushed the hopes of those who still had some.

After reading half of Nothing to Envy and the way the author depicts life in North Korea, I forget that they had cinema. I personally love the movies and couldn’t imagine a life without the escape of a good movie now and then.

The article, The artists and the Media, discusses the different ways that news and information can be shared with the people of North Korea. The citizens on average see over 15 movies a year. A simple, inexpensive past time for them. However, it comes with a bigger message other than being a simple pleasure. Most movies shown are with propaganda messages throughout them. Mainstream movies, are re-done to the standards of the leaders and their messages put in through out.

I found it interesting that the citizens were able to block out the messages and try to find the joy in the movie itself. The article mentioned the different genres that they liked and how some had access to bootlegs of the real movies. Seems only the elite could have access to VCR’s where they would be able to watch movies.

I feel the article has value because it allows people to see how far behind the times the North Koreans are when it comes to technology. It also stresses the “sanitized” way the information is shared with them throughout all the media avenues. TV, Radio and Movies all had their messages speaking LOUD AND CLEAR.

The article “The Arts and the Media” written by Andrei Lankov provides interesting facts about how art and media outlets such as the cinemas affects the lives of North Koreans.

According to data in 1987, the average North Korean visited the cinemas 21 times a year. To compare, the average South Korean visited the theaters about 2.3 times a year. So it is obvious that the North Korean people were very drawn to the cinemas, and their leaders knew it. Most of the films shown at the cinemas all had one general theme to them, praising the greatness of the North Korean leaders and a negative view on the enemy. Another reason why so many North Koreans visited the cinemas so often was because it was very cheap and accessible. This just shows another tactic that the North Korean government used to get a central idea in the people’s minds.

I think the author of “Nothing to Envy”, Barbara Demick must have been drawn to this article because the defectors she spoke to told her about their experience of going to the cinemas and it provides even more information about what type of movies were shown. This article does have a high value to me, because it provides movie titles and the genre of movies that were typically shown which is very interesting.

“To Whom do North Korea’s Leaders Pose the Greatest

Threat and What is the Threat?”

Many would say South Korea, Japan, and the United States.  Because of the economic sanctions, well the sanctions are not working.  The United Nations has passed resolutions against Kim Jong-Il, and now Kim Jong UN.  We cannot control or stop other countries from trading with North Korea. 

North Korea exports goods to China 83%, India 2.5%, Philippines 1.9%, and Pakistan 1.0%.  Other import partners are Russia, Mexico, India, and Thailand.  One of its largest export is (a briquette is compressed brick of coal dust).  It also exports silver, wood products, and processed fish, chemical products, and plastics and rubbers.  The sanctions where put in place to stop Kim Jong-Il from creating nuclear weapons and testing them. 

Getting back to “Nothing to Envy” I believe Kim IL-sung learned very well from Stalin and the others in the Communist bloc. People in those countries were not allow to leave either and Eastern European had to be rebuild and the civilian populace and POW’s were used.  When the armistice came about 7,862 were given back to South Korea but even to this day tens of thousands still are not accounted for. 

Now we have a base for our pyramid.  We must remember after the war there was plenty of food and electricity.  The game Kim IL sung played with the Communist bloc pitting one against the other was a good one, but like any game it had to end.  Labor camps are set up and you have loyalty surveys and the purges.  The hostile is never going to move from the base, they know this, the wavering may move to the core but after such a move they can only go down. 

This is a close society so the Kim’s remember what happen to the Soviet Union, East Germany, and China.  The North Korean leaders have to keep the people believing, that South Korea, Japan, and the United States are the threat. When in reality it’s the North Korean leaders turning in on the people.  The Kim family in order to stay in power must keep the military fed.  The core is Kim Jung-UN and the military.  The Workers Party, The Central Party means nothing the power it has is what Kim Jung-UN says it has.

The relationship between Mi-ran and Jun-sang, Mrs. Song membership to Socialist Women’s Federation, Chang-bo comments about the boots, Oak-hee’s rebellious, Hyuck skipping school, the Black Market, and Dr. Kim speaking out. All these things don’t mean nothing. As long as the masses are spying on each other things are great.  The threat is food, and where is my next meal or my families going“To Whom do North Korea’s Leaders Pose the Greatest

Threat and What is the Threat?”

Many would say South Korea, Japan, and the United States.  Because of the economic sanctions, well the sanctions are not working.  The United Nations has passed resolutions against Kim Jong-Il, and now Kim Jong UN.  We cannot control or stop other countries from trading with North Korea. 

North Korea exports goods to China 83%, India 2.5%, Philippines 1.9%, and Pakistan 1.0%.  Other import partners are Russia, Mexico, India, and Thailand.  One of its largest export is (a briquette is compressed brick of coal dust).  It also exports silver, wood products, and processed fish, chemical products, and plastics and rubbers.  The sanctions where put in place to stop Kim Jong-Il from creating nuclear weapons and testing them. 

Getting back to “Nothing to Envy” I believe Kim IL-sung learned very well from Stalin and the others in the Communist bloc. People in those countries were not allow to leave either and Eastern European had to be rebuild and the civilian populace and POW’s were used.  When the armistice came about 7,862 were given back to South Korea but even to this day tens of thousands still are not accounted for. 

Now we have a base for our pyramid.  We must remember after the war there was plenty of food and electricity.  The game Kim IL sung played with the Communist bloc pitting one against the other was a good one, but like any game it had to end.  Labor camps are set up and you have loyalty surveys and the purges.  The hostile is never going to move from the base, they know this, the wavering may move to the core but after such a move they can only go down. 

This is a close society so the Kim’s remember what happen to the Soviet Union, East Germany, and China.  The North Korean leaders have to keep the people believing, that South Korea, Japan, and the United States are the threat. When in reality it’s the North Korean leaders turning in on the people.  The Kim family in order to stay in power must keep the military fed.  The core is Kim Jung-UN and the military.  The Workers Party, The Central Party means nothing the power it has is what Kim Jung-UN says it has.

The relationship between Mi-ran and Jun-sang, Mrs. Song membership to Socialist Women’s Federation, Chang-bo comments about the boots, Oak-hee’s rebellious, Hyuck skipping school, the Black Market, and Dr. Kim speaking out. All these things don’t mean nothing. As long as the masses are spying on each other things are great.  The threat is food, and where is my next meal or my families going“To Whom do North Korea’s Leaders Pose the Greatest

Threat and What is the Threat?”

Many would say South Korea, Japan, and the United States.  Because of the economic sanctions, well the sanctions are not working.  The United Nations has passed resolutions against Kim Jong-Il, and now Kim Jong UN.  We cannot control or stop other countries from trading with North Korea. 

North Korea exports goods to China 83%, India 2.5%, Philippines 1.9%, and Pakistan 1.0%.  Other import partners are Russia, Mexico, India, and Thailand.  One of its largest export is (a briquette is compressed brick of coal dust).  It also exports silver, wood products, and processed fish, chemical products, and plastics and rubbers.  The sanctions where put in place to stop Kim Jong-Il from creating nuclear weapons and testing them. 

Getting back to “Nothing to Envy” I believe Kim IL-sung learned very well from Stalin and the others in the Communist bloc. People in those countries were not allow to leave either and Eastern European had to be rebuild and the civilian populace and POW’s were used.  When the armistice came about 7,862 were given back to South Korea but even to this day tens of thousands still are not accounted for. 

Now we have a base for our pyramid.  We must remember after the war there was plenty of food and electricity.  The game Kim IL sung played with the Communist bloc pitting one against the other was a good one, but like any game it had to end.  Labor camps are set up and you have loyalty surveys and the purges.  The hostile is never going to move from the base, they know this, the wavering may move to the core but after such a move they can only go down. 

This is a close society so the Kim’s remember what happen to the Soviet Union, East Germany, and China.  The North Korean leaders have to keep the people believing, that South Korea, Japan, and the United States are the threat. When in reality it’s the North Korean leaders turning in on the people.  The Kim family in order to stay in power must keep the military fed.  The core is Kim Jung-UN and the military.  The Workers Party, The Central Party means nothing the power it has is what Kim Jung-UN says it has. The relationship between Mi-ran and Jun-sang, Mrs. Song membership to Socialist Women’s Federation, Chang-bo comments about the boots, Oak-hee’s rebellious, Hyuck skipping school, the Black Market, and Dr. Kim speaking out. All these things don’t mean nothing. As long as the masses are spying on each other things are great.  The threat is food, and where is my next meal or my families going to come from

Without A Paycheck

North Korean leaders pose the greatest threat to its working class to pursue economic freedom. North Koreans cannot pursue economic freedom like us Americans, because it is considered an economic crime. Although they can have a job, at any given time their paycheck can be cut. In the book, Dr. Kim’s salary disappeared. When Dr. Kim got no pay, she could not feed her child and her family started falling apart. In North Korea, it is illegal to make private money. An example of this is when Dr. Kim’s patient got arrested for earning money through private business, (Demick 108).

Nothing to Envy

I believe the biggest threat is the information that is filtered. Especially for the kids who grow up in fear but also with questions. Along with the structure how in some ways they are brainwashed to follow everything without question to even rat out on there own parents without question. For example it’s like an artist painting a picture, all of the information is what he wants people to see, to make people see him as an Immortal all powerful being to follow him and believe whatever he says. So in a way they follow without direction.

To the people of the lower classes, Jun-sang had it all. As a person of Japanese origin, he had privilege like outside connection, a full wardrobe and TV. Moreover, Jun-sang’s intelligence made him the top of his class and later a student in the capital of Pyongyang. He was the living embodiment of what every parent desired for their children. Despite the oppression that engulfed him, he defeated the odds and created a better life for him and his family. Despite his privileges, Jun-sang and those like him are the most threatened because of their foreign ancestry, isolation, and status.

Women who are ambitious and diligent workers that live in North Korea are the most harmed by the Regime. This is evident when looking at the daily life of Mi-ran and Dr. Kim. Mi-ran chooses to become a school teacher even after being faced with a multitude of obstacles, including her inherited Songbun, which hinders her ability to achieve her dreams. Dr. Kim is a highly successful workaholic who earns her doctorate in medicine, but neglects herself to the point that her codependent external relationships and the regime cause her to loose everything which she holds dear to her heart.