Since World War II North Korea has been through a lot. After Japan evacuated Korea the Soviet Union entered North Korea and the U.S. entered South Korea to protect them from the north. In 1943 the Peoples Republic of Korea was declared and the Soviets left. However the peace didn't last because the south declared independence and North Korea invaded South Korea. Led by, Soviet trained, Kim Il-sung. After the loss of two million lives, an armistice ended the war in 1953 and from then on North Korea hid from the rest of the world.
In the early 1990's North and South Korea agreed to join the United Nations but North Korea refuses to allow access to suspected nucular weapon facilities. In 1994 Kim Il-sung died and was succeeded by his son Kim Jung-il. Kim Jung-il agreed to freeze nucular programs in exchange for fuel and two nucular reacters, which the US provided. In 1996 great famine hit North Korea and the UN aided the wounded nation. Thousands of people starved or died of disease.
Today, North Korea is under the rein of Kim Jung-il's son Kim Jung-un. The country's economy and people are still hurting from the famine. Orphaned children live on the streets freezing or starving to death. Piles of garbage lie everywhere and the cities are filthy. Department stores have merchandise but it is all for show and none of it is for sale. It is just used to show on TV to convince their people that they live in a country of plenty. Kim Jung-un is a less respected leader than his predecessors and because of this more people are willing to participate in illegal actions.
Change is stirring in North Korea. More and more people are willing to break the law and buy illegal items like thumb drives with American movies on them. These movies show North Koreans what it is like to live in a world where people are happy and free. Because of these movies and other things I believe a revolution is coming. The people are going to take over the government or just flee the country. People in North Korea have seen what the outside world is like and they are no longer with their situation. I think change is coming fast for North Korea.
Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15278612
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/fighting_words/2010/02/a_nation_of_racist_dwarfs.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/secret-state-of-north-korea/
No comments:
Post a Comment