Latest Leaders of North Korea- Kim Il-sung, is considered the founder of North Korea and the country's only President. Kim Il-sung served from 1948 until he died in 1994. He was not replaced but instead received the title of "Eternal President." His late son, Kim Jong-il became Supreme Ruler until he died in December 2011. He was replaced by his son and the current Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un.
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Government of North Korea - North Korea is self-described as a "Juche" state, which means a "self-reliant" state. However, North Korea is describe by others as an absolute monarchy or "hereditary dictatorship". The government is run by the Constitution of North Korea. The latest version is from 2009 and rejects North Korea's founding ideology of communism. The governing party by law is the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland, which is a coalition of several small parties. This governing party nominates all candidates for office and holds all seats in the Supreme People's Assembly. They have little power because the Supreme Leader has complete control over the nation's affairs.
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Political Expression or Freedom of Speech - Freedom of speech or political expression is tightly controlled in North Korea. Supporters of the government who disagree with the government are reeducated at labor camps. Those who are successful at reeducation reassume government positions. Those who are not successful in reeducation are incarcerated in the camps called: "Total Control Zones". They spend their entire life there and do hard labor, together with any close family members or children that were born in the camp. If they try to escape, they are executed or are sent to a separate prison inside the camp. Camp 22 is one of those camps. It is 31 miles by 25 miles with a population of about 50,000. These prisoners are considered political prisoners and are kept separate from common criminals.
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Foreign Relations - North Korea has a long relationship with China and Russia. China provides substantial assistance to North Korea. However, Russia doesn't provide as much aid, ever since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. North Korea still has strong ties with the Socialist countries of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. There has been a lot of North Koreans crossing the border into China. Because of this, North Korea is patrolling the borders more and installing a concrete and barbed wire fence.
The border between North Korea and South Korea has been heavily fortified since the Korean War. In the last few years, North Korea has attacked South Korea in small squirmishes and assassinations. They were small attacks but this has caused relations with South Korea to deteriorate. North Korea is advancing in their nuclear weapons program. The surrounding nations along with the U.S. are trying to establish peaceful relations with North Korea. However, the tension is still there. An underground nuclear test has been conducted by North Korea this month, February 2013. |
Society - North Koreans are sorted into groups based on their Songbun, which is their status in society. Their status is based on their behavior, political background, social background, economic background and their families actions for three generations. This status (Songbun) determines whether a person is trusted with responsiblity, given opportunities, or even receives adequate food. It also affects educational opportunities, employment opportunities, and whether or not a person can join North Korean's ruling party. There are 3 main classifications (the core class, the wavering class, and the hostile class) and about 50 sub-classifications. The core class or loyal class makes up 25% of North Korea's population. The wavering class makes up 55% and the hostile class makes up 20%.
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Human Rights - Human rights organizations accuse North Korea as having one of the worst human rights records of any nation. With approximately 200,000 political prisoners living in the most inhumane conditions imaginable. Due to the severe restrictions placed on their political and economic freedoms, the North Koreans have been referred to as some of the world's most brutalized people.
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Language - Early Korean written language used borrowed characters from the Chinese called Hanja. Official language is Korean and the written alphabet is called Hangul.The Korean language is believed to be a mix of Japanese, Chinese, and Mongolian. Roughly 78 million people speak Korean in the world. There are two main types of dialects of Korean: Seoul and regional. Seoul is the standard dialect and then there are seven regional dialects.
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Agriculture - Most of the country is mountainous and is not able to be farmed. Farming areas are on the west and east coasts. The main crops produced in North Korea are rice, grains and fruit trees. The government supports the use of chemical fertilizers to increase agriculture production due to the lack of farm land.
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Economy - North Korea is one of the poorest countries in the world with a per capita of less than $2000.00. This is a direct opposite of South Korea with one of the largest in Asia. Export goods of North Korea are minerals, textiles, metal products, and agriculture.
China is the main country that North Korea exports to. The Auto industry is mainly focused on production towards the military and construction industry. While manufacturing towards the private sector is small. The strongest export industry is clothing. |
Tourism - The Korea International Travel Company (state-owned) regulates tourism in North Korea. All tourists are constantly accompanied by one or two guides, who usually speak the language of the tourist. Tourists are limited to certain areas in North Korea.
It is almost impossible for South Koreans to visit North Korea. When they are aloud to visit, it is only to certain areas in North Korea and sometimes in special groups. There are very few Westerners who travel to North Korea. Fewer than 2,500 U.S. citizens have visited North Korea since 1953. Before January 2010, U.S. citizens were only allowed to enter North Korea during the Arirang Festival. Since then, restrictions have been lightened. However, tourism to North Korea from Americans is still very small. |
Religion - The North Korean Constitution states that freedom of religion is permitted. Buddhism is treated better than any of the other religions because Buddhism was one of the more traditional and older religions in North Korea. Buddhism is the only religion that gets government aid to promote their religion. Some say, that the wording in the constitution is just a show to the outside world that they have religious rights but really they are limited rights. Statistics show that the majority of the people or 15,460,000 people are non-religious. Korean Shamanism has 3,846,000 followers. Cheondoism has 3,245,000 followers. Buddism has 1,082,000 followers. Last but not least, Christianity has 406,000 followers with Christians being the most persecuted of all the religions.
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Famous Song - The song "No Motherland Without You" is sung by the North Korean Army Choir. It was created especially for Kim
Jong-il and is one of the most popular songs in the country. |
Transportation - There are two main ways into North Korea. One is across river by the Sino-Korea Friendship Bridge and the other is across the Demilitarized Zone bordering South Korea. Private cars are very rare. 70% of North Koreans use bicycles. Travel within the country from city to city is mostly by train or boat. It takes 6 hours to go 120 miles from the capital city of Pyongyang to Kaesong because repairs are needed to the rails. In order to travel from Pyongyang, North Koreans need an official travel certificate, ID, and a purchased ticket in advance. There is water transportation but it mostly on the east coast because the water is deeper and can accomodate larger vessels. Nampho is the major port on the west coast. Rajin, Chongjin, Wonsan, and Hamhung are the major ports on the east coast. There is air transportation at North Korean airports but international air connections are limited.
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Communication - Even though the North Korean Constitution provides for freedom of speech and the press, thoses rights are limited by the government. All the newspapers and magazines are ran by the government. The news is limited to news that talks good about the government. Criticism of the government is not allowed. The government's access to the internet is tightly controlled. Via the internet, the North Koreans have access to controlled news, censored email, and censored information from foreign websites (mostly scientific). Radio broadcasts not controlled by the government are jammed using radio jamming techniques. However, a group called the Free North Korea Radio works hard to get their message out. They put out over the radio information on how to leave the country. They also have contacts with underground reporters within North Korea. Telephones are limited to senior government officials.
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population - in 2013 the population is 23 million
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