The Beginning of the Economic Problems in North Korea

The government refused to admit that there was an economical problem in order to keep the respect of those within the nation and outside the nation.

Most jobs that were available were offered by the state and even they didn’t offer nearly enough money to live on. The only other way to earn money was by setting up your own market, as there were no large independent business’s; even this was ineffective as there were very few things that could be sold legally and even that was shunned upon.This means the government could ensure that most would work hard and show complete allegiance to the regime every day just to receive coupons which can be handed in to the state run stores.

However this system failed  in the 1990s when people began to realise the economy was failing. The rations were becoming smaller and more sporadic Koreans were forced to look at other ways to get food. The appeal of buying from the black market increased as the quality and availability of food from the state stores decreased;the foreign food on the black market is often of better quality and cheaper. The more successful the black market is the more people consider becoming a part of it, both as buyers and as storekeepers.

Another piece of evidence the people were presented with about the fall in the economy in the 1990s was the fact that there was no longer money to buy resources for people’s jobs. It became a domino effect ,once the material for the clothes could no longer be made at one factory there was no longer anything for the employees at the the clothes factory to do. Eventually the government ran out of money to pay their employees.

They were kept at work under the false pretences that the lack of resources was temporary, keeping the citizen’s faith in the economy. Employees had to arrive on time for work everyday because otherwise they risked being punished; if it was up to a week and they didn’t have a good reason then they would be sent to a labor camp. They were kept at work to stop them from working at black markets and other places that would take the money away from the government.
Electricity began to run out, at first it would go of randomly, then it would come on randomly, eventually people began to realise that the electricity wouldn’t come on again.

North korean Coupon

 

The Economic Reform That Backfired

For years North Korea had been experiencing inflation and in 2009, when the government tried to fix the problem it backfired and only made matters worse. The government implemented a reform to redenominate the economy, that is lowering the value of every note by two decimal places and therefore increasing the value of the won. Redenomination can  be helpful as it makes everyday transactions simpler, however when mishandled it can lead to families left bankrupt and problems for the economy nationwide. Unfortunately in North Korea it was mishandled, as the country only gave citizens 6 days to exchange their money and they were only allowed to exchange 100,000 won at a 100:1 rate and more than that 100,000 won at a 1000:1 rate.This means that a citizen could only exchange the value of $740/£445 at a normal rate.

The effect of this was essentially a tax on even the mildly wealthy. Kim Jong Il’s reasons are unknown, but it is hard to believe it wasn’t to further the centralisation of the economy; taking money from the markets and giving him control over the money as well as the people.

This move was possibly a step too far because ,whilst it controlled some, even well trained North Koreans were forced to disobey the law which caused problems for the economy. People began to exchange with other currencies (mainly Japanese yen, Chinese yen and the American Dollar) because they no longer trusted the won or simply because they couldn’t exchange their money in any other way(this is called dollarization).Unfortunately the value of the won internationally was incredibly low because the limited items that could be bought from  North Korea weren’t valuable and the world was now more than ever aware of the economic crisis.This resulted in higher inflation rates than ever before.

Why a One Man Show Never Works, Especially in Economics

The Economy of North Korea is ‘centrally planned’; meaning most of the money is controlled by the government, citizens can only buy from government stores and they only receive money from their state jobs. The problem with this is whilst an entrepreneur their mistakes as their company will suffer because of them a dictator isn’t the one realises who pays for his mistakes so he often doesn’t realise the full effect of his mistakes until it is too late. The dictator’s of North Korea don’t use the things that are made in factories, so they don’t realise that whilst the citizens will use the products as they have no choice they won’t sell any exports because everyone else has better alternatives. This results in no money from abroad. Meaning the government can’t afford to lose money through exports. They are always guaranteed food to eat and a comfortable bed to sleep in so the don’t have to be fully aware of the food they are taking away when they yet again develop their nuclear program.

Poem by Jang Jin-sung. A North Korean Poet

The woman was emaciated / The sign hung from her neck / "Selling my daughter for 100 won" / With the little girl standing next to her / The woman stood in the market place.

The woman was a mute / She gazes at her daughter / Her maternal feelings are being sold / Cursed at by passers-by / The woman stares only at the ground / The woman has no more tears.

Clutching her mother's skirt / "My mother's dying," cries the daughter / The woman's lips tremble / The woman knows no gratitude / The soldier gave her 100 won, saying / "I'm not buying your daughter, I'm buying your motherly love" / The woman grabs the money and runs off.

The woman is a mother / With the 100 won she received for the sale of her daughter / She hurries back, carrying bread / She shoves the bread into her daughters mouth / "Forgive me," wails the woman.

Jang Jin-sung poem translated by Kevin Kim; 100 won is roughly equivalent to 73 US cents or 47p

Join the Campaign for North Korea

China and Laos both seem to consider their own power more important than saving North Korean citizens.They sustains their relationships with North Korea so refuse to consider North Korean Defectors refugees and sends any refugees found back to North Korea where they face certain death.

One of the easier steps that can save lives today is getting the neighbouring countries to accept North Korean defectors as refugees. This not only saves lives but tells the North Korean government that it doesn’t have power over it’s neighbours and strengthens it’s opposition. It is also unlikely to cause any military threats on North Korea's behalf.

http://www.change.org/petitions/help-north-korean-refugees-escapenorthkorea?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=url_share&utm_campaign=url_share_before_sign

Sign this petition to campaign against the countries that send back NK defectors

And now just to remind you that whilst these are serious issues they can still be laughed at:

"I think China will soon tell that pudgy little creep with the bad haircut and the binoculars to sit down and shut up."

Websites to visit:

http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk03100&num=2172 
A 2008 Chinese march against sending back defectors

http://www.timeslive.co.za/world/2013/05/30/u.n.-concerned-about-north-korean-defectors-in-china

The Un’s reaction to Laos sending back child refugees in May

Cannibalism in North Korea?

As food becomes more scarce people in poverty are forced to look else where for food. Some at their most extreme revert to cannibalism. A North Korean who escaped, "One of his strongest thoughts was … if he hadn't taken steps to leave North Korea, he would've become a North Korean who ate human flesh," an interpreter for Mr Jeong told news.com.au. North Koreans are becoming more and more desperate, as they are starving to death. These people in need are in dire need for assistance, as they sacrifice family for their own needs as matters get worse.

To Read more:

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/392610/North-Korean-reveals-cannibalism-is-common-after-escaping-starving-state

Charities Helping North Korea

CONCERN Worldwide
Working with the world's poorest people to transform their lives

Concern's charity work in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea mainly focuses on water and sanitation, forestry and agriculture.
Concern's work is unable to take away the oppression of dictatorship, but Concern's work can help people. Their is a sever lack of clean drinkable water and edible food, causing people to die slowly and painfully. Concern are aiming to increase sustainable food production in North Korea.
They are investing in:

• Urban Greenhouses
• Irrigation Systems
• Goa Milk Processing Facilities
• Working with locals to increase their technical and management skills.

It will benefit over 43,000 people. With more help and donations they will be able to help more and more people in need.

In the Phyongan province Concern is focusing on Sanitation and Waste Disposal, This includes:

• Building Water Systems
• Improving Sewage Treatment
• Improving Latrine Conditions in the area

It will benefit over 55,000 people.

Between 2004 and 2009, Concern provided 252,000 people in the country with clean drinking water. This was achieved with:

• The Renovation of Pump Stations
• The Provision of Household Connections
• The Installation of Gravity-Fed Systems
• The Use of Solar Powered Water Pumping Systems

Around 47,000 people benefited, including schools, nurseries and the county hospital!

To donate money to help the people of North Korea or to find out more go to:

https://www.concern.net/where-we-work/asia/democratic-peoples-republic-korea

Propaganda in North Korea

Propaganda is displayed in many ways, some include:

• Posters
• Films (cartoons especially)
• Music
• Art

North Korea uses propaganda to develop hatred against other countries, so if war breaks out no questions will be asked and generations of people will be against America and its allies. North Korea creates cartoons full of propaganda. Cartoons and other animated films carry political and military messages aimed at the young people of North Korea. The posters focus on military might, Utopian society and devotion to the state and the leader’s. The Kim’s have had hymns written for them and are repeatedly played throughout the country. Art is often used to depict military influence and is used to popularise the army.

Nightmares for the Children

North Koreans have been consistently wrapped in lies about korea’s foreign relations, concocted by state lead newspapers, for so many years that when defectors come out of North Korea they are greatly struck by the reality. America are seen as devils, so much so that young North Korean children have nightmares about them.

Read more:

http://www.nknews.org/2013/03/i-used-to-have-nightmares-about-americans/

The Death of a Dictator

A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic or authoritarrian form of government in which a government is ruled by either an individual.

 Kim Jong-Il (16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was the Supreme Leader The Democratic People's of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He succeeded his father and founder of the DPRK, Kim Il-Sung, following the elder Kim's death in 1994. Kim Jong-Il was the General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), Chairman of the National Defense Commission of North Korea, and the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, the fourth-largest standing army in the world.

In April 2009, North Korea's constitution was amended to refer to him as the "supreme leader". In 2010, he was ranked 31st in Forbes Magazine's List of ‘The World's Most Powerful People’. The North Korean government announced his death on 19 December 2011.

It was reported that Kim Jong-Il had died of a suspected heart attack on 17 December 2011 at 08:30 while travelling by train to an area outside Pyongyang. He was succeeded by his youngest son Kim Jong-un, who was hailed by the Korean Central News Agency as the "Great Successor”. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) report that during his death, a fierce snowstorm paused and the sky glowed red above the sacred Mount Paektu. The ice on a famous lake also cracked so loud, it seemed to shake the Heavens and the Earth.

Kim Jong-Il's funeral took place on 28 December in Pyongyang, with a mourning period lasting until the following day. South Korea's military was immediately put on alert after the announcement and its National Security Council convened for an emergency meeting, out of concern that political jockeying in North Korea could destabilize the region. Asian stock markets fell soon after the announcement, due to similar concerns.

On 12 January 2012, North Korea called Kim Jong-Il the "eternal leader" and announced that his body will be preserved and displayed at Pyongyang's Kumsusan Memorial Palace. Officials will also install statues, portraits, and "towers to his immortality" across the country. His birthday of 16 February has been declared "the greatest auspicious holiday of the nation", and has been named the Day of the Shining Star.

The Relationship with the USA (North Korea)

The relationship between the U.S and North Korea started within the Korean War which was fought in the 1950s. However the relationship between the two countries was not positive; considering the U.S supported the United Nations forces in the south of Korea. The war stopped on the 27th July 1953 with a ceasefire agreement; the peninsula is divided by a demilitarised zone dividing the north and south of Korea ( the Republic of Korea). Although an agreement has been made between the two sides, a formal peace agreement ending the war has not yet been signed. Throughout the late 20th century friction between the U.S and North Korea was potently clear. In 1968 the DPRK( Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) capture an American intelligence ship gathering information, although, the crew was released, North Korea still hold captive the ship (USS Pueblo). A year later an American reconnaissance plane was shot down by North Korea, resulting in thirty-one Americans being killed. In 2002 president of the United States, George Bush labelled North Korea as an 'Axis of Evil'. Within the same year the United States also stopped oil shipments to North Korea because of a dispute over North Korea’s secret nuclear weapons program. After the U.S stopped oil shipments to North Korea they removed international nuclear inspectors. The next year North Korea then went on to withdrawing the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. In 2005 Condoleezza Rice labeled North Korea as an " Outposts of Tyranny" North korea is one of the few countries listed under this title. In 2006 North Korea tested missiles and then later moved on to testing an explosive nuclear device. Furthermore in 2007 North Korea shut down their nuclear weapons program. Moreover, within the same year speculations had been made that the U.S had removed North Korea from their list of state sponsors of terrorism and, discussions occurred to also end the Korean War. President Bush also tried a personal attempted towards North Korea by writing a letter to them. In 2008 president Bush formally removes North Korea from their terror watch list.

YouTube Videos about North Korea

Real footage of the Yodok Prison Camp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhO_A75NKQ8

Inside North Korea BBC Panorama News Programme

This documentary highlights the problems in North Korea. Throughout, the journalist presents us with rhetorical questions. Does the idea of a war against America pose as a way to hide information from the public? Why are the hospitals empty? What is the poverty side of North Korea really like? Has the rationing improved or is there still malnutrition? There is so much we don’t know about North Korea, although the journalist is under surveillance he still manages to portray part of the untold story in North Korea. I would Highly recommend this documentary as it is very informative and it provides a lot of the background of North Korea also.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zDYrFE985g

CNN news report on propaganda in North Korea. CNN's Christiane Amanpour shows how North Korea's dictator forces his people to hate the outside world and adore him.
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=F3F6ScecrM0&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DF3F6ScecrM0

Religion in North Korea

Before the Kim’s took over the country, the country’s religion mainly consisted of Buddhism and Confucianism and Korean shamanism. However with the new government, the country became an atheist country. North Korea sees organized religious activity as a potential challenge to the leadership. There is no religious freedom and those who oppose the country are punished.

The Kim’s are seen as Gods to the North Koreans, they are worshipped and Kim-Jong-Sung is seen as the eternal president and is still considered the highest authority today. North Korea actively discourages the practice of religion, including Buddhism. Currently, the country claims to have about 10,000 active adherents of Buddhism. As with other religions in the country, Buddhism came under the close scrutiny of the country's government.

In January 2013, Christian nonprofit organization Open Doors announced that for the 11th year in a row, North Korea was the #1 country where persecution of Christians for religious reasons is the worst.

Civil War in North Korea

The Original divide of Korea

Korea was originally a part of the Japanese empire however after the end of the second world war the allies took it from Japan and split it between the U.S.A and the U.S.S.R. They split it across the 38th parallel (shown below).

Lead up to the War

 Many question if the Korean war was really between North Korea and South Korea or the U.S.S.R and the U.S. However in March 1949 Kim Ill Sung asked for Stalin’s permission to invade South Korea and he said no several times, as he saw it as not ‘advisable’. He finally approved it in January 1950. Showing that although Stalin wanted to spread communism he was able to see that South Korea may have a lot of military support and wasn’t willing to risk North Korea for a united Korea. However Kim ill sung was more single minded, Never once taking back his proposal over the course of almost a year; the first example of his overconfidence and lack of experience.

In addition to this it is highly unlikely that Kim Ill Sung would’ve let himself become Stalin’s puppet for two main reasons. Firstly in order for the public to feel threatened by him in the future he has to of appeared forceful at all times. Secondly, it simply isn’t in a dictator’s nature to let himself be controlled.

Despite this once the war started the U.S.S.R and the U.S saw it not only as an opportunity to help South Korea and North Korea but to cause the other to lose money and soldiers. The U.S.S.R and the U.S.As interests 

The War

The war began in June 1950 when North Korea invaded the south. The U.S then called on the U.N to brand the North Koreans as aggressors. The U.N did this, and for the first time, sent in military assistance. This however is probably more an indication of the U.N feeling threatened by Stalin rather than Kim Il Sung, because even though Kim Il sung wasn’t a puppet he was seen as one.

China intervened in mid-september. China had many reasons to want to intervene:

• They worried that the U.N forces would cross the border to china whilst still fighting the North Koreans.
• They worried that if they took North Korea it made it easier for them to invade China at any point in the future.

The thing that triggered Chinas attack was General McArthur marching his troops further than he had agreed with China.

The war then went on for a year until they reached a stalemate in 1951.They then went on to discuss the future state of the civil war however they only agreed on an armistice, a temporary truce.This leaves South Korea and North Korea technically still at war however whilst South Korea will avoid war at all costs North Korea would do anything they could to gain more power.

The point at which they decided to split the country on was the 38th parallel, coincidently the place it was originally split on after WW2.

Escaping the Prison Camps

• Escaping Korea through the North/South divide is pretty much impossible. It is armed with North Korean soldiers and the wide area of No-mans land makes picking escapees off easy. They have a shoot to kill policy.
• Instead most people go through China and round, before coming back to Korea, this time entering through the South. South Korea is nearly always the destination of escapees.
• Because of the use of China as an escape route, a network, known as the Chinese Network, was formed. They arm the people attempting to escape with some money for a ticket, a switch blade (to kill themselves, not for defence) and some ground up chilies, to throw at attackers faces.
• Often people do not make it, and are either sent back, or become victims of human trafficking. They become sex slaves or are sold as wives to rural living Chinese men. They cannot find a legal job or even be seen due to a lack of documents.
• The woman are not always overly upset as they consider forced marriage a lesser of the two evils.
• Kids born to these women often end up in limbo when the North Korean Guards come back and take away the mothers. They have no paper work and therefore, officially, do not exist. Neither China or North Korea will accept responsibility for them, even their fathers sometimes abandon them.

Timeline of Recent North Korean activity (2013):

12 Feb:          North conducts underground nuclear missile test.

11 Mar:          US-South Korea annual military drills begin.

30 Mar:          North says it is entering a "state of war" with South.

2 Apr:             North says it is restarting Yongbyon reactor.

3-26 Apr:        North precipitates the shutting down of Kaesong industrial zone.

2 May:            North jails US man for 15 years.

22 May:          North sends envoy to China.

10 June:         North and South agree to government-level meeting in Seoul.

North Korea's Nuclear Weapons Development Timeline

1985

North Korea joins the Treaty of the non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as a non-nuclear weapon state.

1986

They start their operation of a five-megawatt nuclear reactor at Yongbyon after seven years of plan with Soviet help.

1993

They say they will quit the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, but later delays their withdrawal.

1994

They sign an agreement with the US under which the North shuts down the plutonium-based Yongbyon nuclear reactor in exchange for help in building two nuclear reactors for producing electricity.

2002

January 29

The US president, George Bush, labeled North Korea, Iran and Iraq an "axis of evil".

October 4

Washington says North Korea admitted to a visiting US delegation that it has a uranium enrichment program.

November 21

US-led consortium says it is suspending construction of the two new reactors.

2003

January 11

They withdraw from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

August 27-29

They join first round of six-nation nuclear talks in Beijing, which include China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the US.

2005

February 10

They announce they have nuclear weapons.

2006

October 9

They hold an underground nuclear test blast.

2007

February 13

They agree to a six-nation talk to take first steps to disarmament, after the US moves to help free some $25m frozen in North Korean accounts.

July 14

North Korea shuts down its Yongbyon reactor.

September 6

Israeli warplanes bomb a Syrian nuclear reactor site allegedly built with North Korean design help.

October 3

The six countries at nuclear talks agree that North Korea will provide a complete declaration of its nuclear programs and disable facilities at its main reactor complex by December 31.

November 5

They start disabling the Yongbyon reactor under the watch of US experts.

December 31

They miss its deadline for declaring all its nuclear programmes.

2008

February 26

The New York Philharmonic performs in Pyongyang, in the highest-level cultural exchange between the US and North Korea since the 1950-53 Korean War.

April 24

The White House says North Korea assisted Syria's secret nuclear program and that the nuclear reactor destroyed by Israel was not intended for peaceful purposes.

May 8

North Korea gives the US more than 18,000 pages of records on the Yongbyon reactor after discussions between the two countries to resolve disagreements over what its nuclear declaration will include.

May 16

The US announces it will provide North Korea with 50,000 tonnes of food aid as a humanitarian gesture unrelated to the nuclear talks.

June 26

US begins steps to remove North Korea from list of states sponsoring terrorism after Pyongyang submitted inventory of its nuclear activities.

August 26

Pyongyang suspends disablement of nuclear facilities, accusing US of reneging on disarmament agreement.

September 3

South Korea says reconstruction has started at North Korea's Yongbyon complex.

September 24

UN nuclear inspectors expelled from North Korea, which pledges to resume plutonium processing.

October 12

Pyongyang says will resume dismantling nuclear weapons programme after US removes North Korea from list of terrorism-sponsoring states.

November 12

The relationship between North and South Korea get worse with Pyongyang announcing that it will close border crossings in December.

2009

February 24

Speculation mounts that North Korea plans long-range missile tests in defiance of American warnings not to destabilise region.

March 30

US and Japan deploy anti-missile batteries on land and sea to shoot down possible debris from the expected missile test although US insists has no intention of shooting down missile itself.

April 3

Barack Obama warns North Korea cannot go ahead with missile tests with permission.

April 4

Pyongyang launches a long-range rocket over Japan, drawing international disapproval.

Absolute Multi-Party Totalitarian Hereditary Military

North Korea call itself the 'Democratic People's Republic of Korea'. That would suggest that the people of North Korea have the ability to vote. However this is not the case. A dictatorship is a government that has the power to govern without consent of those being governed. This government is usually one person or a small group of people.

No one knows how North Korea works, the internal political structure is unknown. However, as far as we can tell it is technically an Absolute Multi-Party Totalitarian Hereditary Military Dictatorship. Multi-Party Totalitarian basically means, one can vote but there is only one name on the ballet and anyone who attempts a different vote is named an enemy of the state and is arrested.

Hereditary Military Dictatorship means, that it is an inheritable dictatorship and a dictator controls the army. The people of North Korea honestly believe they live in a powerful country due to their dictators threatening countries like America. Though their threats are ludicrous, they have been given what they want, in the past as an appeasement.

Daily Life in North Korea

• The nation’s isolationist attitude means its citizens are almost totally destitute by American standards and unaware of anything happening in the world.
• The average worker earns $2-$3 a month from the government.
• Some citizens also have a side job that may earn them up to $10 as well.
• All websites and tv programmes are censored and filtered.
• Citizens who have the privilege of access to electricity only receive this privilege for 1-3 hours a day, this is a privilege for 3.2 million citizens of Pyongyang.
• Pyongyang is made up of the citizens most loyal to Kim Jong-Il’s regime. The elite members of the public.
• In the countryside and suburbs alike, North Koreans are keeping warm by burning so-called “man-made coal”. Made from materials such as sawdust and dried corn stalks, these makeshift coals are being used in place of traditional fuels.
• There is a severe food shortage, which affects the whole population as rations are given out scarcely and starvation is a common cause of death.
• All land is state owned or collectively owned, therefore all housing is state provided.
• Material goods are scarce in North Korea and generally people do not have opportunities to be exposed to expensive commodities. This works to suppress any desire to own something.
• Basic goods are provided by the state either through ration or as a "gift" from the government (e.g. children's school textbooks or uniforms).
• Jobs are assigned by the state in accordance to its judgment of family rank, ability, and qualifications. Therefore it is unlikely for a high-ranking party officer's family to receive manual work in the mines or factories.
• Basic food is rationed, while one can buy canned meat or a small amount of vegetables either from a store or farmers' market.