Freedom in North Korea - Free Essay Example

The peninsula of the Koreas has been established since ancient times, dating back to around 668 AD. It was with the uprising of the Silla Dynasty that the Korean people had been first united, providing an opportunity to create a culture and civilization of their own It went on that way for centuries, until in 1910, when the Chosun Dynasty was forced to an end by Japan. Japan had colonized Korea in a harsh and violent manner (North Korea History 1). It caused an outbreak of Korean and Chinese resistance groups that took opposing political views; mostly leftist. Korea and Japan still have bad relations to this day as a result of the oppression led by Japanese Imperial Administration (North Korea History 1). It was also during this time that Korea began to adapt western culture. More specifically, the city of Pyongyang was a modern center for Christianity and culture. Next in history, the country of Korea was split into two; the northern and the southern half. It took place in 1945, when World War II came to a close and Japan had been defeated The Soviet Union and the United states had decided to then evenly split the country between themselves. On August 10, 1945, two US soldiers had fashioned a supposedly temporary line that put forth the boundaries of the Soviet and US territory. However, this line turned permanent and increasingly influential with the commencement of the Cold War (North Korea History 1). At this point, the US and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), did not want to lose any power of their respective land, so they each established leaders. Both sides did not trust the other, so it was impossible for one to rule the entirety of Korea, this two were chosen. The United States gave South Korea Syngman Rhee, and the USSR gave the North Kim Il-sung (North Korea History 1). It took only three years, for these makeshift leaders to claim themselves to be legitimate representative of the people, and a real government was established. Everything is downhill from this point on. North Koreas leader, Kim Il-sung, demands for a military control on the country, and instills war on its Southern neighbor in 1950. This marks the beginning of the most horrific war in Korean history. The US was involved and dropped a multitude bombs, and because of that the city of Pyongyang was turned into ash and debris. North Korea also lost around 10 percent of its population, over 2.5 million people (History.com 1). The Korean war ended in 1953 and a demilitarized zone, spreading over two miles wide, between the two sides was established (History.com Editors 1). From 1953-1970, the North Korean government attempted to create a Stalinist State. With this, comes a severe lack of freedom for civilians, even though from the outside, North Koreans are thought to be better of than the Southern half. That was not the case. Kim Il-sung remodeled North Korean society along the lines of Juche†North Koreas radically nationalistic ideology promoting Korean autonomy (North Korea 101 1 ). In return, almost everything private belonged to the state, anywhere from organizations and business to essentially the shoes on ones feet were owned by the government. The regime had rebuilt Pyongyang. Unfortunately, it was no longer a vibrant city full of cultural expression, rather a socialist capital with idealization and propaganda through monuments for its leader. Kim Il-sung chose this type of control solely for obedience of his people. This power-hungry motive continued until it had possessed an authority over media and even travel (North Korea 101 1). Freedom of speech is one thing that North Korea has gotten rid of. It started when the government had developed the Songbun System. It is currently still being used in their society today. The regime had the ability to split the entire population into a system of social classes, based on the individuals loyalty to socialism and the regime (North Korea 101 1). This loyalty determined possible jobs, where one lived, and even where one could go to school. Consequently, about 25 percent of the capitals population was kicked out. They were forced to move to lower quality places due to a perceived notion of loyalty (North Korea 101 1). Additionally, anyone who went against this system was silenced and perceived as lower class. Freedom of speech no longer exists. No one is advised to openly discuss a dislike for the government. In fact, it is incredibly frowned upon. If anyone is reported for such crimes, a couple things could occur; you and your family would suddenly disappear, you could face public execution, and/ or up to three generations of your family could be imprisoned in political prison camps (North Korea 101 1). To elaborate, when one disappears it is assumed they are in a prison camp or worse, dead. One woman explained that when her dad was detained in 2010, she and her family would visit every day bringing food and water, but one day, he was gone without any explanation (Robertson 1). These human rights violations taking place are normalized here, even considered a state policy (Robertson 1). Since it is against the law to speak out, it is encouraged to report those around you. Children are told to give accounts of their parents, neighbors are instructed to tell on other neighbors, and basically anyone you hear disobeying the regime you should report. Along with freedom of speech, any sense of trust has been annihilated in the citizens of this country. In the end, a want for a higher quality life and no reason for the government to notice them, made it s o many people are forced to focus their entire life around the regime and socialism. Another freedom that is stripped from the people of North Korea, is the ability to move inside the country and especially the ability to travel outside the country. The policies are unbelievably strict. If one wishes to move to another part of the area, he/she would require special permission from the state. These permission certificates will get one through checkpoints placed around the country (Dukalskis 1).To get these certificates, one would need to have a specific purpose for doing so and get it signed off by their work unit. The purpose must directly be something that has an advantage for the country. For anyone outside the capital of Pyongyang, it is most likely access will be denied (North Korea 101 1). So, no one can go on vacation just for the sake of travel because it is not a right given to any of the citizens. It is something that is earned. Most regular people are prohibited from free travel. However, there are certain cases that allow one more access to travel. For exa mple, athletes competing on national teams abroad, cultural representatives participating in performances and cultural exchange abroad, diplomats and their family, business people on a mission to secure trade with other countries, whether that be import or export, or girls working as waitresses in one of the many Pyongyang restaurant chain outlets abroad can all get approved for travel (Dukalskis 1). Many people attempt to sneak out of the country without being detected. It is particularly risky to endeavour this if one has family they are leaving behind. They could be severely punished for that persons actions. Often those leaving go to either China or South Korea. It is safest if one makes it to Mongolia because they will safelty bring you to South Korea to seek refuge (Dukalskis 1). However, if one is caught, they could be deported back to North Korea which is a huge problem in itself. Many of those who are found guilty of leaving, will end up rotting in prison camps. According to man by the name of Scott Kim, who attempted to leave on three separate accounts, he was sent to a prison camp where he and the others were treated like animals (Kim 1). He first tried to escape in 2001, when he was only 17. Him and his mother were trying to get to China, so they could finally get some food to eat as they were living in a horrific famine. They almost made it when his neighbor reported him to the officials, and had him sent back. When detained, he was forced to move from place to place on all fours, crawling. They lost all their rights as a human. They were beaten with numerous different objects: sticks, hands, etc. Over 100,000 people face the same treatment as Kim did: being tortured, starved, and forced to complete extreme labor (Jacobs 1). It is difficult to imagine everything these citizens are put through for seeking a safe means of travel, and the consequences if not followed correctly. The freedom to travel is not something North Koreans have the luxury of enduring. North Korea is a country that has developed through decades of hardship and colonization by different nations. It has ended up in disaster and a overall horrible place that strips the rights of its citizens on a day to day basis. There is no safe place to be as everyone around you has the ability and a motive to turn you in. Also a country where you can hardly travel from the location you were put in based off of a biased social class system. The leaders of North Korea expect total obedience, and therefore leads to a country built off lies and mistreatment of everyone living in it.

Class issues in 1890s America - 1375 Words

Class issues in 1890s America (Essay Sample) Content: Name: Instructor: Task: Date: Class issues in 1890s America A person's background enables one to acclimate to unexpected and different situations no matter how rapid and far-reaching the transformation might be. This is affirmed by the book "A Year in the South, 1865" by Stephen V. Ash. The author focuses on four people who included: Cornelia McDonald, a wife to a Confederate army officer and also a mother, who lived in Lexington; Louis Hughes, a learned slave in the Deep South, Tombigbee in Alabama; Samuel Agnew, an exempted priest from the Army, who lived in the County of Tippah in Mississippi. Finally, there was John Robertson, an ex-confederate enthusiast who sought to settle down and lead devout life after giving in to defeat, and who lived in the eastern parts of Tennessee. They belonged to entirely different backgrounds and the events that had happened altered their lives to adapt to the direction that the South was headed. The South and the North were used to quite different lifestyles before the Civil War broke out. These lifestyle differences caused much tension between these two factions of the community. Upon Abraham Lincoln's election to office in 1860, the tension, anxiety and fear amongst the Southern elites heightened but the succession occurred without a hitch. The Deep Southern states formed a "Confederacy governmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , and Davis Jefferson headed it. The Southerners kept so many fundamental life facets in their hearts, the ones for which they went to war to defend. During that period, it was imperative for a man to fight for honor and protection of the family's name, alongside fulfilling the South's paternalist culture. The whites, as well as the African Americans people, were much aware of the hierarchy, class and social distinctions that were in place in the society. Slavery was the place reserved for the African Americans in the society dominated by the white citizens (Ryan 65 ). The author describes how Cornelia McDonald's life took a drastic change due to the Civil War. She had previously led a wealthy and classy lifestyle of an elite woman of the Southern culture. She was not supposed to work on since her husband, according to the Southern culture, was keeping her as a symbol of his wealth. When the war commenced, her husband left to join the fight to defend his family name and honor following the Southern cultural beliefs. Cornelia was left to take care of her family as she had seven children to look after. At the heat of the war, she was forced out of her home, and she became a war refugee. Being a refugee, the writer notes that "She now had to perform chores that she had never imagined doing." Cornelia now had to attend to tasks that, previously, her slaves used to do. Cornelia struggled so much to keep her social class distinction even as she was reduced to attending to household duties. According to the author, it was essential to her that she maintained her elite class in the society, even after things had changed for the worse. Cornelia did better in keeping her family fed and clothed using the resources she possessed. However, she was not psychologically prepared at all for what the Civil War had caused her family. The writer goes ahead to talk of the shoemaker who assisted Cornelia to keep maintain an elite female look. The cobbler could permit Cornelia to take shoes for her children from him having pledged to pay later. This was something she was not used to being an elite. The writer points out how Cornelia was feeling the stresses of her situation in winter as he states, "Cornelia's situation at the beginning of winter was indisputably bad, but she never viewed it as despairing. She had her elder kids to whom she could lean on; she also po ssessed significant resources of talent and strength.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  The author goes further to note that Cornelia had a ring of benefactors as well as friends who kept encouraging her during her traumatizing moments. She was full of persistence as she could not accept the change. Being without his husband, a paternalist, she knew her sons would take his place in protecting her by working hard the whole day without a chance to attend school due to the prevailing situation at that time (Rose 90). This, however, did little to change her perception about herself and how her family lives. Many women in 1865, just like her, were going through the same problems because most of them had lost their husbands during the war. People had lost their sons, brothers, husbands and fathers who had decided to fight for the Confederacy. The writer describes how Cornelia, just like many other elites, had developed a deep hatred towards the Yankees. She kept on resenting them because she deeply believed in the Confederate cause due to her husband's rank in the army and al so her social class. Cornelia is a proof that the post-Civil War occurrences presented a significant change to most of the Southern elites. On the other hand, she demonstrates how difficult it was for people of her kind to adapt to the social change brought about by the war. Most of the elite members of the society were unwilling relent on the belief in social distinctions and their attitudes towards the cause of the Civil War. A good number of people that were immensely affected by the war and believed that they were transitioning from the Old South to the New South included Louis Hughes. The author describes him as being a slave whose whole life, knew nothing more than the life given to him at the plantations and also at the salt factory where he used to work. Louis had no idea on what to do with the freedom he got. He had not known any other life than working for the elite. At the summer of 1865, the South was declared free, and all the slaves were freed. Most of them, Louis being one, had not known how to live a freedman's way of life until that summer. However, many slave owners during that time found it hard to come to terms with the reality that their reign over the African Americans was long over as they continued to make them work in the plantations and fields. Louis' master was amongst the elites who held on to the slaves even after they were declared free. The writer explains that the only way that the slaves working under such masters could free themselves was to escape. Louis had previously attempted to escape unsuccessfully, but his dedication to his young child and wife finally pushed him to succeed finally. As concluded by the author, the slaves knew that if they kept staying at the plantations while waiting to be rescued, they would have been there for a very long time. Louis' conversation with a friend, George, concluded his urge and willingness to escape from his master. He told George, "I mean that right now, today is the time to make a run for our freedom." Hughes clearly understood that this was the appropriate time to break free. After succeeding, he later returned with several officers of the Union to emancipate his family and all the other Africa Americans who were willing to be free. The author affirms that gaining freedom was a great beginning for Louis, who had never had any freedom to make personal decisions or even to decide how he wants to live his life. As Louis and his family reunited with their extended families and embarked on building a life for themselves, it should be noted that the 1865 was an important year to the slaves' lives. The year 1865 meant a lot to the slaves, and it encouraged them that the South was changing finally as they were struggling to adapt to their new free world (Ash 89). The emancipation of the African American slaves also hugely affected the farm and plantation owners. One such a family was Sam Agnew's, who experienced the whole history of slavery from its rise and fall. Such families were distraught over the significant change of attitude by the slaves. Seeing the slaves become free did not augur well with the slave-owning cla...