Role Of Oppression In North Korea

The Political and Economic Oppression of North Korean Citizens
Freedom of speech is defining aspect of every American’s, life. The american dream is defined through freedom to express what is ideal to a specific individual. While the people of America may take these freedoms for granted, they are sparse in eastern civilizations, specifically North Korea. Limited freedom is nothing new in North Korea, but their sudden prominence has been aided by modern media. A corrupt economy and political system have existed in North Korea since 1953, when North and South Korea split into two states. These corrupt practices have resulted in backlash not only from the citizens of North Korea, but other states around the world. While the current situation …show more content…
From the moment the state was conceived, citizens freedoms were already being taken away. 1953 marked the beginning of the communist ideology in North Korea. This meant that there was no separation between the rich and the poor. This ideology also required all property to be publicly owned, which allowed for no privacy in a citizen 's life. This spelled the start of the economy’s downfall, considering that the hard working man was not being rewarded for his extra effort, and the lazy man was being payed the same amount for doing less work. Free speech has also been a major issue in the history of North Korea. Free speech has been addressed in the constitution, and Lisa Sargent explains that “Article 67 of the North Korean constitution guarantees the same rights to citizens that very much mirror those of the United States and other demographic governments”(2). When North Korea was founded, this article held very true to it’s description. There was no oppression of speech until another North Korean travesty, The Arduous March. This famine caused 3.5 million deaths over a seven year span. Effects of this disaster can still be seen today, considering the fact that one in three children are malnourished in North Korea. The Arduous March also brought along the oppression of speech. In an effort to keep the citizens under control, the government restricted many freedoms. Today, …show more content…
This can be seen in multiple instances including United Nations sanctions, foreign detainees, and poor border relations. In North Korea’s best interest, the United Nations made the decision to file sanctions against them. These sanctions restricted trade and movement of materials. This would prevent them from performing more illegal activities especially building nuclear weapons. North Korea has also managed to anger many more states by detaining foreigners. According to Freedom House, “In 2014, an Australian missionary by the name of John Short was detained for anti-state religious acts. The government proceeded to interrogate him for 13 straight days. After finding no evidence, the government expelled him from the state”(6). All of this unnecessary effort and suffering was wasted on a man who was just trying to spread his religion. In another recent incident, an American tourist took down a propaganda poster as a “trophy”. This was an act that would normally incur a minor punishment from a government like the United States. In North Korea, this crime is a different story. According to Hyung-Jin Kim, “This tourist has now been sentenced to a fifteen year prison sentence, with hard labor for subversion”(1). Many countries now have some sort of issue with North Korea. One state that has many more than just one issue with North Korea is their southern neighbors, South Korea. Ever