EMPLOYMENT FOR CITIZENS Article 70 of the DPRK’s Constitution states: Citizens have the right to work. All able-bodied citizens may choose occupations in accordance with their wishes and skills and are provided with stable jobs and working conditions. Citizens work according to their abilities and are paid in accordance with the quantity and quality of their work. In reality, DPRK citizens are not able to choose their occupations, but rather, they are dictated by the State. Once again, songbun is a key determinant of the sort of work that an individual is allocated, and how far he or she is able to progress in that career. Heavy manual work is always given to the lower songbun classes, while administrative and government positions are reserved for those with a good songbun. There is little economic competition in the DPRK and private commercial enterprise has been officially prohibited since 1958, so citizens must accept the livelihood assigned to them for their whole lives with no real prospect of change. Food rations and housing are tied to employment, so citizens cannot choose to leave their workplace without also losing their homes and food. They are therefore forced to endure poor conditions and exploitation in the workplace. Even those working for state-owned enterprises that have ceased to operate due to dilapidated equipment and economic hardship cannot leave their jobs, despite the fact that they are not receiving any salary at all. Following the DPRK’s economic collapse in the 90s, some degree of unofficial private enterprise has started to emerge. However, this is accompanied by corruption, since those who have the resources, connections and ability to pay the bribes necessary to engage in business tend ... ... middle of paper ... ...an rights agency. The regime is deeply fearful of foreign influence, and does not allow its citizens any access to information from beyond its borders. The DPRK citizens who have risked their lives to escape from the regime and have been fortunate enough to succeed testify to the horrors of life beyond the world’s gaze, and the silent screams of the world’s most repressed population. However, there are still many unanswered questions, and much that remains unknown about life within this totalitarian dictatorship. It will only be when the regime finally opens its doors to the world, either due to economic or political collapse, or due to international pressure, that it will truly be known what has been happening inside the country during these years. When that happens, it is likely that a picture will emerge even more horrifying than the one we have at present.
Blaine Harden, former national correspondent and writer for the New York Times, delivers an agonizing and heartbreaking story of one man’s extremely conflicted life in a labor camp and an endeavor of escaping this place he grew up in. This man’s name is Shin Dong-hyuk. Together, Blaine Harden and Shin Dong-hyuk tell us the story of this man’s imprisonment and escape into South Korea and eventually, the United States, from North Korea. This biography that takes place from 1982-2011, reports to its readers on what is really going on in “one of the world’s darkest nations” (back cover of the book), that is run under a communist state and totalitarian dictatorship that was lead by Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, and currently lead by Kim-Jong un. In Escape from Camp 14, Shin shows us the adaptation of his life and how one man can truly evolve from an animal, into a real human being.
The wielding of such brutal force helps the dictatorship uphold its authority. The dictatorship also manages to keep its subjects in line through brainwashing. As Prometheus writes, "Everything which comes from the many is good. " Everything which comes from the one is evil.
...Report 2013: North Korea." Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch, 1 Jan. 2013. Web. 2 May 2014. .
1984 demonstrates a dystopian society in Oceania by presenting a relentless dictator, Big Brother, who uses his power to control the minds of his people and to ensure that his power never exhausts. Aspects of 1984 are evidently established in components of society in North Korea. With both of these society’s under a dictator’s rule, there are many similarities that are distinguished between the two. Orwell’s 1984 becomes parallel to the world of dystopia in North Korea by illustrating a nation that remains isolated under an almighty ruler.
Database Center for North Korean Human Rights. "Prisoners in North Korea Today." Detention Facilities in North Korea Today (2011): 173+. NKDB. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. .
Many people take advantage of the fact that their government doesn’t really care about its citizens; as a result, the wealthy folks use it to their advantage. In order for one to survive, in a world where their government is either corrupted or lacking resources, they have to trigger strategies to increase income. In essence, the government is supposed to help its citizens since it’s the major source of power. However, in some countries, the government’s help is not enough due to lack of resources to support revolutionary projects. In the story “Live Free and Starve” the author Divakaruni expresses the ruthless and beneficial side of poverty. She states that in low economy countries, poverty is considered as normal for its hopeless citizens who have no hope whatsoever in revolution. As a result, they don’t even try to change the already working system for them. With that said I think that the poor hopeless slave is complacent in many ways with a job that probably a person in first world country would hate. Since a nation is lacking rules, people tempt to do whatever is benefiting them. There are many effects of that, but one of the most outrageous ones is unbelievably low wages, hiring kids and even buying them off their parents to do dirty and dangerous labor. Therefore poor working conditions and low hygiene are just some of the common condition, one works in. The demand for child labor is booming in third world countries. Divakaruni says that it’s impossible to prohibit children from working since that’s the only way they can survive. However she mentions that the solution is not to illegalizing child labor. The most beneficial way a society can have positive impact is through establishing programs for the ones in need of resources to survive. These programs would be strictly
Climate, conflict, isolation, and corruption culminated in millions of lives lost, surely with no small amount of pain and suffering endured. Though international intervention can only help to the degree that authorities in North Korea will allow it, we are not left entirely without recourse. It is too late now to undo the damage of the North Korean famine, and although power has since changed hands, the country remains famously isolated. If, however, we tell the story as best we can, and deny ourselves the comfort of closing our eyes when faced with such a colossal tragedy, then perhaps in the future we find a solution. Silent are the Koreans who perished, and silent still are the authorities that chose seclusion over security. If we wish to prevent this from happening again, we must not let their silence be our silence as well.
"Genocide in North Korea | World Policy Institute." Genocide in North Korea | World Policy Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2014.
How would you feel if your child worked extreme hours trying to earn money for your family? Imagine yourself being in a situation where you are too scared to speak out for your own welfare-- afraid that your life will be in jeopardy? Labor rights ensure a worker’s safety, proper payment, reasonable working hours, and termination of child labor. In many areas of the world, labor rights are not even provided. Such disregard is a violation of human rights. Despite all the changes made through history, employers and manufacturing companies still do not have respect for laborers and their rights. In order to respect one’s human rights, employers must treat workers’ rights as essentials to human rights. Workers deserve the right to demand for decent working conditions.
North Korea is very mysterious and isolated from the rest of the world. Very little is known about what actually happens in the state. This isolation began in 1945 when Kim Il-Sung came to power of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (also known as North Korea). He started a reign of rule that was based on self-reliance. It began the Kim dynasty, a period of extreme authoritarian rule. Although it is called the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, citizens have very little rights and no choice in their leader. Ironically, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea comes in last of 167 countries in the democracy index. (“Liberty and Justice for Some”) Under the rule of Kim Il-Sung, Korea entered the Korea War, which strained relations with other countries. North Korea then grew more into isolationism and more into poverty. Under the rule of Kim Jong-Il, North Korea became very involved in nuclear weapons that resulted in strained relations with the United Nations and its member states. When Kim Jong-Un came into power, the citizens have suffered from lack of rights and crimes against humanity. The Kim dynasty has harmed North Korea’s citizens and its chances of becoming a world power.
North Korea could be described as a dystopian society. For all of its citizens, the Internet is widely monitored and restricted, allowing only limited access. “One could speculate that it is more propaganda about the country, its leaders, or negative coverage about the US.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Throughout the global media North Korea’s isolation and Harsh rule has become increasingly secretive, although some facts have been detected (“North Korea Profile”, 1). According to data collected from The Guardian, eighty-one out of one-hundred people in South Korea have access to the internet, yet in North Korea around .1 out of one-hundred people have access to the internet . Not only is the greater population of North Korea disconnected from outside sources, yet leaders in North Korea are also isolated from outside sources; putting themselves at a disadvantage. North Korea may launch a war, but they are unaware as to what they are up against because of its secrecy . Around one million are serving in the North Korean Army, but when South Korea’s army; combined with the U.S’s army (their ally), the ratio of the North Korean Army is signi...
hard times. This also causes uprises since people want to free themselves from this dictator
This contributes to the ongoing cycle of poverty and increases the gap between the rich and poor. Those who are left unemployed have no means to...
Over the last few years, the issue of corruption--the abuse of public office for private gain--has attracted renewed interest, both among academics and policymakers. There are a number of reasons why this topic has come under recent inspection. Corruption scandals have toppled governments in both major industrial countries and developing countries. In the transition countries, the shift from command economies to free market economies has created massive opportunities for the appropriation of rents, excessive profits, and has often been accompanied by a change from a well-organized system of corruption to a more chaotic and deleterious one. With the end of the cold war, donor countries have placed less emphasis on political considerations in allocating foreign aid among developing countries and have paid more attention to cases in which aid funds have been misused and have not reached the poor. And slow economic growth has persisted in many countries with malfunctioning institutions. This renewed interest has led to a new flurry of empirical research on the causes and consequences of corruption.