The economy in North Korea operates under the Central Bank of the Democratic People’s of and it remains as one of the world’s last centrally planned systems. North Korea has a command economy and it is based on agriculture and natural resources. The government permits private farmers markets to sell a range of goods, they also allowed some private farming on an experimental ground. Although, agriculture has a decreasing role in the nation's economy there has been an increase in cultivated land projects, mechanization and the use of chemical fertilizers.
Farmers are either paid or allowed to keep bees, fruit trees, chickens and gardens. Some farmers can sell leftover produce at regional markets that are held annually. Farmers make out better than most urban workers during the lean years but they still struggle to survive. In North Korea barley, grains, corn, wheat and rice are the major food crops. They also raise potatoes, sweet potatoes, soybeans and other vegetables and tree fruits. Their industrial crops consists of flax, cotton and tobacco. Areas who are failing in crop raising are used for livestock raising. The sea is where North Koreans get most of their protein. The main sea life caught are shellfish, yellow-tail, pike, herring, pollack, sardines and mackerel.
North Korea has a wealth of natural resources its terrain is mostly hilly and mountainous. They have an amplitude amount of mineral deposits, it is estimated that about 200 minerals are of economic value. The Key ones are iron ore and coal, the greater highlight are magnesite, zinc, lead and gold which have led to extradition. They also have plenty of tungsten, barite, graphite and molybdenum. Power production is mainly based on hydroelectricity, however ther...
... middle of paper ...
...ontradicting but even though they don’t have a minimum wage in 2002 the government conducted a price/wage reform. The state offers health care, education, food rations and housing for free. Although there is health care hospital patients must pay their own medicines, prepare all their meals at home and cover the cost of heat. The average worker earns about $2.00 to $3.00 per month in pay from the government, some people work on the side selling goods in local markets earning about $10.00 per month extra. About half of North Korea’s population live in extreme poverty. The people that are really trying to survive live off of kimchi and corn, they are restricted access to fuel for cooking and heating. Kim Jong Un is worth $5 billion dollars, most of the money comes from counterfeiting, government enterprises as well as sales of narcotics and other types of criminality.
The supreme leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-il is a cruel leader. He rules his county with an iron fist. The prisons are full of political opponents. His people are kept isolated from the rest of the world. While his people are starving, his army is well-fed.
The limited information known about North Korea is from under cover sources and people. If captured these people will be sent to horrific labor camps already filled with hundreds of thousands of North Koreans. The atrocities of human torture and what people living there endure really made me want to research North Korea. Has anyone infiltrated the country to help these issues? How does a country get like this in the first place? What is their culture like? How has North Korea been exposed? What was in this report issued by the UN?
Firstly North Korea is one of the toughest, scariest places to live because of their dictatorship. In 1993 Kim ll - Sung died of a heart attack and his son Kim Jong-ll took power and set out on making the nation a member of “axis of evil”. Secondly the economy was collapsing and the great famine was taking place. During the famine those who were to young, to old, to poor, or to honest to steal or find food starved and inevitably died. Another reason is in North Korea going to jail is one of the worst things to ever happen. Prisoners are beaten severely. Punishments sometimes included breaking fingers, and to sit or stand in horrible, excruciating positions for a long period of time. Escaping North Korea is also a huge task that doesn't always end up well. The bodies of North Koreans can also be found floating in the rivers after a failed attempt at escaping, although some have successfully made it out. Some say that the Dust Bowl and living in poverty are the hardest but, the Dust Bowl only lasted for about 10 years or so, and living in poverty has many people working to find a long lasting solution. On the other hand nobody can really do anything about North Korea because it’s very secluded and it’s a huge threat to
Chinese food seems to be one of the most popular of all Asian styles of cooking. Southern dishes center more on freshness and tenderness because of the colder weather whereas northern dishes have more oil, vinegar, and garlic. Japanese cooking accentuates the frequent use of deep-frying such as tempura by using vegetable oil and even raw foods such as sushi. In Korea, much of the
Hunger is a problem worldwide. However with a quarter of North Korea’s population (six million people) starving or malnourished, with nearly one million of those cases being children under the age of five years old, the situation is especially dire (Cullinane 3). Throughout history the term “famine” has referred to a shortage of food caused by uncontrollable circumstances. Modern famines are relatively nonexistent because international aid, globalization, and modern domestic responses are all able to provide a safety net for those in need of assistance. In reality, mass-starvations today are caused by government decisions and improper food distribution. The North Korean government controls food delivery through a Public Distribution System (PDS), on which 62 percent of the population is entirely reliant upon for monthly or biweekly rations (Haggard et al. 17). To put this dependency in perspective, by the end of the 1990’s the PDS could barely support six percent of the population (Haggard et al. 28). In the 1990’s those who lived in the Northeastern Hamgyong provinces, a region historically rebellious due to mountain ranges and proximity to China, were cut off from the PDS (Nastios 109). With regime control of food distribution, crea...
During his rule there was decrease in trading because their main trading partner, the Soviet Union, had just collapsed. Not only that, but there were also numerous floods and droughts that occurred too. This left North Korea in famine, since there was only a certain amount of farming land, this left Kim Jong-Il to worry about his power. With the remaining amount of farming land, he instead decided to use those resources for the military instead of the citizens experiencing famine at the time. After this incident, in 2003, it was found out that North Korea was producing nuclear weapons, but Kim Jong-Il said it was only for security reasons.
North Korea has been a totalitarian state from the time Kim-Il sung and his son Kim-Jon Il took power in the country. They use many different tactics to rule. One of these tactics being an insistence that the welfare of the state be placed above the welfare of the people. The countries leaders also used totalitarian terror maintain control. There are, many ways that the totalitarian state North Korea uses totalitarian terror to seize power and maintain control over the citizens of the state. Some examples of this are using a secret police, jailing political activists, and putting down anyone who challenges or poses a threat to the regime.
Wilcox, Cody, and Cody Bahler. "North Korea's Food Production." North Korea and the Kim Dynasty. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. .
Communist North Korea continues to be an underdeveloped country while South Korea continues to prosper in all areas such as technology, and agriculture. These two countries have vast differences with their political and government views. North Korea at one point was influenced by the Soviet Union but no longer. However, North Korea continues to be influenced by and receive aid from China. South Korea continues to be influenced by the United States of America. North Korea is governed and controlled by a dictatorship, which has complete control over media and social
Vietnam has variety types of food for every occasion, from an everyday meal to New Year’s festivities food. The flavor of the Vietnamese food varies from sweet, sour, salty, and spicy. However, rice, the mainstay of the Vietnamese diet, is grown throughout the country but particularly in the Red River delta in the north and Mekong River delta in the south. As Vietnam’s population started to increases, farmers had to produce quicker as well; making Vietnam the third country to produce the most rice. In fact, the Vietnamese people say that their country resembles a bamboo pole (the narrow central region) with a basket of rice at each end.(Food in Vietnam) Rice is eaten almost every day in the Vietnamese diet. Even though three-fourths of country is either a hill or mountain, the long waterway along the country provides a small variety of seafood like fish or shrimp.
South Korea, once a broken country filled with broken families, has transformed itself into a fine example of perseverance in a tough situation. South Korea and its neighbor to the north have developed past where they were before the Korean War, but in different ways. The two countries, while certainly dependent on each other, are vastly different. Their conflicting styles of government and their differing cultures speak for themselves in this case. South Korea has, over the years, changed dramatically from the crippled country of the Korean War into a blossoming beacon of Asian cultural and economic changes. The combination of its recent economic importance, its heavy cultural influence, and its constant danger of participating in a war makes South Korea one of the most influential countries in the world.
South Korea is occupied by the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula which extends 680 miles from the Asian mainland. The mountainous regions on the sides of South Korea one by the Yellow sea to the west and the other by the Sea of Japan to the east. South Koreas total area is 38,462.49 square miles. It can also be divided into four general regions: an eastern region with high mountain ranges and some narrow coastal plains, river basins and rolling hills; a southwestern region filled with mountains and valley’s; and a southeastern region along the Nakdong River. Around 3,000 islands, mostly small and uninhabited lie off the western and southern coasts. The country’s largest island is Juju Island it is located about 60 miles off of the southern coast of South Korea. Jeju Island has an area of 712 square miles. The local climate of South Korea is relatively temperate with rain heavier in the summer during a short rainy season called ‘jangma’ and some winters that can be bitterly
Korean food is unique. It’s known for its spicy flavor and the use of other seasonings to enhance the taste. Dishes are usually flavored with a combination of soy sauce, red pepper, green onion, bean paste, garlic, ginger, sesame, mustard, vinegar, and wine. The Korean peninsula is surrounded water on three sides, but connected to the Asian mainland. This environment contributes to the uniqueness of Korean cuisine. Seafood plays a very important role as do vegetables and livestock. Let’s examine three of the most common and famous types of Korean food.
Finals are finally over and I will be leaving for Korea in two days. I haven't been to Korea in nearly ten years but I still remember the savory foods vendors sell along the streets of Myong Dong Market. My grandmother called me today with some unfortunate news. She informed me about a bird flu called Avian Influenza that has infected poultry across the farms in South Korea. "You need not worry, sweetie," my grandmother said in Korean. Strict measures were taken so that farms would not further spread this disease. Nonetheless, grandmother told me to pack my warm clothes and prepare myself for some good Korean food. I can hardly wait.
To understand this situation more fully, one must be given some background, starting in the early 1950s. Due to the harsh differences between the peoples of Korea, and especially due to the onset of Communism, the Korean War erupted and the nation split in half, with the Communist-supported Democratic People’s Republic in the north and those who favored democracy in the Korean Republic of the south (Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2000). The two separate countries of North Korea and South Korea went their opposite ways, and each has experienced different fortunes in the past half-century. The South Koreans managed to recover from the turmoil of the 1950s and 1960s to become an economic power and a democracy supporter. On the other hand, North Korea can be viewed as a retro country, based first on a Communist ideology, laid down by leader Kim Il Sung and inherited by his son, the current dictator Kim Jong Il, then evolving into a totalitarian state (Pacific Rim: East Asia at the Dawn of a New Century). Today North Korea holds the distinction of being one of the very few remaining countries to be truly cut off from the rest of the world. Author Helie Lee describes this in her novel In the Absence of Sun: “An eerie fear crawled through my flesh as I stood on the Chinese side of the Yalu River, gazing across the murky water into one of the most closed-off and isolated countries in the world.” (1)