North Korea: Culture and Considerations

North Korea: Culture and Considerations

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, more commonly known as North Korea, is the nation occupying the northern half of the Korean peninsula. North Korea is a young state, and little is known about the nation in the United States, or in the world. So little in fact, that most Western Media depicts North Korea with negative connotations. North Korea has a closed-country policy, which hides its culture, history, and the daily lives of civilians in the nation from the rest of the world. Not many foreigners have visited the People’s Republic of Korea, and not many North Koreans have traveled to the rest of the outside world.

North Korea has grown substantially considering its young age in comparison to many of the other world powers. The country was founded in 1948, after the United States and the Soviet Union replaced the Japanese in 1945 and split the Korean peninsula into the American south and the Soviet controlled north. The world considered North Korea a Soviet satellite until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and since then has grown into its own due to its unique socialism. Though North Korea and South Korea stem from one nation, over fifty years of confrontation, antagonism, and war, culminating in the Korean War of 1950-1953 have split their cultures drastically, and the world’s perception of the countries as well. In stark contrast to the demonized perception of the People’s Republic of Korea, South Korea has a much more westernized presence within America and its own nation.

The closed-country policy has had a profound effect on the demographic statistics of North Korea as well. The population is almost completely Korean, with a small Chinese community to the nor...

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...ly built international hotels and restaurants. The majority of P’yongyang’s residents reside in electric and heat-equipped apartments, reserved for high-ranking party members and army officers. The majority of citizens do not own an automobile. Apart from the capital, there are very few cities with a comparable infrastructure. There is little known about the more rural or agricultural areas in North Korea since visitors are prohibited.

Works Cited

Buzo, Adrian. The Guerrilla Dynasty: Politics and Leadership in North Korea. N.p.: n.p., 1999. Print.

Cummings, Bruce. Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History, 1997. Print.

Park, Han S. North Korea: Ideology, Politics, Economy. N.p.: n.p., 1996. Print.

Yang, Sonia R. "Democratic People's Republic of Korea." www.everyculture.com.

ADVAMEG, inc., 1 Jan. 2006. Web. 1 June 2014.