If North Korea was a relative, it would be that drunk neurotic Uncle the cops pulled over for running a red light and not wearing a helmet on his moped. Not that I actually have one of those.
Then he disappears for a while and goes underground, and life doesn't feel quite as fulfilling without him around. Somehow we've come to miss all those bizarre antics and unfiltered outbursts.
But sooner or later he's bound to show up again, probably at some family picnic sporting a completely new hairdo and wearing a silver polyester tracksuit. And life begins to get its flavour back.
With recent world headlines commandeered by events in Japan and Libya, it appears our favourite Uncle has disappeared once again. So what's going on in that tiny isolated corner of the world?
I always thought it would be interesting to visit North Korea, or the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) as they like to call it. Apparently only a handful of people get issued North Korean "travel" visas every year. And from what I've seen of the DPRK (based on the limited media sources that have gotten into the country), the regime is very keen to present a carefully crafted image of itself.
Having never been there myself, I must live vicariously through other's experiences in order to cobble together an image of this unique country and its people. The best examples of these "snippets" that I've come across were featured on the Canadian travel show Departures, and the Vice Guide to North Korea on the website VBS.TV.
Both share common experiences. The difficulty in entering the country, the mandatory government sponsored "chaperone", the mandatory government travel schedule, the Communist indoctrination sessions featuring a lecture on the evil Imperialist aggressors -- all culminating in a visit to a bizarre and barren gift shop.
And what struck me the most about these visits was the emptiness... Everywhere these tourists went they were alone (besides the regime babysitter). The few highways were empty, the streets and museums deserted, even the gift shop. It was as if North Korea was nothing but an automatic and self-propelling construct -- devoid of any form of life and spontaneity.
But I suppose this isn't too far from the truth. In an attempt to control its own population and to prevent the infiltration of anti-communist ideas from the outside world, the regime has instilled a most thorough and effective mind control program. State propoganda begins at an early age and appears to pervade all sectors of North Korean culture. It shows up in schools, work places -- even on state concocted comedy television shows -- all with the aim of "enlightening" the masses and turning Kim Jong-il and his Juche ideology into all encompassing, self-reliant gospel.
I'm not sure where the people went, but the World Food Program assures us that the masses do in fact exist. Not only do they sprawl the countryside tilling away at the dusty earth, but they face serious food shortages as well. A Nov. 2008 WFP post shows a staggering 8.7 million people (out of a total population of 24 million) needed food assistance, but chronic drought and collective farming issues continue to dog the nation.
According to Wikipedia:
So how about a North Korean revolution? Could an Arab style upheaval be in the cards for this geographicaly isolated soap opera of a nation?
Not likely, I'm afraid. Kim Jong-il and his cronies seem to have a death grip on any information that enters and exits the North. This includes the Internet (the primary weapon of the Arab revolution), phone communications, radio and TV. It doesn't help that the North Koreans' most influential neighbour China is equally as tight fisted in its approach to personal freedoms.
Recent sabre rattling from the North, exemplified by the sinking of the South Korean warship ROKS Cheonan (and subsequent fiery dialogue), is a portent that regime change is afoot. The hope is that cooler heads will prevail when Kim Jong-il steps aside, that somehow the creepy dynastic succession of the Il family would be put asunder -- but this is probably not going to be the case. As in most dictatorship successions, the moderates rarely succeed in getting their point across. The military power behind the throne usually wins out at the end of the day, leading to more of the same policies and paranoia.
What is obvious to us outside the bubble -- the manipulation and oppression of the people in the "Hermit Kingdom" by the Korean Workers' Party and Il regime -- is that our awareness usually doesn't translate into anything more than snap judgements and detached voyeurism. The military action in Libya is the result of world empathy for the suffering of Libyans at the hands of their own ruler.
Now I don't see how the silent suffering of the North Korean people is any different, but I do see how intervention in Northern Asia would be extremely costly and likely quite detrimental to everyone involved.
But from time to time we do catch a rare glimpse behind the curtain, a glimpse of what our dear Uncle could be like if he just reformed his ways and smartened up a little. A vibrant and thriving South Korea is just such an example.
And even though we'd all like to slap him with a wet noodle and shake some sense into him, I suppose we'll have to resign ouselves to the fact that he has to make the journey back on his own.
Then he disappears for a while and goes underground, and life doesn't feel quite as fulfilling without him around. Somehow we've come to miss all those bizarre antics and unfiltered outbursts.
But sooner or later he's bound to show up again, probably at some family picnic sporting a completely new hairdo and wearing a silver polyester tracksuit. And life begins to get its flavour back.
With recent world headlines commandeered by events in Japan and Libya, it appears our favourite Uncle has disappeared once again. So what's going on in that tiny isolated corner of the world?
I always thought it would be interesting to visit North Korea, or the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) as they like to call it. Apparently only a handful of people get issued North Korean "travel" visas every year. And from what I've seen of the DPRK (based on the limited media sources that have gotten into the country), the regime is very keen to present a carefully crafted image of itself.
Having never been there myself, I must live vicariously through other's experiences in order to cobble together an image of this unique country and its people. The best examples of these "snippets" that I've come across were featured on the Canadian travel show Departures, and the Vice Guide to North Korea on the website VBS.TV.
Both share common experiences. The difficulty in entering the country, the mandatory government sponsored "chaperone", the mandatory government travel schedule, the Communist indoctrination sessions featuring a lecture on the evil Imperialist aggressors -- all culminating in a visit to a bizarre and barren gift shop.
And what struck me the most about these visits was the emptiness... Everywhere these tourists went they were alone (besides the regime babysitter). The few highways were empty, the streets and museums deserted, even the gift shop. It was as if North Korea was nothing but an automatic and self-propelling construct -- devoid of any form of life and spontaneity.
But I suppose this isn't too far from the truth. In an attempt to control its own population and to prevent the infiltration of anti-communist ideas from the outside world, the regime has instilled a most thorough and effective mind control program. State propoganda begins at an early age and appears to pervade all sectors of North Korean culture. It shows up in schools, work places -- even on state concocted comedy television shows -- all with the aim of "enlightening" the masses and turning Kim Jong-il and his Juche ideology into all encompassing, self-reliant gospel.
I'm not sure where the people went, but the World Food Program assures us that the masses do in fact exist. Not only do they sprawl the countryside tilling away at the dusty earth, but they face serious food shortages as well. A Nov. 2008 WFP post shows a staggering 8.7 million people (out of a total population of 24 million) needed food assistance, but chronic drought and collective farming issues continue to dog the nation.
According to Wikipedia:
In 2006, Amnesty International reported that a national nutrition survey conducted by the North Korean government, the World Food Programme, and UNICEF found that 7% of children were severely malnourished; 37% were chronically malnourished; 23.4% were underweight; and one in three mothers was malnourished and anaemic as the result of the lingering effect of the famine.Even though the regime in Pyongyang are the recipients of the first fruits of any harvest, I don't think they are ignorant about the suffering of their people. Nor do I think they willfully propagate it. But arcane economic policies and paranoid self-imposed isolation have certainly amplified North Korea's troubles. Perhaps only Cuba has held onto Communist ideals as long as the North, and faced similar US sanctions to boot. But if the Arab revolution has taught us anything, it has shown us that a country's identity is not its leadership or dogma, but its people.
So how about a North Korean revolution? Could an Arab style upheaval be in the cards for this geographicaly isolated soap opera of a nation?
Not likely, I'm afraid. Kim Jong-il and his cronies seem to have a death grip on any information that enters and exits the North. This includes the Internet (the primary weapon of the Arab revolution), phone communications, radio and TV. It doesn't help that the North Koreans' most influential neighbour China is equally as tight fisted in its approach to personal freedoms.
Recent sabre rattling from the North, exemplified by the sinking of the South Korean warship ROKS Cheonan (and subsequent fiery dialogue), is a portent that regime change is afoot. The hope is that cooler heads will prevail when Kim Jong-il steps aside, that somehow the creepy dynastic succession of the Il family would be put asunder -- but this is probably not going to be the case. As in most dictatorship successions, the moderates rarely succeed in getting their point across. The military power behind the throne usually wins out at the end of the day, leading to more of the same policies and paranoia.
What is obvious to us outside the bubble -- the manipulation and oppression of the people in the "Hermit Kingdom" by the Korean Workers' Party and Il regime -- is that our awareness usually doesn't translate into anything more than snap judgements and detached voyeurism. The military action in Libya is the result of world empathy for the suffering of Libyans at the hands of their own ruler.
Now I don't see how the silent suffering of the North Korean people is any different, but I do see how intervention in Northern Asia would be extremely costly and likely quite detrimental to everyone involved.
But from time to time we do catch a rare glimpse behind the curtain, a glimpse of what our dear Uncle could be like if he just reformed his ways and smartened up a little. A vibrant and thriving South Korea is just such an example.
And even though we'd all like to slap him with a wet noodle and shake some sense into him, I suppose we'll have to resign ouselves to the fact that he has to make the journey back on his own.
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