The Fate of North Korean Defectors: Political Puppets or Social Outcasts? - By Hokyung Sung

            Although now almost fading in my memories, I can still recall the pervading ambience of that night’s dinner. All was so very ordinary, even a bit dull; nothing dramatic or turbulent as I imagined it should have been, but quite eventless. Could I, without having been informed beforehand, have ever noticed the incurable scar of the past behind the clever-looking eyes of the woman in front of me? Or even the slightest hint of cyanide poison in her expressions? Probably not. Neither could have anybody else identified the woman to be a criminal of any sort – let alone even dream that she was a former terrorist who blew up an airplane full of one hundred fifteen innocent civilians.

Kim Hyon Hui. Now she lives in an undisclosed location.

             Her name was once Ok Hwa, and once Mayumi Hachiya – the aliases of a special-trained North Korean secret agent. Now, she lives as Kim Hyon Hui, and works as a current affairs program host at TV Chosun, a staunchly anti-North broadcaster. Her story, her testimony, is that of pure drama, pure epic; its suspense and intricacy triumphs that of fictional Hollywood movie plots.

             My chance to have dinner with her as a member of her distant family was an uncomfortable privilege, to be honest. I was curious and, embarrassingly enough, a bit excited. But at the same time, it was inevitably somewhat mind-boggling to see a person responsible for the death of 115 people – the infamous 1987 bombing of Korean Air Flight 858 – enjoying dinner peacefully just as I was. This was by no means a personal or character assessment; she was truly a warm-hearted, likable person. But hearing how she was to soon appear weekly in TV Chosun to discuss North Korean affairs, I could not help but question what her role was in South Korea – was she standing by herself, or could it be that she was merely being used as a political puppet by the South Korean government and media?

The latter was sadly but undoubtedly true at one point in history. During the days immediately following the terrible explosion in 1987, still unidentified and under the custody of the Secret Service, Kim was exploited by the then-autocratic regime as a propaganda puppet. Korea then was facing a turning point: the 1987 presidential election was to be its first democratic direct election. Two weeks after the accident, and “coincidentally” just the day before the election, Kim, still known to the public as Mayumi, arrived in Korea under heavy escort. She dramatically appeared in the 9 p.m. television news as the offender. As expected, the main article on the first page of the next morning’s newspaper discussed prospects for the presidential election; in the corner, it showed a giant picture of the fearless, allegedly North Korean terrorist, Mayumi, who had bombed the South Korean plane – a heartless North Korean mass murderer.

The First Page of Chosun Ilbo on 1987.12.16 - The Day of the 13th Presidential Election

(Source: Chosun Ilbo)

Mounting on the fear of an additional North Korean attack, the election was easily won by the conservative party leader who had been a faithful aide to the preceding dictator. Such outspoken and deliberate political machination certainly engendered widespread criticism and even spawned far-fetched conspiracy theories as extreme as those that accused the South Korean Secret Service of planning the explosion from the very beginning and staging a self-fabricated scenario.

             Kim Hyon Hui is not alone in the list of former North Korean personnel who were a deeply integrated part of the autocratic regime. Another former secret agent Kim Shin-jo, a member and one of the two survivors of a North Korean assassination team that vowed to eliminate ROK president Park Jung-Hee in 1968, now has become a Christian pastor with conservative political inclination. Hwang Jang-yop, a major politician (former secretary of the North Korean Workers Party) who is known to have played a large role in creating North Korea's state ideology the Juche ideology, defected to the South in 1997 with his aide and became a harsh critic of North Korea. Without exception, both Kim Sin-Jo and Hwang have been among the most frequent interviewees and guests of right-wing mass media and conservative administrations.

             Whereas these former vanguards of North Korean tyranny enjoy a life of relative prosperity and convenience, the scene at the other hemisphere of North Korean defectors is not so bright and beautiful. According to South Korea's Ministry of Unification, currently there are about 24,613 North Korean defectors livingin South Korea, and shockingly enough, about half of them are unemployed or struggling to stably mingle within the South Korean society. This in large is due to the sad reality that they are utterly under-educated, having “at most a few years of elementary school education” in the North – and that too, one “more focused on political indoctrination than reading and math.”

However, the lack of proper education is not the only barrier that blocks the path for the defectors’ peaceful adaptation. Experts say that many young defectors are given a chance in prestigious South Korean universities with the help of affirmative action policies, but that even among them, it turns out, half or more choose to drop out. Apart from the inability to follow the curriculum, the main challenge is the defectors’ emotional problems – caused by trauma, stress, and most importantly, the not-so-friendly attitudes of their classmates. Defectors say they are often shunned for their Northern accent, their small stature, and the traumas that haunt them. Just think about it. Isn’t it true and sadly indisputable that we view these former "assassins" and autocrats with an indescribable air of amusement and awe, but at the same time that the average (in world standards, much below average) North Korean defector is met with a hostile and condescending look?

The Cross of Golgotha

In Hermann Hesse’s renowned bildungsroman Demian, there appears an interesting, unorthodox interpretation of the often-called “Good Thief Bad Thief” story. According to the bible, just before the thieves were about to be crucified next to Jesus, one of the two, the Penitent Thief, admitted all his wrongdoings, expressed true repentance, and promised his faithfulness to God. The Good Thief was allegedly allowed to ascend into Heaven. However, in the novel Demian, the spiritual leader of the protagonist, suggests this novel viewpoint: “If you had to pick a friend from between the two thieves or decide which of the two you had rather trust, you most certainly wouldn’t select that sniveling convert. No, the other fellow…… he follows his destiny to its appointed end and does not turn coward and forswear the devil, who has aided and abetted him until then.”
          Although far from being analogous to the situation in hand, the position where North Korean defectors have to yield to the impure motives of the government is quite similar to where the thieves stood: they are, in a way, forced to a “conversion of faith” that refuses them refuge without the endurance of political abuse. Can we accuse these “thieves” who have left what was like hell in the North to find their own “heaven” in the South? No. It is and it must be the government’s task to ensure a system in which political confessions do not have to be prerequisites to a successful assimilation to the Southern society, a system in which the innocent can find themselves in an unqualified, non-elitist “heaven” of life.

Ironically, the treatment of defectors, I vaguely recall, was one of the many conversation topics at that night’s dinner table. A naïve child then, I sat there and listened to the passionate stories told by my grandfather’s cousin’s daughter – seven long ties of blood from me – about the life of defectors. There, speaking sincerely from her heart, she was for certain neither a puppet of anything else nor a subject of awe to be looked at differently. She was simply Kim Hyon Hui, a happy mother of two, eating Chinese food, meeting distant relatives and having a nice talk. Like her, someday the average defector might start to be identified as the true person he or she is, no longer as “the defector” or “the North Korean” that he or she now lives branded as. Today, I just hope that “someday” comes soon.

For More Information

"Drop in North Korean Refugees to South Korea." BBC News. BBC, 01 Feb. 2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.

Fackler, Martin. "Young North Korean Defectors Struggle in the South." The New York Times. The New York Times, 12 July 2012. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.

“South Korea Passes Resolution on North Korea Refugees." BBC News. BBC, 28 February 2012. Web. 15 April 2013.

U.N. Security Council. “Provisional Verbatim Record of the Two Thousand Seven Hundred Ninety-First Meeting” (S/PV.2791) 16 Feb. 1988. (Online) Web. Apr. 15, 2013. n.d.

To Communicate With North Korea - By Yejin Seo

North Korea. What is the first thing that comes to your mind after reading the two words? Nuclear weapons? Brainwashed people? Starvation? Such things that I suspect you to have thought of represent the general image you have of North Korea. However, where do these images come from? Why can’t we think of  “a peaceful country”, “a caring mother” or “happiness” when we think of North Korea? 

We can find the clue to this question when we think about the sources we get our information about North Korea from. Most of the time, the sources are news programs from broadcasting studios, and they inform us about what the North Korean government does. However, such news programs cannot inform us of what North Koreans usually do. Yet, we mindlessly infer how North Koreans would be like based on how the North Korean government is. As a matter of course, people make a myriad of mistakes when it comes to guessing how North Koreans would be like as individuals.   

On December 2012, Ronny Edry, an Israeli graphic designer, presented a TED lecture explaining how his poster he posted on Facebook which said “Israelis love Iranians” became an issue and was imitated by many individuals to become a campaign: ‘Israel loves Iran.’ He emphasized the importance of the impression people have towards each other, and said that by changing the impression Israelis and Iranians have towards each other-which is, generally, a hostile country- we can bring meaningful change, and maybe even stop a war. In addition, he says that we can communicate much easily these days than the past thanks to technical advances, and that by communication we can change the thoughts of individuals about one another.

Before the introduction of Facebook, we were informed of ongoing international issues only from the media like the newspaper or the television.  However, such limits in source caused some problems. One of them is distortion of facts and perspective. Because newspapers and the news are made by a company, they convey the views of the broadcasting company about the issue, and not the issue itself. Throughout history, the media has actually been used by governments to propagate its opinions, and is still used today in many countries. Of course, it is impossible to present a story without it being influenced by the storyteller’s point of view. However, the listeners cannot reach the truth nor have stable opinions about an issue unless they hear the a story in different points of view and decide what to believe.

Another problem of the media is the difficulties readers face in suggesting their opinions about the situation based on information provided by the media. The media implicitly excludes the readers from the issue, when they should be actively involved in it. Although readers usually form their opinions on a certain issue they are informed about, they find writing letters to newspaper companies very troublesome. Additionally, we are uncertain of whether we will receive a response when writing mails to newspaper companies while we are certain of it when commenting on a Facebook page.

Because of the development of communication, we are now able to express our opinions any time, any place. This eventually helped us to grow a mutual understanding and progress without the sacrifice of another. However, there are countries which restrict their people from communication itself. Our neighboring country, North Korea is one of them. In this case, we must find a different method to communicate and correct the misunderstandings we have.

Even though South Korean textbooks teach us that we must exert ourselves to reunify peacefully, many of us do not want to reunite, partially because of our negative impressions of North Korea. We think that North Koreans are irrational,  aggressive people brainwashed by the government, and North Koreans think of us in almost the same way. However, we hate only because we were made to hate. North Koreans' and our thoughts of each other are based on what the public media had told us rather than individual communications, and we should break these unreasonable thoughts of each other to take a step closer to peaceful reunification. 

The solution for this problem is easy: communicating. But in reality, the strict restrictions the North Korean government poses on its media and its people made it almost impossible for us and North Koreans to talk to each other individually. North Koreans are not allowed to access any media except for the ones that are provided by their government, and it is obvious that they are forbidden to have a Facebook account as well. So it is not an option for us to have a campaign on Facebook like the Israelis and Iranians did.

Even very recently, the North Korean government did not show any signs of appeasement in its policies that restrict people from accessing media freely. Recently,  Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt made attempts to negotiate with North Korea, offering technology. While Eric Schmidt aims to provide computers in every school and digitized machinery in every factory in North Korea, experts think this plan is unlikely to succeed due to North Korea’s strict censorship: only very few have clearance to freely surf the web, and most people can only use North Korea’s intranet. The incident of Eric Schmidt clearly shows how much effort the North Korean government is putting on censoring its media.

However, even under such difficult conditions, there is still hope. The pressure of the North Korean government could not stop information from the outside world passing the cracks of the DMZ. In recent years, South Korean dramas became very popular and eventually affected North Korea. Even though the government strictly banned its people from watching them, it could not oppress people's curiosity towards the outside world, and South Korean dramas are distributed in secrecy. This is no such thing to be trivialized. The heated boom of South Korean culture among the North Korean public is enough to change North Korea’s culture. Recent reports tell us that even North Korea’s criteria of beauty are changing, becoming very similar to those of South Korea because of the influence of Korean dramas. 

Therefore, I suggest that we utilize this popularity and make dramas that would show that as humans, we South Koreans all want peace than war. A recent drama concerning the two Koreas can be an example. This drama, “The king two hearts” is about a marriage between a South Korean prince and a North Korean girl. The whole drama conveys a message; that North and South Koreans are not that different, that both are mere humans with feelings, a family, scars, and love. This drama not only served to be a telegraph sending the message to North Koreans, but also showed new aspects of North Koreans to South Koreans as well. 

It is most unfortunate that we cannot have something more than a one-sided conversation now. Things are much more difficult for us than it is for Israelis and Iranians since we cannot communicate on Facebook, and the best thing I could think of is sending a message through popular dramas. However, I expect the distance between the two Koreas to shorten if we tenaciously send our good will to the North Koreans, enough so that we will be able to hear their voice as well. We will be able to have a little chat about dramas, k-pop musics, and peace. Then, maybe, in our future, we might even be able to just call a North Korean and ask, “What’s up?”

Should the international society use sanctions against North Korea? - By Joonho Yang

             “Living hell, it was.”  This was the first phrase that the North Korean defector used when I asked him about his home country.  “I don’t know what happened to my family.  They were probably tortured, put in jail, or maybe even killed.  I can only hope that they somehow got out too.”  Being one of the most well known rogue nations, North Korea has consistently violated its own citizens’ rights and threatened world peace for the last few decades.  It has tortured, starved, and killed its own citizens, all the while developing nuclear weapons and long-range missile technology.  

 

As an answer, the international community has tried various ways to stop further harms from being done.  From sanctions to “sunshine” policies, there has been no clear, ideal way to deal with the nation.  However, due to several reasons, I think that the usage of economic sanctions is the best solution to the problems regarding North Korea.

             I personally believe that sanctions serve their purpose best.  Whenever a bully does something bad, the teacher fixes the situation by punishing the bully, so that the bully has a practical harm in his way that can motivate him to stop the bad actions.  As a punishment, sanctions can be extremely effective, since although they are not military actions and therefore will not provoke another war, the economic harms are feared by the leaders of North Korea.

             But it is true that pure economic sanctions, such as the stop of all trade to North Korea can be detrimental towards the citizens of the nation.  When the trade is stopped, the leaders try to minimize the effect of the sanction by ripping off the citizens with increased taxes.  In such a hierarchical society, the citizens simply have to starve while the leaders are barely affected by the worldwide economic sanctions.

             When I went to do voluntary work in Hanawon, the South Korean national center for the rehabilitation of North Korean defectors, the defectors told me that life in North Korea for regular citizens was unimaginably terrifying.  They had to pay whatever tax that was required of them, and less income came their way, even further degrading their life.  Having three meals regularly each day was pure luxury, and they were thankful simply for not starving every day.  But the scariest of all was the propaganda North Korea maintained upon its citizens.  “We learned that the U.S was a terrorist nation.  They were trying to take over the whole world, but we the North Koreans were trying to stop them.”  This was said with so much sincerity and tears that I found it astonishing that the North Korean regime could keep such insane social control.  Upon hearing the words, I thought that the international community must find a way for North Korea’s punishment without is citizen being so harmed.  Then I learned about the steps taken by the U.S to achieve the same goal.

             The only and best way to restrict North Korea’s irresponsible actions, while also maintaining security, is to try to freeze the personal leader’s accounts.  This proved to be best when the U.S froze Kim Jeong-Il’s personal bank account in Switzerland.  At the time, Kim Jeong-Il immediately returned to the six-party talks for the discussion of their weapons of mass destruction.  Also, the economic sanctions on banks that support the North Korean nuclear program, such as Tanchon Commercial Bank and Leader (Hong Kong) International Trading Limited, was implemented recently, on January 24^th, 2013 as a response to the rogue nation’s nuclear testing.  These ways of sanctioning will have a minimal impact on the majority of the citizens, and will simply harm the leaders of North Korea financially.

             Another reason why economic sanctions should be proposed most in the status quo is because of the change in China’s attitude towards the issue of North Korea.  Until just recently, China maintained its position that it would ultimately support the rogue nation in any situations or circumstances.  Although they were severely criticized, the Chinese refused to step back from its closest ally, vetoing most of the resolutions and all of the sanctions targeted at North Korea.  But recently, after the North Korean nuclear test, China has changed its mind.  The only reason why North Korea was able to somehow survive through the numerous, variable sanctions of the international society was because of the superpower China standing behind its back with support.  Whenever such economic sanctions were implemented, China maintained its trade, providing a lifeline for North Korea.  With China in support of the sanction, now North Korea will be much more severely affected, and the economic sanctions will have a much larger effect.

             Rogue nations are called rogue nations for a clear reason: they simply do not follow the rules agreed upon by the world, go against human rights, and make threats against world peace.  There is a need to deal with the situation with North Korea, and using economic sanctions is the best possible way to handle the rogue nation since it can be directed towards the leaders of North Korea, and be effective due to the change of Chinese attitude.

 

Works Cited

"Global Policy Forum." Sanctions Against North Korea. Global Policy Forum, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2013.

"North Korea." - Sanctions Wiki. Sanctions Wiki, n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2013.

"North Korea Sanctions- Nuclear Reaction." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2013

Palmer, Brian. "Is There Anything Left To Sanction in North Korea?" Slate Magazine. Brian Palmer, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.

Should we send propaganda balloons to North Korea? - By Changhun Lee

 

          It’s just another day of arduous labor in the factory. He lays down his tools, takes off his gloves and stands up to drags his heavy body back home. Just before exiting the factory, he pauses. The gigantic picture of Kim Jung Il looms before him, like any other in any other factory. He salutes, for all the marvelous deeds he had done for him, his family, and his country. Walking back home, he stops before the huge statue of Kim Jung Il. He salutes, and moves on. Back home, his wife and children greet him. Dinner is ready. But before dinner, he walks to the portrait of Kim Jung Il. He salute. His children burst open their doors and enter the living room. They show him some balloons, which they had found while playing outside. Oddly, there seems to be objects inside. He pops the balloons, instantly making his children burst tears. News articles, letters, and several photos fall to his laps. He reads them. Over and over and over again. He stands up. He slowly walks towards the portrait he had saluted to half an hour ago. He stares at the man inside. And he rips it apart.

           A likely story? Maybe, maybe not. But it gives a glimpse of what I want to talk about in this paper. But before anything else, let’s go over what is going on.

           North Korea, once again, has successfully dominated the cover of innumerable word newspapers with its usual threat of nuclear tests. Whether it is an empty threat or a real danger is yet to be undiscovered, but North Korea has shown for sure that its change in leadership does not mean softening its barricade against the word. For decades, the world has tried to communicate with the rogue state. But attempts of peace talks, aid, and treaties have proven to be futile; we received more assaults and threats in return.

           Yet the inner side of this seemingly strong and vigorous nation is more tender and vulnerable than that of any other. Its majority of the citizens suffer under abject poverty and fear of the state. The part of North Korea that is revealed to the rest of the world is the brightest side of the dark cave.

           I’ve actually been there when I was a little kid in elementary school. I was participating in a camp to North Korea, supposedly to learn about the country and ponder over unification. Unfortunately, we only visited the restricted area that the government had taken care of beforehand. So we had no actual opportunity to see the life of an average North Korean. During the camp, I never succeeded in seriously musing on unification; I mostly enjoyed playing with my new friends. But I do remember one thing that didn’t involve silly pranks with my friends.

           It was the last day, and I and my friends entered a noodle restaurant after climbing the KeumKang Mountains. We waited, and a waitress approached us to ask what we would like to have. My first impression was that her accent was really funny. We all held out laughter until she left. I even recorded her voice to share the experience back in South Korea with my family. But after talking to her two or three times, something other than amusement caught me. I began to form sympathy for her in the corner of my mind. She was always smiling so brightly when she talked to us with an friendly tone. But I couldn’t erase the thought that her smile and tone were somewhat artificial. Them seemed like parts of a big system, already set and planned. Of course, I might have been wrong. Now to think about it, even South Korean waitresses are told to smile by their employers. But the smile just seemed different at that time. It lingered inside my head for several days.

           This experience taught me something. The reason why we should unify not only lies in the safety of South Korea or its economic development, but also in the North Korean citizens themselves. I genuinely care for them and wish they lead decent lives. But is it any useful that I, a normal high school boy, care about unification and North Koreans? I say yes, because to the surprise of many people, the answer to unification may not be all about President Obama, Park Geun Hye, or even Kim Jeong Eun.

 

     

            Instead,it might be about balloons.

           Yes, balloons, as in the colorful round things that float and pop. South Korean citizens as well as the army have sent balloons that contain messages or articles over North Korean border in the past decades. The messages and articles mainly criticize North Korea and communism. The uniqueness of this method is that it tries to instigate the citizens, not the leaders. Regardless of the strong dictator regime in North Korea, no nation can avert collapse forever when the citizens turn their backs against the government. This is why North Korean government has virtually brainwashed every citizen into believing that democracy is evil and the Kim family members are godlike beings, like the man in my introduction illustrates. To solve this problem is simple: let the citizens know that they have been worshipping charlatans who have ripped off everything from their lives. No matter how hard we try to talk with the government, we will be simply wasting time and money. Propaganda balloon does this job best, thus being the most efficient method to take us one step closer to unification. Once turmoil rises among the citizens, the North Korean government will have to come up with a solution.

           Another reason to allow the sending of propaganda balloons is that North Korean citizens have the right to know. The innocent citizens are suffering under famine and preposterously oppressive policies. The international community, especially South Korea, has the obligation to rescue the North Korean citizens from this abyss of lies. Under the Korean constitution, North Korea is not a proper government. In other words, the people who live in the territory of North Korea are technically still our citizens. To neglect them is abandoning the right over our citizens.

           North Korea has responded to propaganda balloons with bellicosity and hostility. Ithas threatened to shoot missiles if we continue. Kim Jung Il has also stated that the balloons are “an unpardonable challenge to the army and people of the DPRK and a deliberate act to push north-south ties to the lowest ebb”. This has caused many people to stop down with fear. But there can be no unification without sacrifice. We can wait several decades until North Korea yields to democracy. But this seemingly innocuous plan also belies the sacrifice of innumerable North Korean citizens who will be oppressed for years. Furthermore, the threat that North Korea make is usually a simple rhetoric. Therefore, liking propaganda balloons directly to physical assaults is a rash conclusion.

           Right now, the Korean government is prohibiting the sending of propaganda balloons after a hostile threat from North Korea early this year. A group called ‘Fightersfor Free North Korea’ had planned to send 200000 balloons over the border lastyear in October, but South Korean troops banned the act.

 

           We must not forget that change will only come when North Korean citizens start to throw a suspicious glance towards Kim Jung Il’s portrait in their homes, one by one. The few ones, who rip apart the man inside, like the man in my story, will certainly arouse more actions. And hopefully they will be freed.

Education first, if you care - By Chaewon Lim

Every adolescent, including those in North Korea, experiences the pain of growth as he or she is forced to face reality. As I had recently gone through a 6 month long, gloomy phase of hesitation before gaining up my will and firmly deciding to break through the reality head-on, I know very well the pain of growing up. Thus, when I was contemplating on the topic for this essay, the first thought that came into my mind was the state of adolescents of North Korea. 

 

   Growth is not a choice. At some point or another, a young bird grows big enough to break out of its egg. At the moment of the break, two forces act on the bird’s mind: one, to break free, and two, to stay cozy inside, although uncomfortable. I thought that the North Korean teenagers go through a more painful process in growing up than South Korean teens, because they are educated that everything inside the egg is good, and everything outside is bad. However, research on "Life and Development of Adolescents in North Korea," by professor Min SK of Yonsei University, based on interviews with North Korean adolescent defectors and a questionnaire from adult defectors, concluded otherwise. The research states that in North Korea, “Identity crises, which so often characterize the adolescent period, seem not to be so turbulent, and develop later and finish early with resignation, because of the limitations mainly imposed by the political status of their family origin.” Additionally, a Youtube video made last year in North Korea titled, "Life in the People's Paradise of the DPRK", showed a girl of my age who was more than satisfied with her life in North Korea. It struck me for the first time that the teenagers in North Korea might not have as much concern or suffer as much uncertainty as South Korean adolescents. 

I acknowledge that North Korean teenagers could be happier than South Korean teenagers in their forced bliss of ignorance. However, I believe that such happiness is not genuine and is easy to break, and that when it breaks, will bring about severe distress. In the TED speech by Hyeonseo Lee, a North Korean defector, Lee told her story of how she opened her eyes to the reality of her country after her mother’s friend’s family all died of hunger. Although her fantasy and happiness broke with distress, because of the realization, she was able to find her way out of North Korea and live an adventurous life in search of meaning and genuine happiness. Thus, a proper, unbiased education is central for the North Korean adolescents.

"My Escape from North Korea"- TED, Hyeonseo Lee

If only possible, I wish to help adolescents like me in North Korea. I would tell them about good books that had healed me at hard times, and the songs that I love. However, giving direct help in the education of North Korean adolescents is virtually impossible. Thus, realizable efforts must be done by the South Korean government to provide better education at least for the North Korean defectors in South Korea, and to reduce the educational gap when and if the Koreas are unified.

There are increasingly many North Korean defectors in South Korea. A large proportion of them are in their adolescence. From 1998 until December 2012, of the total of 23,879 defectors, 16,773(70%) were middle school and high school students(Statistics from the Ministry of Education Homepage). However, there are very few specialized schools for the defectors in South Korea. The Hangyoere Middle& High School is the only public school exclusively for North Korean defectors. It is a school to help young defectors to adapt to the South Korean society, not only by providing academics but also by engaging the students in various activities such as drama class and sports, providing psychological counseling, and even medical treatment. Before being thrown into a completely different educational and social environment, students at the Hangyoere School get a chance to adapt to the atmosphere and prepare themselves. With increasing numbers of North Korean defectors, I believe that the South Korean government should fund the establishment of more specialized schools for defectors. 

"High School for North Korean Defectors"- Youtube

Education in North Korea is falling behind both in content and environment. In the Youtube video, “North Korea: A Day in the Life”, there is a scene in a North Korean kindergarten. The teacher tells a group of children the story of Kim Jung-il’s boyhood, the core of the narrative being Kim’s charitable nature. Other teachers evaluate the teacher on the effectiveness of her deliverance of the “message,” and later, give advice on what details to emphasize, for example, that Kim Jeong-il lived “exactly the same way as his comrades did when he was young.” As in this example, education in North Korea is not free from brainwashing. Moreover, the educational environment is poor. According to an article from The New York Times, since the 1990’s after a famine, most schools were deprived, and possibly are still deprived, of “heating fuel, adequate food rations and school supplies.” There is also the problem of “unruly mobilization of students,” which is making students gather fuel and fertilizer for the school during school hours, instead of providing them with proper education. 

Considering such limits of North Korean education, the South Korean government should prepare an educational program that starts from elementary education for North Koreans, to facilitate the reduction of educational gap when and if the Koreas unify. Furthermore, the South Korean government should have an open minded attitude about education, since there are also aspects that South Korean education can learn from that of North Korea, such as preservation of pure Korean language. 

At this moment, nearer to me than my family by distance, a North Korean girl may be lying on her bed, looking up at the picture of Kim Il-sung on the wall, and feeling happy. She might have had the incipient signs of cracks in the egg that she probably had buried in her heart as a nightmare; but I believe that tiny cracks are sensitive enough to respond to a stimulus and eventually break open the egg. Efforts must be done to improve education for North Koreans in South Korea, at least to give the hope that in the near future, the efforts will spread out to reach the girl in North Korea. 

Should the U.S take stronger actions against N.K to stop its nuclear tests? - By Taeyoon Lim

After the Cheonan submarine sank deep into the ocean in 2010 March 26, my ethics teacher’s face was red with resentment. Standing on the podium, the teacher ardently criticized South Korean politicians for blaming North Korea with no specific evidence in the Cheonan issue. She merely viewed the issue as political artifice by the South Korean government in order to distract citizens’ attention away from domestic politics. Despite two hours of debate, the ethics teacher, a former North Korean refugee, was firm on her stance that most reported North Korean threats were flawed and did not exist. Though she might have said this in such way due to her love towards her hometown, it is incontrovertible that threats from North Korea do, in fact, exist. With Kim Jeong-Un clutching a switch for a nuclear missile launcher, feeling relief in the Korean Peninsula is premature. For the sake of peace and safety for all, the U.S, a country that can wield the strongest international power, should tighten its grip on Kim Jeong Un. North Korea has refused denuclearization suggestions by other nations, and their nuclear weaponization technology has progressed enough to manufacture more destructive weapons.

North Korea has refused to compromise with numerous diplomatic negotiations in order to continue its nuclear tests. The current dictator of North Korea, Kim Jeong Un, has chosen an extremely illogical diplomatic stance in order to pursue further development in nuclear technology. For instance, North Korea has abandoned multi-national food aids provided by the U.S and South Korea in order to maintain its nuclear facilities. I once saw several photos of dead bodies of North Koreans lying on unpaved roads in rural regions. Extremely feeble limbs and swelled abdomens of the dead bodies lucidly suggested that they died due to malnutrition. Why can’t Kim Jeong Un feel such anguish of North Koreans? Is nuclear technology worthy enough to abandon thousands of people whose lives are being eaten away by poverty and famine? Instead of compromising with other nations to aid innocent lives, North Korea conducted the additional underground nuclear explosion experiment on February 12^th 2013. To make a weapon that can destruct 40% of the western continent of the U.S, North Korea is killing thousands people annually with its merciless exploitation . When there are no restrictions on North Korea, no one can guarantee the future of North Korean citizens and other countries. North Koreans will be ceased by poverty, and the world will be ceased by a nuclear war. Therefore, the U.S should perform stronger actions to sanction North Korea’s nuclear tests to ensure North Koreans’ welfare and world peace.

Advancement in North Korean nuclear technology is enabling  more destructive weapons. Instead of investing financial aids from the Sun-Shine policy of South Korea in feeding impoverished North Koreans, Kim Jeong Il covertly accumulated such aids to propel his ambitious nuclear plan. Today, his successor, Kim Jeong Un, is arduously carrying out his father’s grandiose plan by increasing the frequency of the nuclear tests and fatality of potential nuclear missiles. As an example, the Korean Central News Agency recently reported that North Korea has begun to use plutonium in manufacturing miniature nuclear devices. Such devices can be attached on Unha-3, a long-range missile, which North Korea painstakingly manufactured and succeeded in launching on December 2012. Furthermore,Kim Jeong Un had already conducted two long-range missile attacks and one nuclear test during the 2 years of his reign . My science teacher in elementary school said that a war between South and North Korea in the future would end with a push of a missile switch. Such moment seems to be coming earlier than I have expected. Today, all Kim Jeong Un has to do is to push a button to destruct everything that my ancestors have yielded for the past 5000 years. Only ashes and remnants of human civilizations would be left on the Korean Peninsula after a war, and my science teacher’s prediction would turn out to be true. In other words, the U.S should not hesitate to impose stronger regulations on North Korea before its military power begets irreversible chaos.

To sum up, the U.S should strengthen its restrictions against nuclear-fanatic North Korea, since Kim Jeong Un has revealed no signs of denuclearization in order to fulfill his nuclear plans, and improved nuclear technology of North Korea is now in the realm that can impose serious global threats. I and most of my fellow South Koreans are living in modern society that has a weak personal connection to North Korea other than being South Koreans. However, detrimental impacts that Kim Jeong Un can inflict to South Korea do have powerful connections with our lives. The destiny of people I love and everything I possess depends on a capricious dictator living in the North. Truly, this is an inconvenient truth. Persuading obstinate Kim Jeong Un is incontrovertibly a challenging task. But we cannot allow a single dictator to destroy our land and civilizations that our ancestors have established through innumerable historical turmoil and immense sacrifice. With the help of U.S, South Koreans have to struggle to weather through this diplomatic tension that is swaying the destiny of our nation. 

Can the North Korean government maintain its hold over its citizens? - By Hongmin Sung

Stability of North Korea

Can the North Korean government maintain its hold over its citizens?

I’ve been thinking of pursuing a career in mechanics, preferably robotics with a focus on military technology, ever since middle school. I got to know in KMLA that having a specific career plan, especially one like mine, was uncommon. Well, the reason I decided to commit by studies to work in this field was because of the ROKS Cheonan sinking and the Yeonpyeong bombardments. When I read that several faults in the equipment, such as the K-9 howitzers, caused a lot more casualties, I was angry and upset. A country that prides itself for its technological excellence had lost lives due to its technology, or lack of it. Coincidentally, I also looked into our northern counterparts’ military out of curiosity, and then the nation as a whole.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, a.k.a. North Korea, is one of the world’s last Stalinist countries, shrouded in secrecy by the extensive power of its government. Its seclusion from the world around it is one of the main reasons why the country hasn’t collapsed. As the country fell under the third generation of dictators, we are still waiting for the “inevitable” collapse of the nation. But after 6 decades and two successions of power, North Korea is still standing. Could this nation actually maintain this status quo, or is this all just a prelude to the nation’s downfall? To answer this question, I looked at North Korea from a social point of view and an economical point of view.

             Domestically, the North Korean government uses three methods to control its citizens. First, it uses propaganda to project the image of a pure, rising nation amongst Western evils. For instance, a typical example of North Korean propaganda will praise the Korean race to be pure and perfect by dressing them in white clothing. Second, the government controls the nation’s media, such as TV, radio, the Internet and newspapers to cloud its citizens from the truth. Last year, North Korea was next to last in the RSF (Reporters Without Borders)’s annual index on media environment. Lastly, the party uses its secret service to instill fear of insubordination to the citizens. North Korea has tripled its secret police in the past 30 years, and controls the citizens as intimately as possible. Internationally, North Korea can be viewed as an isolated country with very few allies. Only China and a few small African, Middle Eastern, and Southeast Asian countries are helping or trading with North Korea in the present. Russia, which was a former ally, is now pressuring alongside the Western powers and South Korea to follow international laws. In order to cover up this situation, the North Korean government has cut off access of the citizens to the outside world. However, foreign goods, especially South Korean movies, dramas, and songs are seeping into the country. This infiltration is triggering more and more defections and also promoting our country's image to the citizens of North Korea.

             Economically, North Korea is quite famous for having a large gap between the classes. North Korea has the 103^rd largest GDP of 40 billion dollars. It wouldn’t be so bad, but the wealth is focused on the top party members and poverty is flourishing everywhere else. As the people died by the hundreds from starvation, “the Great Leader” rode a $400,000 Maybach. After the 1994~1998 famine, which killed millions, North Korea showed immense inflexibility in recovery and is still suffering from the repercussions. Especially in 1995, monumental floods (in one particular case 870mm in 7 hours) sealed the doom of millions of people. Around 12~15% of the grain produce in North Korea was destroyed and even the soldiers couldn’t obtain sufficient food. The soldiers, due to the “military first” policy, got top priority after the party members, but the dire situation of the country has made the soldiers the main body of North Korean corruption. Still, North Korea is using around $10 billion in its military, almost a quarter of its entire GDP. This lopsided system is keeping North Korea in its impoverished state.

             After looking at North Korea in these two sides, I believe that it is safe to say that the Labor party will not be able to keep hold of its nation much longer. Although the government is controlling the media and is using propaganda to brainwash its citizens, more and more North Koreans are gaining access to the real world. They are finding out that they are being deceived and that they could lead better lives elsewhere. They are sick and tired of the endless propaganda and the appeals to work harder for the leader and the coming war. They’ve got no help, no allies, only themselves. The North Koreans are tired, and I think that we all should prepare for the probable breakdown of our northern counterparts.