Everyone
knows about North Korea and its situation.
Whether
that may be a naïve teenager who sits at home playing video games in all their
free time, or a political analyst who earns their living by talking about
issues like these, we are all aware of Kim Jong-un and his autocratic control
of the country. And it is also likely that we all have a basic knowledge of the
increasingly escalating threat of nuclear war there. Just how has it got to
this point?
Kim
Jong-un, the much criticised and frankly crazy leader of North Korea is at the
centre of this. It is his claims and threat of bringing war onto the USA and
many of its allies that have started ringing alarm bells in many minds.
Such is the
mystery around him and his personal nature though, that accounts of his age
differ, with American records suggesting he is 33, yet North Korean statements
indicating that he is 35. This is quite a poignant example of the enigma that is
North Korea to our eyes.
Kim Jong-un
has benefitted highly from what appears to simply be a monarchical system in
place in the country, taking control from his father Kim Jong-il in late 2011.
Instantly, he assumed several supreme hereditary titles that gave him total
control.
It is a
system that one would feel would be normal centuries ago, given the complete
level-headed nature of democracy that we have in our society here in Europe.
And it is a system that stems from North Korea’s creation as a state at the end
of the Second World War.
After the
surrender of Japan to the USA, Korea was divided into two separate parts – the North
controlled by the Soviet Union and the South by America. Yet both countries
claimed to be the rightful government of Korea and, in 1950, war inevitably broke
out.
The Korean
War is recognised as one of the early big events of the Cold War, yet its
conclusion had led to neither North or South Korea being satisfied with the
state of affairs, and tensions remained high thereafter.
Kim
Il-Sang, the grandfather of Kim Jong-un, had originally gained control of the
country in the war, and with the support of the army, he gradually suppressed
any opposition that lay in his way, laying out false promises as well.
Many were
deemed South Korean supporters and thus denounced and killed, and politically,
when the party opened for government on 30th August 1953, the leader
came under attack by Choe Chang-ik (later executed in a show trial) for creating
a state that was controlled too much on himself. He responded by promising to
make the regime more moderate – and clearly these promises were never kept.
Kim Il-Sang
created a large personality cult around himself, mainly based off Stalin, and
this is clearly the main reason for the situation that North Korea finds itself
in now. He attempted to rewrite history, and created posters of himself that
were placed up publicly throughout towns and cities. His blood line has become
idolised, and many of the North Koreans now simply don’t have the knowledge to
question this, such is the autocracy that has engulfed the country.
We might
lament this, after all, the common European view and sense of political understanding
is that everyone should be entitled to a fair and free vote, speech, expression
etc. That is the normality for us, it seems preposterous that anyone else can
have a different view and that they may be idolised for it.
And whilst I
can’t say that this is a wrong view, naturally I think the same, perhaps it
does keep a degree of control over the country. For as we don’t know the
conditions of North Korea, it is difficult to judge how much better a democratic
state may be.
That said,
if Kim Jong-un keeps waging war on the West, we may end up with a more
democratic system in North Korea anyway.
It would be
interesting to see how that would work, I for one doubt it very much.
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