Have you ever questioned or entertained thoughts about North Korea? Have you pondered why North Korea keeps itself so tightly shut off?
People in the west tend to think of North Korea as being led by a big, comical person named Kim Jong Un that is subjected to many memes. However, for the people who live there, North Korea is not amusing. The country is governed by a harsh leadership that pursues retribution and murders its citizens for exercising any fundamental liberties. Kim Jong Un is a cruel leader who murdered his family out of power grabbing in order to claim the title of “Supreme Leader.” His sister, Kim Yo-Jong, who is a severe critic of South Korea and has threatened to nuclearize South Korea if “provoked,” is the potential heir to power. Based on the threats of Kim Jon Un and Kim Yo-Jong, all of Asia and even the United States could be in danger of a nuclear conflict that could claim millions of lives.
Documentaries have exposed how harsh life is in North Korea, where 60% of people are living in extreme poverty. It is compared that North Korea has a GDP and national wealth less than 57 times that of South Korea. The capital, Pyongyang, is subjected to many abandoned colorful buildings that were built for propaganda that totes North Korea as “the best place to live.” Although there is extreme poverty and famine, a regular person is not allowed to escape the country. If caught trying to escape, they would be subjected to death. Even though some manage to escape, repercussions include punishment of the family left behind, which could mean punishment as extreme as death.
The North is referred to as “Bukhan” in the South; Bukk stands for the North and “Han” for one. When the Korean peninsula was united into one nation rather than two separate ones, this Korean phrase was typically used. However, even though everyone in the North and South is referred to as Korean, this phrase is not used as commonly anymore. There is a divide between the two nations that just keeps growing.