north korea - some thoughts/questions

[red head]

i've been thinking about north korea lately. they undoubtedly started out as a socialist country. things probably improved at first. later, a personality cult built around kim il-sung that was so large, i've heard that his date of birth is the year 0 there instead of the alleged date of birth of christ. his power was pretty much absolute and the dprk turned into basically a military state to try to keep out any sign of capitalism. when i look at north korea in relation to south korea, sure every one is pretty much equal, but what does everyone have? there's hardly enough food for everyone. in south korea, sure there are some homeless people, but most people are fairly well off, surely moreso than in the north. the idea that capitalism could turn out to be so much better for one nation than a socialist nation that started off about the same way has been making me question my beliefs a lot. any thoughts?

[DaNatural]

well Red, like any communist or socialist country N. Korea has endured a hell of alot more then s. korea. Developmen has been drastically hindered by embargoes which seem to follow any communist country and also the need for them to build up their military ranks in order to protect it for counter revolution. This has taken money away from the social and agricultural sector. Not to mention a war. So don't go questioning your beleifs quite yet. Also remember that Communist states dont always turn out to be as they had been planned. We have yet to see a true communiststate and until that time we cannot go back on certain beleifs.
Peace

[red head]

thats true, but the fact that they had to take money away from agriculture makes me wonder if its worth it. you could have the most perfect communist system internally, but if foreign conflict makes you take money away from your people, is it worth it?

[DaNatural]

hmmm good, question, is it worth? yes i think it is. One thing one of my professors told me this past year was that, there will always be a gap between theory or ideas and reality. Quite honestly I don't think we can ever have an ideal communist state, ever. But that doesn't mean we should discredit communism and say its unreal. What needs to be done is to strive as much as possible towards the idea of it. Yes its unfortunate that countries have to take away from certain sectors in order to protect the revolution, but thats what has to be done. It is out of the communist governments hands, its external forces that ruin everything. So although it may not be perfect, and by no stretch of the imagination no socialist country has even been above average, it still must be fought for. Because, in the future hopefully, more countries will take that risk and go for it and hopefully have support for it. That is the only way to get things started. Peace

[Kez]

N. Korea is really fucked, like a facsist dictatorship, making it worse for the leftist cause,
It hasnt even got any good benefits such as Stalins glorious plans, although they apparently have nukes

comrade kamo

[HardcoreCommie]

yeah, North Korea needs some five year plans. Kim you set the goal at feeding 10 north koreans by 2006, or something. Listen Stalin's plans were hardly glorious, for the soviet people who suffered, and for international socialism which suffered.

[MJM]

I'm thinking of visiting korea soon and shooting over to the north for a few days.
Has anyone here been there before?

[Moskitto]

I'm not sure that you can go there.

They were really hardcore isolationist but I don't know if they still are.

[MJM]

While we're on the subject got this in my mail the other day.



-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Dec. 27, 2001
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------

EDITORIAL: KOREA AND DEFENSE

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has what it calls
an "army-first policy." This elicits howls of outrage from
the U.S. ruling class and its subservient media and
politicians.

What a warped society we live in that a nuclear superpower
which spends over $300 billion a year on its military--more
than most of the rest of the world put together--can cry
bloody murder when a small socialist country takes measures
to defend itself.

The only voices allowed into our living rooms via
television, radio and newsprint are those that bless every
Pentagon missile program, every new terror air and space
device, every base established on someone else's territory
around the world. The forward posture of this vast military
machine--which Bush and Rumsfeld want to take to outer space-
-proves its aggressive intent.

By contrast, all of North Korea's military strength is on
its own territory, defending its sovereignty. You don't see
Korean communists bombing Afghanistan or threatening Iraq
and Somalia. Yet the media here treat them as bellicose and
Pentagon generals as peacemakers. Go figure.

Koreans have a lot to worry about. Millions were killed when
the U.S. waged war against the north in 1950-53. They can't
forget that. Plus, there are 37,000 U.S. troops dividing
north from south right now. Millions of families were
divided by the war. U.S. occupation has prevented
reunification of north and south from going ahead.

But no matter how much Washington threatens and cajoles,
North Koreans won't give up their socialist system. It is
what has allowed them to preserve their independence and
their dignity for over half a century. It means that, no
matter how hard the times, all Koreans are guaranteed
education, health care, housing and a job. And it means that
their leaders are picked by the Korean people themselves,
not by Washington, Tokyo, London or some other imperialist
power in the shameless way that the super-rich are now
telling the Afghan people who their leaders are.

So this Dec. 24th in the capital of Pyongyang and throughout
this feisty land, Koreans will be celebrating the 10th
anniversary of the elevation of Kim Jong Il to the post of
Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army.

This army was founded in 1932 to fight Japanese colonialism.
It has a proud history of repelling foreign invaders and
also of helping to reconstruct the country. Since great
natural disasters in the 1990s, the KPA has worked with the
people to build tunnels, bridges and power stations and
rehabilitate farmland stripped by floods.

The honestly stated "army-first policy" was Kim's idea as a
way to bring the country through this difficult period. We
wish the DPRK well with their tasks of self-defense and
socialist construction.

Only when we in the United States have acted to reduce the
danger facing the world from the destructive Pentagon can
countries like the DPRK dare to let down their guard and put
other projects first.

- END -

[red head]

i think you can go to north korea, there are just strict tourist restrictions. if you do go, please tell us all about it. you could probably get the north korean peoples opinion on their government which we could not get elsewhere.

[Moskitto]

A person claiming to be from north korea signed the guestbook on this site and they said it was actually alright because everyone gets what they need.

And yeah, it is America who's stopping North and South reuniting. Before Bush came along there was progress. They organized a big reunion for north and south families separated after the war. Then when Bush came along he pulled out the negotiators with a blunt "We don't negotiate with rogue states."

And what ever happened to the saying "It's your enemies you have to negotiate with, not your friends."

[Gavin]

North Korea is arguably the most totalitarian dictatorship in the world, and certinly the only state which has held on to othodox stalinism as a system of government.

The only way to get into North Korea, as a foreign tourist (unless you are from the USA, then there is no way) is to fly to Beijing. From there you can take the North Korean airline, Air Koryo, direct to Pyongyang. On your arrival in North Korea, you are assigened two government guides (even if you are alone), who stay with you night and day until you leave - unless you know the language, they will act as your translators - so its impossible to get the ordinary North Koreans opinion.

It is compulsory to bow to the statues of the "Great Leader", and insulting him comes with the death penalty.

For a taste of the propaganda the North Koreans have pumped into them day and night, have a look at the official news site of the DPRK:

http://www.kcna.co.jp/

Also see the official government site of the DPRK:

http://www.korea-dpr.com/

It must be an amazing place to visit though, like travelling in a time machine! Straight back to the depths of the cold war.

There is a travelogue by someone who visited the DPRK here:

http://www.simonbone.com

Its a must-see if you are thinking of travelling there.

[Moskitto]

North Korea isn't a one party state in the true sense of the word.

There are 3 political parties, the thing is, only one of them is allowed to stand in the main elections and the other 2 can stand for local elections. Which kinda defeats the purpose of democracy.

Annother thing with North Korea is the people probably think they're living in absolute luxury compared to the rest of the world just like in Nazi Germany.