ARPITA SOOD
The documentary was a real treat for someone such as myself who loves to learn about life in other countries, the nuances of daily living for people in other parts of the world to watch a film with insight into one of the most isolated and secretive countries in the world. North Korea fascinates due to it being the most isolated (by its own choice) and most severely repressive nation on Earth. An important point to note is that any footage allowed out of North Korea is almost exclusively of the capital, Pyongyang, which is far from being representative of life in the country. Only a fraction of the population is specially selected to live there; even for these `privileged’ souls’ life is bleak and dominated by political propaganda.
North Korea is the least understood place in the world. No wonder. Their brainwashing makes that of Stalin and Hitler seem positively amateurish. They have carried the “collective” mentality to it’s limit. Yet these 2 girls love to laugh, play, and socialize. Their parents just want a comfortable income and healthy relationships just like we do. Yet the poison of communism is slowly destroying their souls.
North Korea’s repressive government survives in no small part because it has convinced its people of the legitimacy of its government. As hard as it may be for Americans to grasp, millions of North Koreans appear to genuinely believe their government’s pronouncements. And the tool the state has used to convince of them of these ideas is a unique official philosophy called “juche”. North Korean government rules as very disturbing and somehow opposite to what we learn in a democratic political culture. Juche has become the fundamental framework of orientation for North Koreans. The hypothesis investigated is that, upon eventual Korean reunification, significant problems of national social cohesion, at least as serious as those faced by the reunified Germany since 1990, should be expected. To this day- nearly two decades, and an estimated 1.5 trillion after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989- reunified Germany is recurrently affected by socio-cultural conflicts, based on ingrained values, past ideological conditioning, and resulting emotional ties and behavior patterns of the former East and West German societies. Juche could foster similar or graver phenomena in a reunified Korean society, manifest in mutual and estranging grievances, ultimately impeding successful reunification. However, the Kim dynasty’s established virtuosity in adapting and developing Juche might in some circumstances combine with Juche elements of potential appeal to both Korean societies, such as national self-reliance. Instead of constituting an ideological barrier, Juche’s pan-Korean components might hypothetically be transformed into a common ground to alleviate societal conflict and eventually facilitate Korean national reunification.
REFERENCES:
https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/18/17441296/north-korea-propaganda-ideology-juche
https://online.camosun.ca/d2l/le/content/170147/viewContent/2501321/View