The North Korean Puzzle and Its Authority

Karl Marx one of the founders of Communism, emphasized that socialism is a necessary stage prior to communism. It is just a mere stage of development, in the form of economic and social developments. He further defined that a socialist state is a state that is moving towards communism. In modern times, a number of socialist republics have existed and one of which is North Korea, officially named as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Geographically, North Korea is located in the East of Asia and is occupying the upper half of the Korean Peninsula. It upholds around the cult of personality of Kim Il-sung, their Eternal President, and is under the leadership of Kim Jong-il, the son of Kim Il-sung. It was Kim Il-sung that established the Juche type of government in North Korea and is still being adopted today.

Historically, Juche replaced the former Marxism-Leninism state ideology in the North Korean constitution due to the split between the Sino-Soviet. The Juche type of political system is one that advocates a stance of independence and having a spirit of self-reliance. It firmly believes that man is the master of all things and decides on it and that the masters of the Korean revolution are no other than the Korean people. The literal translation of Juche is a subject or main body. Juche was instituted to create a stronger sense of nationalism in North Korea and to adhere to North Korea’s goals of to defend itself in terms of national defense, to have a self-sustaining economy and a kind of politics that is autonomous.

Being a socialist republic and carrying out the ideologies of Juche, North Korea has shifted its revolutionary force from the working class or the proletariat to the military. Thus, the military first-policy was established.

The current political party leading North Korea is the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland, which is a coalition of different parties. Its economy can be characterized as one that is similar to a socialist state. Even if it is industrialized, it is still being highly centralized, planned by the government and owned by the state. The state offers free education, healthcare often in the form of medical service and health insurance, housing and food rations.  Aside from this, the payment of taxes is nonexistent. North Korea also places great emphasis on the restriction of international trade.

Religion is still being practiced by the North Koreans. Majority of the citizens is practicing Korean shamanism, Cheondoism and Buddhism and only a few are Christians. It has also been accounted on that religious persecution is also present in the country and a huge population can be defined as irreligious.

In its educational system, the control still lies with the government. Everyone is required to adhere to the compulsory education policy which is given until the secondary level. Books and uniforms are being provided for free as part of the free educational system. With this, North Korea has a 99% literacy rate which gave it the recognition as one of the most literate countries of the world.

It has also been identified that North Korea’s literature, arts and media are being controlled. It has been reported that only reports that would favor the government are permitted while any censures on the government are prohibited. The high restrictions given to the media can also be highlighted with the non-existence of a private press and the tight monitors being done on information entering and leaving the country.

In terms of music, a common tune that can be heard is the song “No Motherland Without You”. This was dedicated and written for their current leader. A lot of establishments in North Korea are also named after their Eternal President, Kim-Il Sung. North Korea until now continues to be a single-party state and has received labels from critics as being a Stalinist dictator. It was even named by Georg W. Bush as an “axis of evil” and critics have condemned its leadership. Last 2009, it was placed under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874 for conducting missile and nuclear tests, which was not the first resolution implemented in the past years.