by Daniel Tudor
Actually, when one of my South Korean friends went to middle school in Australia, she witnessed how one of her classmates, the daughter of a North Korean diplomat, had to leave her little brother in North Korea while her father worked as a diplomat in Australia. Her entire family went to Australia to stay for the duration of her dad’s mission there, but they were forced to leave her little brother behind in North Korea.
If the North Korean government didn’t keep her little brother in North Korea, her family could’ve been tempted to stay away after witnessing how free the outside world was. They could’ve simply gone to the South Korean embassy to gain South Korean citizenship or could’ve asked for asylum at another embassy in Australia. But since her little brother was being held hostage in North Korea, they couldn’t take that kind of risk.
This is exactly why the North Korean government holds the remaining family members hostage when someone goes to another country to study or work. Those staying abroad know that their family members back in the North could face persecution if they decided to defect to another country.
Many North Koreans dream of traveling to a foreign country to see what it’s like. Many of those I knew at home used to say that they would never ask for anything else if they could get on a plane to go to a foreign country once in their lifetimes. But most of them never get the chance.
Those of you reading this could probably get on a plane and go abroad whenever you wanted to. Your government couldn’t stop you from doing so. Most North Koreans can’t get on a plane even once before they die.
The reason why North Korea doesn’t allow its people to go abroad is simple—they’re afraid their people will find out the truth about the totalitarian regime. Should a North Korean visit another country, they would immediately find out that all kinds of propaganda in North Korea was outright lies. The North Korean government knows very well that it will bring an end to the regime if North Koreans can freely go to other countries and see the outside world for themselves.
People would realize what a brutal, ruthless dictatorship they live under. They would realize that people in democratic societies have the freedom to criticize and vote for their own presidents and law-makers. People who have tasted such freedom will demand the same kind of democracy from the North Korean government, and maybe more than that.
Even if the chosen children of the elites get to study abroad, they’re never free from the surveillance of the North Korean government. The State Security Department in North Korea watches every movement of North Koreans living and studying abroad until they return to the North.
Also, the State Security Department devises a system that makes everyone spy on each other. If one of them is reported to have made a plan to defect from North Korea for good, the North Korean government makes them return to the country immediately. North Korea makes every effort to prevent the children of elites from defecting.
What does the North Korean government tell you about neighboring countries?
DT: When I worked as a reporter for The Economist in Seoul, my bosses (who would fly in whenever “big” things happened involving North Korea) would always have a shock when they saw how North Korean propaganda dealt with the South’s then-President Lee Myung-bak. They would release videos of dogs ripping an effigy of Lee to shreds, or of soldiers shooting at targets with his face on them. Sad to say, this is just the way North Korea is.
While South Korea’s leaders are referred to as “traitors” and American sell-outs, South Koreans themselves are painted as victims in North Korean propaganda. The real “devil,” though, is Japan, due to the colonial history between the two countries. A huge part of the legitimacy myth around Kim Il Sung is built on his anti-Japanese guerrilla years. It serves the DPRK very well to continue to demonize Japan.
Je Son Lee:
If you’ve read a little bit about North Korea, you’ll know that the United States military is considered the main enemy by the government. The North Korean government is supposed to distribute equal amounts of the pie to everyone, but since it fails to do so, it strives to develop nuclear weapons. The North Korean government finds justification for this under the cause of protecting the nation against the United States—the hero North Korea standing tall against the world hegemon, which imposes its power on innocent, weak countries around the world!
The North Korean government strives to educate (or brainwash!) its people by providing materials showing war crimes the U.S. military committed against unarmed Koreans during the Korean War. This works every time. The main logic behind these educational materials is straightforward: Imperialist states such as United States and Japan are bigger in size and have a stronger economy than North Korea. Hence, we—North Korea—need to do our best to maintain our national security against those nations. We can live without bread, but we can’t live without weapons (to protect ourselves).
Other than statues of Kim Il Sung, what is the most common sight in North Korea? The answer is war memorials and museums exhibiting the war crimes and atrocities the United States and Japan committed against innocent Koreans during the Korean War and the colonial era. From second or third grade, North Korean students go to those war memorials and museums on excursions. This is how young North Koreans learn the importance of national security. When they see the photos and archives of Americans and Japanese torturing innocent, unarmed Koreans, students are meant to understand that it is even more severe than how it is shown in their textbooks.
North Korea focuses on the importance of maintaining its national security against the United States. But young North Koreans feel more anger toward Japan. The Korean War lasted for just three years (1950–53), but Korea was annexed by Japan for 35 years (1910–45). There are more historical archives about ruthless Japanese imperialism than about the Korean War. Hence, despite the fact that North Korea works so hard to make its people hate America, young North Koreans feel more anger and resentment towards Japan and what they did to Koreans during the annexation and World War II. In this sense, the North Korean historical education system has been successful.
The North Korean government and its people have negative opinions of America and Japan. But North Koreans do not look badly on South Korea. What North Korea always says is, “South Koreans are the poor people we share blood with and who are suffering under American military rule. We shall be their savior soon!”
When two teenage South Korean girls were run over and killed by a U.S. armored vehicle (the Yangju Highway Incident), a public demonstration was held in North Korea, too. The main purpose of this demonstration was to help drive the U.S. military out of South Korea and make sure it didn’t happen again. I’m not sure why the North Korean government staged such a demonstration, but most North Koreans felt anger and sympathy for these teenage South Korean girls who lost their lives.
However, there are hardly any North Koreans who believe that South Koreans are starving under U.S. military rule. North Koreans are not dumb enough to believe that! When North Korean TV news reports on demonstrations staged by South Koreans, we pay more attention to how the South Koreans dress than why they’re protesting or going on a strike. North Koreans can tell immediately that South Koreans are better dressed and look better off—they have far better clothes and shoes and are often very stylish people! Most North Koreans know that South Koreans are wealthier and have the freedom to protest against their own government and voice their opinions.
Anyway, North Koreans don’t have a bad opinion of South Koreans, because the North Korean government educates them to believe that South Koreans are the people North Korea needs to save and help! North Koreans have a great interest in South Korean pop culture as its dramas, movies and comedy programs have spread across North Korea. In fact, there are many young North Koreans who would want to escape from North Korea if they could see South Korean actors just once in their lifetime. South Korea seems like a kind of heaven that most young North Koreans want to visit.
Now, what do North Koreans th
ink of China? I’m not sure about what the North Korean government thinks of China. But most ordinary North Koreans don’t like China that much. North Koreans know that China has a better economy than North Korea. But North Koreans think Koreans are a more civilized and cultured people, with better manners than the Chinese. North Koreans have this notion that Chinese people take a bath only once a year, don’t keep their houses clean, wear shoes inside their house and so on—for these reasons, North Koreans think Chinese are filthy and therefore, less civilized than Koreans.
While South Korea is a heavenly place to North Koreans, North Koreans wouldn’t ever want to live in China. Most of the time, North Koreans think China is worse than North Korea. In North Korea, one can find derogatory terms and racial slurs referring to the Chinese and Japanese. But no derogatory terms about South Koreans exist in North Korea. Among South Korea, China and Japan, the North Korean government may hate the South the most. But ordinary North Koreans? They hate Japan the most, with China second only to Japan. But oh boy, North Koreans love South Korea and its pop culture and they want to live there!
What do North Koreans think about the United States?
DT: This is one of those questions where the answer depends entirely on who you ask. Generally, those who still trust in the government are more likely to hate the U.S., and those who do not are more likely to be neutral or positive about the U.S.
When I was in Pyongyang, I asked one of my guides their opinion of America. Her response seemed quite rehearsed, but was one which, I felt, also reflected her true feelings. She liked American people, but not the American government and its foreign policy. In that respect she may not be much different from many people around the world, plenty of Americans included.
Je Son Lee:
The North Korean government publicly declares that the United States is the main enemy of North Korea. But that doesn’t mean that all North Koreans agree with them.
The regime incessantly lectures its people about ideology. Their top priority is to brainwash people to worship Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Suk, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un. But the North Korean government doesn’t forget to spend a significant amount of time and effort teaching its people to hate Japan and the U.S. military.
But the regime doesn’t succeed in completely brainwashing people all the time. Most people in my hometown, including myself, despised the Japanese and viewed them with disgust and hatred. But we didn’t hate Americans. Older people who experienced the Korean War used to tell us that Americans didn’t commit the horrible war crimes that the North Korean regime claimed. At least, the elderly in my hometown who were alive during the Korean War didn’t witness things like that. The North Korean regime publicizes that U.S. soldiers tore off the limbs of innocent Koreans and cut off eyes, noses and lips and hung them on trees.
But I don’t trust such rumors spread by the regime. Old people in my hometown used to tell us a different story. They said American soldiers adored Korean children and showered them with chocolate and gum. Those old people used to tell us that American soldiers were far more humane, and they didn’t do heinous things like the Japanese soldiers. That’s probably why they used derogatory terms to refer to Japanese whilst referring to Americans as “dear Americans.” Since I grew up listening to stories like that, I never had a bad opinion of Americans.
Plus, American action movies and blockbusters were so popular in North Korea. The most popular movies in North Korea were the James Bond series, Home Alone and Mission Impossible. There were so many other American movies that were available in North Korea. And even if subtitles weren’t available, we loved American movies so much we didn’t care.
Many American action movies seemed far-fetched to us in North Korea. Those high-tech gadgets and touch screens were mind-blowing. We couldn’t believe such technology could exist! We thought such things existed only in the movies. The reason we loved American action movies was because of their main characters. Most main characters in those American movies were always heroes and heroines who saved their town, or even the world, from villains. This is what captivated us.
North Korea teaches its people that those who can save their country and people are the true heroes. North Koreans grow up being taught about the importance of being one of those heroes. Thus, most North Koreans—especially men—always dream of becoming heroes by themselves.
But it’s a dream that can never be realized if you live in North Korea. That’s why we are drawn to American action movies. Since North Korea is a highly patriarchal society, girls aren’t urged to become heroines. I was just a little girl when I watched those American movies, but they left a long-lasting influence on me. While watching them, I dreamt of becoming a heroine myself to save North Korea! I always wondered: What kind of place is America? What would it be like to live in America?
I’m currently staying in America, taking ESL classes here. One thing that startled me is that Americans are highly individualistic. I know it’s a capitalist country and that Americans aren’t as collectivist as North Koreans. But Americans were so individualistic and selfish that I found it almost shocking. I even saw an American family at a restaurant that split the bill! As I got used to living in America, I began to think that it’s just their culture rather than selfishness. After all, I never had a bad opinion of America in my life. Even when I was living in North Korea, I was always fond of American pop culture.
Now that I’m in America, I have grown to like this country a lot more. People are friendly here and the environment is great, too. On my way to classes every morning, people are mowing their lawns. Oh, how I love the fresh smell of the lawns!
Ji-min Kang:
North Korea teaches its people that the Korean War broke out when South Korea, under the United States’ advice, decided to attack the North. It doesn’t forget to teach its people that Kim Il Sung defeated the United States military—an army which had never been defeated until it encountered Kim. But none of this is true, of course. It’s just propaganda.
My grandfather served in the Korean War. According to him, trains filled with soldiers and war supplies kept coming in every night near the 38th parallel. Immediately before starting the war, this is what North Korea told its soldiers: “According to intelligence services in North Korea, the U.S. and South Korean military are planning a major attack at around 6 a.m. on June 25. This is exactly why we need to launch a pre-emptive attack on them and unify Korea.”
But for the first few days of the war, he did not see a single soldier in the South who was ready to fight. Why? Because they weren’t planning on launching any attack on the North. You probably know the whole story and how the Korean War ended, destroying much of the country and separating families. But North Korea insists that it was the United States that was the core reason for all the pain suffered by the two Koreas.
In fact, there is an interesting slang phrase known by all North Koreans: “Yeah, I’m an American.” It means you admit you’re culpable for every fault and problem. In North Korea, the United States is considered the cause of every problem on earth today.
What is ironic, though, is that American pop culture is very popular among North Koreans. Hollywood films such as Titanic were a big hit in Pyongyang, too. I’m sure more and more Western pop culture has made its way into North Korea since I left Pyongyang.
Do you think North Korea could beat the U.S. and South Korea in a war?
DT: The DPRK likes to portray Kim Il Sung as having virtually single-handedly driven the Japanese out of Korea and having “won” the war against the Americans in 1953. The North Korea military today is well-manned, but very poorly equipped, so it is highly unlikely the Korean People’s Army would be able to win in a conventional war.
The elephant in the room is the nuclear weapons program, which is Kim Jong Un’s ultimate insurance policy. The goal is to possess a threat so deadly that the U.S. and South Korea would never dare to pursue “regime change,” in spite of the weakness of the rest of the DPRK’s ars
enal.
Mina Yoon:
If a war breaks out, I don’t see any chance for North Korea to win. I believe the morale of the North Korean army is not high enough to make up for the lack of modern weaponry and food. Extreme poverty in North Korea also has impacted the army. Most soldiers in North Korea are more interested in dealing with hunger than fulfilling their duty. One of my colleagues once said, “I am hungry. I think the government shouldn’t neglect hungry soldiers like this, because when people are starving to death, you never know where they might point their guns.” Having been raised by a most patriotic father, I was shocked to hear talk of rebellion. But it was me who was different from others.
My colleagues also said, “When war breaks out, you know what I would like to do? I’ll just play dead in the mountain of bodies;” or “I would rather be a dead hero than a living beggar.” It was unthinkable to say such things back in the ’90s. Back then, whoever made rebellious remarks like that was arrested without question. However, these days, it is the person like me, who cannot sympathize with such sarcasm, who is laughed at.
Things have changed in military placement, too. In the past, some people volunteered to join the most dangerous, hardworking troops because they believed it was an honor to lead the way in protecting the nation. However, people now seek to serve in safe units where they can get food rations throughout their 10 years of service. For that, they have to bribe the officers in charge of placement. Parents are willing to spend a fortune to get their children into a good unit, because that will decide the living standard of the recruit for the next 10 years. That is why only people who do not have money or strong family backgrounds end up in dangerous commando units.