Assignment #2 - American Perceptions of North Korea

I will preface this post by revealing my pre-interview thoughts. I expected that most people I interviewed would have at least some knowledge of North Korean geography, politics and history because the country has a past that involves the United States. To some extent this proved to be the case, but I was surprised that hardly anyone knew of a recent event involving North Korea (since it has been in the news recently). This led me to infer that perhaps the majority of the Americans I spoke with had obtained their knowledge of the nation from their studies of U.S. and World history, rather than their consumption of news.

Although I only spoke with six individuals, I made an effort to hear from a diverse group of people, mainly in terms of education level and age. I interviewed a high-school sophomore, two adults in their mid-50s (one of whom had gone through Graduate school), a UCSC Junior with a History and Politics double major, a Cal Poly Graphic Communications Sophomore and a Pre-Law student currently living in Argentina (who spent middle school and most of high school living in California).

I asked each of these people the following six questions:

1.      What continent is North Korea located on?

2.      What is the capital of North Korea?

3.      What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about North Korea?

4.      Can you name a significant historical event that took place in or involved North Korea in the last century?

5.      What about in the last five years?

6.      In the last year?

The interviews got off to a great start with 100% of those interviewed correctly stating that North Korea is located on the continent of Asia. However, things quickly deteriorated. Only one of the six interviewees, albeit the History and Politics double major, knew that the capital of North Korea is Pyongyang. The others seemed puzzled when I revealed the answer to them, as if they had never heard of it before.

Political cartoons such as the one pictured above, illustrate the opinion that many Americans have about North Korean politics, both in terms of internal leadership and foreign policy.

Things got interesting when I asked the third question. Responses ranged from the obvious “not South Korea,” to the ambiguous “bombings,” and more accurate mentions of “communism,” “dictatorship” and “nuclear weapons.” One interviewee not so eloquently described the leadership in North Korea, referring to “that crazy mother-f@#*er Kim Jung-Il.”

In terms of North Korea’s history, it was apparent that my sample of the American population was hardly familiar with any major events that occurred after the Korean War. In fact, all six of those interviewed immediately cited the Korean War as a significant historical event involving North Korea in the last century. Questions 5 and 6 proved to be much more challenging. Only one participant was able to answer the questions with anything other than an apologetic “I’m not sure.” That interviewee, not coincidentally the History and Politics double major, mentioned the testing of nuclear weapons and the North Korean threat to use force if U.S.-imposed sanctions are not removed.

The Korean War is the most memorable historical event that involved North Korea in the past century. Every participant mentioned it in response to Question #4.

I was somewhat taken aback by the lack of answers to the final questions. I was expecting people to be more familiar with the current events involving North Korea, since they oftentimes involve the United States and are mentioned in the national news media. Granted, had I not spent the past few weeks researching any and all things North Korea, I may not have been able to answer these questions myself.

My fellow classmates’ accounts of their experiences with this assignment, coupled with my own findings, confirmed what I feared would be the outcome of this exercise. Regrettably, it seems as though Americans have a very limited knowledge of what goes on in other parts of the world. I am by no means implying that all Americans are ignorant of foreign affairs, but my small sample hardly proved otherwise. Whether this is the result of diminished foreign coverage or simply a lack of interest I cannot say for certain.  Today’s society encourages us to “think globally,” but can we truly do so without basic knowledge of the countries that make up our world?

(Not in word count)

Interviewees 

1.     Kathleen Kase, 50, San Diego, Paralegal

2.     Matt Hollenbeck, 15, LCCHS, Encinitas

3.     Steve Hollenbeck, 53, Encinitas, VP of Marketing

4.     Michael Christy, 19, UCSC Junior, History/Politics double Major

5.     Sofia Lana, 20, Pre-law in Argentina (lived in the U.S. for 5 years)

6.     Lena Haidar, 19, Cal poly Sophomore, Graphic Communications Major

Assignment #1: North Korean Family and Politics

Portraits of rulers Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il hang in every North Korean home. 

April 15^th happens to be North Korea’s most important holiday. It marks the anniversary of “Eternal President of the Republic” Kim Il-Sung’s birthday. Leading up to this national celebration, inspection teams from the Korean Worker’s Party march from home to home checking on the maintenance of portraits of Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il. If a portrait is damaged or dusty, the household has failed and is subject to public ridicule. Interactions such as this between the government and the people in North Korea illustrate the visible influence that the former has on the latter.

Following the Japanese surrender during World War II in 1945, the Korean peninsula was divided into two occupational zones. Three years later, with Soviet support, the North became the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea with Kim Il-Sung ruling until his death as both the Secretary General of the only active political party (communist Korean Worker’s Party) and the President. He left behind a legacy of rigid governmental control and documented human rights restrictions.

Currently, Kim Jong-Il - Kim Il-Sung’s son - presides over North Korea as the General Secretary of the KWP, Supreme Commander of the People’s Armed Forces and Chairman of the National Defense Committee. A recent BBC News article reports, “The next generation of the Kim family is even now being groomed to take this dynasty into its sixth decade.”

North Korea's ailing leader Kim Jong-Il appears to be preparing his youngest son as his successor

The fact that political power in this country has remained within the same family is reflected in the society’s family structure. One North Korean man’s account of his own family suggests that households typically consist of at least three generations under the same roof.

Somewhat paradoxically, given the current political climate in the country it can be extremely difficult for families to stay together. One could reasonably infer that the government plays a large role in breaking up families, both indirectly and directly.

The highly-centralized communist government encourages a hierarchical society, which, according to Yop’s Memoirs, “caused the relationship between parent and child or brother and sister to break apart, divide the people and make them regard one another with hostility.” 

In North Korea, the government restricts nearly every aspect of society including the ability to criticize and/or change the government and the ability to communicate openly. The country ranks second to last out of 178 others listed in the World Press Freedom Index and imprisonment of citizens who are not loyal is commonplace. One could understand why certain citizens might want to head south in search of freedom.

However, the North Korean government has a firm zero tolerance policy on dissent and defection, regardless of how it inevitably affects family life. A few weeks ago, authorities reportedly issued a decree stating: “persons found to have communicated with persons outside North Korea are to be sent to a reeducation camp and their families exiled.” This policy has left thousands of families of defectors feeling anxious and defectors feeling guilty, fearing the worst has happened to the loved ones they left in North Korea.

North Koreans enjoy a tearful but brief reunion with family members from South Korea after being separated for many years.