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clay dubeProf. Hwang's description of Kim Jong-il as the most pampered person in the world strikes me as wonderfully apt. The fellow is so isolated that his indifference to the suffering of his people (as Scott suggests) is simply stunning. The principal reason Kim Jong-il might be upset about the inability of his nation's economy to meet its citizens' basic needs is that such a poor economy could not produce enough of a surplus to provide for Kim's own aims. Through the sale of missile technology, the training of insurgent forces, drug dealing, and counterfeiting, though, the regime has been able to get enough hard currency to keep Kim's dvd machine powered up and to finance the weapons program that keeps his neighbors and the US interested.
It is important that we not simply write Kim Jong-il off as a lunatic. He could not have survived this long if he were not an effective operator within the structure that exists in North Korea. He has managed to keep enough of the guys with guns happy that he's still there more than a decade after his father died. It seems unlikely, though, that the world's first communist monarchy (it looks like Cuba's now the second, but power is going from brother to brother there) won't survive to the next generation.
This morning's Washington Post has an interesting article on the varying routes out of North Korea. Here's the link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/17/AR2007111701699.html?wpisrc=newsletter
AnonymousThanks for the post and the link to the article. I agree that we cannot dismiss Kim Jong il as a lunatic. I am extremely saddened by the brokering described in the article... the following story is where my sentimentality (as I mentioned to Professor Hwang) kicks in...
"Lee Moon-jae, 81, fled North Korea more than five decades ago. He soon remarried in the South and raised two sons. But he continues to wrestle with the guilt and longing he feels for the wife and two sons he abandoned."
Although he finally meets his son at age 58 his son decides to not defect and returns to North Korea and loses all the gifts given by his father, supposedly. I would imagine the gifts are worth more on the black market.
I was happy to read that South Korea pays for housing directly for defectors. China's influence on this situation deserves more exploration.
I went to the article http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/12/AR2007101201886.html
"The Man who Would be Kim" by Jasper Becker, publisher of Asia Weekly and author of "Rogue Regime: Kim Jong Il and the Looming Threat of North Korea."
This is an interesting fictional version of Kim's diary entries which provides an expose as well as levity and irony on the subject.
Betse
AnonymousI've recently started reading a book called In the Absence of Sun, written by Helie Lee, a local Korean-American author. It's the story of Helie's attempt to get her uncle and his family out of North Korea. I haven't gotten far in the book, but so far, it is a great read, and I think could certainly be used for high school students in regards to the Korean War and the partition.
AnonymousI feel the people who are fleeing the country (North Korea) in all sort of wrong ways in search of so called freedom , freedom of expression , human rights ,economic freedom are actually escapist.They are trying to escape from realities . No matter how large theirs difficulties are they should stay in the country ,try to put theirs point of view & let power players get influenced & ultimately listen to them .Just by fleeing & that too by putting their whole life savings into this process, they will actually gain nothing but a bad reputation for them & their country . Be realist & true nationalist by staying in the country & fighting for the causes. They can take inspiration from their neighbouring counties for this.[Edit by="aagarwal on Dec 24, 9:03:48 PM"][/Edit]
AnonymousI came across this translation of a North Korean 1st Grade Textbook. I can't vouch for the translations, as I don't read Korean, but the illustrations are pretty self-explanatory. Kim Ill-sungl is mentioned on every page, he's given credit for creating all kinds of natural wonders in Korea. There's a song about joining the People's Army. The boys are depicted as playing soldier and the girls are playing nurse. Americans are crushed by tanks and the Japanese were summarily defeated.
The art is beautiful in the textbook, which is supposedly a 2005 edition. Again, I can't vouch for authenticity or language, but the illustrations are powerful on their own.
You can see it here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1690685/posts
ps- it's posted on a grassroots conservatives website, so again, take traslations with a grain of salt[Edit by="aronan on Jan 6, 12:37:33 PM"][/Edit]
AnonymousI dont think that people who are fleeing North Korea are "escapists." I do believe that one should fight for freedom and one's individual rights. However, given the current situation they are in, the system makes it too difficult to fight there. They face serious harm if the talked out too much. If I lived there (knowing what I know), i would try to "escape" the situation too. Isn't that why people immigrated to America - for individual freedom and rights like religion, speech, or even poverty? Was my family who immigrated here in the 1960's escapists of the hardships in China they faces? Possibly or they could have come here for economic, educational and social opportunities.
AnonymousKim Jong-Il, in the eyes of many South Koreans, is not seen as a lunatic--in fact, they believe him to be a political genius. I even felt the affects of him when I was living in Japan. I came across some North Korean women who were passing out something in the train station. First of all, I've not see women dressed in the traditional street Han-bok wear circa 1945 until that day--they reminded me of the photos during the Korean War.
At first they started talking to me in Japanese, but realizing my "foreignness", they asked a lot of questions. I don't know how they figured out I was an American citizen but they started speaking with some broken English of the kind you would hear in many Korean elementary classrooms. I could not understand most of what they were telling me but one thing they kept putting into my hand was a pamphlet with pictures like the ones from North Korea: Families smiling with hands raised up to the sky as if they were saluting something. Although I did not see a picture of Kim Il-Song or Kim Jong-Il at the time, I had a very vivid feeling of uneasiness. I knew that during my stay in that country, there have been reports of mysterious kidnapping of young women in that region. Maybe I was a bit' paranoid but when these women kept asking me for my address, I started to feel alarmed...no, it was more like panic. I remember taking an alternate route to my house (aka. the extremely long way) and for weeks, I thought I was followed. Luckily, nothing materialized but it did not quell my fears. There is nothing like the feeling of having your safety violated.
AnonymousHas anyone heard any serious discussion of who or what might follow Kim Jong-Il? I know no one really knows, but is anyone currently designated as the official successor? For example, no one was really sure who would follow Kim Il Sugn, but at least Kim Jong-Il was expected to do so. Now that Castro has officially retired this issue is likely to be raised more and more.
By the way, I also don't think it makes any sense to call Kim Jong-Il "crazy" or "mad" or whatever. It may be comfortable to associate evil behavior with madness but unfortunately this is often not the case.