Orphan Masters Son Final Review

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson. This book is mediocre. I thought the idea and basis of the book was fantastic and it was really well written, but I couldn't really get into it. The book starts of with a little bit of background about the protagonist, Pak Jun Do, and then immediately into events where Jun Do and some other charterers are kid napping random citizens from Japan. So right from the start I thought the book was kind of weird. As I continued to progress through the novel it continued to be weird. I truly realized how different the DPRK is from the United States. Especially when the Korean characters in the book go to Texas. The book jumped around a lot and it was hard to follow what the author was trying to say.
I would recommend this book to someone trying to find a fictional book that portrays North Korea well, but only if they have good reading comprehension. Also I'm sure there are other books that someone could read if they wanted a story about North Korea.
Another reason I think this book was not super engaging to me was Jun Do's lack of identity. Something Adam Johnson probably did on purpose is the similar sound of Jun Do to John Doe which is the name given to people who have no identity.
I'm very partial to this books. I don't love it and I don't hate it.

Orphan Master's Son Summary and Thoughts

    The book, The Orphan Master's Son, by Adam Johnson, is a very interesting novel that tells a tale about a man named Jun Do.  The novel ties in a lot of different elements into the book.  Not only is there focus on the government of North Korea, but the spotlight is also shined on the power of identity and gives the reader a bit of action through events like life at sea.  A large part of the book is that Jun Do's father is the owner of an orphanage, and that Jun Do lives at the orphanage for awhile.  Many people assume and accuse Jun Do of being an orphan, but this is not actually the case.  This is the first focus on identity that comes up in the book.  Throughout the rest of the book, there are many other events where identity comes back into play.  The main event is how Jun Do ends up killing a Commander named Commander Ga, and he takes his identity.  He lives as this character named Commander Ga for the rest of the book, and ends up dying in the end, still holding the identity of Commander Ga.  Jun Do even develops a very strange relationship with the lover of Commander Ga.  It is interesting how the book illustrates the power of the North Korean Government.  It portrays the government to have control over everything.  The government can set a certain reality for the people of North Korea, and that's how it will be from there on out.
    I felt as if the book was good, and that it was very well written.  There were parts of the book that I enjoyed like the thrills of Jun Do and his kidnapping group, and also Jun Do's life at sea.  The main issue for me with the book was that I felt it was hard to get into the book.  The first area of the book where I felt a little lost was the transition between Jun Do's kidnapping group, to his life at sea.  I was interested in the shenanigans that his group was getting into and I was ready to read more about those events, and then it felt like he was all of a sudden on a boat.  The unhealthy transitions between time and location made it hard for me to follow the book, and also hard to really get into it.  In the book, there were not only quick transitions between the location and time period, but also between characters.  Throughout a large period of the book, the main character Jun Do lived as himself, but then ended up killing another man named Commander Ga and in the end took his identity.  I felt that the idea of Jun Do taking Commander Ga's identity was a good one, but the switching of characters ultimately made it harder for me to enjoy the book.
    Overall, I felt as if it was a well written book with many good aspects to it.  I enjoyed many parts of the book, but mainly the chucks where there was action like life at sea or kidnapping.  I most definitely enjoyed the insights on North Korean Politics, and how much power their government holds in it's hands.  The awkward transitions between location, time, and characters wasn't a huge issue for me, but if you get easily lost while reading a book like myself, you might have a hard time with it.

Whats it like in korea?

While interviewing the Korean population at my school I realized there aren't as many Koreans as I had thought. I found a couple of kids from Korea and listened to what they had to say about living/visiting there. They had some interesting things to say but I wanted to also know what people who had never been to Korea thought it's like there. Here is some of the topics they talked about. I asked one kid about the culture in South Korea, and his response was: "There are lots of Asians. The subways are very cramped. The food is dank; SOOOO DANK." He never actually lived there but his grandma lives in South Korea. He told me about a memory from Korea on the subway. "There was one black guy on the subway and everyone was staring at him. Most racist thing I have ever experienced” I thought that was a crazy story, but it opened my eyes to how different the culture there is to the culture here. I also asked about the food. Another Korean friend of mine said there was a lot of rice and bulgogi, which is marinated beef or pork. 

Another question I asked about was average height. That might sound a little racist but I'm genuinely curious not trying to be racist at all. The first answer I got was "Medium to short", and the second was "around 5'2". The last question I had for them was: how was the political situation while you were there? The best answer I got was "animosity between the North and the South". 

However, I said earlier I wanted to know what people who had never been to Korea thought it is like there. To figure this out I asked the same couple of questions to some average white kids. To start off I asked them what they thought the culture was like. One kid that I interviewed said he would assume the culture is "family based with family values. They used traditional medicine". I guess they were partially right, cause the culture is very family and honor based but the don't just have traditional medicine. Something that I found interesting was that one of the average white kids that I interviewed said the exact same average height (5'2") as someone who had been there. However, the actually average height of South Korea is 5'8" for males, and 5'3" for females. For the last question, about the political situation, I got a very peculiar response. "I was only in the North, so life was pretty good there. The political system is great there." My friend obviously has no idea how horrible life in the North is, but if he had lived there I doubt he would have the same to say.

Who Do You Help When Everyone Needs It?

    Throughout the course of learning about Korea, the underlying theme that kept appearing was that there are a lot of issues in North Korea at the moment.  Before I learned about Korea, if famine, dehydration and homelessness was ever brought up I would instantly think of Africa because that is what I associated with those things. After learning about events like the floods of Korea, the Ryongchong train crash, and Camp 14 in North Korea, I not only realized how many issues there are in North Korea alone, but also planet earth in a whole.  There are issues all over the world, in Europe, The Middle East, Asia, South America, Africa and even the United States of America.  There are so many issues in just The United States just alone.  Here are some facts about poverty and hunger in The United States http://feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/hunger-facts/hunger-and-poverty-statistics.aspx# 

   It is a well known fact that American's have the most power out of any other country in the world, so people expect us to be helping other countries.  When we do not help those other people in need, we use the excuse that, "We have enough problems of our own".  But this is not just the United States.  This is planet earth in a whole.  People rarely help others who are not their own kind.  There is so much hate in this world and it's a, "Dog eat dog world".  What do these phrases even mean?  That people who are different from you will never help you?  That you are supposed to hurt other people before they hurt you?  This historical lifestyle of not helping other people needs to be put to an end, but where do we even start?  It is not only The United States of America that has a large amount of power.  There are many countries in Europe, Asia and South America that are doing very well, and could easily lend a helping hand to those who are in need.  No one country will ever be able to fix even a percentile of the amount of struggles happening across this planet, so we all need to join together to make a change.  There are already groups like the NRA that do similar things to help, but there is not enough support behind these groups of people to actually make a difference.  

    Throughout the course of learning about Korea, I have learned so much about Korea in itself.  I have gained much knowledge about current events and past events, and have learned so much about the cultures of both North and South Korea.  Although the studying of this country helped me gain a lot of knowledge about the country itself, it has given me a deeper understanding of the world in a whole.  You cannot go through life without opening your eyes to other places aside from America, and, "The Boulder Bubble".  Studying about North and South Korea has given me something that I thought was impossible to gain through an LA/History project.  It has given me a deeper understanding of life in a whole, and that is something that we should all search for throughout the course of our lives on planet earth.

Orphan Masters Son Book Review

     The book, The Orphan Masters Son, by Adam Johnson, is extremely interesting. Jun Do, the main character, is faced with many issues where he must think his way out of. He is labeled as an orphan from his child hood so he automatically has a hard time in life due to the lack of opportunity for orphans in North Korea. He has to figure out how to trick the government to believe a story about him saving a friend when he defects from a fishing boat where he was listening to foreign radio transmissions. To make the story he must use one of the many resources that helps him along in life, his pain training. He has learned how to not feel pain. This is a major help because to trick the government, he must have his arm bitten by a shark. 

      Later in the book, he becomes another person. He literally assumes the identity of the North Korean karate master, Commander Ga. He must carry on in life as Commander Ga which means interacting with the dear leader him self, but also taking over the role of husband to the famous actor Sun Moon. 

      The major theme of this book which I find very interesting is the idea of a lack of identity. On page 140 Jun Do gets asked what his name is while he is on a diplomatic trip to Texas. He says that his name is Jun Do, but the people from Texas thinks that it is John Doe. The house maid for the diplomat then says "Isn't that what they call a missing person?" Then she corrects herself and says "Actually, I don't think a John Doe is a missing person. I think its when you have the person, just not his identity." This quote may very well be the most important quote of the entire book. The quote shows you that he never actually has his own identity. His name, Jon Do is the name of a dead Korean diplomat that is given to many orphans. Then the jobs are jobs that he and millions of other people do. at the end of the book, he dies with the identity of Commander Ga. He never actually has his very own Identity. 

      The book is somewhat of a long read, but I highly recommend reading it. It will educate you on North Korea, and also provide a good time of entertainment. This is truly a good, educational, and entertaining book. 

China's making moves to sanction North Korea's nuclear program

      The North Korean nuclear program is one of the most unknown programs in the world. This past week the United States leaked information that the north Korean nuclear program is actually very strong, and have almost created a missile that can reach U.S. shores. China, being the north's only ally, has also leaked plans to destroy their program and potential over throw Kim Jong-Un.
      The Chinese released a statement that they do not have confidence in the decision making skills of the North Korean government. China sees the North Korean decisions to threaten the United States, South Korea, and continuously send test missiles into border area islands as nothing but liabilities. China is a country that is at peace with the rest of the world. They do not want to be allied with a country that could potentially start a major war right on their boarders.
      China started their preparation buy sending troops to wait at the border and be ready to move to Pyongyang. They also started to make Refugee camps on their side of the boarder for the North Korean people just in case there is civil unrest and the North Koreans starts to fight back in a way that endangers the rest of its citizens.
    China sees no reason for the North to carry out another nuclear test but they are ignoring the warnings. China simply does not want to be allied with a country that completely ignores their advice. China can no longer trust the Norths decisions. They fear that the country may soon turn against them as well.
      Diplomatic sources say that it is not a good idea to believe that anything will happen due to the past warnings that China has sent to North Korea. China has sent several warnings to the secret state f which none have been enforced or obeyed.
      only time will tell if China decides it has had enough and makes a move to truly end the craziness of the North.

Chinese leader,Xi Jinping, shakes hands with Kim Jung-Un

     
     
   

Korean's in Desperate Need of Food After Floods

    In August of 2012, mass amounts of rain poured down on the people of North Korea.  Not only did this rainfall sweep away their homes, but it also swept away all of their crops.  The floods left hundreds of thousands homeless, and killed up to 169 people.  "The United Nations declared the situation in North Korea an emergency Thursday after torrential rain soaked the country between July 18 and 29," said the CNN Wire Staff.  Not only did these floods take away thousands of people's homes, but also destroyed many wells and water pumping stations, leaving 50,000 families without clean water.  During the peak of the flooding, the highest number of deaths were recorded in Phyongan.  Throughout the flooding in North Korea, people of the United Nations tried their best to help the people get access to food and water, but had a hard time helping everyone.  When there are that many people in need, it is hard to support all the people with their struggles.  Even today in 2014, many families are still homeless and struggling to find access to water and food.
    It is very hard to place a reasonable opinion on the subject.  There are hundreds of thousands of people in North Korea alone with no homes, and that isn't even a percentile of the amount of homelessness and famine in the world.  It is important to help people, but who are you supposed to help when everyone in need.  Although the United States has a large amount of power, there are also other countries who have a large amount of power too.  In order to try to aid to all of the homelessness, dehydration, and famine around the world, we all need to join together and help those who are in need.  It is impossible for one country alone to take care of all of those who are hurting.  Although there is something like this already called the NRA, they didn't make that large of an impact on the floods in North Korea.  The NRA is something that could greatly benefit planet earth in the future, but it definitely needs more numbers and contribution in order to make a change.

The Ryongchong Disaster

    On April 22nd, 2004, a disaster occurred which killed nearly 3000 people.  There are many different theories of why the disaster occurred, some people feel that it happened on accident, and some feel that it happened on purpose.  At 1PM on April 22nd, there was a train disaster that happened in Ryongchong near the boarder of The People's Republic of China.

Subject:    The subject of the event is the train disaster in Ryongchong, North Korea.  A large theme of the subject was whether the disaster happened on purpose or not.

Occasion:   It happened in Ryongchong, North Korea, on April 22nd, 2004.

Audience:    The event applies to citizens in general all around the world.  When such a large disaster occurs that kills this many people, most citizens around the world are interested to hear about what happened.

Purpose:    Some people feel that a possible purpose for the event occurring is because Kim Jong-il passed through the station several hours before the explosion as he returned from a meeting in China. It was suggested that the explosion might have been an assassination attempt.

Speaker:    The speaker for the event that occurred in Ryongchong is a New York Times author named James Brooke.

Tone:  The tone of the article is very informational, but is also a little saddening.  The way that the article is written is very informational, but the author of the article also places a tone that is heartfelt and sympathetic.

    Personally, I feel that the event in Ryongchong was something that was very horrible.  Even if it was an attempt to take out Kim Jong-Il and his horrible ways, it is not reasonable to put that many people at risk.  Maybe the train accident was an accidental derailing of the train, but maybe it also occurred on purpose.  It is amazing how someone like Kim Jong-Il and drive people to putting thousands of people at risk just to kill him.  This is a great example of how all violence does is lead to more violence.  If we ever want to live in a world full of peace we are all going to have to accept what has happened in the past and move on. 

How Real Are Video Games Becoming?

    It is amazing how two places that used to be the same country are so drastically different.  There are so many specific cultural components that make North Korea and South Korea very opposite, but the underlying difference between the two is that people want to live in South Korea.  In most cases, living in North Korea is a curse, and most of the people in South Korea feel bad for those in North Korea.  Although North Korea is typically known for being a worse overall place from South Korea, they both have their ups and downs.  The largest underlying issue in North Korea is the amount of people who are starving, especially those who are children.  Human beings in general deserve to have food, but especially if you are young.  The starvation of the people in North Korea is a well known event in the United States.  Something that people are not aware of are the issues that are occurring in South Korea with video games.  The amount of electronics that are used in the United States is most definitely an issue, but people in South Korea, especially teenagers, are taking it to a new level.  It has become a place for large groups of people to gather, and play hours and hours of online gaming.  Playing video games has become such a large part of their culture, that there are now professional video game players who get paid to play and are praised by the citizens of South Korea.  There are even video game tournaments that are broadcasted on television with commercials and everything!  In 2005, Seungseob Lee visited an Internet Cafe in the city of Taegu and played, "StarCraft" almost continuously for fifty hours. He went into cardiac arrest, and died at a local hospital.  Once this occurred, the video game addiction in South Korea became a large deal.  When people start dying because of how many video games they have been playing, I think it has reached a point where peoples time spent on games needs to be reduced.  If you want to read more about the death of Seungseob Lee, click on this link http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm  I personally feel as if video games are fun if you are playing them with a couple friends, but if you are investing that much time into them, they are a serious issue.  If you would like to hear more about the game that killed Seungseob Lee, go to this link for some rediculous facts http://www.cracked.com/article_18763_5-insane-true-facts-about-starcraft-professional-sport.html

Orphan masters son: Fact or Fiction?

    The book "The Orphan Masters Son" by Adam Johnson seems to be complete fiction. Unfortunately, most of the things that happen in the book are occurring events in North Korea.
    In the book many things happen that seem to be so crazy that it couldn't possibly be real. Think again. Many of the things that happen in the book are not fiction. Even though the book is fiction, it uses examples of things that have happened in North Korea. The thing I found craziest was when Jun Do lets the shark bite his arm in order to save his crew from the wrath of the North Korean Government. When the second mate of the fishing boat that Jun DO was on runs away, The crew had to come up with a story that the government would believe that the second mate had died instead of running away. When a person runs away from Korea, their family and friends are all killed or put into prison on suspicions of plotting against the government.
    Soon after the incident of the Second Mate running away, Jun Do is interrogated. The way of interrogation is to beat the story out of Jun DO. When Jun DO confesses that the second mate ran away, the interrogator stops. Then they let Jun Do go and the issue is not brought up again. This seems very weird because Jun Do confesses to what they consider to be a crime, but because he has an alternate story, they deem him a national hero so that they can blame the Americans for what happened.

    In the middle of the book Jun Do kills the North Koreans karate champion, Commander Ga, in a prison mine. Soon after, Jun Do finds himself at the house of Sun Moon, when the former Commander Ga lived. Jun DO must now assume the life of Commander Ga, and subsequently becomes Commander Ga. Commander Ga was not a liked person by Kim Jong-Un so he was never faced with being charged for any crime. As Weird as it is, there are cases where this happens in North Korea. If a man kills another man, and then takes his life and continues to do what the man before him did, he will not be punished. In the book it says that the North Koreans must endure what the have to in order to make the country better. This is interpreted to mean that the family and friends of the past man must accept the new person to be who he says he is. This is probably the weirdest thing to happen in the entire book.
     The only other even that could possibly be weirder is at end of the book when jun Do is charged for killing Sun Moon. Kim Jong-Un loved Sun Moon so now there are charges to be faced. Jun Do, "Commander Ga", is sent to the interrogators known as the Pubyok. The Pubyok have the weirdest ways of interrogation on the face of the earth. They try to get the persons entire life story and write it in a book. They call it their biography. The way that they get the person to talk is either through a lobotomy, or through electrocution. At the very end of the book, there is a scene where Jun Do, and his interrogator, who realizes that what they are doing is wrong, electrocute them selves. It is very weird but the Pubyok really do exist.
    North Korea is an extremely secretive state but the things that we do know about them are extremely odd.

United States: Most Violations of Human Rights

Ever wonder how awful the good ol' U.S. of A is? Well wonder no more! With a list of all the human rights violations by the United States published by the North Koreans you can see why "The U.S. is a living hell".

In February there was an extensive list put out by the U.N. that covered all the human rights being violated in the DPRK. The report was compiled with 320 interviews with people who survived, or escaped the secret prison camps in North Korea. Their conclusion was: "...the country was committing human rights violations without any parallel in the contemporary world."(Washington post) 

After the list was released the Koreans were infuriated. They think that they can still keep what they are doing behind closed doors a secret. Their retaliation included arguing back to the United Nations, and then later the KCNA (Korean Central News Agency) published an article titled "New Analysis on Poor Human Rights Records in U.S." in which they filled with their own list of violations of human rights in the west. This was their feeble attempt at getting back at the U.N.. Filled with "Indignant anger" the North released this list of what violations are happening in the United States:

• "Under the citizenship act, racialism is getting more severe in the U.S. The gaps between the minorities and the whites are very wide in the exercise of such rights to work and elect."
• "The U.S. true colors as a kingdom of racial discrimination was fully revealed by last year's case that the Florida Court gave a verdict of not guilty to a white policeman who shot to death an innocent black boy."
• "That's why 52 percent of the Americans have said that racism still exists in the country while 46 percent contended that all sorts of discrimination would be everlasting." 
• "The U.S. is a living hell as elementary rights to existence are ruthlessly violated." 
• "At present, an average of 300,000 people a week are registered as unemployed, but any proper measure has not been taken." 
• "The housing price soared 11.5 percent last year than 2012 and 13.2 percent in January this year than 2013, leaving many people homeless." 
• "The number of impoverished people increased to 46.5 millions last year, and one sixth of the citizens and 20-odd percent of the children are in the grip of famine in New York City." 
• "All sorts of crimes rampant in the U.S. pose a serious threat to the people's rights to existence and their inviolable rights."
• "The U.S. government has monitored every movement of its citizens and foreigners, with many cameras and tapping devices and even drones involved, under the pretext of 'national security.'"
• "Meanwhile, bills on easing arms control were adopted in various states of the country, boosting murderous crimes. As a result, the U.S. has witnessed an increasing number of gun-related crimes in all parts of the country and even its military bases this year. In this regard, the United Nations on April 10 put the U.S. on the top of the world list of homicide rates."
• "The U.S. also has 2.2 millions of prisoners at present, the highest number in the world. For lack of prisons on the part of the government, individuals are providing detention facilities to make money." 
• "A Russian TV said that in the U.S. the wealthy classes are now keen on the investment in providing private prisons for their high profit and so more people will be imprisoned."
• "Its chief executive, Obama, indulges himself in luxury almost every day, squandering hundred millions of dollars on his foreign trip in disregard of his people's wretched life."

The North Koreans are not only mad at the United States, but also South Korea. They released another report saying that because they have been "deprived of everything thanks to America" the South has "the worst human rights situation in the world"

“Over 60% of university students cannot afford their school fees so must work [to make ends meet]," the newspaper said, according to a translation from Daily NK. "Some even have to subject their bodies to medical trials."

This is almost embarrassing for the DPRK because the rest of the world in not going to take these reports seriously.

How do you feel about living in such a dengerous place? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Visiting North Korea Soon?

Personally I'm not exactly planning on visiting the DPRK any time soon, but if you're an adventurous traveler looking for someplace new to go, North Korea is the place for you, and theres an app for that! On wednesday the NKNews founder, Chad O'Carroll, and Uniquely Travel team came out with the North Korea Travel App. This app is 99 cents and gives the user images of luxury spots in North Korea such as - hot springs, hotels, and an 18-hole golf course. There is also a GPS map of other travel destinations within N. Korea. There is also a virtual tour if you don't actually plan on visiting North Korea, but if you do the app comes standard with an itinerary builder.
I'm very skeptical about this because North Korea is a communist country, they have millions of starving citizens, they have missile programs that are very secretive, and their social views are very different from anywhere else in the world.
The DPRK is very isolated form the world, and they keep it this way by not allowing their citizens to leave, and not letting outsiders in. With this app, and if travel to north Korea actually becomes something that any traveler could do then what will happen to their isolation? Will they open up to the rest of the world? The sanctions placed on the North will have to be loosened up if they are allowing travelers into the secret state.
The sanctions on North Korea are to try and get them to give up there nuclear arsenal. However, because they are already so isolated from the rest of the world the sanctions do not bother them. This travel to DPRK might act as an act of kindness and maybe thats all the North really needed, a hug. "We believe strongly in the value of not isolating a place that is criticized for its isolations tendencies." said Simon Cockerell, who has visited the DPRK a multitude of times and wrote the app's 'insider tips'.

If you do get the app, or already have it, let us know in the comments what you think of it!
Also if you take a trip to the DPRK please tell us about it in the comments we would love to hear from you!

Get the North Korea Travel app now for your smartphone or tablet. http://www.northkoreatravel.com/guideapp/

Were we all previously wrong about the North

April 24, 2014 - North Korea is a bigger threat than anyone had ever expected. All of our intelligence turns out to be wrong. When Kim Jong Un inherited power most of the world laughed at him assuming he was not capable of leading a nation and developing a successful nuclear arsenal. The world was assuming that Mr. Kim's uncle Jang Song-Thaek was going to keep him in check.
Initially the idea was that North Korea would try to get it's economy going and increase the nuclear missile arsenal. We thought that Mr. Kim was going to follow the path laid out by his father and grandfather. however that was not the case as shown in recent missile testing showing that their nuclear program has in fact surged forward. Now they want to prove to the world that they have a Missile that can reach America's shores.

Evans J.R. Revere had this to say after trying an assortment of diplomacy option with the North: "“For two decades our policy has been to keep the North Koreans from developing nuclear weapons. It’s now clear there is no way they will give them up, no matter what sanctions we impose, no matter what we offer. So now what?”
That is the real question indeed: "So now what?" If North Korea doesn't care if they are being cut off from the rest of the world then how are you supposed to stop them from doing something highly irrational? Can you? One part of this article I'm unsure about is what the outcome would be if the DPRK had to be stopped by force. They have potentially inter-continental missiles, and if they were to launch them towards a more powerful nation with the ability to blow up the whole world it would end very badly for them. The United states also has many allies that would back us up if the DPRK were to attack. 

(Above) Intercontinental missile aboard a mobile transport in North Korea. The North Koreans use trucks like this to transport missiles like this in between tunnels that they use to keep them secret.

The other part of this article I'm unsure about is if all of the previous intel there was on North Korea is wrong then how can we be sure that this is true? With the amount of interactions they have with the rest of the world it is hard to keep tabs on what truly is going on over there. Mr. Kim could just be all talk and no walk. Maybe the world only needs to make sure they don't invade the rest of the Korean peninsula again, instead of fearing for their own shores.
“I’m now convinced North Korea would prefer to collapse with nuclear weapons than try to survive without nuclear weapons,” Said South Korea's former national security adviser, Chun Yung-Woo, as well as "...the strategy Washington is pursuing is based on the opposite assumption". Washington is presumably thinking that that the DPRK would not prefer to collapse with their arsenal, but instead unleashing all hell on the rest of the world right before their demise. If very strict sanctions are already placed on North Korea then what will stop them from launching their nukes?

If you have an idea on how to stop this madness please comment!

Horrors of Camp 14

In a documentary called camp 14, a man named Shin Dong-hyuk has escaped from the camp and lives to tell his story.  He was born in the camp, and had lived there until he was 23.  There are many horrible events that he had to witness that have shaped him into the anxious human being that he is today.  When he was ten years old, his mother and brother were planning to escape from the camp.  If anyone were to plan to escape or try to escape, you would be shot.  Even if you knew about someone planning on escaping and you didn't turn them in, you would be shot.  Because of this rule, Shin turned in his mother and brother to the camp leaders.  Within the next couple of days, Shin's mother and brother were taken out to a field and shot right before his eyes.  Although this was traumatizing for him, he did not feel bad because he did, "The right thing" by turning them in.  These were the rules of the camp and he felt like he did a good thing by following them.  Before his mother and brother were murdered, they did something to disobey the rules so Shin had to pay for it.  They took him into an underground torture center and used fire to torture him.  "They burned me as bad as I could be burnt without being killed" was said to describe the torture he endured.  After 23 brutal years of loneliness and a life of not knowing any other world but camp 14, Shin made an escape.  This chance came in January, 2005 when the sun was setting.  Shin and another man decided to make a run for it.  When the two of them reached the electric fence, the man in front of Shin threw himself in between two of the wires and was instantly fried.  His body allowed enough room for Shin to slither through and survive.  The death of Shin's friend allowed him to live.  He was a sacrifice.  After he escaped from the camp, he started heading North.  He described it as the most amazing thing ever.  People were laughing, talking, wearing what they wanted and saying what they wanted.  After heading North for a long enough period of time, he finally reached China where he was safe.  To me, this story was extremely moving.  The fact that he has built a new life for himself after going through camp 14 is enough on it's own.  If you want to check out the video on your own, go to this link!  I hope it is as inspirational to you as it was to me!!  http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/north-korean-prisoner-escaped-after-23-brutal-years/

How did the Kim's come to power?

       

       Kim Il Sung coming to power was in some aspects an accident. When the USSR was in power in the 70's, they were controlling the area now known as North Korea. When they pulled out of the country, they appointed Kim Il Sung the leader of the Country. He was already a commander in Mao Zedong's army so he did have some background of leadership. When The USSR selected him though, they apparently had put the names of all of the other commanders and generals in the Mao Zedong army in a hat and just pulled a name. Unfortunately for North Korea, Kim Il Sungs' name was the one that got pulled. 

Kim Jong-Il (right)
Kim Yong-Ju (left)

         For his first few years in office, he held soviet support and was backed by the Red Army. Soon after the Russians decided that he had managed to build his own country enough to with dram their support of him. Just two years after he lost the support of the Red Army, the Korean War began. There is a lot of speculation that the reason the Korean War began was because Kim Il Sung was majorly abusing his power and making moves that threatened South Korea. The United States backed the South Korean Army, and China backed the North Korean Army. The Korean War is technically not over yet. The North, and South agreed to a cease fire and a demilitarized zone (DMZ) was created at the world’s 38th parallel.

Kim Sung-Il 

          Kim Sung Il was a fairly successful leader of his country until he died of a heart attack in 1994. When he died, his son, Kim Jong Il, took power and is still ruling the country today. Kim Jong Il has turned out to be a monster to his people. He has started to use public executions to fear his constituents into giving him power. He even executed his Uncle and his uncle’s entire family because he feared that he was going to undermine his rule and over throw him. Kim Jong-Il's uncle was his leading adviser. 

         Now North Korea's leader is power crazy and is increasingly more threatening to the rest of the world. He is building his army, and especially focusing on his nuclear program. Even though The United States says that he does not have the resources that he says he has, he is still a very dangerous person and the situation should be treated as though he is a terrorist with the intent to harm the American well being. I will be a wild ride seeing that Kim Jong-Il decides to do in the future.