North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is a country in East Asia, covering the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Locally, it is more commonly called Pukchos.
North Korea is bordered by three countries. To the south along the DMZ, it borders South Korea, with which it had formed a single nation until 1948. Its northern border is predominantly with the People's Republic of China. Russia shares a 19 km border along the Tumen River in the far northeast corner of the country.
During Kim Jong Il's rule in the mid to late 1990s, the country's economy declined significantly, and food shortages developed in many areas. According to aid groups, millions of people in rural areas starved to death due to famine, exacerbated by a collapse in the food distribution system. Large numbers of North Koreans illegally entered the People's Republic of China in search of food. Hwang Jang Yop, International Secretary of the Korean Workers' Party, defected to South Korea in 1997.
North Korea is on the northern portion of the Korean Peninsula that extends 1,100 km from the Asian mainland. North Korea shares its borders with three nations and two seas. To the west it borders the Yellow Sea and the Korea Bay and to the east it borders the Sea of Japan (East Sea of Korea). North Korea borders South Korea, China, and Russia. The highest point in Korea is the Paektu-san at 2,744 m and major rivers include the Tumen and the Yalu.
The local climate is relatively temperate, with precipitation heavier in summer during a short rainy season called jangma, and winters that can be bitterly cold on occasion. North Korea's capital and largest city is P'yŏngyang; other major cities include Kaesŏng in the south, Sinŭiju in the northwest, Wŏnsan and Hamhŭng in the east and Ch'ŏngjin in the northeast.
Since the establishment of the Han Dynasty colonies in the northern Korean Peninsula 2,000 years ago, Koreans have been under the cultural influence of China. During the period of Japanese rule (1910-45), the government attempted to force Koreans to adopt the Japanese language and culture. Neither the long and pervasive Chinese influence nor the more coercive and short-lived Japanese attempts to make Koreans loyal subjects of the Japanese emperor, however, succeeded in eradicating their ethnic, cultural, and linguistic distinctiveness. The desire of the North Korean regime to preserve its version of Korean culture, including many traditional aspects such as food, dress, art, architecture, and folkways, is motivated in part by the historical experience of cultural domination by both the Chinese and the Japanese.
Juche's ideology asserts Korea's cultural distinctiveness and creativity as well as the productive powers of the working masses. The ways in which Juche rhetoric is used shows a razor-thin distinction between revolutionary themes of self-sufficient socialist construction and a virulent ethnocentrism. In the eyes of North Korea's leaders, the "occupation" of the southern half of the peninsula by "foreign imperialists" lends special urgency to the issue of culturalethnic identity. Not only must the people of South Korea be liberated from foreign imperialism, but also they must be given the opportunity to participate in the creation of a new, but still distinctively Korean, culture.
The role of literature and art in North Korea is primarily didactic; cultural expression serves as an instrument for inculcating Juche ideology and the need to continue the struggle for revolution and reunification of the Korean Peninsula. There is little subtlety in most contemporary cultural expression. Foreign governments and citizens, especially the Japanese and the Americans, are depicted as heartless monsters (referred to as "imperialists"); revolutionary heroes and heroines are seen as saintly figures who act from the purest of motives. The three most consistent themes are martyrdom during the revolutionary struggle (depicted in literature such as The Sea of Blood), the happiness of the present society, and the genius of the "great leader" or "dear leader."
Kim Il Sung himself was described as a writer of "classical masterpieces" during the anti-Japanese struggle. Novels created "under his direction" include The Flower Girl, The Sea of Blood, The Fate of a Self-defence Corps Man, and The Song of Korea; these are considered "prototypes and models of juche literature and art." A 1992 newspaper report describes Kim in semiretirement as writing his memoirs--"a heroic epic dedicated to the freedom and happiness of the people."
The state and the Korean Workers' Party control the production of literature and art. In the early 1990s, there was no evidence of any underground literary or cultural movements such as those that exist in the Soviet Union or in the People's Republic of China. The party exercises control over culture through its Propaganda and Agitation Department and the Culture and Arts Department of the KWP's Central Committee. The KWP's General Federation of Korean Literature and Arts Unions, the parent body for all literary and artistic organisations, also controls cultural activity.
The population has little or no exposure to foreign cultural influences apart from performances by song-and-dance groups and other entertainers brought in periodically for limited audiences. These performances, such as the Spring Friendship Art Festival held annually in April, are designed to show that the peoples of the world, like the North Koreans themselves, love and respect the "great leader." During the 1980s and the early 1990s, the North Korean media gave Kim Jong-il credit for working ceaselessly to make the country a "kingdom of art" where a cultural renaissance unmatched in other countries was taking place. Indeed, the younger Kim is personally responsible for cultural policy.
Things you should know when travelling to North Korea
Canadians should exercise extreme caution when deciding whether to visit the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Current conditions on the Korean Peninsula – including an ongoing international dispute over the DPRK’s nuclear program, occasional border skirmishes with South Korean armed forces, and a highly repressive regime in the North – hold the potential for political and military instability. All Canadians travelling to the DPRK should register with the Embassy of Canada in Seoul, South Korea, and with the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang.
Most Canadian visitors to the DPRK do not experience problems. The crime rate is low. Petty crime occurs, especially at the airport in Pyongyang and in public markets. Exercise normal safety precautions and ensure personal belongings, passports, and other travel documents are secure at all times. Individual tourism is permitted and can be arranged through a handful of DPRK government-approved travel agencies. However, it is very expensive (approximately US$2,500 per week). Travel must be authorized in advance by the government. Travellers are closely observed. Hotel rooms, telephones, and fax machines are monitored.
Persons with Korean citizenship or family ties with the DPRK should carefully consider their decision to visit. Authorities periodically subject dual nationals and children of former Koreans to certain laws and obligations. Canadians who also have Korean citizenship should consult with The Canadian government and Canadian Content in Ottawa before leaving Canada.
