World Cultures 5/11-15

Activities/Lesson Sequence

Monday

	1. Japan's Customs Tuesday
	1. Japan's Population density 2. Review assignment for test due before test on Wednesday Wednesday
	1. Asia Test Thursday
	1. Adapt a locker project begins Friday
	1. Adapt a locker project ends

Inside North Korea Homework - due 5/7

Name _______________________

Inside North Korea

Few foreigners are allowed into Communist North Korea.  On a rare visit by a Westerner, our JS reporter found a land in which many people are quietly suffering.

At 7am sharp, the day begins with a crackling noise from the city’s loudspeakers.  Patriotic speeches and war songs, with titles like “Little Tank Rushes Forward,” fill the streets.  Such propaganda provides the daily wake-up call for the citizens of Najin, North Korea.   At 7:15, the city’s electricity is turned on, if there is enough fuel that day. 

Gu, 13, says she likes the morning music.  “It gives me energy and a sense of purpose, and reminds me of what I need to do to help make my country great.”  Gu is in the fifth grade at Rasin Primary School, one of the best schools in the city.  To attend Rasin, kids must earn top grades; 700 hard-working students are enrolled there.

“Every month we must take an exam and then are ranked in our class according to the exam scores,” says Gu.  “There is a big board where the results of the exam are posted, and we have our pictures posted with our rank for everyone to see.  I am in the highest level.”

School begins at 8am.  Students line up in the front yard to exercise and parade in unison.   After these morning drills, the kids march single file into class.  The building’s halls are lined with murals depicting the military history of North Korea.  Many paintings show Korean soldiers smashing the heads of their enemies, most of whom are American and Japanese soldiers.

In class, the students study math, science, languages, history, citizenship, and literature until noon.  From 2 to 6pm, they take part in mandatory school activities, such as sports and the performing arts.  Soccer and chorus are the most popular activities among the kids.  “When I grow up, I want to be a professional soccer player,” says 12-year-old Rhee, echoing the wish of many boys here.  “But in case I do not qualify, I am studying hard to be an engineer, like my father.”

At Rasin, students perform well and the image of North Korea they portray is a pleasant one.  However, this is just one picture of life inside North Korea.  In this Communist country, where the government tightly controls all aspects of life, conditions are extremely difficult.  An estimated 2 million North Koreans have died of starvation since the early 1990’s.  A combination of natural disasters, including floods and drought, economic sanctions (trade restrictions) by the United States and other countries, and disastrous government policies have led to this deprivation.

Most North Koreans, who consume very little protein or fat, suffer from dietary deficiencies.  Fresh vegetables and fruit are scarce, and meat, fish, and eggs are luxuries.  According to the United Nations World Food Program, the average 7-year-old North Korean boy is 8 inches shorter and about 22 pounds lighter than a boy of the same age in South Korea.

From 1910 until the end of World War II, the Korean Peninsula was a Japanese colony.  After Japan’s defeat in 1945, Korea was divided.  The Soviet Union controlled the North, and the U.S. occupied the South.  Separate governments were formed in 1948.  Since then, North Korea has had only three leaders, Kim Il Sung, who died in 1994, and his son Kim Jong II who died in 2011, now his son Kim Jong Un.

In 1950, North Korean troops invaded South Korea.  U.S. and United Nations forces defended South Korea against the North and its Communist allies – the Soviet Union and China.  After three years of fighting, a truce (cease-fire) was declared.  No permanent peace treaty has ever been signed.  Today, the U.S. is concerned about North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons.  In 2003, the Bush administration opened a dialogue with North Korea and its neighbors in an effort to pressure the country to halt its weapons program.  Since then, North Korean officials have sent mixed signals about their willingness to participate in the talks. 

On the streets of Najin, the feeling is one of desolation.  When government loud-speakers are not broadcasting speeches and patriotic music, an eerie silence falls over the city.  Since few people can afford cars, goods are typically transported on carts pulled by oxen or by people.  Electricity is available only from 7:15am until 6:30pm.  The rest of the time, darkness envelops the city, and almost no one goes outside.  Winters are long and very cold, with no fuel for heating except wood.

Many young teens, forced to help support their families, cannot attend school.  At a factory in Sunbong, an industrial zone just north of Najin, girls spend long days stitching garments.  Most make $2 to $4 (U.S.) a month.  The legal working age is 15, but some girls in the factory appear to be much younger.

It is difficult to know how most North Korean teens feel about their lives.  Foreign visitors to the country must have government escorts with them at all times, and are allowed to visit only areas that the government wants them to see.  Foreigners are not permitted to talk with ordinary North Koreans.

Speaking against the government is strictly forbidden.  According to many human-rights organizations, the North Korean government is holding about 200,000 political prisoners in camps, where forced labor practices and torture are common.

At Rasin, students routinely perform for foreign visitors and government officials.  Their voices are sweet as they sing songs about Kim Jong Il.  And their smiles are enhanced by bright lipstick.  Yet a visitor can’t help but notice how tiny and frail they seem when compared with kids in the U.S.  Despite patriotism, these young people display, it seems clear that many North Koreans are barely surviving.

Junior Scholastic:  February 7, 2005

 

Reading Questions:

1.     List three words or phrases that describe life in North Korea.

 

2.     How are North Korean schools different than American schools?

 

 

3.    Why might the government play propaganda such as speeches and music over loudspeakers in the city?

 

4.     Who are North Korea’s allies?

 

5.     Circle one:  North Koreans (ARE/ARE NOT) allowed to speak out against their government.

 

6.     Why would the government not want foreigners to talk to ordinary citizens?

 

 

7.     Describe the health of North Korean citizens.