Communist state of north korea

Communist subject of north koreaCommunist arouse northbound Korea is a Communist state, with a policy of diplomatic and economic self-reliance, fronted by the dictator Kim Jong-Il (2010). Choosing to shun the popback(a) world, the government promotes fear and paranoia through propaganda, surveillance and security review. Through this, Kim maintains his iron grip on his country and its people, with the political science being compared by Ben MacIntyre (2010), to George Orwells Nineteen Eighty- four. The citizens of northernmost Korea have no privacy and the absence of individual rights galore(postnominal) of us put one over for granted. For more than 50 years jointure Korea has been ready to go to war, with their war machine commencement policy making it mandatory for citizens to participate in a minimum of six years military service (Aljazeera 2010). They have the worlds fourth largest armed forces, and spend the majority of their GDP on the military, relying on avail ag encies for food handouts to keep the population from starvation (Aljazeera 2010). North Koreas nuclear weapon testing, large armies and xenophobia openly affects the sopor of the world, not to mention Kims Big Brother standardized regime influencing other would be dictators to make Orwells legend a reality. My understanding of the situation in North Korea is shaped by the society I populate in. As an 18 year old, Australian, Caucasian female, I have the basic rights of freedom. We have limited censorship laws, a democratic voting system and freedom of speech. With all these basic freedoms that I often take for granted, its quite difficult to believe how bothone could live in a controlled society like North Korea. We come upon that, because the people of North Korea dont live in a society like ours, that their lives are a misery, proving that without prime(prenominal) hand experience its impossible to put ourselves in their position. The society I live in is likewise relative ly safe. Kim has given his people a false sense of security, declaring outsiders as the enemy and himself as a protector. Living under a dictatorship is a hard concept to grasp. I have seen Nineteen-Eighty Four and read Animal Farm, and these novels help paint a picture of what life might be like for the citizens of North Korea. North Koreas control over information is quite similar to Chinas censorship laws. The Great Firewall of China, blocks out any searches pertaining to Tiananmen Square, democracy, freedom of speech, police brutality and many social networking sites. China, on a scale, is not as oppressed as North Korea, but is still incredibly censored. Michael Atkinson, former Attorney-General, caused controversy when he make it a law to post names and postcodes on any internet comments or blogs about the state election. Due to public outcry and message boards comparing the act to the extreme censorship in North Korea and Nazi Germany (Dowdell McGuire 2010), it was promptly reversed. Censorship is creeping into our society, with the likes of Stephen Conroy, the current Minister of Broadband, Communication and Digital Economy, trying to administer stronger internet laws (Moses 2010). With these proposed censorship laws, I have to question our freedom of speech, although it comforts me to know that through push-down store public outrage laws can be reversed. People born into Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Ils regime wouldnt known life any other way they dissimulation understand freedom and real safety because they havent experienced it. I cant comprehend living in such a controlled country because I have lived in a democratic society. Totalitarianism, extreme censorship and surveillance are very important issues and just because theyre not everyday in our government, doesnt mean that theyre not concerning and problematic issues, which could extend to our society and change our political identities. Reference swayCentral Intelligence eonncy 2010, The Worl d Factbook North Korea, United States, viewed 20 March 2010 MacIntyre, B 2010, North Korean Regime Truly Orwellian, Australian 1 March, p.9.North Korea A state of war 2010, Aljazeera.net, viewed 17 March 2010, Dowdell, A McGuire, M 2010, Outrage as Rann government, Opposition unite to gag internet state election debate, Advertiser 2 February, viewed 20 March 2010, Moses, A 2010, Google baulks at Conroys call to censor YouTube, Age February 11, viewed 20 March 2010