Nothing to Envy
Barbara Demick
21 min
8 Key Points
4.3 RateWhat's inside?
Dive into the real-life experiences of North Koreans, revealing the harsh realities and human resilience in one of the world's most secretive and oppressive regimes.
You'll learn
1. What's life really like in North Korea?2. How do politics and money affect us?3. How do we cope in tough situations?4. How does propaganda control us in a dictatorship?5. What's it like to escape from North Korea?6. What's unique about North Korean culture and society?Key points
01Did the US have a hand in splitting Korea?
Let's take a trip back in time to understand the roots of the North Korean situation. Before World War II, Korea was under Japan's thumb. But when the war ended and Japan's empire crumbled, Korea was left hanging in the balance. Suddenly, this little peninsula, which had been pretty much off the world's radar, was in the spotlight. The big players of the time, the United States and the Soviet Union, were both eyeing it. Why, you ask? Well, both the US and the USSR were eager to spread their own beliefs - capitalism and communism - around the world. And Korea, sitting snugly close to China and Japan, was a prime spot. The US, especially, was worried about the USSR getting a foothold in Korea and posing a threat to Japan. So, what did they do? They decided to split Korea into two, like a pie. The northern slice went to the USSR, and the southern slice to the US. This line in the sand was drawn along the 38th parallel, a line of latitude. The Korean folks didn't get a say in this, and they went from being under Japan's control to being divided between the USSR and the US. In the North, with the USSR's backing, Kim Il-sung set up the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Down South, with the US's support, Syngman Rhee established the Republic of Korea. This split was meant to be a temporary fix, but the two superpowers couldn't see eye to eye, and two separate governments were set up, each claiming to be the rightful ruler of all of Korea. Things came to a head in 1950 when Kim Il-sung, with Soviet tanks behind him, launched a surprise attack on South Korea and took over Seoul, the capital. The US, along with 15 other countries, jumped in to help South Korea, pushing back the North Korean forces. China also joined the fray, backing North Korea. This backstory is key to understanding the current state of affairs in North Korea. The US and USSR's decision to divide Korea laid the groundwork for a totalitarian regime in the North, leading to the struggles faced by everyday North Koreans. These struggles and the hurdles faced by those trying to escape from the oppressive regime are what we're trying to shed light on.
02Is North Korea's society based on a caste system?
In the wake of the Korean War, North Korea's big boss, Kim Il-sung, set up a strict pecking order that became the backbone of North Korean life. This pecking order was a tool for keeping folks in line, rewarding those who were loyal and punishing those who dared to disagree. This pecking order was split into three main groups: 1. The Top Dogs: These were the folks at the top of the heap. They were the ones who had proven their loyalty to Kim Il-sung, especially during the Civil War. This group was made up of high-ranking military folks and party members. Most of these folks lived in the capital city, living the high life because of their status. 2. The Fence Sitters: This group was made up of folks who had good records but were seen as potential troublemakers by the government. This group included Koreans who had come back from Japan and former Top Dogs who had somehow lost their golden status. They didn't have it as good as the Top Dogs, but they weren't as down and out as the Bottom Feeders. 3. The Bottom Feeders: These were the folks at the bottom of the heap. They included religious folks, Koreans who had shown any kind of friendliness towards South Korea, and folks suspected of political crimes. Anyone found guilty of political crimes, no matter what group they used to be in, was also dumped into this group. Folks in this group had a tough time, with lots of restrictions on where they could live and travel. This pecking order affected every part of life in North Korea. It decided where you could live, how much schooling you could get, and what jobs you could do. It was a system that was passed down from parents to kids, meaning kids inherited their parents' place in the pecking order. There was no climbing the ladder; you could only keep your place or get knocked down a peg. For example, even the way food was handed out was affected by this pecking order. Everyone could swap money for food coupons at distribution centers, but how much food you could get depended on your place in the pecking order. The higher up you were, the more food you could get. Most North Koreans didn't really know or understand this pecking order. They lived in a world where there wasn't much mixing between the different groups, and where discrimination was a part of everyday life. This lack of understanding, along with the harsh realities of the pecking order, created a society filled with suspicion, discrimination, and inequality.
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03Is Juche doctrine a tool for tyranny in North Korea?
04Did Kim Il-sung want to be worshipped by North Koreans?
05Did the fall of the USSR lead to North Korea's downfall?
06Did black markets replace food centers in North Korea?
07Is defection the only way out for desperate North Koreans?
08Conclusion
About Barbara Demick
Barbara Demick is an American journalist and author, known for her in-depth coverage of international affairs. She served as the Beijing bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times and was previously stationed in Seoul and Sarajevo. She won the Samuel Johnson Prize for "Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea".
