MYTHS AND FACTS ABOUT THE
DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA
by
Saxitoxin
(a former Bezirksdirektor für Weltanschauung with the Socialist Unity Party of the German Democratic Republic)
Great Documentary on Freedom and Prosperity in the DPRK! --- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kMfhbsYP8k
MYTH: South Korea is a shining state of democratic virtue.
FACT: South Korea regularly imprisons political dissidents. In '98 a university student (Ha Young-Joon) was sent to a ROK political reeducation camp for 1 year after he posted online writings by a US-based socialist movement. In '75 the ROK government executed 8 citizens for attempting to form a socialist political party. Numerous ROK citizens are jailed annually for criticizing ROK politics.
MYTH: The DPRK is a 1-party state.
FACT: There are 3 major political parties in the DPRK: the Worker's Party, the Social-Democratic Party and the Chondoist Chongo Party.
MYTH: North Koreans are clamoring to flee to the "paradise" of the South.
FACT: The most prominent cross-border defection in the last 25 years on the peninsula was of someone defecting from the South to the NORTH! Choe Deok-sin, who was
the Foreign Minister of South Korea fled the ROK with his family to the DPRK. This constitutes the highest-ranking defection of ANY political figure in ANY country in the last quarter century. The facts of this case have been severely repressed by ROK officials. If you bing-dot-com "Choe Deok-sin" it is likely you will find no references at all --- his face has literally been whitewashed from photographs in a very Orwellian manner.
MYTH: Kim Jong-Il is the "supreme ruler" of the DPRK.
FACT: In his role as President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly Kim Yong-Nam -
not Kim Jong-Il - holds legal and titular status as the DPRK's head of state.
MYTH: The US has no diplomatic relations with the DPRK.
FACT: The US has designated Sweden the "protecting power" of the United States in the DPRK. Via Swedish officials, the US is able to provide extensive consular services to US citizens enjoying the world-renowned hospitality of the DPRK, as well as engage in up-to-the-minute diplomatic relations with the DPRK.
MYTH: DPRK citizens would love to live in North America.
FACT: The nations of North America are beautiful places with friendly people. However, the DPRK provides free, universal health care to all citizens. Why would they want to forfeit that?
MYTH: DPRK citizens blame America for the split of the peninsula.
FACT: DPRK citizens probably recognize that a myriad of complex issues resulted in the division of the two Koreas. They are likely interested in looking forward to the future and striving toward the ultimate goal of peaceful reunification rather than playing "the blame game."