South Korea VS.North Korea

Tomada de: www.hondudiario.com/l/taxonomy/term/11?page=2

The two Koreas are quite different; the differences arise from opposing political systems. On one hand we have de democratic South Korea, and on the other hand the communist military dictatorship of North Korea.

It was too difficult to find positive things in North Korea, I don’t find positive things on a communist dictatorship and less when I saw in the video how contradictory is what government preaches, and how they act. Regardless I found some positive things but I am not completely convinced in their positivism.

NORTH KOREA

Positive aspects	Negative aspects
Government preaches care about environment banning cars. (Take into account government has cars, so this is not too positive.)	Communist military dictatorship
Strong military force to “protect” the country and its citizens, prepared for war. (I really have doubts about the protection.)	Weak economy which makes them a poor country.
The interest on having their country clean. (using people to sweep the streets)	Economy is based on subsistence agriculture.
Build new houses for people when they think are too old or damaged.	Government use cars while people use bikes.
Most of the people know how to read and write.	Atomic bomb
	There are no jobs due to the lack of industries or private property.
	People are forced to work the land.
	They move people from their houses to different places when they consider necessary without asking if they want.
	The existence of political prisoners.
	Most of the population doesn’t receive superior education.
	The government doesn’t let people study other branch of art except social realism.
	The population is malnourished; women are anemic so their children and this is the reason for premature births.
	People with physical or mental disabilities is hidden and forced to work as defective hand labor.
	The government control the population, everything they do is controlled. NO FREEDOM!

For South Korea I found few positive or negative things to mention, off course due to its political system I found more positive things.

SOUTH KOREA

Negative aspects	Positive aspects
Corrupt governors.	Democratic.
I found in the daily “los tiempos” for march 10th, that the government is so focused on education, forcing kids and teenagers to study really hard to achieve recognitions or special jobs that the number of suicides have increased drastically.	Their concern for education.
	A diversified economy, not based on agriculture.
	Constant development on economy.
	Citizens are free.

Regarding the second question about what government do to control the population, in North Korea I found they teach the population that the leader is like god and he is never wrong and they must pay homage to the leader, venerate him and kowtow when they are in front his monuments.

The government control information, there is no access to internet, there is just one news paper controlled by them and the only thing available on TV is about the regime. The information is so controlled that they modify (with false information) history, biographies and other books to make people think the government is successful and their leaders are strong and intelligent. They also forbid a book that make reference to democracy or any other political system; they don’t let people know how the world outside the country is and that’s why there are a lot of restrictions to enter the country even if they are just tourist.

They control any possible information that can enter the country and what can go out, is the reason why journalists can go to North Korea. Is a simple tourist enter the country, the military seize cell phones and laptops or any other instrument to have access to internet or can contact them with the world outside; they also control the communication between tourists and the population, the photos they can take and the places they can visit.

The population doesn’t know anything different from what they have been taught and if they do or they are political dissidents they are arrested or taken to re-education camps with their families to prevent they run away. The dictator controls the population and eliminates its critical and reflexive capacity.

On the other hand the government in South Korea control its population controlling the government, even though the population is free and can elect its governors is common to find corruption and some how is the same president who indirectly elects the parliament or avoids its own destitution with corruption.