This year North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Il (김정일) was unanimously re-elected to office. His sons were also appointed to high government posts as well. Big surprise there!
The voting system in North Korea is basically the voting system elementary schools use to pick the class president. There are two boxes, one in favor of the candidate, the other being against the candidate. Even though voting is supposed to be in secret, there are government officials watching where you cast your vote. If you place your ballot in the “no” box, you’ll be secretly carted away to a work camp.
In America, voting is not mandatory. In North Korea, it’s absolutely mandatory. If you don’t vote, you can say hi to a work camp, so everyone votes. The only way government officials can keep track of the population is to count the number of votes. If the votes don’t add up, they’ll assume the person defected and kill the family members. As a result, there’s a lot of bribing that goes on in the polls. A nice bribe can influence a government official to record the person as deceased.
It’s one of these things that makes me glad I don’t live in North Korea.
Did you know that before there ever was a South and North Korea, there were three large kingdoms in what is now present day Korea? It’s true. Long before the Korean nation, Korea was nothing more than a conglomerate of three strong powers. This period is called the shikgukshide (삼국시대) or the Three Kingdoms Period.
The largest of the three “states” was Goguryo (고구려). The territory of Goguryo (고구려) extended into Russia, China, all of North Korea and bits of South Korea. Goguryo (고구려) had amassed its territories through constant warfare. Although this strategy allowed Goguryo (고구려) to be feared among the other kingdoms, this came at the price of a lack of artistic development and culture. There are some cave wall paintings still left to this day, but nothing as culturally refined as the other kingdoms. Eventually Goguryo’s (고구려) downfall was acclerated by a depletion of supplies and constant warring.
The next kingdom is Bekje (백제). Although Bekje (백제) is tiny when compared to Goguryo (고구려), at its height it controlled parts of North Korea and the south western part of present day South Korea. Unlike Goguryo (고구려), the Bekje (백제) were more culturally advanced. They had knowledge of processing iron into weapons and created beautiful works of art and architecture. In fact the crowns of Bekje (백제) kings and queens are made of the finest craftsmanship for that period of time. The Bekje (백제) had trade relations with Japan. Japan’s Buddhist origins can be traced to its relations with the Bekje (백제).
Last but not least is Silla (신라). Silla (신라) occupied the southeastern part of present day South Korea. Silla (신라) had extensive relations with China’s Tang (탕) dynasty. Together with China, it was able to push into Goguryo (고구려) and Bekje (백제) territory. Silla was also a advanced society. There are burial remains of fine silk, porcelain, and gold jewelry. The picture on the left is a Silla (신라) crown. The upper crust of Silla society was divided into two lineages. The king and the royal family belonged to the sacred bone lineage (성골), while the nobles were designated into the true bone (진골) lineage. Like all great societies, the Silla (신라) civilization declined because of a conflict within these two lineages, but it left behind some great works of art that we can still see and enjoy today.
Did you know that last month was Kim Jong Il’s sengil (생일) or birthday? His birthday is a national holiday. Kim Jong Il’s birthday was accompanied by a ceremony much like the mass games for the Olympics. There were synchronized swimmers, acrobatic dancers, and muscians. Strangely enough, Kim Jong Il (생일) was not present at the games and there is some speculation that he might have suffered a stroke. He has yet to name a successor, and it’s understandable as to why Hilary Clinton made one of her first trips to South Korea. The future of North Korea and the future of the nuclear weapons program may lie in the hands of one of Kim Jong Il’s (김정일) sons.
What are the mass games? The mass games consist of traditional Korean dances and music with lavish displays of acrobatic acts. It’s a rare chance for Western media to take a glimpse into North Korea, because it’s really the only time in the year that the North Korean government is this open to foreigners. There is still a huge security clearance that Western journalists need to go through to get to the North, but hey, it’s a rare chance, so you could say it’s almost worth it. My guess is that the North Korean government is using the mass games as a way to display their power. One of the highlights of the mass games is a military parade consisting of very disciplined soldiers all marching in a single, neat order. The North Korean military is called the Korean People’s Army (저선인민군) and the games are a means to publicize the army. 
Let me tell you more about Kim Jong Il (김정일). He is not addressed by his name- at least not by his own people. He is addressed as “Dear Leader” (친애아는 지도자). Of course there were many well wishers who congratulated Kim Jong Il’s (김정일) sixty-seventh birthday. He’s certaintly lived a long life, considering the average age of mortality for men in North Korea is 40 years. Ironically he was born in Russia under the name Yuri. Of course this fact is hidden from his people but anyway, he has three sons, by three different women. I guess you could say he’s been very “busy” in that sense.
Did you know that Hillary Clinton is the first secretary of state to visit the countries of Asia right after being promoted to office? In the past, the first countries that the secretary of state would visit were the Middle East and Europe. The fact that Clinton’s first visit is anywhere in Asia signifies the important presence Asia will have in the Obama presidency. Already as it is, the U.S. has important politcal and economic ties with the Asian continent. Not surprisingly, the main focus of the talks happen to center around North Korea and their nuclear weapons program. In honor of Clinton’s visit last month, here is a list of vocabulary related to the visit.
