A recent interview with B.R. Myers, writer and an expert on North Korea, gives readers insight into the aggressive, militaristic nation that calls itself the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). North Korea has propaganda meant for both internal and external consumption that presents different versions of themselves.
External DPRK propaganda
The impression that the DPRK has presented to the rest of the world is that of a communist country that wants to be included among the nations of the world, one that wants a peace treaty with the US so it can concentrate on improving the quality of life of its citizenry. Please click here to see a short video of North Korean military parade.
Internal DPRK propaganda
In propaganda created for North Koreans, they will always be hostile to the US--and someday take revenge upon the United States. North Korea is a nation that does not fear any other nation on earth. The entire world it seems is absolutely terrified of doing anything to upset North Korea. B.R. Myers said that in books there are scenarios of “North Korean diplomats barging in on U.N. officials, laying down the law, telling the U.N. what to do.” The DPRK’s image of itself, “is strikingly close to…the American right wing’s depiction of North Korea as a rogue state.”
North Koreans learn ideology by learning about Kim Jong Il
Much of the culture that North Koreans consume is about their leader: Kim Jong Il. The ideology of the nation is, says Myers, “a very, very crude and simple race-based nationalism.” North Koreans learn their ideology by learning about the “Great Leader,” who is the perfect “embodiment of Koreaness [and] ethnic virtues.” The people read fictional accounts of what Kim Jong Il did while traveling throughout Korea.
Most North Korean “experts” in US don’t speak or read Korean
Most North Korean “experts” in the US don’t speak or read a single word of Korean--and can’t even read slogans on propaganda posters. Thus they turn to English translations of what’s called “Juche Thought,” which Myers calls a “sham ideology” that covers up the “true ideology,” which is a race-based nationalism. The main function of Juche was to promote to the people that Kim Il Sung, the father of current leader Kim Jong Il, was a brilliant thinker similar to Mao Tse Tung of China.
North Korea is far-right, "race-based" and nationalistic
According to Myers, the DPRK never behaved like a Stalinist state and had no philosophy similar to Marxism-Leninism. It has even dropped the word “communism” from its constitution. North Korea is a far-right nation with a command economy, similar to Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan in the 1930s and 1940s. The country has a “race-based” and nationalist world view. This approach serves the regime quite well. When things are good, it’s because the Korean race is superior; in bad times any problems can be blamed on foreigners.
Koreans the "child-race" that needs protection
Koreans are the "child-race"--with pure Korean blood and quite virtuous--who need to be protected from the world around them by Kim Jong Il. North Korean propaganda points out the horrible influence of the US in South Korea. Media in the DPRK's capital of Pyongyang criticizes the intermarriage between South Koreans and foreigners, especially American foreigners. Thus North Koreans believe that the racial purity of South Koreans is being threatened.
North Korean fears of South Korea
Myers believes that North Korea has no fear whatsoever of the United States. What they are afraid of, however, is their Korean neighbor. How can they justify their existence as a separate Korean state when South Korea is a wealthy country? Thus the North Korean regime will be insecure as long as there is a South Korea. The DPRK did attack South Korea recently. Myers said--before the recent attack--that when North Korea becomes "desperate" they may seriously consider a military confrontation with its Korean neighbor in order to rally the citizenry and inspire patriotism.
Problems in North Korea
North Korea is broke. Surprisingly, the government in Pyongyang is in the midst of a propaganda campaign with the theme of the nation becoming strong and prosperous by 2012. Myers feels that this campaign is reckless, and that the government may attempt some military action to bolster the pride and nationalism of the population.
Many buildings in North Korea are in need of repair. They don't have enough water pressure to get water to the top floors, so people have to come downstairs to fetch buckets of water for cooking or bathing. Many buildings also have no windows, just sheets of plastic where the windows should be.
The regime cannot admit to any crime, because to do so would harm the North Korean self-image of purity. Newspapers in the DPRK never mention crime. North Korean pop culture has no villains because everybody is good and pure.
STDs are called "the housewife disease"
A women's magazine had an article that warned of "the housewife disease"--which are STDs--that are spreading in North Korea. And if there are articles about it in magazines, then the regime is worried about it.
Suicide campaign propaganda
Myers is concerned about the rise of kamikaze slogans and the degree to which Pyongyang is promoting them. Derived from Japanese propaganda from World War II, the North Korean leadership wants everyone to be ready to give their life for the leader, Kim Jong Il. Considering the tense situation between the two Korean states at this time, this is quite a chilling development.
Sources
"Immersion in propaganda, race-based nationalism and the un-figure-outable vortex of Juche Thought: Colin Marshall talks to B.R. Myers, author of The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves and Why it Matters."
Eric Brothers - Eric Brothers' forthcoming book,The Berlin Ghetto, will be published by The History Press in the U.K. in 2012.
