Posted
on September 9, 2014
Today
is the anniversary of the founding of the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea in 1948.
Like
so many other patriotic “holidays,” this day commemorates
division as well as union, war rather than peace; and it is an
occasion for sadness for some people.
Because
the division of Korea into North and South Korea really did
permanently divide some friendships and families.
How
did the division happen?
Japan
ruled Korea from 1910 to the end of World War II. When Japan was beat
by the Allied forces, the Soviet Union occupied the northern portion
of Korea, to the 38th parallel, and soon U.S. forces
occupied the portion of Korea south of that parallel. By 1948, two
separate governments had been set up.
But
each government felt that IT was the one true government of Korea.
“That other government isn't the legitimate government,” each
side claimed—“WE are!”
A
division that had been imposed on a land and a people by outside
nations—even if those nations had just liberated the land of
invaders—should not have been permanent, and the North and South
Koreans didn't hold the division as permanent.
But
of course they disagreed about what to do about this artificial
division.
North
Korea was set up as a communist nation, with backing from China and
the USSR. South Korea, on the other hand, was set up as a democratic
republic modeled on U.S. and European capitalist nations.
Soon
after the creation of the separate governments, North Korean forces
attacked South Korea and tried to take back the “bottom half” of
its nation. The Korean War lasted three years and killed more than
half a million troops (plus wounding more than a million troops, plus
killing and wounding around 2.5 million civilians, plus damaging and
destroying buildings and property plus/plus/plus!) – and when the
war was over, the exact same situation resumed:
Korea remained divided into two separate nations, along the 38th parallel.
Korea remained divided into two separate nations, along the 38th parallel.
More
bad news...
You
probably already know that North Korea is a dictatorship, and the
people there do not have the access to information and freedoms that
most of the rest of us enjoy. They don't even have access to as much
FOOD as the rest of us, and on average North Korean people are one to
three inches shorter than South Korean people because of chronic food
shortages. North Korea has one of the largest armed forces in the
world, with 1.1 million soldiers on active duty. Its reserve forces
of 8 million reserves is THE largest in the world (even though the
nation is only the 48th most populous nation in the
world!).
The
people of North Korea struggle economically, and the infrastructure
(such as power supply lines and transportation routes) is in many
cases old and in disrepair. But the ruling family spends a lot of
money on their own lifestyle...like 32 homes, including palaces and
mansions.
Is
there anything nice to say?
The
roads may be marred by potholes and other rough patches that need
repair – but at least they aren't congested with traffic! (Photo by Bjorn Bergman)
...and
of course much of the countryside is beautiful.
North Korea would also be a pretty awesome place for star-gazing and other astronomical pursuits - because it has a LOT less nighttime lighting than its neighbors South Korea, Japan, and China. (The almost entirely dark part is North Korea!)
Also on this date:
Plan
ahead:
Check
out my Pinterest boards for:
And
here are my Pinterest boards for:
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