Famine In North Korea Research Paper

Famine In North Korea

During World War II, two resistance groups fought the Japanese in Korea. One is communist group which is the North and the other is the nationalist group which is the South. After World War II, the Korean peninsula did not have a functional government because of the Japanese colonization therefore the allied groups came to an agreement that until an election is held, the North will continue to run as a communist and the South as a nationalist. However the North elected a communist president who was also the leader of the resistance leader in the North while the South elected a president of their own. The Korean peninsula was divided into two and it was not until 1950 when the North attacked the South which started the Korean War that lasted from 1950 to 1953. On July 27, 1953, the two Koreas signed a cease-fire, not a peace treaty and while South Korea became a democracy and continued to prosper, the North stayed as a communist country and it shut itself from the outside world ever since. Although South Korea is a very prosperous country, the North is the exact opposite and one of its biggest problem that it is facing is famine. Food shortage continues to devour North Korea and without humanitarian aid from other countries, it may never survive on its own. Although not giving aid to North Korea is a way
to put sanctions because of nuclear related issues, the UN and other countries must help North Korea 's citizens who, throughout all these years have been fed false information and does not know the whole truth as to why their country is starving. "The greatest cause of the country 's political, economic, and health problem is isolation" (Watts, 2002, p.1840).
Even to this day, little is known about North Korea because the information that goes in and out of the country is strictly restricted but there are things that the whole world is certain about and that is that North Korea is in need of aid. Help such as information, education, medication and above all, food is gravely needed by North Korea. Since the split of the two Koreas, hundreds of thousands and even millions probably die every year due to malnutrition and famine in North Korea, especially the elderly and
children. Apart from being opposed to denuclearization, the other biggest reason why North Korea is continuing to suffer is it 's pride as it was stated by Watts (2002), "At the heart of many North Korea 's woes is the fact that it cannot or will not acknowledge it 's symptoms, so diagnosis and treatment are almost impossible" (p.1840). However, the problem does not only lies with North Koreans but with others as well. Even though stories about the relation issues with North Korea is almost always on the news headlines, little is known about other major problems it is facing. An independent organization that provides relief for North Korea conducted a survey in 1997 and the result was 70% answered that they had heard nothing about the food shortage in North Korea. "The average person remains ignorant of what could be the worst humanitarian tragedy of the century" (Liem, 1999, p.325). Recognition of the problem is the first step to its solution. No matter how much pride North Korea has, the world must stretch it 's hand out and help it 's citizen survive above anything else. According to Choe, North Korea 's Vice Foreign Minister, "To avoid negative impact of globalization on children, withdraw all kinds of sanctions against the developing counties and address the debt problems of these countries." Human rights problems and nuclear issues are one thing, and food crisis is another issue that must be resolved. "Almost a quarter of North Korean children have a low birth weight and 62% of children young than 7-years-old have stunted growth" (Ahmand, 2001, p.1684). Despite the fact the North Korean government is the one making all the decision for its citizens, the children are the ones who are suffering the consequences. The country itself cannot rebuild itself if the children, it 's future is already dying. Micro-nutrient rich food is extremely needed especially by children and pregnant women but with the food shortage of the North Korea that it 's currently facing, malnutrition is prevalent. "Malnutrition not only causes tremendous loss of life, but also stunts the economic and social development of nations by impairing the learning capacity of young children, causing disability, and reducing productivity" (Bhatia & Thorne-Lyman, 2002, p.360). If this continues, millions of children will continue to die from malnutrition and starvation and eventually the population of North Korea will decrease. The conditions in North Korea will gradually worsen instead of becoming better and it may lead to many more problems such as nuclear threats that is often made by North Korea in exchange for food aids. "If North Korea determines that diplomacy will not meet any of its desires and it is effectively cornered, it is likely to conduct further provocations" (Fitzpatrick, 2002, p.26). The problems only becomes a push and pull between North Korea and the United States and its allies which solves nothing. It only prolongs the problem which could escalate into an all out war. In the end, the victims will be the citizens of North Korea who all along knew nothing and has only been believing what they are being told by their government. Yes the North Korea has to be transparent to gain the trust of its neighboring countries but the world should not wait until it 's too late to make a move. If we can save North Korea 's citizens, it 's children, then that only gives them another chance to rebuild and maybe eventually, finally accept a peace treaty and open up to the rest of the world.

Works Cited

Ahmand, K. (2001). North Korean government admits that health of children is very poor. Lancet, 357(9269), 1684.
Bhatia, R., & Thorne-Lyman, A. (2002). Food shortages and nutrition in North Korea. Lancet, 360(9350), s27.
Fitzpatrick, M. (2011). Pyongyang Should Pay For The Food It Seeks. Survival (00396338), 53(5), 21-27. doi:10.1080/00396338.2011.621624
Liem, R. (1999). Silent Famine in North Korea. Peace Review, 11(2), 325.
Watts, J. (2002). North Korea 's healthy façade hides dying nation. Lancet, 359(9320), 1840.