What Is Militarism In North Korea

Evie Sutton
May 8th, 2017
Period D “Why has militarism flourished in North Korea?” A contemporary crime writer named Patricia Cornwell once said “I believe the root of all evil is the abuse in power.” Sadly, the Kim Dynasty in North Korea has displayed this so well. The Kim family required their military to be more offensive than defensive because they believed it was more beneficial, and they were stronger on the attacking side. In order to succeed in this strategy the North Korean military were required to produce many weapons constantly.The production of weapons were possible with the taxes on the people, which left less money for the people causing many atrocities. It all started off in 1948 when the Kim family starting ruling with
Once Kim Jong-il took power in 1948 he watched North Korea slowly deteriorate; therefore he implemented the Military First policy. This method put the military over North Korea’s general population. Taxes, food, and daily needed supplies were sent to the military before the citizens. This guideline triggered a famine throughout the entire population in North Korea. In total, one million people died or five percent of North Korea’s population. Some survived but they suffered a great deal. One long term effect this famine caused was the decrease in the necessary minimum height requirement for soldiers. It originally was 145 centimeters but this was too tall for the average sixteen to seventeen year olds. Also, the command economy started to crumble causing many social changes to arise after the famine. Many civilians turned away from the North Korean government because they stopped providing food for them. The need for a strong military was demonstrated by sacrificing the daily public needs of the citizens. Another system that the Kim rulers enforced was the the Songbun System. This system arranged people into a caste hierarchy based on your status. This was determined by your “loyalty to socialism(History in North Korea).” Citizens who were in the military or had relatives in the army were placed in the higher classes above the general population. Many of the people placed in the lower classes were treated more poorly than the people put in higher classes. This system created unnecessary tension between people in various classes. The upper class teased, and made fun of several people in the lower class due to the different status levels. These two systems instituted in Korea created a terrifying and disgusting country, rather than a welcoming and happy