Totalitarianism in north korea

Totalitarianism

Officially the most corrupt country

• has 13 million people ready for military service
• potentially has 10 nuclear warheads heading towards Hollywood due to 'the interview' mocking kim jong-un
• Threatened to nuke u.s.a

Time in north korea

• it's 2015 for the rest of the world, but in north korea the year is 104
• they changed the calendar to mark the start of time to the year their first communist leader kim il sung was born

north korean official hair styles

• north Koreans can only have 1 of 28 approved hair styles
• men's hair can't grow longer than 2 inches
• single woman have the most choice choosing from 18 different hair styles
• married woman must have short hair

prison camps

• around 200,000 koreans live in prison camps in north korea
• surrounded by electric fences, they are essentially used as slave labor making electrical buildings, goods, and roads

elections

• elections are held every 5 years
• there is only 1 standing candidate, kim jong-un himself
• he wins 99.9% of the votes

watching television

• citizens are forbidden to watch anything else other than state propoganda
• in the last 2 years north korea has publicly executed around 130 people for watching south korean tv

practicing religion

• athiest north korea has 'freedom of religious belief' despite torturing thousands for their faiths
• in 2013, 80 christians were publicly executed in a stadium just for owning bibles

drinking alcohol

• north koreans can only drink on special holidays and students face interrogation if they're caught
• in 2012 a military officer was killed for drinking during the 100 day mourning period of kim jong-il

driving

• citizens are banned from driving freely in their country - there is less than 1 car per 1000 people
• senior officials are chauffeured in extravagant cars to flaunt their political commitment

playing music

• all music in in north korea is controlled by the state and must glorify the regime
• decadent western music is a 'crime against the state' and playing it will get you killed

international calls

• communication with the outside world will incur the death penalty
• in 2013 a north korean man was publicy executed by a firing squad for calling his friend in south korea

talking

• citizens caught criticizing or discussing the north korean government will be sent to 're-educated camps'
• prisoners will endure hard labor and ideological indoctrination to relearn the values of the regime

traveling abroad

• the ultimate crime is for a north korean to leave their country
• deflectors flee to china for refugee but if they're caught by authorities, they'll forcibly be returned for execution

surfing the web

• north korea's state - run internent is pure propaganda and can only be used with authorization
• in 2013 an online journalist was imprisoned for 6 months for a typo in a web article

radio

• in every house hold there is a government controlled radio
• this radio can only be lowered down in volume but can not be turned off

north korean border

• the border between south and north korea is one of the most militarized in the world
• no one can pass through the north korean border without authorization

school system

• children in north korea must provide themselves with their own desk and chair
• they also have to provide the money for eating

household pictures

• citizens are required to hang up pictures of the deceased kim il sun and his departed son kim jong-il in their homes
• if not hung in their home, they are forced to hang them, or even executed for lack of respect

malnourished

• nearly 1/3 of north korean children are functionally malnourished
• they are mostly fed on corn and cabbage, this poor diet means north koreans are 2 inches shorter than south koreans

literacy rating

• north korea is 1 of 8 countries in the world to have 100% literacy rating
• the us and the uk scrape a literacy rate of 99%