Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Sarah Galloway
Professor Thaker
ENG 102
27 March 2017
In America, we have the luxury of free speech, but many people in other countries do not
have that. The people of North Korea are not given the free speech that we, as Americans can
often take for granted. Although the North Korean constitution states that they do have freedom
of speech, their leader uses that to create an illusion that they truly have freedom of speech. But,
if the people were truly given the opportunity to have free speech, how would that affect their
government's ability to function? How would their media be affected if the government could not
Before diving into a major human rights problem that is something that affects more than
just North Korea, what is the definition of freedom of speech? According to dictionary.com,
they word it as the right of people to express their opinions publicly without governmental
interference, subject to the laws against libel, incitement to violence or rebellion, etc
(dictionary.com). Meaning that people are able to express how they are feeling without the
government telling us otherwise. We should be able to speak your mind, even if it can damage
The people of North Korea are told in their constitution that they have this freedom of
speech, but they do not it is simply controlled and contained, which is the opposite of freedom.
The media in North Korea is something that is heavily influenced, controlled, and observed by
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the government, to make sure that the public is only viewing things that are aligned with their
political agenda.
The people of North Korea have gone to great lengths to get ahold of media, whether it is
buying a SIM card for a cell phone from China to have the ability to view media from these
places, or simply distributing things from America and many other countries that are so easily
accessible such as movies or television. These individuals find themselves dealing media as if it
were drugs. Doing this seems to be growing in popularity according to Sunny Yoon, who writes
for Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea (Yoon). They live their lives in the shadows and
blending into society. By doing this and viewing the media, they put themselves in imitate
danger.
If caught, these individuals and their families could be imprisoned in one of North
Korea's many camps, one of the most popular and largest being kwanils which can hold up to
80,000 -120,000 people where they will most likely live out the rest of their lives as well as their
family (United States Department of State 1). Or in some cases, they could be executed in the
town square by the North Korean Army or government officials. These executions are carried out
to scare and put the people of North Korea in their place, and to show them the power of the
The youth of North Korea that take refuge in South Korea and other countries, still have a
sense of pride in the country (Sunny 4), like many people who take refuge in other countries.
They love their country, but they are not fond of what is happening. Regardless of the fact that
their government has neglected to help those in the lowest social strata, by assisting them with
having the most basic need of food (Lee 3). It has been said by others that the North Korean
militia has sold the food to acquire more financial benefits for their regime (Lee 3).
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It would be too easy to turn away from this country because of how far away they are, but
isnt freedom and equality something that people have been striving to accomplish since the
beginning of time? Why leave those who have no voice, alone and continuing to not have one?
Imagine being born into your origin country, only to find out that you no ability to think for
A story about a strong young woman by the name of Yeonmi Park recently came into
light. She was born in the countryside of Peo Yong, North Korea. Had the courage to escape
North Korea and the Kim dictatorship, in search of her sister, who had left with a friend, in a
journey to China. Her Father was arrested after illegally selling metals across the border to
China. But, once that happened to her father, and he was in prisoned for seventeen years, the rest
of the family were deemed criminals as well, and will continue to trickle down for not only her
father and mother, but her and her sister, and will follow down to her children. Her father
managed to bribe his way out, as he had cancer. Once they made it to China, she had to see her
mother raped, traveled through the Gobi Desert, only a compass to guide them. Then the
compass died, and all that was there to lead them to freedom where the stars (One Young World).
She says, on stage at an event held by One World Young, a United Kingdom-based
organization that brings young leaders from around the country to a summit, to make connections
North Korea is an unimaginable country. There is one channel on T.V, there is no.
internet. We are not free to sing, say, wear, or think what we want. North Korea is the only
country in the world that executed people for making unauthorized international phone calls.
North Koreans are being terrorized today -North Koreans and desperately seeking and dying
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for freedom at this moment. When I was nine years old, I saw my friends mother, publicly
This woman so willingly left her home even though it meant leaving all she knew. Can be
Those with opposing views will state that the United States should not be getting
involved with a country like North Korea because of its nuclear power and closed-door policy,
simply to make sure that they have free speech. But, to counter that with a quote from Emma
Watson, who was appointed as a United Nations Womens Goodwill Ambassador in 2014, said in
a speech she had in New York City In my moments of doubt, Ive told myself firmly If not
me, then who? If not now, When? (youtube.com) She may have been using this in a speech
about equal rights for gender for her initiative HeForShe, but we can agree that this can be
applicable in all situations of human rights, as a call to action. Because, whether it is the right to
have a Facebook, or the right to pick up a newspaper like the New York Times or The
Washington Post, it is something that we could all agree should be possible for everyone.
The government in North Korea are relentless in making sure no one comes against them,
which is what lead to the execution of five security officials in earlier in 2017 anti-aircraft guns.
The Cable News Network, or more commonly known as CNN, wrote an article, stating that it
was because the executed had given Kim Jong Un false information, on what we do not know,
per the intelligence agency in South Korea (McKirdy 1). Kim Jong Un has also had one of his
top lieutenants fired, in January of this year (McKirdy 2). Per a report released in the end of
2016, since Kim has assumed power, he has had 340 people executed since 2011 and out of those
140 of them were senior officers in the countrys government, military and ruling Koran
Workers party meaning that they were not only working for Kim Jong Un, but many of them
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worked closely with him (McKirdy 3). Someone during an interview stated that whether this is
connected into the execution of Kim Jong-Uns half-brother earlier this year, it is still unknown
Johns Hopkins university has also released a journal regarding the human rights crisis in
North Korea, regarding their prison camps and many other things. Kim Jong-Un, the dictator of
North Korea, is a dangerous man, not only because he has had people executed for watching a
film from Hollywood. But simply because he repeatedly restricts their resources and freedom
more and more within his country as time continues. Within the journal from Johns Hopkins
University, a woman who was from North Korea explains why she left and settled in Seoul, she
says It was either leave or become a criminal to survive. (Goedde 3). The people in North
Korea are left to their own devices to the point of debating to put their lives on the line to get the
Goedde also goes on to explain how human rights activists and advocacy groups
constantly communicate with each other, build global and moral legitimacy for their rights
objective, and thereby exert more pressure on the government of a state to amend it's offensive
about the crisis in North Korea concerning things like Food, and other human rights. But also
report on freedom of expression and speech. Their information and reports are simply
reiterating concerns regarding the lack of freedom of expression. Which simply just restates
the immense concern to this country that is seen around this world. No one is concerned about
People know that North Korea is a country that has closed borders, but they are not aware
of the fact that people live their lives in the dark, they are fed lies and the agenda of a country
who believes that every country is against them. Everyone would have the same amount of
concern if everyone was more educated on the human rights the men, women, and children, that
are neglected and people in power abuse the positions they are placed in for personal
advancement. North Koreans should have the ability to view media, that being an important role
in a healthy society.
The government wouldnt have the opportunity to get away with as much as they are
getting away with nowadays. The people would be able to hold their government accountable for
the intolerable things they have put their people through for decades.
North Koreans deserve freedom of expression because that is simply a human right.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and thoughts towards someone. They deserve to say
what they feel lead to say without the fear and pressing oppression of being murdered for what
they say of how they act in any way. People should not be executed publicly because they have
seen foreign media, or have contacted someone from another part of the country. This is not a
political problem, this is a human problem, but we need the backing of our governments
knowing that they stand with us in fighting for the freedom of expression (Goedde 5).
If the people of North Korea were given the opportunity to have free speech, and they
changed their policies so that people were able to leave and come into the country willingly. I
believe that over time, the country would flourish economically. By tourists coming in to see the
absolutely stunning landscape and cities. Kim Jong Un would no longer be in power, because of
his continuing human rights violations and the things hes done, the people would ultimately riot
for a time, and would like all riots, will be resolved. The country would become open and willing
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to corporate with not only South Korea but the rest of the world, giving them the opportunity to
The country wouldnt have to have the Propaganda and Agitation Department (PAD),
which is a department of the North Korean government to control all of the media around the
country, which the government uses to control the public. (United States Department of State
3). They control the mass media as well as plans what people are allowed to release per month
and they are expected and demanded to work on that (United States Department of State 3). This
would give the media the ability to write about and say basically what they wanted, granting
them freedom of the press. And people like Yeoumi, will not need to life day-to-day in fear.
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Works Cited
Emma Watson at the HeForShe Campaign 2014 - Official UN Video. Youtube.com, 22 Sept.
2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkjW9PZBRfk
Goedde, Patricia. Legal Mobilization for Human Rights Protection in North Korea: Furthering
Discourse Or Discord? Human Rights Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 3, 2010, pp. 532- 536,
Lee, Won Woong. Politics of Human Rights in North Korea. Journal of Asian and African
McKirdy, Euan. North Korea Executed 5 Security Officials, South Korea Says. CNN, 28 Feb.
2017.
One Young World Escaping from North Korea in Search of Freedom | Yeonmi Park | One Young
United States. Department of State. Report on Human Right Abuses or Censorship in North
Yoon, Sunny. Forbidden audience: Media reception and social change in North Korea.
Department of Media and Communication, Hayang University. Vol. 11, 2015. SAGE
Publications.