Although the realities in both Hunger Games and Nothing to envy are constructed by the institutionalization of

totalitarian dictatorship, the approaches utilized by the Korean Government and president Snow to suppress
the population are clearly manifested in a stark of different light. While president Snow take advantage over the
twelve districts by manipulating the distribution of the economy and resources, the government in nothing to
envy has no dominance over the economy and the famine has ruptured the stability of the dictatorship to a
certain extent. The dictatorship in Nothing to Envy relies heavily on the influence of propaganda to undermine
the human rights, excessively deploying traditional valves and belief as a tool to seize faith and loyalty while in
Hunger Games, propaganda plays a lessor role in the utilization of traditions and beliefs as the annual Hunger
Games and the sacrifices itself serves as an adequate exchange for hope and insurance in times of uncertainties.
When the population no longer trust the government, both totalitarian dictatorships began to approach the
rebellion with force. Although there are similarities between the North Korean army and the peacekeeper in
Panem, the dictators from Hunger Games does not rely entirely on human strength to suppress the human
spirits. The game maker terrorizes the tributes through the fabrication of beast and monsters while in nothing
to envy citizens commonly known as the immiban are employed to intervene and scare rebellious North Korean.
Their presence is terrifying to the regular citizen as it reminds North Korea of the Great Marshall’s superior
powers as well as their frailness. Although the realities in both texts are constructed by the institutionalization
of totalitarian dictatorship, each regime has a unique approach to suppress the human spirit.

In the Hunger Games, while president Snow take advantage over the twelve districts by manipulating the
distribution of the economy and resources, the government in Nothing to Envy, has no economic dominance
over the economy. The famine in North Korea clearly was not a product of construction, and it has massively
impacted the social hierarchy established by the dictatorship. The North Koreans began to trade food and
resources with their desperate neighbour as well as China or South Korea despite it being a violation of their
values and beliefs. Similarly, in the Hunger Games, when the resources are restricted, the people live in the
district would find other ways to obtain food. Katniss was caught hunting a deer for her family in the
introduction of Hunger Games. “Prim. Listen. You're going to be okay. Don't take any extra food from them. It isn't
worth putting your name in more times. Okay? Listen, Prim. You can sell cheese from your goat”. – Katniss. Although
the population is desperate for food in both societies, the characters in Nothing to Envy certainly suffers a
much more drastic change in their lifestyle due to their reliance on the government for resources, hence many
North Koreans sacrificed more for food. In Hunger Games, Peeta would throw a piece of bread in the mud to
feed Katniss when she was dying, whereas in Nothing to Envy, people from North Korea are prepared to kill
their relatives in exchange for a little bit of resources. In the text, Mrs Song has not used the money she
gathered to buy penicillin for her own son but chosen a kilo of corn because food has become more important.
(Page 145) Therefore, despite the fact that both texts feature a constructed reality, the uncertainties in
Nothing to Envy are much more detrimental to human ethics compare to Hunger Games because life is much
more unsustainable throughout the entire country, unlike the Capital in Hunger Games and its formidable
dominance over the economy.

The dictatorship in Nothing to Envy relies heavily on the influence of propaganda to undermine the human
rights, excessively deploying traditional values and belief as a tool to seize faith and loyalty while in Hunger
Games, propaganda plays a lessor role in the utilization of traditions and beliefs. Both societies are wrapped
in inadequate values and belief, which were deployed by the dictators to impede the population from fighting
against the authorities. Although in Hunger Games, children are indoctrinated into believing that Panem’s
peaceful survival post the apocalyptic period is due to the yearly Hunger Games and each district is obligated
to sacrifice a teenage boy and girl for the Capital’s slaughterous entertainment game to serve as insurance for
the district’s safety. Conversely, in Nothing to Envy, the North Korean were taught as children to revere the
leadership and hate the enemy, implicating that their safety is preserved by how well they compliance with
the government’s policies. The indoctrination began in infancy in North Korea and everyone had absolute trust
and loyalty for the government. Surprisingly, majority of regular citizens believed in the protection of
propagandas while in Hunger Games, the districts are deprived of their human rights and majority suffer from
impoverishment and destitution hence the districts and tributes has lost faith in government nonetheless. “As
her students were dying, she was supposed to teach them that they were blessed to be North Korean.” The intense brainwashing
that occurred throughout North Korea has taught the population to be blessed to be North Korean while in
fact, people are dying on the street endlessly and not a word regarding the issue is allowing to be outspoken.
This contradicts the approach utilized by president Snow to rupture the human spirits and to reinforce the
stability of the totalitarian dictatorship. The annual Hunger Games is broadcasted national wide and despite
the extreme class division and inequality of resources and income distribution, everyone has access to watch
the show. President Snow has enabled the brutal game to be accessible to all social class because this is the
primary tool to suppress the population. While fear is exploited through the abuse of power in both text,
Hunger Games does not try to hide the brutality of the totalitarian dictatorship, while in Nothing to Envy, the
downfall of the dystopian society is concealed by the government and their abuse of power.

The game maker terrorizes the tributes through the fabrication of beast and monsters while in nothing to envy
citizens commonly known as the immiban are employed to intervene and scare rebellious North Korean. The
dictator in Hunger Game extensively utilized their technological advancements and economic dominance to
entice the tributes to fight for entertainment while in Nothing to Envy, the government tempt to capture
rebellious citizens by employing human spies in every neighbourhood. The abuse of power has resulted in
corruptions in both dystopian societies, where it can clearly be observed through the case of Mrs Song in
Nothing to Envy and Seneca in Hunger games. “The more there was to complain about, the more important it was to ensure
that nobody did.” Similarly, to Hunger Games, brute force is used by the government to ensure that nobody
doubts the current Party. While the authorities become obsessed with the tasks of detecting a traitor, extreme
believer like Mrs Song began to support the rebels and starts to divert from her position as an immiban due
to the devastating effect of the famine. Mrs Song as repeatedly pressured by the authorities to reports on
unusual behaviours and she tried her best to make sure that no information will ever come to the authorities.
While Mrs Song defy her job as a spy and was at risks of being punished, Seneca from Hunger Games suffered
a similar fate. He become interested in the tributes and tried to let the pair of star-crossed lovers win the
game together. President Snow was furious because Seneca supported the rebels, which portray him as a
traitor to the totalitarian dictatorship. Although Seneca was killed in Hunger Games, Mrs Song luckily defected
to South Korea at the end of her journey. Prominently, the dictatorship that abuses their technological
advancements and economic dominance also result in corruption like the dictatorship with no control over its
resources and must rely on human strength to suppress human spirits. However, Hunger Games has resulted
in more uncertainties in life because the game makers have too much control over the lives of the tributes
inside the arena, unlike North Korea, where people can easily defect to other countries.

Although the realities in both Hunger Games and Nothing to envy are constructed by the institutionalization of
totalitarian dictatorship, the approaches utilized by the Korean Government and president Snow to suppress
the population are clearly manifested in a stark of different light. While life is more uncertain in Hunger Games
because the dictatorship has too much control over the economy, North Korea provides more opportunities to
balance the inequality established by the social divisions and Songbun because the population are able to trade
with other countries for food and supplies. The dictatorship in Nothing to Envy relies heavily on the influence of
propaganda to undermine the human rights, excessively deploying traditional values and belief as a tool to seize
faith and loyalty while in Hunger Games, propaganda plays a lessor role in the utilization of traditions and beliefs.
Propaganda is unnecessary to manipulate the population when President Snow has massive control over the
twelve districts with nuclear bomb threats, although it is vital for the continuity of government in North Korea
because people has no one to rely on. The realities in both texts are constructed by the institutionalization of
totalitarian dictatorship, however each regime has a unique approach to suppress the human spirit.