History UsefulNotes / NorthKorea

[[folder:Film]]

Reunification is also another issue; while it's exciting to imagine a united Korea after 80+ years of division on paper, these countries have been separated for longer than [[UsefulNotes/WestGermany West]] and UsefulNotes/EastGermany had been, and far more economic and social differences have developed.[[note]]East Germany was among the most prosperous and open states in the Eastern Bloc and even to this day still has difficulties catching up with the West, so heaven knows what will happen to a state that's been locked down, isolated, and dirt poor since its inception like North Korea.[[/note]] Also, China is opposed to unification since (among other things) it could lead to an American-allied Korea on China's doorstep. If, and only if, the states are reunited; it will certainly be a herculean task and may need the international community's assistance to make it work. Sadly, the North Korean Government no longer pursues reunification, and began treating South Korea as a completely different country.

* North Korea will later unite with the South in ''VideoGame/{{Homefront}}'' under its rule and conquers most of East Asia sans China and even invades ''the western United States'' by 2027. They're the villains of ''Homefront'', unless you play the Japanese version, wherein [[CanadaEh Canada]] [[{{Bowdlerization}} is]] [[MemeticMutation the]] BigBad.

North Korea adheres to the political doctrine of ''Juche'', or "self-reliance", which is ironic since it depends on foreign aid (particularly China's) to prop up its failing economy, and its leaders regularly smuggle in luxuries and delicacies for themselves. After decades of surviving off aid from the former Soviet Union, it suffered [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korean_famine a disastrous famine]] between 1994 and 1998 in which around a million citizens died. The regime's propaganda refers to this as the ''Arduous March''. According to defectors, the country's food situation is again deteriorating since the 2012 ascension of Kim Jong-Un. The country's official policy is seen by some as extremely authoritarian, militaristic, nationalistic, xenophobic, and racist. Some observers describe it as the world's last [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Stalinist dictatorship,]] but others believe terms such as "hereditary dictatorship" or even "absolute monarchy" are more appropriate because of the strong personality cult organized around the ruling Kim family. Another view, based on researching the country's domestic and international policy documents instead of its propaganda, is that North Korea's politics are actually very similar to those of UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan -- very ironic, considering that Kim Il-sung made a name for himself as a guerrilla fighting ''against'' the Japanese in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Although ruled by a nominally communist party, North Korea has [[{{Irony}} removed all references to communism in its constitution]]. Perhaps they realized [[MotiveDecay communist internationalism is diametrically opposed to the isolationist and xenophobic tenets of Juche]], or perhaps they realized the UsefulNotes/ColdWar is effectively dead and thought dropping the "communist" label would get them [[VillainWithGoodPublicity good PR]]. [[InternalRetcon Make of it what you will]]. However, defectors have also reported that more and more of the economy has moved "off-books" since the famines, so that on paper there is free education and full employment, in reality most teachers expect bribes from parents, and large numbers of people who, on paper, work in factories or other state enterprises never actually show up for their jobs, and survive through transactions in the black market. The government has increasingly turned a blind eye to these informal markets, known as Jangmadang, although the occasional bribe does have to be paid to get the government to look the other way.

Whilst its portrayal as the SmallNameBigEgo of world politics is [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain frequently played for laughs,]] it may do you good to recall that this country is indeed [[NotSoHarmlessVillain home to 25 million people who never asked to live in a totalitarian nightmare; that said regime is responsible for the starvation and execution of over a million people and the destitution of many more.]] Even the smallest smidgen of dissent is punishable by you and several generations of your family being imprisoned in brutal concentration camps where guards have the license to beat, torture, and violate you. Any criticism of the Kim family will get you in deep trouble.

Reunification is also another issue; while it's exciting to imagine a united Korea after 80+ years of division on paper, these countries have been separated for longer than [[UsefulNotes/WestGermany West]] and UsefulNotes/EastGermany had been, and far more economic and social differences have developed.[[note]]East Germany was among the most prosperous and open states in the Eastern Bloc and even to this day still has difficulties catching up with the West, so heaven knows what will happen to a state that's been locked down, isolated, and dirt poor since its inception like North Korea.[[/note]] Also, China is opposed to unification since (among other things) it could lead to an American-allied Korea on China's doorstep. If, and only if, the states are reunited; it will certainly be a herculean task and may need the international community's assistance to make it work.

Despite mutual hatred, amid bouts of violence and tit-for-tat attacks, North and South Korea have tried to patch things up several times. The latest one started in 2018: with the mediation of US President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump, North and South Korea have been holding talks to normalize relations, with a potential treaty to formally end the Korean War (which never had a peace treaty even though it ended back in 1953) and establish diplomatic missions. There are even rumors of reunification. However, it's unknown what kind of outcome these talks will bear, since the Kim dynasty have not given indication of wanting to give up power.

* The ''Film/RedDawn2012'' remake received a last-minute edit to turn the villains from Chinese to North Koreans. The reason behind the change is that [[MoneyDearBoy China makes up the second largest box office audience]]. This elicited much derision at a movie depicting North Korea, a nation so dirt poor that it can't keep the lights on, taking over the United States. The movie ended up bombing, so the decision to change the villain for the sake of money turned out to be for nothing.

** Vice President of the State Affairs Commission: Pak Pong-ju
** Premier of the Cabinet: Kim Tok-hun
** Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly: Pak Thae-song

* '''Area:''' 120,540 km
(46,540 sq mi) (97th)

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea ('''Korean:''' 조선민주주의인민공화국, ''Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk''), far better known as North Korea ('''Korean:''' 북조선, ''Pukchosŏn'') or simply Korea ('''Korean:''' 조선, ''Chosŏn''), is a [[SarcasmMode workers' paradise]] in [[UsefulNotes/TheFarEast East Asia]] which controls much of the northern Korean peninsula. It was founded in 1948, something the late Creator/ChristopherHitchens noted: "You almost get the feeling that Kim Il-Sung was handed a copy of ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' in Korean that year and asked, 'Do you think we could make this work?' And he thought, 'Well I don't know, but we can sure give it the old college try.'" Indeed, North Korea is probably the closest any society has ever come to realizing a real life Oceania. It is so isolationist, that while China has built a $350m bridge to increase trade, it ends in a dirt track on the North Korean side - something of a slap in the face to a country that provides 80% of its foreign trade.