North Korea in economics

North Korea in economics 

North Korean emblem

In one of our last classes we have gotten to watch a documentary on North Korea and I was interested in the fact that a nation that is so small could be so powerful and influential on the world. North Korea is a totalitarian regime with a fascist government and fascist way of running their economy, when we compare that to a country like Canada, Canada is a peaceful democratic country where the people elect the government to try to benefit all classes. Considering the differences of these two countries, how is it possible that North Korea, being smaller in size and number, can have so much global impact around the world

What is North Korea's economic system and economic policies?

North Korea poster displaying its power

North Korea is a hereditary dictatorship which is a form of dictatorship except the political power is passed down within the family. The autocratic government is ruled by a dictator, Kim Jong Un, who has the right to do as he pleases without having the need to abide to the law. In the economic system of North Korea the main points of the country's system are power is put into a dominant authority, criticism of the government is not tolerated, opposition parties are strictly banned, free movement or emigration of citizens is forbidden, and there is no voting to elect a new leader. Although North Korea is a isolated and small society, the country happens to have the forth largest standing army in the world which is why they are feared by most of the world, because of all of the destruction that they could potentially cause.

Compare and Contrast North Korea and Canada 

North Korea's structured army

Here in Canada, we live in a democratic society. We have the right to vote to pick who runs our leader, we pick our government, and were able to have a voice that is listened to by the government for whats best in our society and what can be done to help better each province in the country. Canada contains 9.98 million square kilometers, the second most largest country in the world next to Russia, and is home to as many as 33 million people but only happens to be ranked 37 in world population compared to North Korea that only contains 120,540 square kilometers, an incredible difference of over 9 million square kilometers in size. Despite the land size difference, North Korea still has a bigger army and is feared by most of the world as they have to power and intimidation to scare off any smaller country army. North Korea is ranked 65 in the world in population with 24.8 million people, yet is able to fit its inhabitants into such a small area compared to Canada. In free societies such as Canada, people can do as they please, yet in a totalitarian dictatorship, people are oppressed, and the government needs a stable army to protect them from the people that they rule. North Korea has the forth largest standing army in the world and 40 percent of the population makes up the Korean Peoples Army. It is obvious that Canada and North Korea are immensely different nations as their ideas of civilization and regulation are very unalike.

Why North Korea is feared by many

Aside from Iran, in 2013 North Korea is considered one of the most feared countries in the world because of the power that they hold, their large military force, and the potential destruction that they can cause at any time and at any place on earth, despite the fact that they are such an isolated society. Earlier this year North Korea threatened America with their nuclear weapons so they that they could destroy their "aggressors".  In 2009 North Korea declared that they have produced a nuclear weapon and had weapons of mass destruction. With not only the restrictions that the country has on its inhabitants including the internet which happens to be very censored and usually only available in the capital, and with what is considered on of the worlds worst human right records, North Korea is feared because its government is portrayed as an evil party that restricts people who live within its society to being a free to do what they really want to. They are a very isolated country with a large population, people living within the country are starving, they formed a large military base with 40 percent of the population that make it up, they constantly threaten other countries with their superior nuclear weapons, and tourism is extremely limited as only 3000 western tourists visit North Korea each year which starts people asking questions like whether it is a country that would be enjoyable to be able to travel to in the future