Nothing From The Korean War On North Korea - 1399 Words

Book Review Nothing to Envy: Ordinary lives in North Korea The novel,Nothing to Envy: Ordinary lives in North Korea, tells the stories of six North Korean citizens from Chongjin, third largest city in Democratic People s Republic of Korea. After the Korean War in the 60th, the aid from Communist China and Soviet Union caused industrial growth in North Korea. During this time the daughter of a South Korean Prisoner of War described the hardships she faces as a citizen with tainted blood. The gap in social status leaves a couple to hide their relationship in the dark. Plus, a true believer: the mother of four, factory worker and respected citizen woke up every day to clean the portraits of Kim-Il Sung while battling her insurgent†¦show more content†¦The number of students decreases each day and the whole county improvises to discover new food sources. The medicine is unavailable and doctors are left to cure with cheap natural herbs. Hungry orphans or as they more often called the â₠¬Å"wandering swallows† wonder the streets begging or stealing food. During the following decade citizens lost their loved ones, salary and jobs. The announcement of Kim-Il Sung’s death in 1994 put the whole country at grief. Everyone in the country gathered by the statues of Kim-Il Sung to pay their respects. It was this ceremony at which many citizens realized the faults of the leader and soon after began noticing the issues of the regime and leadership. As an act of rebellion, people would watch forbidden Korean shows and read Western novels. Soon, many experiences a shift in how they viewed the outside world and North Korea. However many believers grieved the death of Kim-Il Sung as much as the death of their relatives. Most North Koreans couldn’t believe that the invincible, God like leader has died. More extreme nationalists willingly starved to death becuase living without the leader was unthinkable. After the grieving period passed, Kim-Jong Il was in power and the famine in North Korea only worsened. Citizens first shocked at the sight of death soon learned to ignore the dead, limbless bodies around them. North Koreans had a couple routes of