Childhood is the most precious time in a person's life, so it is quite unpleasant to see children working in the fields or blindly supporting dictators.
But if you are one of the 5.3 million children under the age of 14 living in North Korea, this is the reality you are growing up with.
Children learn to love the country's terrible history, from its founder Kim Il Sung to the current ruler Kim Jong-un. They may study popular art forms such as music and painting, but often do so in response to the country's political agenda, Business Insider writes.
This is what it's like to grow up in the most closed country on Earth:
From an early age, children living outside the capital Pyongyang work on North Korean farms. Forced labor accounts for a significant portion of the country's output.
Some reports indicated that workers who refused to comply with these demands could be sent to concentration camps as punishment.
In less developed regions, the route to school may cross construction sites and dangerous areas. School buses, if the village can afford them at all, often use converted garbage trucks.
For those children without parents, life in North Korean orphanages can be especially cruel. But even if they have parents who do not intend to give up on them, children can be taken away if the parents cannot feed themselves.
Meanwhile, families with little more money can afford modest luxuries, such as traditional North Korean clothing.
But money does not free a family from political obligations. Many still worship the country's leaders and regularly visit national monuments, bringing their children along with them.
Often students are forced to visit national monuments to pay tribute to the country's leaders.
Last June, Kim Jong Un organized a performance called "We Are the Happiest in the World" to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Korean Children's Union.
Indoctrination (transmission of the fundamental tenets of a belief system) begins even earlier - sometimes in kindergarten. Kids learn anti-American messages and use toy rifles and grenades to attack cartoon images of soldiers.
On International Children's Day, Pyongyang hosts a parade of children dressed as North Korean army soldiers.
Conditions in schools are not always sanitary. One kindergarten is located inside the Kim Jong Suk Textile Factory in Pyongyang.
But that is the nature of inequality in North Korea. Families who do not live in poverty can give their children a better chance at a fun, joy-filled childhood.
For example, some children from the most senior families study at the Manjongdae Children's Palace, which provides foreign language lessons, computer programming skills and sports.
Some of them described Manjongdae as extremely strange. One art class attendee had never seen the children touch a brush or pencil, despite the professional-grade illustrations shown in the photo.
The massive concrete building in Manjongdae, run by the Korean Youth Corps, reportedly houses up to 5,400 children.
Their performances are grand extensions of the North Korean cult of personality. Themes of honor and greatness are pervasive.
There are conflicting ideas about how children live in North Korea. If you believe the Western media, schoolchildren are starving, work on construction sites along with adults, are subject to physical punishment and pay fines for not meeting work quotas. However, there is another way of looking at the situation: boys and girls study in creative studios, perform during holidays, go on excursions and generally live like their peers from other countries. The truth, as usual, lies in the golden mean.
What influences children's lives
The situation where people live in different conditions depending on the region is not unique to North Korea. If we take as an example schoolchildren from Moscow and a small town in the outback, the difference will be obvious. This fact is often forgotten in attempts to portray the entire life of North Korea with a few photographs of children from rural areas, where the standard of living is much lower than in big cities.
Residents of the state's capital, Pyongyang, have the most opportunities for development. There are hundreds of schools, kindergartens, sports clubs, music and art studios here. The income level of parents also differs from provincial regions. At the same time, the authorities do not hide the fact that Pyongyang is a city for the elite. Only those North Koreans who have been approved by the authorities can visit it, and even more so to live in the capital.
Another factor that affects well-being is the “rating” of the family in the DPRK caste system. It is called “songbun” and involves the division of society into three main layers and a dozen smaller categories. Their profession, income and respect of society depend on what “caste” their parents belong to. This directly affects the lives of children - kindergarten and school are chosen according to class, and it also determines whether the child will have the opportunity to enter a university in the future.
What do they teach at school
Education begins at age seven and consists of three stages. There are eleven classes in the school system, all of which are completed without fail. Formally, education is free, but the student's family must pay fees for the use of textbooks, furniture and the school building itself, as well as food. However, teachers are not paid for their services.
From the Soviet Union, the Ministry of Education adopted the extended school day. The country lives in a single rhythm, so the vast majority of adults work until six in the evening, and then stay at meetings or party lectures, and only then return home. It turns out that the children are under the supervision of the educational institution all day. There is enough time for lessons, clubs, sports and ideological education.
They study familiar subjects: mathematics, Korean language and literature, history (including world history, albeit noticeably adjusted to the requirements of the party), and fine arts.
Each discipline is aimed at forming a “correct” citizen - a patriot who, from childhood, believes in the Juche ideals, loves the Leaders and knows that the main enemy is America.
Political education accounts for about 6% of the teaching load. This does not prevent North Korea from ranking first in the world in terms of population literacy. They even study English in schools - albeit from bad North Korean textbooks. Others cannot be used due to the incorrect presentation of ideology.
Free time
In addition to studying, children are required to participate in sports or art sections. Playing one musical instrument is included in the school curriculum, the second is studied additionally, after lessons. Depending on their predisposition, children are distributed between sections of drawing, home economics, singing, dancing, and technical clubs.
Raising a child in the DPRK is impossible without active sports. Moreover, preference is given to team sports, since the pursuit of individual achievements develops unhealthy competition and selfishness. To be fair, it is worth noting that the collective approach is typical for most Asian countries - including capitalist Japan and South Korea.
During major and minor public holidays, children's performances are a mandatory element of the entertainment program. They start preparing for them two to three months in advance, because the festivals are shown on television. Therefore, children do not have much free time as such. It appears only within the family circle, but even there there are responsibilities - for example, helping around the house.
Children's Union
This is the North Korean analogue of the pioneer movement of the Soviet Union. Children join the organization at the age of ten, and this event makes them full members of society.
The dedication takes place on the Day of the Sun - April 15th. This holiday is associated with the birth of Kim Il Sung, the Eternal Leader of North Korea. Schoolchildren take an oath of allegiance to their ideals and receive red ties, confirming that they are now adults.
This event is described in detail in the film “In the Rays of the Sun” by Russian director Vitaly Mansky. It shows one day in the life of a North Korean schoolgirl who is about to become a pioneer. The film does not contain a direct assessment of the events, but the mood suggests that the event is not as joyful as the country’s authorities want to portray it. The film caused a great stir and was banned in North Korea.
When faced with statistics of marriages and divorces from different countries, we see not very pleasant pictures and figures. Divorce is becoming common even in countries where families are strict and where kinship and family ties are very carefully respected.
The reason for this situation is a deviation from traditions and customs, which many years ago were of great importance for every person. Many modern families have long forgotten what was once dear to their ancestors.
Among this not very pleasant information that family values are a thing of the distant past, one can take as an example North Korea, which has achieved incredible success in its development, and family values played a big role in this.
In North Korea, as in other countries, ancient traditions were passed on from one generation to another, but over the years they have been preserved and have not changed at all. Thanks to family values, which are very carefully protected here, North Korea has preserved its culture.
Marriage is a union of two people who are ready to start a new family and raise children so that they can achieve a lot in their lives. This is a big responsibility that those who are planning to get married should think about first.
Every person thinks that this will be the only marriage for the rest of his life, but more often than not, everything happens quite the opposite, and nowadays few people can boast of having had one single and happy marriage in their life.
In North Korea, marriage is taken really seriously and families are created once and for all. To do this, both young people carefully consider the moment of official marriage. There are very few divorces in the country, which puts North Korea one of the first places among the many countries that are listed in statistics. Divorce in North Korea is tantamount to a global catastrophe that can harm the entire family.
In order to get a divorce, you need a truly serious reason, because it can cause irreparable damage to the career of one of the spouses or both at once. In addition, it is difficult for a divorced man to marry again, and there is nothing to say about a divorced woman. People who were unable to save their family will not be able to move forward in their careers and it is difficult to trust them in a second marriage.
The situation is even worse in North Korea with adultery. Having a mistress or lover on the side is a criminal offense that can imprison both culprits for a long time, which also does not give advantages to either one.
At present, of course, this law is not in force, but still the spouses remain faithful to each other, out of personal reasons of honor and dignity. Adultery is something of a fantasy and no one even thinks about starting some kind of relationship on the side.
The arrival of a child in a family is a holiday, and in North Korean families, children are of particular importance because they will continue to help their parents in old age. Children live in the same house with their parents until they start their own families. However, in any case, one of the older children still remains in the parents' house, who will have to take care of the parents until their old age.
Raising children in North Korea is very strict, because how well a child is raised will determine whether he will become a worthy citizen of his country and whether he will be able to contribute to society. The irresponsible and negligent attitude of parents towards raising children is condemned by the entire society.
Children should obey, respect and care for their parents. In addition, every child is raised to love work. All Koreans are very hardworking and they are not afraid of even the hardest work, they work very hard and as a result, we see high and rapid development of the country's economy.
By comparison, we can include some European countries in which divorces are very frequent, as a result of which there are a large number of single-parent families. In this case, the government spends a lot of money to provide benefits to single-parent families and single women with children. Although all these funds could be used to develop the economy.
In North Korea, due to the minimal number of divorces and hardworking two-parent families, the government can afford to raise the level of the economy because people are willing to work and earn a living. Children, leaving their parents' home, completely provide for themselves and their own family, without counting on the help of their parents, although parents are always ready to lend a helping hand in difficult moments of life. Also, there is no point in asking for help from the government when a completely healthy and capable person can fully provide for himself.
In addition, North Korea eliminates the need for nursing homes, which also require additional expenses from the government. There is absolutely no need to open such institutions in a country where children support their elderly parents and fully provide for them.
As for education, parents in North Korea decide this issue in advance, even before the child reaches the age when it is necessary to acquire knowledge. Of course, children's opinions matter, but most often they agree with their parents' wise decisions about the best profession to pursue.
Specialists with complete and higher education will always be needed, and therefore each parent tries to do everything possible to ensure that the child receives the best education.
This attitude towards the family and the well-being of the country will help to survive any crisis, which most countries will force to sharply reconsider all expenses. The country will have enough budget to help citizens get through difficult times.
They go crazy, and local officials become emboldened from a sense of impunity, and remembering your childhood, you are horrified by how you sometimes received a slap in the ass or a refusal when you asked to buy a toy, you should move to North Korea.
This beautiful country is ruled by the wisest and kindest man in the world - Kim Jong-un. The head of the republic made sure that every citizen lived in fear and from hand to mouth, praising the great leader and waiting for the onset of the next working day, which would be replaced by a new one.
We invite you to look at the facts that make North Korea stand out from the rest of the boring countries on our planet.
Look at these kids. Do you think they understand that on a certain day of the year they can't have fun? However, they will be punished if they even smile. The father of the North Korean nation, Kim Il Sung, died on July 8, 1994, which is why this day has been declared a mourning day. should feign grief and speak as quietly as possible.
Corn and sauerkraut instead of McDonald's
As a child, did you not like your mother’s borscht and asked for something tastier? If you grew up in North Korea, you would eat every last crumb you were given. Here children are not spoiled with nuggets or candies. The Korean diet is based on corn and sauerkraut. The majority of the population is systematically undernourished.
Hard work 10 hours a day
Poor children in North Korea do not know what games or TV series are. They know what work is. Starting from the age of 5, little Koreans are involved in building houses, working in the fields and laying railway tracks. All this, in the absence of minimal security, is practically unpaid and lasts up to 10 hours a day.
If you're religious, don't show it
Officially, religions are allowed in the DPRK, but in practice you will end up in jail if you start bringing the word of God to the Koreans. You won’t be able to get a Bible, and you won’t be able to get a Koran either. Honor the great leader and everything will be fine.
Strange comics about evil Americans
Kim Jong-un dislikes the West so much that he makes his population unanimously hate it. He understands that propaganda is best absorbed by children, which is why schools teach them that Americans are bad. There is even a ridiculous comic where the Americans got into the jungle with the North Koreans, abandoned them and ended up in the mouth of an alligator.
Kim Jong-un is the only one you can worship
There is only one God - Kim Jong-un. This is what children in school and even the adult population of North Korea are taught. The megalomania of the head of state is so great that he is not satisfied with ordinary respect, he must be worshiped.
Smile for the camera
State media shows every day how good life is in the DPRK. However, they understand that a random tourist or foreign paparazzi may photograph something prohibited. Therefore, from childhood, children are taught to smile for the camera so that they know how happy they are.
Three television channels throughout the country
Access to the regular Internet is prohibited in North Korea. Only a small percentage of the population (scientists, students, employees) have access to a closed network. The rest have to be content with three state channels. Two air on weekends and one on weekday evenings.
A small palace for the children of the rich
As with anything, being a few close to the top has some advantages. Pyongyang has a huge entertainment complex for the kids of rich Koreans, where they can play, play sports, watch movies and much more.
106 instead of 2018
In this wonderful state, time moves differently than in the rest of the world. The chronology here starts from the birth of Kim Il Sung on April 15, 1912. I wonder if there are people in the DPRK who were born before the “creator”?
Military parade for children
International Children's Day is celebrated around the world on June 1, but not in North Korea. Here in the capital, a military parade is organized for children, to which kids must come in uniform, and at the end, shoot models of American soldiers with arrows.
Children with disabilities are not welcome here
Civilized countries have long come to the conclusion that one can live peacefully with various pathologies and disabilities of varying degrees. The DPRK does not accept people like that. In Pyongyang there is even the infamous “Hospital 83” where “not like that” children are placed.
Only Kim Jong-un and his associates have access to the World Wide Web as such. As mentioned earlier, there is still a closed network for a small percentage of the population. But even they cannot find out what is going on in the world.
Childhood is a wonderful time and the most valuable time in the life of any person. And it’s not at all great when children work in the fields or blindly support dictators. But if you are one of the five million children under 14 born in North Korea, then, unfortunately, this is the reality. Children in this country are taught to love history and all rulers - from the founder of the state, Kim Il Sung, to the current ruler, Kim Jong Un. So, what is it like growing up in the most closed country in the world?
Children born and living outside the capital must work on farms.
Some sources claim that workers who disobey are sent to camps as punishment.
In less developed regions, the road to school may pass through construction sites and other dangerous areas. The few school buses available are often converted from dump trucks.
For orphans in North Korean orphanages, life is even harder. Even if children are adopted, there is a risk that parents will give them back if they cannot provide for them.
Families with little money can afford a little luxury - for example, traditional costumes.
But money does not free families from political responsibilities. Many people idolize the country's leaders and periodically travel with their children to historical monuments to pay tribute.
Schoolchildren and students are often forced to travel in groups to monuments to express their love for the country's leaders.
In June 2017, Kim Jong-un organized the performance “We are the happiest in the world” in honor of the 70th anniversary of the Children's Union of Korea.
Ideological training begins in kindergarten. Children learn anti-American slogans and attack cartoon figures of soldiers with toy machine guns and grenades.
In honor of International Children's Day, a military parade was held in the capital, where children were dressed as army soldiers.
Conditions in schools do not always meet sanitary standards. The kindergarten in the photo is located on the territory of a textile factory.
Children in families that do not live below the poverty line have a slightly better chance of enjoying the joys of childhood.
For example, children of high-ranking parents study at the Mangyongdae District Schoolchildren's Palace. They play different sports, they are taught foreign languages, and they are taught how to use computers.
The massive concrete building, run by the Korean Youth Corps, houses up to 5,400 children.
The pompous performances are also a tribute to the North Korean cult of personality. Themes of greatness and honor are pervasive.
At a performance for foreign journalists in May 2016, for example, many of the performances, including choral singing, dancing and acrobatic performances, had a clear political overtone.
Not every child can ride on such a carousel.
Of course, children are too young to realize how meager their living conditions are.
Nevertheless, childhood is childhood in North Korea too. And perhaps only at this age do North Koreans have something in common with people from other countries.
