Are we masters or slaves?
Kim family’s propaganda tells that people are the masters of society. (Credit: Omer Serkan Bakir/iStock)
If you were born in North Korea, there’s something you’ve heard since childhood: we are the masters of society. That is the core principle of the governing Juche ideology created by Kim Il-sung.
However, I truly want to ask: are we really masters? Or are we not slaves? What kind of master escapes from their homeland under the cover of darkness? What kind of master is dragged into an unwanted battle and loses their life? I wonder how we can truly call anyone a master if they cannot do anything according to their own will.
I absolutely hate hypocrisy. Everyone probably does, but it’s especially unbearable when that hypocrisy robs me of my freedom. Growing up, I genuinely believed that I was the master of society. The hypocrisy made me see and feel lies. One memory that still lingers was when I was young and read Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Even as a child, I felt deeply saddened by Uncle Tom’s fate. It saddened me that Uncle Tom could not be free, and I hated the hypocrisy of his master, who promised him freedom. Despite his dedication and loyalty to his master until the day he died, Uncle Tom never achieved freedom and died in vain. How sad is that fate? I pitied Uncle Tom for a long time. Then, I thought about myself. How fortunate am I? I wasn’t born a slave like someone else. But now, looking back, I can’t help but laugh at my foolishness. Can I really say that my life, unaware that I am a slave, is better than Uncle Tom’s? Perhaps that’s true for the lives of all North Koreans.
The people of North Korea live with the illusion and hypocrisy that they are the masters. The products we struggle to produce often leave our hands before we even see them. Each time, the government blames the enemy and natural disasters, soothing our hearts with empty words. Over decades, people have slowly started to realize the truth. They’ve realized that they don’t even have the right to dispose of the products they create.
Recently, a broadcast on Korean Central Television showed an elderly man in his 80s kneeling before a young girl, Kim Ju-ae, the daughter of the dictator. This scene is clearly far from one of equality. It’s more like the relationship between a master and a slave.
We are slaves. And worse, we are slaves to a cruel master. Do you know how many people in North Korea are dragged onto construction sites and exploited for their labor? Under the banner of socialist great construction, how many people are suffering in poverty? I can’t help but wonder, for whom is all this being done? It’s like a rich heir who inherited a huge fortune, spending money on redecorating. Of course, that inheritance was taken unjustly by his father. After taking office, Kim Jong-un initiated many flashy construction projects, like Masikryong Ski Resort, Rungna People’s Park, and horseback riding clubs. But in a country where basic food security is unresolved, who can ride a horse or ski? My uncle once said, “How can the people, who are eating corn noodle soup and shaking from hunger, ever ski?”
Kim Jong-un is exploiting the entire population of North Korea for his own satisfaction and showmanship. There’s a saying that a politician’s skills come from feeding the people. Despite his incompetent politics, the media endlessly praises him. The media claims that all of this is because of his boundless grace. But all he has done is push the country and its people into deeper hardship. Forced conscription, famine, hunger… In the 21st century, these are things that would never happen in other countries. North Korea can’t even solve basic food issues. Yet, Kim Jong-un doesn’t seem to care about taking care of his people. Instead, he is squeezing out even more blood and oil.
At this point, let’s talk about the workers sent abroad. These workers only get 10% of the income they earn. Even that is taken by the government under various pretenses, like loyalty contributions. The government, not satisfied with that, has taken even bolder steps. They’ve mobilized people to war zones where death is a certainty. What’s worse is that the North Korean government was aware that these soldiers would likely die. Why wouldn’t they know? Modern warfare is drone warfare, and North Korean soldiers have not been trained for this kind of combat. Kim Jong-un has no interest in the lives of soldiers. Our lives are nothing more than tools to make money for him. How much is a life worth for him to send young people to war? Human rights are secondary; our lives are no longer even our own. Like slaves in the old slave markets, our lives are no longer in our hands. How tragic is this? For one person’s benefit, 20 million people are being sacrificed.
How did we end up in this situation? We claim to be masters of society, yet we own nothing, not even ourselves. Explanations rush through my head. Did we give too much power to the Kim family? Or was the person elected president incompetent? Did three generations of dictatorship turn us into slaves? It could be any one of these reasons or all of them. South Koreans, with the same DNA and historical roots, have taken a completely different path. Some have become masters of their fate, while others have become slaves.
Sometimes, I wonder. If North Koreans’ first president had been someone like George Washington, would their future have been different? I don’t think they would have been sent to war, like cannon fodder in wars with other nations. George Washington, who refused a third term in office, truly deserves respect. I pay my respects to his courage. Freedom and prosperity for all are the result of someone’s hard work and sacrifice. Likewise, the misfortune and suffering of all are the result of someone’s corruption and greed. I send my condolences to those still struggling under dictatorship and oppression, hoping that spring will come to thaw their frozen hearts.
Excerpts from Paul Éluard’s poem “Liberté“:
On my school notebooks
On my desk and the trees
On the sand, on the snow
I write your name.
Born in Chongjin in 1990, Jang Mi was not a studious child, but under her mother’s influence, she graduated from high school and went on to university to take math and science. She worked as a wedding video editor for seven years until her defection in 2019.
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