Censorship In North Korea Essay

As types of government varies throughout the world, basic levels of freedom vary along with it. Freedom of the press, otherwise known as journalistic freedom, is in part with these basic freedoms. The country of Norway has one of the highest levels of press freedom in the world. Essentially, journalistic censorship in this egalitarian society is absent. Most laws in Norway, in relation with the dissemination of information, are put into place in favor of the citizen’s right to the access of transparent news. On the opposite end of the journalistic freedom spectrum, North Korea has virtually no freedom of the press whatsoever. In fact, independent media in North Korea is nonexistent. The only information North Korean citizens have permitted access to is created and disseminated by the North Korean government. The level of journalistic freedom in Argentina can be described as almost an exact median in-between

Citizens of North Korea face drastic punishment if they speak against the government or access restricted foreign media. Punishment for these “crimes against the state” include being sent to labor camps, prison, or death. There is a national intranet for which citizens may access the internet through, however, it controls downloadable material and inhibits access to foreign sites. Most citizens access the intranet on computers at libraries, or offices, because ownership of personal computers is unusual. Few people of high-status have granted access to controlled, global internet. It is also illegal for citizens to own tunable radios. Blocking North Korean citizens’ access to the outside world, to unbiased information, and taking away their voice makes it impossible for them to free themselves from their government’s total control. North Korea’s absence of journalistic freedom means that citizens have no access to information that is honest and does not contain