Philosophical Control In North Korea By George Orwell

The Philosophical Control in North Korea

In the year 1903, English novelist, journalist and author Eric Arthur Blair was born, though better known today by his pen name, George Orwell. Orwell may be best known for his piece, 1984, written in the year 1949 and about the possible struggles that man will face through the current trends in time. 1984 was heavily influenced by the events of World War II, and the political and military figureheads such as Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, along with groups and events like the Hitler youth or the Stalin purges. Those were some connections to the real world prior to the writing of 1984, but what about after the publication of the novel? Can dystopian themes and connections to 1984 be found in the

Infact, the real question should be, are their more correctly established current day themes made in 1984 than incorrect predictions? In North Korea alone, many of the themes of dystopian civilization are represented, and can be connected to the writings of Orwell. One major theme, the ideological or philosophical control of a citizenry through a totalitarian regime, is established in both 1984 and current day North Korea. In North Korea, propaganda plays a large portion towards the support of their totalitarian leader. Their current dictator, Kim Jong Un, has become the 3rd generation leader for his country, and has led the country in a downward spiral of independence and self reliance. In North Korea, the term “Juche” means self reliance, becoming a major slogan in December of 1955. This means how the country can apply “Marxist-Leninist principles” to best benefit the country, or rather, their supreme leader while also describing how the people can contain the ability to control the rebuilding of the country. Orwell wrote using the term “doublethink” in a similar way to North Korea’s use of the word Juche. “His mind slid away into the labyrinthine world of doublethink. To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete

Absolute power with the ability to control all of its subjects. Both North Korea and the party share this feature in their respective governments. In part 3, chapter 3 of 1984, Orwell wrote “The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others’ we are interested solely in power, pure power” (Orwell 332). This line was said by O’Brien speaking to Winston about The Party’s motives and drive toward total power and control in Oceania. Similarly, North Korea uses a “militaristic rhetoric” with a centralized ideology that shows the best of the supreme leader, giving him the most power over military and political actions. StateofEnlightenment.com wrote about the North Koreas choice to “emptied itself of any notions of equality, instead favoring the shogun ideology which emphasizes the importance of the military,” which is a key point to dictator-based governments, which also crave power similar to the totalitarian style of The Party. Orwell’s more popular line “He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past” (Orwell 44) can be representative of the extreme measures of control by both the North Korean government and The Party. Orwell also writes about Ingsoc, The Party’s Ideology. “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption said, while the dark eyes looked deep into Winston's own. Down at street level another poster, torn at one corner, flapped fitfully in the