ipl-logo

North Korean Gender Roles

490 Words2 Pages

The values of North Korean society are further demonstrated through the way in which men and women are portrayed. There are clear gender roles established at the beginning as Un is seen by Gyong Chan and Nam Chol, the chauffeur for the head of the research institute, as bossy and overdramatic when she brings them to Traffic Controller Office for breaking the traffic laws. Even though they broke the rules, they don’t believe they need to punished for it and are visibly annoyed when she punishes them for their actions. Un is in a role of power in the film, but that power is repeatedly undermined throughout the film. When her mother finds out that Un ticketed a family friend, she questions her decision and suggests to her daughter that she try …show more content…

The dynamic for marriage shown in this film further enforces these traditional gender roles. There is a scene in which Nam’s mother talks about how he must not marry the girl he is currently engaged to because his fiancé is an only child and therefore would need Nam to move into her place. Since Nam’s mother is ill and unable able to live on her own, she wants Nam to marry a woman who has siblings so that they can both come live with her. This shows the lack of control daughters have over where they live and even who they eventually marry. Sons are seen as more valuable in this society and that is why the woman traditionally moves into her husband’s house and not vice …show more content…

The fact that the North Korean government feels they must produce films with multiple layers of propaganda for their own citizens implies that they are worried about their level of control over their people. They need to constantly enforce their values, through varying degrees of brainwashing, in order to maintain a certain level of control over their own society. This means that the values portrayed in the film are not intrinsic to the society and thus the government’s power over their society are formed inorganically. North Korea clearly values blind obedience to rules as an important aspect of their society, they need their citizens to believe the rules set in place for them are in order to protect them and not hurt them. Korean politics employ the use of soft power on a grand scale, not just through films but also through the use of mass games, memorabilia, and other ways to shape its citizens

Show More
Related

  • Summary: Night Elie

    714 Words  | 3 Pages

    Night describes Elie’s horrific years in the concentration camps such as Auschwitz and Buna. People assume that our modern day-society will never allow such genocides to occur. However, persecutions are still at large in Syria. Saudi Arabians and Iranis are fighting and killing each other, because they believe their religion is superior to the other. Many countries are still controlled by strict dictators and their corrupt government.

    Read More

  • Genocidal Conflict In Night By Elie Wiesel

    861 Words  | 4 Pages

    Elie Wiesel once said that “The duty of the survivor is to bear testimony to what happened... You have to warn people that these things can happen, that evil can be unleashed. Race hatred, violence, idolatries-- they still flourish.” This quote summarizes how the North Korean citizens worked their hardest to get out of the North Korean territory to be able to tell the world what has been going on in North Korea. For over fifty years, one family has governed North Korea for the entity of its existence (Sarah Pruitt).

    Read More

  • Summary Of Escape From Camp 14

    931 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many people don’t know the real truth behind North Korea, but this book uncovers the many secrets that people like the Kim Dynasty have to hide from us. Many people including myself do not know much about the happenings inside North Korea. Before I read this book, all I knew about North Korea was that it was overrun by a tyrant named Kim Jong Un, and that it was not on friendly terms with most countries. I didn’t know that it held unjust labor prison camps like the one that Shin was held in. As Blaine Harden recalls, “Guards taught him and other children in the camp that they were prisoners because of the ‘sins’ of their parents”(Harden,18).

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Dystopia In Ayn Rand's Anthem

    918 Words  | 4 Pages

    For example, the society must say “We” instead of “I” because every individual represents all of the people or “brothers”. North Korea is not necessarily living for others but rather living for one individual- the supreme leader, which is similar to Anthem. The citizens praise the leader so highly that they are willing to do anything for him and this takes away some of their choices and actions. North Korea is also known as one of the most secretive country in the world, controlled by fear. For example, North Korea is considered a self-reliant country or “juche” mainly because they believe they can conquer anything, which connects with fear of other bigger countries and insecurities about their own.

    Read More

  • North Korea Cultural Analysis

    959 Words  | 4 Pages

    The government limits culture in NK as civilians have no direct influence to change culture. This paper’s purpose is to educate readers about the cultural aspects and considerations of NK. (U) First off, are North Korea’s political aspects, consisting of provinces, political

    Read More

  • Theme Of Escape From Camp 14

    1481 Words  | 6 Pages

    After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union divided Korea and occupied it as a trusteeship, however, they could not agree on terms and the country split into one communist and one capitalist. During the Korean War, the U.S. aided South Korea in trying to prevent the spread of communism from the North. This fueled hatred between the North and the U.S. Since then, the North Korean government has viewed the U.S. as a capitalist coloniser, and paints this exact description to all the citizens of North Korea. In addition, North Korea has tried to hurt the U.S. government and economy many times, for example, in the book, Harden states that many high class North Korean agents and operatives have gone to the United States and worked out ways to funnel money to the North Korean government, as well as selling U.S. information and weapons to countries such as Iraq and Syria. Furthermore, the government has brainwashed the citizens of North Korea to think that the United States is a bad capitalist country that is a threat.

    Read More

  • North Korea And Anthem Analysis

    338 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion, two aspects of life in North Korea and Anthem are entertainment and consequences for breaking the laws. Both societies have similarities and differences in these aspects. Overall, both these communities are ruled by

    Read More

  • Mob Mentality In The Lottery

    717 Words  | 3 Pages

    As an American, we cannot comprehend the types of laws that are enforced upon North Korean Citizens. A few bizarre controlment rules that I still struggle to comprehend myself are there are only twenty-eight ways North Korean men and women can cut their hair, North Korean Men and Women are not allowed to own a bible or any western literature, and also there are only three channels on tv and you must only watch those. Along with those laws in place, the North Korean government has control over education and news which leads to many growing up to hate other countries besides their own with no reasoning behind their hatred. Our lives along with many others are still being affected by the iron grip of societal norms.

    Read More

  • Anthem: A Dystopian Society

    1008 Words  | 5 Pages

    In North Korea ever since birth every man and woman are to love their ruler as if they were “God” themselves stated well in the Documentary of North Korea. They must bow everyday and pray to their ruler and to please their ruler. In the book “Anthem” the people love their brothers as equal no such thing as loving more than one another. There is no selfishness and may not exceed what you are told the amount of intelligence is required; they are put into a group with a given name and number. They have a routine they must follow in their everyday lives until death.

    Read More

  • North Korea And 1984 Comparison Essay

    552 Words  | 3 Pages

    In North Korea, being in the Mass Games is a huge accomplishment. You train for hours on end so you will look exactly the same, as if you are becoming one. Even the military is so disciplined that they look exactly the same. But, the people in North Korea are different from the citizens in 1984 because they still have individual personalities. The Party convinces these people to all believe the same ideas and have the same opinions.

    Read More

  • The Six Roles In The Film Dadi's Family

    1678 Words  | 7 Pages

    Women are told that they should feel lucky if a man chooses to marry them. We see an example of an arranged marriage in the film when we are introduced to Darshini, who is the first daughter in law and Sita who is the second daughter in law to Dadi. Darshini and Sita had arranged marriages with Dadi 's two sons. The process of Darshini and Sita being arranged into marriage is that both of the women were forced to leave their homes and start their new lives in Dadi’s home. Inside the household, the film shows some of the aspects of the daily lives of the daughter-in -laws.

    Read More

  • Barbara Demick Nothing To Envy Analysis

    493 Words  | 2 Pages

    Barbara Demick has developed the idea that North Korea “has fallen out of the developed world” by providing several examples of life as analytical ways of thoughts and processes of North Koreans in comparison to other countries

    Read More

  • Totalitarianism In North Korea

    1139 Words  | 5 Pages

    (Saxonberg 331) According to, Mc EachErn, North Korea uses particularly cruel repression as a check on ideological decline to keep its hold on power, but it has not shifted to a simple, personalistic rule where repression is the cornerstone of regime

    Read More

  • Prejudice In North Korean Film

    519 Words  | 3 Pages

    Use of an epic introduction into the film The filmmakers’ prejudice can be observed right at the start of the film through their use of absolute narrations and the visuals that complement it. The documentary starts of with 3 extreme statements (Fig. 1.), “North Korea is the least visited, North Korea is the least known, North Korea is the least understood…” - all of which are far from the facts (a simple search will yield that while North Korea is one of the least visited countries in the world, there are a handful of other countries which many do not even know exist). Furthermore, the idea of “least” is also very subjective and differs from person to person; for instance, a South Korean probably would not think of North Korea as the least known country to him. However, these biased commentary may come across as factual narration to the less informed viewers.

    Read More

  • Literature Review On Gender Roles

    1460 Words  | 6 Pages

    This article, “Gender Development Research in Sex Roles: Historical Trends and Future Directions” was written in a 2011 on NCBI, which points towards how the gender roles are different and how the society views them. This text includes the study of gender development, sex roles and trends over the past 35 years. Today gender roles, especially in the United States, are different from what they were in the past. But there are still many differences in roles of sex in many places around the world where women are considered less than men. They are not allowed to go out without a man going along.

    Read More

More about North Korean Gender Roles

Open Document