Discovering Joy: Ten Years in North Korea

by Joy Yoon

My Anglo-Saxon outward appearance did not match who I had become on the inside.

like to joke that he had no competition. Since Stephen was the only Korean on campus, he was my only choice for a spouse.

After receiving his degree, our family was invited to the capital city of Pyongyang where Stephen was given a position at Pyongyang Medical School Hospital to train doctors and treat patients on a regular basis.

“We don’t have cerebral palsy in our country!”

What does this mean? I wondered to myself as I watched. I tried to digest everything our guide was whispering in my ear during the performances. One thing was clear. This was the history of the North Korean people in epic form and very central to it was the story of their hero, the bright star, their founding leader, Kim Il-Sung.

also from the experience of overwhelming indoctrination by North Korean propaganda.

Whether they are right or wrong, we felt we should try to understand their paradigm of the world. What is it that they understand and believe? What is their interpretation of history? How do they see themselves in relation to the rest of the world?

As I described my research and knowledge of ancient Korean origins, our local counterpart became increasingly agitated. Finally, he could contain himself no longer. “Koreans are not related to any other people!” he emphatically exclaimed. “We are our own race and people! We did not come from Mongolians!”

According to Korean folklore,

North Koreans really do believe that they are a unique race on this earth. Their mythology emphasizes direct relations to the “Lord of Heaven”. To suggest to a Korean that they are related to Mongolians is an insult to the very core of their identity.

I could tell that their level of passion for Dangun was nowhere near their level of enthusiasm for their current leader.

There was never a dull moment in community life

orphanages

the extent to which North Korea was impacted by its history.

Socialist countries tend to be collectivistic or group cultures, whereas democratic countries lean toward individualism. As a result, most socialist cultures place greater emphasis on history in order to identify with the formation of the people group and nation.

was unaware of the depth of North Korea’s trauma until I witnessed their depictions of the Korean War.

they provide examples of the suffering and inhumane treatment of their people by U.S. and U.N. forces during the Korean War.

the main objective of the museum is the tyranny of American imperialism.

The propaganda of the state of North Korea declares that as a Christian nation, the United States intended to take over North Korea primarily to serve their own political gain. Americans and Christians are lumped together, sharing the purpose of the advancement of Western civilization.

portrays the war as their victory over the imperialistic powers

The people of North Korea have been conditioned to be ready for an attack from the United States at any moment. They are determined not to ever again allow their country to lie in ruins or their people to be massacred as they were in the Korean War.

to engage with the world.

actively engaged with other friendly nations.

It wasn’t until later, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Iron Curtain, that North Korea found itself so completely isolated from the world.

We entered North Korea each time thinking that the North Korean officials we would deal with were simply not to be trusted. They were there to cheat us for what they wanted, or so we thought. We had been warned that we should be careful about bribes and to be on our guard against officials manipulating our work for their own personal gain. It was exhausting arguing with our North Korean counterparts! We were there to serve the common, local person and to provide food and medical care to the least privileged. Was it worth it to go through this battle every day? Did our humanitarian assistance even matter, we wondered?

We soon discovered that what really enabled us to build trust with the officials we worked with was to spend time with them.

We found that North Koreans are culturally Korean at heart, but distinguished from their southern brethren by their “Juche” philosophy. The

is political

economic

def...

With self-reliance comes a special creativity. Since people are taught to rely upon no one else, they find ingenious ways to solve problems. People are taught to be self-sufficient in circumstances that would normally require outside assistance.

Ironically, self-reliance also teaches a philosophy of independence, which hinders the spirit of cooperation.

While the West now emphasizes cooperative learning and joint task forces, East Asia is emphasizing “survival of the fittest”. Competition is intense, and only the best become successful.

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Their self-reliance indoctrination makes it difficult to work in unison, but once we find a way to cooperate, they discover that together our creativity is multiplied exponentially!

Most of North Korea’s economic assistance has come from Communist or former Communist nations, mainly China.

lunch

a two-hour break.

The typical daily meal was a bowl of buckwheat noodles with a few pieces of radish, spicy pickled cabbage (kimchi), and half an egg.

two hours was what they needed to travel home for lunch and then return back to their school or workplace.

wood cook stoves.

typically eat between nine and eleven at night.

frequent exercise breaks

weekly Saturday ideology training.

The group is selected based on their company or department within the workplace. This certainly serves to unify them in mind and purpose. Trainings are year-round, fifty-two weeks a year.

This work mentality is referred to as “Chollima Speed”, which

Nampo Dam

In the minds of North Koreans, it is their hard work that has allowed them to stand strong as a nation in the midst of opposition from the rest of the world. The North Korean people see themselves as riders of the Chollima, a mythical flying horse that can travel 1,000 li or 400 km in a single day. Their hard work ethic comes from their will to strive for success and victory over all challenges and opposition.

All women in North Korea have mandatory bi-annual breast exams, the focus being on the young to allow for early cancer detection and prevention.

freedom to smoke?

culturally it is just not acceptable.