Discovering Joy: Ten Years in North Korea

by Joy Yoon

This concept is often hard for Westerners to understand because it touches on one of the main differences between socialist and democratic societies: focus on the past versus the future. Although this is a generalization, it is a key aspect of North Korean culture that is worth noting. 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. The past very much defines who the group is and where they are headed. Contrastingly, since democratic countries are predominately individualistic, their cultures focus on the future. We think, “The past is in the past”. We are the authors of our own destinies. Therefore, we should focus on the future, and not the past. This fundamental cultural difference leads to huge misunderstandings between socialist and democratic countries. Westerners, typically being democratic, may comment on Asian socialist countries as being “stuck in the past”, while for Asians, the past is what defines their identity as a people.