Despite a familial legacy of “Juche” (self reliance) that earned the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea the nickname “the Hermit Kingdom,” Chairman Kim Jong-un appears to be pursuing a path that will throw his country into the international spotlight and change the history of North Asia.
The Korean Peninsula has been a social and political dichotomy since the end of World War II. After the division of Korea into North and South, the communist versus democratic halves worked vigorously to establish their own versions of sovereignty.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, with Soviet backing, pursued the Communist satellite model while the southern Republic of Korea became a U.S. client democratic/capitalist country. Continue reading
