KOREA, NORTH

The skyline of P'yongyang, North Korea officially Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Korean Choson Minjujuui In'min Konghwaguk country in East Asia. It occupies the northern portion of the Korean peninsula, which juts out from the Asian mainland between the Sea of Japan (East Sea) and the Yellow Sea. The country is bordered by China and Russia to the north and by the Republic of Korea (South Korea) to the south. North Korea has an area of 47,399 square miles (122,762 square kilometres), occupying about 55 percent of the peninsula. The national capital, P'yongyang, is a major industrial and transport centre near the west coast (see photograph). officially Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Korean Choson Minjujuui In'min Konghwaguk country occupying the northern half of the Korean peninsula in East Asia. The country is about 445 miles (716 km) long from southwest to northeast and approximately 225 miles (360 km) wide from east to west. It is separated from China and Russia to the north by the Yalu (Amnok) and the Tumen (Tuman) rivers and is bordered by South Korea and the Yellow Sea to the south, by Korea Bay to the southwest, and by the Sea of Japan (East Sea) to the east. The capital is P'yongyang . Area 47,399 square miles (122,762 square km). Pop. (1996 est.) 23,904,000. Additional reading General works Shannon McCune, Korea's Heritage: A Regional & Social Geography (1956), and Korea, Land of Broken Calm (1966), provide a general description of Korea's geography, people, and culture. Donald Stone Macdonald, The Koreans: Contemporary Politics and Society, 2nd ed. (1990), covers geography, history, culture, and economics and explores the issues regarding the reunification of the peninsula.Traditional attitudes, customs, and values in Korea are outlined in Paul S. Crane, Korean Patterns, 4th ed., rev. (1978). Hagan Koo (ed.), State and Society in Contemporary Korea (1993), discusses the social movements of North and South Korea. Women's roles are studied by Yung-chung Kim (ed. and trans.), Women of Korea: A History from Ancient Times to 1945, trans. from Korean (1976); and Sandra Mattielli (ed.), Virtues in Conflict: Tradition and the Korean Woman Today (1977). Jon Carter Covell, Korea's Cultural Roots (1981), is an introduction; while Tae Hung Ha, Guide to Korean Culture (1968), surveys the varied phases of Korean culture. Comprehensive treatments of all Korean arts include Evelyn McCune, The Arts of Korea (1962); Chewon Kim and Lena Kim Lee (I-na Kim), Arts of Korea (1974), and The Arts of Korea, 6 vol. (1979).Works on Korean economic history include Sang Chul Suh (Chang Chul Suh), Growth and Structural Changes in the Korean Economy, 19101940 (1978); and Norman Jacobs, The Korean Road to Modernization and Development (1985), which begins with imperial Korea. The political climate of the peninsula is surveyed in Sung Chul Yang, The North and South Korean Political Systems (1994); Joungwon Alexander Kim (Chong-won Kim), Divided Korea: The Politics of Development, 19451972 (1975); Young Whan Kihl, Politics and Policies in Divided Korea: Regimes in Context (1984), an informative comparative study of North and South Korean political systems after 1948; Bruce Cumings, The Two Koreas (1984), a brief study; Ralph N. Clough, Embattled Korea: The Rivalry for International Support (1987); and Eui-gak Hwang, The Korean Economies: A Comparison of North and South (1993). Geography Andrea Matles Savada (ed.), North Korea, a Country Study, 4th ed. (1994); and Tai Sung An, North Korea: A Political Handbook (1983), are comprehensive and objective studies of all aspects of the country. Robert A. Scalapino (ed.), North Korea Today (1963), is a comprehensive collection of essays on political, social, and economic development in the early postwar period. Joseph Sang-hoon Chung, The North Korean Economy: Structure and Development (1974); Mun Woong Lee, Rural North Korea under Communism: A Study of Sociocultural Change (1976); and Ellen Brun and Jacques Hersh, Socialist Korea: A Case Study in the Strategy of Economic Development (1976), are more recent treatments. History Politics and history are addressed in Robert A. Scalapino and Chong-sik Lee, Communism in Korea, 2 vol. (1972); Chong-sik Lee, The Korean Workers' Party: A Short History (1978); Dae-sook Suh, The Korean Communist Movement, 19181948 (1967), and Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader (1988), a well-written and the most objective biography to date; Koon Woo Nam, The North Korean Communist Leadership, 19451965 (1974); Chin O. Chung (Chin-wi Chong), P'yongyang Between Peking and Moscow: North Korea's Involvement in the Sino-Soviet Dispute, 19581975 (1978); Robert Scalapino and Jun-yop Kim (Chun-yop Kim) (eds.), North Korea Today: Strategic and Domestic Issues (1983); Tai Sung An, North Korea in Transition: From Dictatorship to Dynasty (1983); and Chong-sik Lee and Se-hee Yoo (eds.), North Korea in Transition (1991). Young Ick Lew Woo-ik Yu Administration and social conditions Government The first constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was promulgated in 1948 and was replaced with a new constitution in 1972; in 1992 revisions reportedly were made to the 1972 document, but details of those changes have not officially been made known. The Supreme People's Assembly, constitutionally the highest organ of state power, consists of a single chamber with 687 members; it also has a 15-member Standing Committee that meets when the assembly is not in session. Executive authority rests with a president (who is head of state), one or more vice presidents, and a 45-member cabinet called the Central People's Committee. Actual authority, however, resides in the extraconstitutional political body of the Korean Workers' Party (KWP). The government is highly centralized and totalitarian in nature and often is officially described as a transmission body of the party. The judicial system consists of the courts and a procuracy. Judicial authority rests with the Central Court, whose judges are elected for three-year terms by the Supreme People's Assembly, and with a number of lesser provincial and people's courts, whose members are elected by local people's assemblies. Judges usually are party members or are controlled by the party. The Central Procurator's Office prosecutes cases and maintains surveillance over all citizens; it is headed by a procurator-general, who is selected by the Supreme People's Assembly. The courts and procuracy are independent of each other, and actually the procurator's office functions as the fourth branch of government. North Korea is divided administratively into nine provinces (do or to), the three special province-level cities (chikalsi, or jikalsi) of Kaesong, Namp'o, and P'yongyang, and one special region (chigu) of Hyangsan. These units are further subdivided into cities (si), counties (gun, or kun), and villages (ri), the smallest administrative unit. Local people's assemblies elect the members of their people's committees, which execute administration duties and make local economic plans and budgets with the approval of higher authorities. There are a number of political parties and social organizations that serve to support the KWP. All political activities are sponsored by the party or require its sanction and must closely follow the party line and policies. Elections provide a means whereby assent is registered for the policy and program of the party; they do not allow freedom of expression. There is seldom more than one candidate on the ballot for each constituency, and the electoral system is completely controlled by the party. Armed forces and security Since 1966 there has been an emphasis on military preparedness, and economic plans have been altered to support high military expenditures. North Korea has one of the world's largest military organizations. The army is by far the largest force; there are also an air force and a navy. All men and a limited number of women are subject to conscription; the duration of service officially is three to four years but typically lasts longer. There also are large reserve and paramilitary forces. The country's internal-security system is large and extensive. People's movements and social activities are monitored and controlled even down to the household level. The Ministry of Public Security functions as a national constabulary, while political control and counterintelligence are the responsibility of the State Security Department. Cultural life The compound religious strains of shamanism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism have deep roots in Korean culture. Although the country has received continuous streams of foreign cultural influence mainly from China, Koreans have kept their identity and maintained and developed their unique language and customs. Westernization, begun in the late 19th century, was accomplished in harmony with Korean tradition and slowly transformed the culture without much conflict until the 1940s. After World War II the occupying Soviets did not recognize the Korean traditional family system or Confucian philosophy; age-old lineage records were burned, and the kinship system was broken. Through education, people were molded to fit the pattern of party idealism, and private life and individual freedom became extremely limited. Development plans since the Korean War have demanded almost superhuman patience and labour from the North Koreans. As a result, the people have had to lead an austere existence. The standard of living has improved, but leisure and cultural activities have continued to be regimented and geared toward organized group activities, such as rallies and museum tours. The arts The government is heavily involved with maintaining and advancing the traditional fine arts and other cultural features as an expression of nationalism. The selection of cultural items is based on communist ideology, and writers and artists attempt to enhance class consciousness and propagate the superiority and independence of Korean culture. All North Korean writers, artists, dancers, and musicians are assigned to government institutions such as the National Theatre for the Arts, National Orchestra, and National Dancing Theatre in P'y ongyang and provincial organizations of music, ballet, and drama. Museums have been well-supported by the government, and many archaeological sites have been excavated to promote the growth of a strong nationalistic feeling. Among the country's most notable museums are the Korean Revolutionary Museum and the Korean Fine Arts Museum in the capital. Archaeological sites include those located in the Nangnang district of P'yongyang and at Kungsan, near Yonggang.