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North Korea-The Chosn Dynasty: Florescence
North Korea
Index
One of General Yi's first acts was to carry out a sweeping
land reform long advocated by Confucian literati reformers. After
a national cadastral survey, all extant land registers were
destroyed. Except for land doled out to loyalists called merit
subjects, Yi Sng-gye declared everything to be owned by the
state, thus undercutting Buddhist temples, which held vast farm
lands, and locally powerful clans. Both groups had exacted high
rents from peasants, leading to social distress in the late Kory
period. These reforms also greatly enhanced the taxation power of
the central government.
Buddhist influence in and complicity with the old system made
it easier for the Confucian literati to urge an extirpation of
Buddhist economic and political influence, and exile in the
mountains for monks and their disciples. Indeed, the literati
accomplished a deep Confucianization of Chosn society, which
particularly affected the position of women. Often prominent in
Kory society, women were now relegated to domestic chores of
child-rearing and housekeeping, as so-called inside people.
As neo-Confucian doctrines swept the old order away, Korea
effectively developed a secular society. Common people, however,
retained attachments to folk religions, shamanism, geomancy, and
fortune-telling, influences condemned by both Confucianism and
the world at that time. This Korean mass culture created
remarkably lively and diverse art forms: uniquely colorful and
unpretentiously naturalistic folk paintings of animals, popular
novels in Korean vernacular, and characters like the
mudang, shamans who summoned spirits and performed
exorcisms in kt, or shamanistic, rituals.
For more than a century after its founding, Chosn flourished
as an exemplary agrarian bureaucracy deeply influenced by a cadre
of learned scholar-officials who were steeped in the doctrines of
neo-Confucianism. Like Kory, the Chosn Dynasty lacked the
typical features of a feudal society. It was instead a classic
agrarian bureaucracy.
Chosn possessed an elaborate procedure for entry to the
civil service, a highly articulated civil service, and a practice
of administering the country from the top down and from the
center. The system rested on an agrarian base, making it
different from modern bureaucratic systems; the particular
character of agrarian-bureaucratic interaction also provided one
of Korea's departures from the typical Chinese experience.
James B. Palais, a widely respected historian of the Chosn
Dynasty, has shown that conflict between bureaucrats seeking
revenues for government coffers and landowners hoping to control
tenants and harvests was a constant during the Chosn Dynasty,
and that in this conflict over resources the landowners often won
out. Controlling land theoretically owned by the state, private
landed interests soon came to be stronger and more persistent in
Korea than in China. Although Korea had a centralized
administration, the ostensibly strong center was more often a
façade concealing the reality of aristocratic power.
One interpretation suggests that Korea's agrarian bureaucracy
was superficially strong but actually rather weak at the center.
A more conventional interpretation is that the Chosn Dynasty was
ruled by a highly centralized monarchy served by a hereditary
aristocracy that competed via civil and military service
examinations for access to bureaucratic office. The state
ostensibly dominated the society, but in fact landed aristocratic
families kept the state at bay and perpetuated local power for
centuries. This pattern persisted until the late 1940s, when
landed dominance was obliterated in a northern revolution and
attenuated in southern land reform; since then the balance has
shifted toward strong central power and top-down administration
of the whole country in both Koreas. The disruptions caused by
the Korean War magnified the sociopolitical consequences of these
developments.
The scientific Korean written alphabet
han'gl (see Glossary)
was systematized in the fifteenth century under the
greatest of Korean kings, Sejong (r. 1418-50), who also greatly
increased the use of metal moveable type for book publications of
all sorts
(see The Korean Language
, ch. 2). Korean is thought to
be part of the Altaic group of languages, which includes Turkic,
Mongol, Hungarian, Finnish, Tungusic (Manchu), and possibly
Japanese. In spite of the long influence of written Chinese,
Korean remains very different in lexicon, phonology, and grammar.
The new han'g l alphabet did not come into general use
until the twentieth century, however. Since 1948 North Koreans
have used the Korean alphabet exclusively while South Koreans
have retained usage of a mixed Sino-Korean script.
Confucianism is based on the family and an ideal model of
relations between family members. It generalizes this family
model to the state and to an international system--the Chinese
world order. The principle is hierarchy within a reciprocal web
of duties and obligations: the son obeys the father by following
the dictates of filial piety; the father provides for and
educates the son. Daughters obey mothers and mothers-in-law;
younger siblings follow older siblings; wives are subordinate to
husbands. The superior prestige and privileges of older adults
make longevity a prime virtue. In the past, transgressors of
these rules were regarded as uncultured beings unfit to be
members of society. When generalized to politics, the principle
mean that a village followed the leadership of venerated elders
and citizens revered a king or emperor, who was thought of as the
father of the state. Generalized to international affairs, the
Chinese emperor was the big brother of the Korean king.
The glue holding the traditional nobility together was
education, meaning socialization into Confucian norms and virtues
that began in early childhood with the reading of the Confucian
classics. The model figure was the so-called true gentleman, the
virtuous and learned scholar-official who was equally adept at
poetry and statecraft. In Korea education started very early
because Korean students had to master the extraordinarily
difficult classical Chinese language--tens of thousands of
written ideographs and their many meanings typically learned
through rote memorization. Throughout the Chosn Dynasty, all
official records and formal education and most written discourse
were in classical Chinese. With Chinese language and philosophy
came a profound cultural penetration of Korea, such that most
Chosn arts and literature came to use Chinese models.
Confucianism is often thought to be a conservative
philosophy, stressing tradition, veneration of a past golden age,
careful attention to the performance of ritual, disdain for
material goods, commerce, and the remaking of nature, combined
with obedience to superiors and a preference for relatively
frozen social hierarchies. Much commentary on contemporary Korea
focuses on this legacy and, in particular, on its allegedly
authoritarian, antidemocratic character. Emphasis on the legacy
of Confucianism, however, does not explain the extraordinary
commercial bustle of South Korea, the materialism and conspicuous
consumption of new elites, or the determined struggles for
democratization by Korean workers and students. At the same time,
one cannot assume that communist North Korea broke completely
with the past. The legacy of Confucianism includes the country's
family-based politics, the succession to rule of the leader's
son, and the extraordinary veneration of Kim Il Sung.
The Chosn Dynasty had a traditional class structure that
departed from the Chinese Confucian example, providing an
important legacy for the modern period. The governing elite
continued to be known as yangban but the term no longer
simply connoted two official orders. In the Chosn Dynasty, the
yangban had a virtual monopoly on education, official
position, and possession of land. Entry to yangban status
required a hereditary lineage. Unlike in China, commoners could
not sit for state-run examinations leading to official position.
One had to prove membership in a yangban family, which in
practice meant having a forebear who had sat for exams within the
past four generations. In Korea as in China, the majority of
peasant families could not spare a son to study for the exams, so
upward social mobility was sharply limited. But because in Korea
the limit also was specifically hereditary, people had even less
mobility than in China and held attitudes toward class
distinction that often seemed indistinguishable from the
attitudes underlying the caste system.
Silla society's "bone-rank" system also underlined that one's
status in society was determined by birth and lineage. For this
reason, each family and clan maintained an extensive genealogical
record, or
chokpo (see Glossary),
with meticulous care.
Because only male offspring prolonged the family and clan lines
and were the only names registered in the genealogical tables,
the birth of a son was greeted with great felicitation.
The elite were most conscious of family pedigree. A major
study of all those who passed examinations in the Chosn Dynasty
(some 14,000) showed that the elite families were heavily
represented; other studies have documented the persistence of
this pattern into the early twentieth century. Even in 1945, this
aristocracy was substantially intact, although it died out soon
thereafter.
Korea's traditional class system also included a peasant
majority and minorities of petty clerks, merchants, and so-called
base classes (ch'ommin), that is, castelike hereditary
groups (paekchng) such as butchers, leather tanners, and
beggars. Although merchants ranked higher than members of
low-born classes, Confucian elites frowned on commercial activity
and up until the twentieth century squelched it as much as
possible. Peasants or farmers ranked higher than merchants
because they worked the land, but the life of the peasantry was
almost always difficult during the dynasty, and became more so
later on. Most peasants were tenants, were required to give up at
least half their crop to landlords as tax, and were subject to
various additional exactions. Those in the low-born classes were
probably worse off, however, given very high rates of slavery for
much of the Chosn period. One source reported more than 200,000
government slaves in Seoul alone in 1462, and recent scholarship
has suggested that at one time as much as 60 percent of Seoul's
population may have been slaves. In spite of slavery being
hereditary, however, rates of escape from slavery and manumission
also were unusually high. Class and status hierarchies also were
built into the Korean language and have persisted into the
contemporary period. Superiors and inferiors were addressed quite
differently, and elaborate honorifics were used to address
elders. Even verb endings and conjugations differed according to
station.
Chosn Dynasty Confucian doctrines also included a foreign
policy known as "serving the great" (sadae), in this case,
China. Chosn lived within the Chinese world order, which
radiated outward from China to associated states, of which Korea
was the most important. Korea was China's little brother, a model
tributary state, and in many ways the most important of China's
allies. Koreans revered things Chinese, and China responded for
the most part by being a good neighbor, giving more than it took
away. China assumed that enlightened Koreans would follow it
without being forced. Absolutely convinced of its own
superiority, China indulged in a policy that might be called
benign neglect, thereby allowing Korea substantive autonomy as a
nation.
This sophisticated world order was broken up by Western and
Japanese influence in the late nineteenth century. Important
legacies for the twentieth century remained, however. As a small
power, Korea had to learn to be shrewd in foreign policy. Since
at least the seventh century, Koreans have cultivated the
sophisticated art of "low determines high" diplomacy, a practice
whereby a small country maneuvers between two larger countries
and seeks to use foreign power for its own ends. Although both
North Korea and South Korea have often struck foreign observers
as rather dependent on big-power support, both have not only
claimed but also strongly asserted their absolute autonomy and
independence as nation-states, and both have been adept at
manipulating their big-power clients. Until the mid-1980s, North
Korea was masterful not only in getting big powers to fight its
battles, but also in maneuvering between the Soviet Union and
China to obtain something from each and to prevent either from
domination. And just as in the traditional period, P'yongyang's
heart was with Beijing.
Nonetheless, the main characteristic of Korea's traditional
diplomacy was isolationism, even what scholar Kim Key-hyuk has
called exclusionism. After the Japanese invasions of the 1590s,
Korea isolated itself from Japan, although the Edo Shogunate and
the Chosn Dynasty established diplomatic relations early in the
seventeenth century and trade was conducted between the two
countries. Korea dealt harshly with errant Westerners who came to
the country and kept the Chinese at arm's length. Westerners
called Korea the Hermit Kingdom, a term suggesting the pronounced
hostility toward foreign power and the deep desire for
independence that marked traditional Korea.
Data as of June 1993
- North Korea-THE KOREAN WORKERS' PARTY
- North Korea-Primary and Secondary Education
- North Korea-Military Industry
- North Korea-Contemporary Cultural Expression
- North Korea-The United States
- North Korea-INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
- North Korea-The Chosn Dynasty: Florescence
- North Korea-KOREA IN THE NINETEENTH-CENTURY WORLD ORDER
- North Korea-Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation
- North Korea-Literature, Music, and Film
- North Korea-Civil Aviation
- North Korea-Officer Corps: Recruitment and Education
- North Korea-Confucian and Neo-Confucian Values SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND VALUES
- North Korea-Inter-Korean Affairs
- North Korea-GEOGRAPHY
- North Korea-Population Structure and Projections
- North Korea-Korea under the Japanese Occupation ECONOMIC SETTING
- North Korea-EDUCATION
- North Korea-National Command Authority THE ARMED FORCES
- North Korea-Civil Aviation
- North Korea-Reserves and Paramilitary Forces
- North Korea-Record of Economic Performance
- North Korea-GEOPOLITICAL CHANGES: NEW WORLD ORDER AND NORTH KOREAN SECURITY
- North Korea-Resource Development
- North Korea-Relations with the Third World
- North Korea-THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
- North Korea-Urban Life
- North Korea-Production and Distribution of Crops and Livestock
- North Korea-Village Life
- North Korea-Organization and Disposition
- North Korea-Organization and Disposition
- North Korea-Formulation of National Security Policy
- North Korea-Mining and Metal Processing
- North Korea-Forestry
- North Korea-Historical Influences THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- North Korea-NORTH KOREA
- North Korea-Postwar Economic Planning
- North Korea-The Korean Language
- North Korea-The Colonial Transformation of Korean Society
- North Korea-GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
- North Korea-Economic Assistance
- North Korea-Relations Between the Military and the Korean Workers' Party
- North Korea-Special Weapons
- North Korea-CORPORATISM AND THE CHUCH'E IDEA
- North Korea-Social Control INTERNAL SECURITY
- North Korea-Military Capability, Readiness, Training, and Recent Trends
- North Korea-Social Education
- North Korea-CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
- North Korea-BUDGET AND FINANCE
- North Korea-RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PARTY
- North Korea-CHAPTER 5 - NATIONAL SECURITY
- North Korea-Adult Education
- North Korea-THE KOREAN WAR
- North Korea-Emergence of the New Doctrine
- North Korea-POPULATION
- North Korea-INDUSTRY
- North Korea-The Period of the Three Kingdoms
- North Korea-NATIONAL SECURITY
- North Korea-The Navy
- North Korea-CHAPTER 2 - THE SOCIETY AND ITS ENVIRONMENT
- North Korea-CHAPTER 1 - HISTORICAL SETTING
- North Korea-Koreans Living Overseas
- North Korea-INTRODUCTION
- North Korea-DEFENSE INDUSTRY AND INFRASTRUCTURE
- North Korea-Architecture and City Planning
- North Korea-Developmental Strategy
- North Korea-Tradition and Modernity in North Korea
- North Korea-Dynastic Decline
- North Korea-The Army
- North Korea-Manufacturing
- North Korea-FOREIGN POLICY
- North Korea-INFRASTRUCTURE
- North Korea-MASS ORGANIZATIONS
- North Korea-The Air Force
- North Korea-Role in National Life
- North Korea-Unification by Kory
- North Korea-POLITICAL IDEOLOGY: THE ROLE OF CHUCH'E
- North Korea-Foreign Investment and Joint Ventures
- North Korea-Air Defense
- North Korea-Higher Education
- North Korea -COUNTRY PROFILE
- North Korea-CHAPTER 4 - GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
- North Korea-THE ORIGINS OF THE KOREAN NATION
- North Korea-Development in Major Sectors
- North Korea-Classes and Social Strata
- North Korea-Transportation and Communications
- North Korea-Special Operations Forces
- North Korea-Energy and Power
- North Korea-Japan
- North Korea-Foreign Trade
- North Korea-PROSPECTS
- North Korea-Weapons and Equipment
- North Korea-Korea under Silla
- North Korea-THE NATIONAL DIVISION AND THE ORIGINS OF THE DPRK
- North Korea-Employment in Offensive Scenario
- North Korea-Telecommunications
- North Korea-The Supreme People's Assembly ORGANIZATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
- North Korea-The Role of Religion
- North Korea-Services and Marketing
- North Korea-Weapons and Equipment
- North Korea-ETHNICITY, CULTURE, AND LANGUAGE IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY
- North Korea-HISTORICAL SETTING
- North Korea-Educational Themes and Methods
- North Korea-Organization and Management
- North Korea-Chuch'e and Contemporary Social Values
- North Korea-LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION
- North Korea-The Executive Branch
- North Korea-FOREWORD
- North Korea-The Traditional Family and Kinship
- North Korea-AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY, AND FISHERIES
- North Korea-Party Cadres
- North Korea-Environmental Protection
- North Korea-Weapons and Equipment
- North Korea-MILITARY HERITAGE
- North Korea-THE MEDIA
- North Korea
- North Korea-THE RISE OF KOREAN NATIONALISM AND COMMUNISM
- North Korea-The Central People's Committee
- North Korea
- North Korea-China and the Soviet Union
- North Korea-FOREIGN ECONOMIC RELATIONS
- North Korea
- North Korea-PROSPECTS
- North Korea-The Taean Work System
- North Korea-The Public Security Apparatus
- North Korea-Roads
- North Korea-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND STRUCTURAL CHANGE
- North Korea
- North Korea-Local Government
- North Korea
- North Korea-Fisheries
- North Korea-The Evolution of North Korean Military Thought
- North Korea
- North Korea-PUBLIC HEALTH
- North Korea-Military Conscription and Terms of Service
- North Korea-The Ruling Elite
- North Korea-The Nuclear Option
- North Korea-The Ch'ongsan-ni Method
- North Korea-Organization and Management of the Economy
- North Korea-MILITARY DOCTRINE AND STRATEGY
- North Korea-Climate
- North Korea-Family Life
- North Korea-ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- North Korea-Mass Production Campaigns
- North Korea-Operational Practice in the 1980s and 1990s
- North Korea-Chosn Dynasty Social Structure
- North Korea-SOCIETY
- North Korea-ECONOMY
- North Korea
- North Korea-The Judiciary
- North Korea-The Judiciary
- North Korea-The State Administration Council
- North Korea-PARTY LEADERSHIP AND ELITE RECRUITMENT
- North Korea
- North Korea-Relations with China and the Soviet Union FOREIGN MILITARY RELATIONS
- North Korea-Trends, Training, Readiness, and Military Capability
- North Korea
- North Korea-Military Capability and Coastal Defense
- North Korea-TRANSPORTATION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
- North Korea-PREFACE
- North Korea-Missile Developments
- North Korea-The Role of Women
- North Korea-THE LEGACY OF JAPANESE COLONIALISM
- North Korea
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Background | | An independent kingdom for much of its long history, Korea was occupied by Japan beginning in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War. Five years later, Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. Following World War II, Korea was split with the northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored Communist control. After failing in the Korean War (1950-53) to conquer the US-backed Republic of Korea (ROK) in the southern portion by force, North Korea (DPRK), under its founder President KIM Il Sung, adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a check against outside influence. The DPRK demonized the US as the ultimate threat to its social system through state-funded propaganda, and molded political, economic, and military policies around the core ideological objective of eventual unification of Korea under Pyongyang's control. KIM's son, the current ruler KIM Jong Il, was officially designated as his father's successor in 1980, assuming a growing political and managerial role until the elder KIM's death in 1994. After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation, the DPRK since the mid-1990s has relied heavily on international aid to feed its population. North Korea's history of regional military provocations, proliferation of military-related items, long-range missile development, WMD programs including nuclear weapons test in 2006 and 2009, and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community.
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Location | | Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea
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Area(sq km) | | total: 120,538 sq km
land: 120,408 sq km
water: 130 sq km
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Geographic coordinates | | 40 00 N, 127 00 E
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Land boundaries(km) | | total: 1,673 km
border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km
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Coastline(km) | | 2,495 km
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Climate | | temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer
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Elevation extremes(m) | | lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m
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Natural resources | | coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower
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Land use(%) | | arable land: 22.4%
permanent crops: 1.66%
other: 75.94% (2005)
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Irrigated land(sq km) | | 14,600 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable water resources(cu km) | | 77.1 cu km (1999)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) | | total: 9.02 cu km/yr (20%/25%/55%)
per capita: 401 cu m/yr (2000)
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Natural hazards | | late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall
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Environment - current issues | | water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation
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Environment - international agreements | | party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
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Geography - note | | strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated
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Population | | 22,665,345 (July 2009 est.)
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Age structure(%) | | 0-14 years: 21.3% (male 2,440,439/female 2,376,557)
15-64 years: 69.4% (male 7,776,889/female 7,945,399)
65 years and over: 9.4% (male 820,504/female 1,305,557) (2009 est.)
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Median age(years) | | total: 33.5 years
male: 32.1 years
female: 34.9 years (2009 est.)
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Population growth rate(%) | | 0.42% (2009 est.)
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Birth rate(births/1,000 population) | | 14.82 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Death rate(deaths/1,000 population) | | 10.52 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
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Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population) | | -0.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Urbanization(%) | | urban population: 63% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 0.9% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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Sex ratio(male(s)/female) | | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
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Infant mortality rate(deaths/1,000 live births) | | total: 51.34 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 58.64 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 43.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth(years) | | total population: 63.81 years
male: 61.23 years
female: 66.53 years (2009 est.)
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Total fertility rate(children born/woman) | | 1.96 children born/woman (2009 est.)
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Nationality | | noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean
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Ethnic groups(%) | | racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese
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Religions(%) | | traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way)
note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom
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Languages(%) | | Korean
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Country name | | conventional long form: Democratic People's Republic of Korea
conventional short form: North Korea
local long form: Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk
local short form: Choson
abbreviation: DPRK
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Government type | | Communist state one-man dictatorship
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Capital | | name: Pyongyang
geographic coordinates: 39 01 N, 125 45 E
time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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Administrative divisions | | 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 2 municipalities (si, singular and plural)
provinces: Chagang-do (Chagang), Hamgyong-bukto (North Hamgyong), Hamgyong-namdo (South Hamgyong), Hwanghae-bukto (North Hwanghae), Hwanghae-namdo (South Hwanghae), Kangwon-do (Kangwon), P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan), P'yongan-namdo (South P'yongan), Yanggang-do (Yanggang)
municipalities: Nason-si, P'yongyang-si
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Constitution | | adopted 1948; revised several times
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Legal system | | based on Prussian civil law system with Japanese influences and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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Suffrage | | 17 years of age; universal
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Executive branch | | chief of state: KIM Jong Il (since July 1994); note - on 9 April 2009, rubberstamp Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) reelected KIM Jong Il chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position accorded nation's "highest administrative authority"; SPA reelected KIM Yong Nam in 2009 president of its Presidium also with responsibility of representing state and receiving diplomatic credentials
head of government: Premier KIM Yong Il (since 11 April 2007); Vice Premier KWAK Pom Gi (since 5 September 1998), Vice Premier O Su Yong (since 13 April 2009), Vice Premier PAK Su Gil (since 18 September 2009), Vice Premier PAK Myong Su (since 4 September 2009), Vice Premier RO Tu Chol (since 3 September 2003)
cabinet: Naegak (cabinet) members, except for Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by SPA
elections: last held in September 2003; date of next election NA
election results: KIM Jong Il and KIM Yong Nam were only nominees for positions and ran unopposed
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Legislative branch | | unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 8 March 2009 (next due to be held in March 2014)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; ruling party approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; a token number of seats are reserved for minor parties
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Judicial branch | | Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly)
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Political pressure groups and leaders | | none
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International organization participation | | ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
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Flag description | | three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star
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Economy - overview | | North Korea, one of the world's most centrally directed and least open economies, faces chronic economic problems. Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a result of years of underinvestment and shortages of spare parts. Large-scale military spending draws off resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. Industrial and power output have declined in parallel from pre-1990 levels. Severe flooding in the summer of 2007 aggravated chronic food shortages caused by on-going systemic problems including a lack of arable land, collective farming practices, and persistent shortages of tractors and fuel. Large-scale international food aid deliveries have allowed the people of North Korea to escape widespread starvation since famine threatened in 1995, but the population continues to suffer from prolonged malnutrition and poor living conditions. Since 2002, the government has allowed private "farmers' markets" to begin selling a wider range of goods. It also permitted some private farming - on an experimental basis - in an effort to boost agricultural output. In October 2005, the government tried to reverse some of these policies by forbidding private sales of grains and reinstituting a centralized food rationing system. By December 2005, the government terminated most international humanitarian assistance operations in North Korea (calling instead for developmental assistance only) and restricted the activities of remaining international and non-governmental aid organizations such as the World Food Program. External food aid now comes primarily from China and South Korea in the form of grants and long-term concessional loans. In May 2008, the US agreed to give 500,000 metric tons of food to North Korea via the World Food Program and US nongovernmental organizations; Pyongyang began receiving these shipments in mid-2008. During the October 2007 summit, South Korea also agreed to develop some of North Korea's infrastructure, natural resources, and light industry, but inter-Korean economic cooperation slowed in 2008 as Pyongyang restricted tourism and manufacturing joint ventures in the North, and food aid from South Korea was suspended. Firm political control remains the Communist government's overriding concern, which will likely inhibit the loosening of economic regulations.
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GDP (purchasing power parity) | | $40 billion (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP (official exchange rate) | | $26.2 billion (2008 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate(%) | | 3.7% (2008 est.)
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GDP - per capita (PPP) | | $1,800 (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP - composition by sector(%) | | agriculture: 23.3%
industry: 43.1%
services: 33.6% (2002 est.)
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Labor force | | 20 million
note: estimates vary widely (2004 est.)
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Labor force - by occupation(%) | | agriculture: 37%
industry and services: 63% (2004 est.)
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Unemployment rate(%) | | NA%
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Population below poverty line(%) | | NA%
|
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Household income or consumption by percentage share(%) | | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
|
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Budget | | revenues: $2.88 billion
expenditures: $2.98 billion (2005)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%) | | NA%
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Economic aid - recipient | | $372 million
note: approximately 65,000 metric tons in food aid through the World Food Program appeals in 2007, plus additional aid from bilateral donors and non-governmental organizations (2007 est.)
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Agriculture - products | | rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs
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Industries | | military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, limestone, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism
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Industrial production growth rate(%) | | NA%
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Exports | | $1.684 billion (2007)
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Exports - commodities(%) | | minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments), textiles, agricultural and fishery products
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Exports - partners(%) | | South Korea 45%, China 35%, India 5% (2007)
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Imports | | $3.055 billion (2007)
$2.879 billion (2006)
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Imports - commodities(%) | | petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment, textiles, grain
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Imports - partners(%) | | China 46%, South Korea 34%, Thailand 6%, Russia 4% (2007)
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Debt - external | | $12.5 billion (2001 est.)
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Exchange rates | | North Korean won (KPW) per US dollar - 140 (2007), 141 (2006), 170 (December 2004), market rate: North Korean won per US dollar - 3,400 (October 2008)
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Currency (code) | | North Korean won (KPW)
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Telephones - main lines in use | | 1.18 million (2008)
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Telephone system | | general assessment: inadequate system; currently mobile cellular telephone services are available in Pyongyang only
domestic: fiber-optic links installed between cities; telephone directories unavailable; mobile cellular service, initiated in 2002, suspended in 2004; Orascom Telecom, an Egyptian company, launched mobile service on December 15, 2008 for the Pyongyang area only
international: country code - 850; satellite earth stations - 2 (1 Intelsat - Indian Ocean, 1 Russian - Indian Ocean region); other international connections through Moscow and Beijing (2008)
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Internet country code | | .kp
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Airports | | 79 (2009)
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Pipelines(km) | | oil 154 km (2008)
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Roadways(km) | | total: 25,554 km
paved: 724 km
unpaved: 24,830 km (2006)
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Ports and terminals | | Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan
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Military branches | | North Korean People's Army: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force; civil security forces (2005)
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Military service age and obligation(years of age) | | 17 years of age (2004)
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Manpower available for military service | | males age 16-49: 6,225,747
females age 16-49: 6,188,270 (2008 est.)
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Manpower fit for military service | | males age 16-49: 4,104,964
females age 16-49: 4,492,374 (2009 est.)
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Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually | | male: 191,759
female: 184,641 (2009 est.)
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Military expenditures(% of GDP) | | NA
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Disputes - international | | risking arrest, imprisonment, and deportation, tens of thousands of North Koreans cross into China to escape famine, economic privation, and political oppression; North Korea and China dispute the sovereignty of certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic incidents in the Yellow Sea with South Korea which claims the Northern Limiting Line as a maritime boundary; North Korea supports South Korea in rejecting Japan's claim to Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima)
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Refugees and internally displaced persons | | IDPs: undetermined (flooding in mid-2007 and famine during mid-1990s) (2007)
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Trafficking in persons | | current situation: North Korea is a source country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation; the most common form of trafficking involves North Korean women and girls who cross the border into China voluntarily; additionally, North Korean women and girls are lured out of North Korea to escape poor social and economic conditions by the promise of food, jobs, and freedom, only to be forced into prostitution, marriage, or exploitative labor arrangements once in China
tier rating: Tier 3 - North Korea does not fully comply with minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so; the government does not acknowledge the existence of human rights abuses in the country or recognize trafficking, either within the country or transnationally; North Korea has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)
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Electricity - production(kWh) | | 20.9 billion kWh (2007 est.)
|
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Electricity - production by source(%) | | fossil fuel: 29%
hydro: 71%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
|
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Electricity - consumption(kWh) | | 17.49 billion kWh (2007 est.)
|
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Electricity - exports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
|
|
Electricity - imports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
|
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Oil - production(bbl/day) | | 120.7 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
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Oil - consumption(bbl/day) | | 16,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
|
Oil - exports(bbl/day) | | 0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
|
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Oil - imports(bbl/day) | | 13,890 bbl/day (2007 est.)
|
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Oil - proved reserves(bbl) | | 0 bbl
|
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Natural gas - production(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - consumption(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - exports(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008)
|
|
Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m) | | 0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
|
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%) | | NA
|
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | | NA
|
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HIV/AIDS - deaths | | NA
|
|
Literacy(%) | | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99%
|
|
Education expenditures(% of GDP) | | NA
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