Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Candy in North Korea
The article, "Kim Jong Un Sends Birthday Candy To North Korean Children in Honor of His Day of Birth:Report," was written on January 7, 2013 by Sara Gates in The Huffington Post. Kim Jong I1 was the leader of North Korea from 1944 to 2011, which is when he passed away. As a tradition set by his father, Kim Jong I1 Sung, candy, gum, and caramel are delivered to the children of North Korea ages 10 and younger, as an honor to the leader's birthdays. However, when Kim Jong I1 died in late 2011, his son and the current leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, had not delivered candy to North Korean children. This is the first year as ruler that Kim Jong Un delivered one kilogram of candy to each child in North Korea. He managed this by airlift, and not by shipping routes which might have been affected by the cold weather. All children who attend elementary schools, kindergarten, and day care centers received the traditional candy just in time before the leader's January 8 birthday. Although it is a tradition, this act of kindness was also used as a tactic to show the new leader's benevolence. In a surprising New Year's address, Kim addressed the issue of economic improvement in North Korea. North Korea struggles with feeding its population, especially in rural areas.
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By sending out free candy to children under the age of ten, I believe Kim Jung Un's intentions are more than just an act of benevolence. He certainly is trying to get major publicity and the support of his people by doing a small favor and making the children of North Korea happy. There are far more important and more difficult issues to deal with in North Korea, and by wasting time and money on little, unnoticeable deeds, one of the few Communist countries still remaining might be in trouble. Just like his father, Kim Jung Un is trying to keep his seat occupied as long as he can, because of the current dictatorship intact in North Korea. The support of his people will only help his cause and prevent a major war against government, such as the one in Syria today. It certainly is a smart move by Un, but I believe he should direct his attention to more important affairs.
ReplyDeleteIn such an autocratic society where most children under the age of ten have lacked a fun and memorable childhood, a free kilogram of candy might make a child's year. Kim Jong Un's intentions are not to satisfy his people and share the joy. It is simply to gain the support of the people by giving out something that costs him virtually nothing. When the kids are happy, the parents are happy, and that is the main idea. But in reality, it is irresponsible of the tyrant to be passing out candy while a large some of his population suffer from famine. It is also a bigger fault to go up on public television and completely lie about the poor conditions the North Korean people have to withstand under his rule. The people might one day realize that their government only makes the minimum effort to keep them from rebelling and that their country is far behind in the sense of human rights movements in comparison to other communist countries around the globe. Hopefully they will one day realize how ridiculous their system of government is because of its unjust methods all under the name of communism and autocratic tyranny.
ReplyDeleteIt is an extremely kind and sweet (literally) act of Kim Jong Un to send all of this candy to elementary students. However, it could be crucial to the health of the students. It may start out as a piece or two of candy, but then they are going to want more and more. As the article in my blog post stated, America has barely made fresh fruit their most popular snack. Even though I have not done much research on what the most popular snack of North Korea, it could soon enough become candy. Also, rather than sending candy to people who can actually afford to attend school and buy their own candy, Kim Jong Un should have helped those in need of food. It is understandable that it is a tradition, but it seems more of a bribe to keep that family name in their memory to tell others of how great of a ruler he was.
ReplyDeleteKim Jong Un's continuation of the traditions set by his father and grandfather are extremely kind, and surely provide some hope for all the children in North Korea. As you stated most of them do not have basic necessities such as food everyday or proper living conditions, therefore this one kilogram of candy can help them to believe that one day their situation may get better. Unfortunately, it probably will not, and all Kim Jong Un is doing is feeding the children lies. As George mentioned, I am hopeful that one day North Koreans will realize that living in these conditions are unacceptable, and revolt against their government just as many people have recently in former dictatorial countries such as Egypt and Lybia.
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