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this post was submitted on 07 Sep 2023
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This is the best read on this: https://web.archive.org/web/20230409194611/https://rolandtheodoreboer.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/2018-an-effort-to-understand-the-dprk.pdf
I think firstly, we've got to accept that it is real, the Kim family does hold a special place in that country. Trying to say, "Oh no, they were just legitimately elected", or "They're not special" is trying to deny the reality and impose some foreign image on the country.
They "hold a special place" because the people in the country love the kims, this was not forced on them, they can always vote for a new leader who isnt from their family. They have all been great leaders and the DPRK is a people's democracy. Please stop spreading western propaganda.
you shouldn't love somebody's kid before that kid actually does anything on their own, and it should be far less impressive when the accomplishment is only possible because of the parent's position and access to resources not available to regular people.
i don't need western propaganda to think that kind of paternalism gross and sus.
Both had positions already FYI
communists shouldn't do nepo babies
Lot of doctors have doctor parents
Family business
ok. 3 generations of practicing doctors who hopefully don't get special treatment from medical schools is comparable to three generations of public administrators how?
family business on the scale of a medical practice is not a threat to the public interest the way a connected political family is.
Sorry you missed my point I’m just saying it’s pretty common for kids to enter the same field as their parents, it isn’t necessarily an indicator of nepotism
Even if two kids otherwise get exactly the same education and 'access to opportunities', the one with parents who do the thing is going to have an edge, all things considered. This logic works with any job. A child of a plumber is going to have an advantage in the plumbing world over a child of an accountant because they grow up hearing the language, picking up the tools when their parent isn't looking and then being taught to use the basic tools when they get s little older.
Personally, I don't see why society should be denied the extra skill that comes from that kind of informal home-education just to avoid 'nepotism'. Actual nepotism, where someone is given a job (or a place at a top university) just because of family ties… down with that!
In sum, I went a bit wider so you might disagree with me but I agree with you. Maybe 'nepotism' has class characteristics, which need to be considered. It might not even be a coherent concept in a later-stage of functioning socialism. If that's possible, the question is at what point in the development of socialism does nepotism become an incoherent concept? Then: has the DPRK or anywhere else reached it? If not, is it a problem?
in politics it is because of how politics works.
That was a really interesting read and actually explained it very well.. Thank you. Do you have any other things to read on the DPRK in general?
Juche idea study course: https://yewtu.be/watch?v=OymYKXvrCF0
'Let us advance under the banner of Marxism-Leninism and the Juche Idea' – https://archive.org/details/LetUsAdvanceUnderTheBannerOfMarxism-leninismAndTheJucheIdeaOnThe
John Major: 'Want undiluted sovereignty? Go to North Korea' – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36170066
RAND report in 2020: DPRK will have 200 nukes by 2027 – https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/07/07/north-korea-nuclear-weapons-united-states-deterrence/ – https://www.rand.org/news/advisories/2021/04/12.html
Juche Idea: Answers to Hundred Questions – https://archive.org/details/juche-questions
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Eliminating_Dogmatism_and_Formalism_and_Establishing_Juche_in_Ideological_Work
https://exploredprk.com/articles/housing-problem-and-the-dprk/
https://exploredprk.com/
http://www.gnu.rep.kp/ – the official website of DPRK broadcasting. There’s some videos on the site. The .kp TLD is controlled by DPRK, all websites that end with .kp are DPRK websites.
https://kcnawatch.org/kctv-archive/ – has video archives of DPRK TV broadcast. KCNA is the name of the DPRK state news but this website is owned by an American company called NK News
healthcare system: https://web.archive.org/web/20221024155438/https://www.globalasia.org/v16no3/cover/north-koreas-surprisingly-robust-healthcare-system_kee-b-parkedward-i-ham
Really boring Swiss report about the technicalities of how the political system works there. This type of source is good because it's not propaganda, it's for academics and governance experts – https://web.archive.org/web/20221217045342/https://www.asgp.info/Publications/CPI-English/1992_163_01-e.pdf
Election data – https://web.archive.org/web/20171021163836/https://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2085_E.htm
https://www.38north.org/resources/ – This is a very good website. It's run by Korean-Americans who are bilingual in English and Korean, and is dedicated to understanding primary sources from within the DPRK, like academic journals about economics. Article about consumerism. Article about banking. 'Reports of North Korea’s Return to a Command Economy Have Been Exaggerated'. https://www.38north.org/2023/02/understanding-kim-jong-uns-economic-policymaking-key-findings-and-implications/
N. Korea revises constitution to include Kim Jong-un’s reform-oriented approach to economy [2019]: https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_northkorea/901610.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20210329180009/https://www.dailynk.com/english/north-koreas-new-agricultural-system-yields-promising-results/
Documentary: loyal citizens of pyongyang in seoul
Documentary: my brothers and sisters in the north
youtube channel: DPRK explained
Talking points/one-pager: https://dprkorea.carrd.co/ or https://web.archive.org/web/20230502123305/https://dprkorea.carrd.co/
https://www.kfausa.org/resources/ – overseas outreach arm
Awesome! Thank you so much
Omg you linked my carrd that’s awesome
lol
"Patriots, traitors and empires" by Stephen gowans. It's a great read on the history of Korea.
What a great morning read, thanks.