how North Korea has been able to
maintain a single dictatorship  for
over 70 years
there are four main reasons, but I will
talk about two of them in this video
North Korea is the only country in the
world where a single family has dominated the
dominated the country as a dictator for over
70 years
Many wonder how  they maintain
their dictatorship. How come the Arab
spring hasn't come to North Korea. I was born and raised there,  but it's still hard to
explain. North Korea is very systematic, consistent, cunning and ruthless in maintaining its dictatorship.
Their goal isn't make the country a
better place for people to live.Their
only goal is to maintain the Kim Regime. There are countless ways to maintain
the regime. But I will tell you the
things
I have  noticed while living there. First is
brainwashing. The North Korean government
has mastered the art of brainwashing its people. We must loyal to Kim family.
Everyone born in North Korea begins a series of brainwashing the minute they are born.
The reason why we are born, go to school, and eat are because of the Kim
family. It is they who raise us. The very first
phrase I said is “Thank you, to the great Leader Kim Il Sung.” The next phrase is, “Nothing to envy in the
world.” These two phrases are written on signs on front of every school. All North Korean children know the
names Kim Il Sung, Kim Joun Il, and Kim Jong Un before they remember their parents names
North Korea brainwashes its people to believe that if the Kim family doesn’t exist, we don’t exist, and we can’t live
And it is because of the Kim family and Kim Jong Un that we are kept safe from the United States.
They are divine beings who we must protect with our lives.
They are our heart, brain and sun.
In the last video, I mentioned that the place where Kim Il Sung’s body is in a glass casket displayed is called Kumsusan Palace of the Sun.
It is called that because he is the only sun under the sky, and his body is there.
When I was in North Korea, I was willing to die for them.
And I saw it as an honor.
It may sound stupid, but when you are brainwashed from birth, you come to accept it naturally and unconsciously.
It’s easier to brainwash younger kids. At schools, the most popular topic is loyalty, loyalty and [you might have guessed] loyalty.
The most important subject is the Kim family’s “revolutionary history” class.
Kim Il Sung was not a human, but a god.
I truly believed that Kim Il Sung could make bombs out of pine cones and fly on a leaf.
I’m not talking about swinging through the forest like Tarzan, but riding a magic carpet like Aladdin.
Japan colonized Korea from 1910 to 1945.
Korea was liberated when the Allied Powers defeated Japan in World War II.
However, we learned that Kim Il Sung was the legendary hero who fought the Japanese and freed Korea.
In reality, Kim Il Sung was somewhere in the Soviet Union, deep in the mountains,
when Japan surrendered. He didn’t even know Japan had surrendered until much later.
And then with the Soviets’ support, he rose to power in North Korea.
Anyways, a lot of people in North Korea still believe that Kim Il Sung liberated Korea.
They don’t ever talk about how the Allied Powers, which includes the United States, liberated Korea.
And they teach that the United States is an enemy which cannot coexist with them under the same sky.
So it wouldn’t make sense for them to teach that the United States helped liberate Korea.
It would be funny if they did.
In a similar way, they have brainwashed people regarding Kim Jong Un.
School textbooks teach that Kim Jong Un could shoot guns when he was 3 years old
and at age 9, he could shoot 10 targets perfectly in 3 seconds.
Also, he began driving at age 3, and he could drive in the mountains by age 8.
It sounds absurd and illogical, but by teaching people that Kim Jong Un did these things,
he is seen as a god. He is not a normal human.
Can you see the strong effects of brainwashing?
I have a baby and I was putting him to bed a couple of days ago.
I sang to him, so he could fall asleep.
Do you know what song I found myself singing?
It’s called, “Kim Jong Il is our father and our sky”.
I sang it in North Korea until I got sick of it. I sang it at school, and I would sing along in the streets when it came on the speakers.
When I realized I had been singing that song to my son, I was shocked.
Why am I singing a song about Kim Jong Il in the U.S. like an idiot? Why am I singing it to my son?
It was ridiculous, funny but also upsetting. This is the result of brainwashing.
If you are constantly brainwashed since birth, you come to believe the false information to be the truth.
It becomes a part of you unconsciously, and it becomes real.
Second is censorship. North Korea is completely isolated from the outside.
North Koreans don’t know anything about the outside world.
There is no internet. There is something called intranet that you could only use in North Korea,
but it’s closely monitored by the government.
Obviously, North Koreans don’t know Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter.
If you purchase a radio, you have to get it registered, and the government sets it to one channel: the North Korean channel.
And random inspectors come to your house to check the radio.
That’s how they brainwash the people to believe that North Korea is a paradise, and people simply believe it.
And of course, I also thought North Korea was a paradise.
That’s why my channel is called “Escaping Paradise.”
All humans are like this: if there isn’t anything to compare, people don’t know what’s better or worse.
Since being born, you live in one place, you don’t hear much, you don’t see much...then of course you won’t be able to discern what’s better.
Then, people come to accept what the dictatorship teaches.
All books, movies, documentaries and even songs are for the Kim family.
The contents emphasize commitment and loyalty to the Kim family.
In North Korea, there’s only one TV channel and it’s called, “Korea Central Television Broadcast”.
The people aren’t allowed to watch other channels.
But these days, South Korean dramas and American movies are smuggled into North Korea.
The media is saved onto a USB drive or a DVD and is smuggled from China.
Once people see it, they can’t control the desire for more, and they can’t be stopped.
It’s like being addicted to drugs. The content is fresh, intense and shocking.
All North Korean movies force loyalty to their homeland and their leaders, but South Korean dramas contain content about life, love and sadness.
They are more fun and moving compared to the North Korean media.
As people watch content from the outside world, they recognize how advanced South Korea and the U.S. have become.
In schools, we were taught that South Korea was so poor that we had to help them.
But in the movies, South Korea was heaven, compared to North Korea. Then, people realize they are being deceived.
That’s why the North Korean government finds those who have watched South Korean or American dramas and severely punish them.
The lies they’ve been telling are exposed. If you are caught while watching a South Korean drama, you are sentenced to labor reform camp for at least 3 years.
North Korea is probably the only country that puts its people in jail if they are caught watching foreign media.
I had a sister. She often borrowed South Korean dramas or music on CDs.
We would insert the CD into the CD player, and listen to it under the blanket just in case someone could hear it from outside.
We loved listening to South Korean music but also it was very scary.
We must be careful about it.
Although people know that they will be sent to jail if they are caught with foreign content, they can’t stop.
The content is too stimulating.  The people exposed to outside media come to admire South Korea or the outside world.
And it is those people who risk their lives and defect.
I had a different motive for defecting, but the outside media was a big part of it.
One of the biggest reasons North Korea is changing these days is because of the foreign media.
The people are beginning to see what’s true and false.
I hope more people will awaken to the truth and establish democracy in North Korea.
So today, we looked at two ways the North Korean government maintains its dictatorship.
I hope you feel more grateful for your country, freedom, and family.
Thank you very much for watching my video.
Please like it, and subscribe to my channel.
