North Korea / 조선 / 朝鮮 / Coreia do Norte

North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) (Hangul: 조선민주주의인민공화국, Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk), is a state in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer area between North Korea and South Korea. The Amnok River and the Tumen River form the border between North Korea and People's Republic of China. A section of the Tumen River in the extreme north-east is the border with Russia.

The peninsula was governed by the Korean Empire until it was annexed by Japan following the Russo-Japanese War of 1905. It was divided into Soviet and American occupied zones in 1945, following the end of World War II. North Korea refused to participate in a United Nations–supervised election held in the south in 1948, which led to the creation of separate Korean governments for the two occupation zones. Both North and South Korea claimed sovereignty over the peninsula as a whole, which led to the Korean War of 1950. A 1953 armistice ended the fighting; however, the two countries are officially still at war with each other, as a peace treaty was never signed. Both states were accepted into the United Nations in 1991. On May 26, 2009, North Korea unilaterally withdrew from the armistice.

North Korea is a single-party state under a united front led by the Korean Workers' Party. The country's government follows the Juche ideology of self-reliance, developed by the country's late Eternal President Kim Il-sung. Juche became the official state ideology when the country adopted a new constitution in 1972, though Kim Il-sung had been using it to form policy since at least as early as 1955. Officially a socialist republic, North Korea is considered by many in the outside world to be a totalitarian Stalinist dictatorship. The current secretary of the KWP Central Committee Secretariat and leader of the armed forces is Kim Jong-il, son of Kim Il-sung.

 

History

Prehistoric Korea

The Prehistoric Korea is the era of human existence in the Korean Peninsula for which written records did not exist. It, however, constitutes the greatest segment of the Korean past and is the major object of study in the disciplines of archaeology, geology, and palaeontology.

 

The history of North Korea formally begins with the establishment of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in 1948.

In the aftermath of the Japanese occupation of Korea which ended with Japan's defeat in World War II in 1945, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel in accordance with a United Nations arrangement, to be administered by the Soviet Union in the north and the United States in the south. The Soviets and Americans were unable to agree on the implementation of Joint Trusteeship over Korea. This led in 1948 to the establishment of separate governments, each claiming to be the legitimate government of all of Korea.

 

The early years

Having occupied Najin and Ch’ŏngjin on 12 August, the Soviets moved into Wonsan and Hamhŭng on 24 August and P’yŏngyang during 24-26 August, sending troops directly into each of the provinces. Chistiakov, commander of the Soviet 25th Army arrived in Hamhŭng on 24 August and in accordance with his orders from the headquarters of the 1st Field Army of the Far Eastern Division he opened negotiations with the provincial governor and other Japanese leaders of the provincial government about taking over administration of the province. The content of their agreement was as follows:

If anyone, whether they are Japanese or Korean, leaves their post, they will immediately be sentenced to death by hanging. … For the time being, the Japanese police and military police will maintain order and administrative functions will continue to be carried out as before by the Japanese provincial governor and his subordinates. Those who cause disturbances of the peace will be severely punished. … Work should continue in factories, workshops, mines etc, and goods must not be removed from these workplaces.

This agreement was published in the Soviet Army’s decree of 25 August. This decree, which stressed the continuation of Japanese administrative and security control, was the Soviet command’s first official position revealing their policy toward the Korean peninsula. However, before a day had passed this decree was cancelled. Song Sŏnggwan, Ch’oe Kimo, Im Ch’ungsŏk and Sally Joe, and Kim Inhak, members of the South Hamgyŏng Province Communist Council as well as To Yongho and Ch’oe Myŏnghak, leaders of the South Hamgyŏng Province branch of the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence had visited Chistiakov, informing him that a ‘South Hamgyŏng Executive Committee’ had been formed and requesting that authority for administration be transferred to this committee. Chistiakov cancelled the decree and announced that, “this Executive Committee will manage all administrative and security affairs, under the command of the Soviet Army.”

The government moved rapidly to establish a political system that was partly styled on the Soviet system, with political power monopolised by the Worker's Party of Korea (WPK). The establishment of a command economy followed. Most of the country's productive assets had been owned by the Japanese or by Koreans who had been collaborators. The nationalization of these assets in 1946 placed 70% of industry under state control. By 1949 this percentage had risen to 90%. Since then, virtually all manufacturing, finance and internal and external trade has been conducted by the state.

In agriculture, the government moved more slowly towards a command economy. The "land to the tiller" reform of 1946 redistributed the bulk of agricultural land to the poor and landless peasant population, effectively breaking the power of the landed class. In 1954, however, a partial collectivization was carried out, with peasants being urged, and often forced, into agricultural co-operatives. By 1958, virtually all farming was being carried out collectively, and the co-operatives were increasingly merged into larger productive units.

Like all the postwar communist states, North Korea undertook massive state investment in heavy industry, state infrastructure and military strength, neglecting the production of consumer goods. By paying the collectivized peasants low state-controlled prices for their product, and using the surplus thus extracted to pay for industrial development, the state carried out a series of three-year plans, which brought industry's share of the economy from 47% in 1946 to 70% in 1959, despite the devastation of the Korean War. There were huge increases in electricity production, steel production and machine building. The large output of tractors and other agricultural machinery achieved a great increase in agricultural productivity.

 

Korean war

The consolidation of Syngman Rhee's government in the South with American military support and the suppression of the October 1948 insurrection ended hopes that the country could be reunified by way of Stalinist revolution in the South, and from early 1949 Kim sought Soviet and Chinese support for a military campaign to reunify the country by force. The withdrawal of most U.S. forces from South Korea in June 1949 left the southern government defended only by a weak and inexperienced South Korean army. The southern regime also had to deal with a citizenry of uncertain loyalty. The North Korean army, by contrast, had been the beneficiary of the Soviet Union's outdated Soviet WWII-era equipment, and had a core of hardened veterans who had fought as anti-Japanese guerrillas or with the Chinese Communists.

Initially, the Soviet Union's Joseph Stalin rejected Kim's requests for permission to invade the South, but in late 1949 the Communist victory in China and the development of Soviet nuclear weapons made him re-consider Kim's proposal. In January 1950, after China's Mao Zedong indicated that China would send troops and other support to Kim, Stalin approved an invasion.[2] The Soviets provided limited support in the form of advisors who helped the North Koreans as they planned the operation, and Soviet military instructors to train some of the Korean units. However, from the very beginning Stalin made it clear that the Soviet Union would avoid a direct confrontation with the U.S. over Korea and would not commit ground forces even in case of some major military crisis. The stage was set for a civil war between two rival regimes on the Korean peninsula.

For over a year before North Korean forces tried to attack the southern government on June 25, 1950, the two sides had been engaged in a series of bloody clashes along the 38th parallel, especially in the Ongjin area on the west coast. On June 25, 1950, the northern forces escalated the battles into a full-fledged offensive and crossed the parallel in large numbers. Due to a combination of surprise, superior military forces, and a poorly armed South Korean army, the Northern forces quickly captured Seoul and Syngman Rhee and his government was forced to flee further south. However, the North Koreans failed to unify the peninsula when foreign powers entered the civil war. North Korean forces were soon defeated and driven northwards by United Nations forces led by the U.S. By October, the U.N. forces had retaken Seoul and captured Pyongyang, and it became Kim's turn to flee. But in November, Chinese forces entered the war and pushed the U.N. forces back, retaking Pyongyang in December and Seoul in January 1951. In March U.N. forces retook Seoul, and the war essentially became a bloody stalemate for the next two years. The front was stabilized in 1953 along what eventually became the current Armistice Line. After long negotiations, the two sides agreed on a border formed by the Korean Demilitarized Zone, and a ceasefire was declared. An official peace treaty, however, was never signed, and the two Koreas have technically been at war since 1960.

Before the war, Kim took control of North Korean politics, with the support of the armed forces, who respected his wartime record and long resistance to the Japanese. Pak Hon-yong, party vice chairman and Foreign Minister of the DPRK, was blamed for the failure of the southern population to support North Korea during the war and was executed after a show-trial in 1955. Most of the South Korean leftists who defected to the North in 1945–1953 were also accused of espionage and other crimes and killed, imprisoned or exiled to remote agricultural and mining villages. Potential rivals from other groups such as Kim Tu-bong were also purged

 

Gojoseon 2333 BC–108 BC

Gojoseon (Korean pronunciation: [kodʑosʌn]) was an ancient Korean kingdom. According to the Samguk Yusa and other medieval-era records, Gojoseon is said to have been founded in 2333 BC by Dangun, who is said to be a Posterity of Heaven. It was centered in the basins of Liao and Northern part of the Korean Peninsula.

Archaeological evidence of Gojoseon are found in the transition from the Jeulmun pottery to the Mumun pottery around 1500 BC, when groups of semi-sedentary small-scale agriculturalists occupied most of the Korean Peninsula. Local bronze production began around the 8th century BC. Based on contemporaneous written records, modern historians generally believe it developed from a loose federation into a powerful kingdom between 7th and 4th centuries BC.

Go(고, 古), meaning "ancient," distinguishes it from the later Joseon Dynasty; Joseon, as it is called in contemporaneous writings, is also romanized as Chosŏn.

 

Proto-Three Kingdoms: 108–57 BC

When Gojoseon was defeated by the Han dynasty of China in 108 BC, the northern region of the peninsula and Manchuria was occupied by the states of Buyeo, Goguryeo, Okjeo, Dongye, and other minor statelets. Goguryeo's traditional founding date is 37 BC, but it was mentioned in Chinese records as early as 75 BC, or possibly even 2nd century BC. China installed four commanderies in former Gojoseon territory, but three of them fell quickly to Korean resistance. Goguryeo gradually conquered and absorbed all its neighbors, and destroyed the last Chinese commandery in 313.

In the south, the little-understood state of Jin had given rise to the loose confederacies Jinhan, Byeonhan, and Mahan, or collectively, Samhan. Baekje was founded in 18 BC in Mahan territory and began to slowly overtake it. Silla was founded by the unification of six chiefdoms within the Jinhan, traditionally in 57 BC, although it may have been somewhat later. Byeonhan was absorbed into the later Gaya confederacy, which in turn was annexed by Silla.

Because of this continuity, most historians consider the Three Kingdoms to begin around the fall of Gojoseon, but the three did not dominate the peninsula as kingdoms until around 300.

 

Three Kingdoms: 57 BC – 668 AD

The name "Three Kingdoms" was used in the titles of the histories Samguk Sagi (12th century) and Samguk Yusa (13th century), and should not be confused with the earlier Chinese Three Kingdoms.

The Three Kingdoms were founded after the fall of Gojoseon, and gradually conquered and absorbed various other small states and confederacies. After the fall of Gojoseon, the Han dynasty established four commanderies in northern parts of the Korean peninsula. Three fell quickly to the Samhan, and the last was destroyed by Goguryeo in 313.

The nascent precursors of Baekje and Silla expanded within the web of complex chiefdoms during the Proto Three Kingdoms Period, and Goguryeo conquered neighboring Buyeo, Okjeo, Dongye, and other complex chiefdoms in northern Korea and Manchuria. The three polities made the transition from complex chiefdom to full-fledged state-level societies in the 3rd century.

All three kingdoms shared a similar culture and language. Their original religions appear to have been shamanistic, but they were increasingly influenced by Chinese culture, particularly Confucianism and Taoism. In the 4th century, Buddhism was introduced to the peninsula and spread rapidly, briefly becoming the official religion of all three kingdoms.

 

North-South States: 698–935

After the unification wars, the Tang Dynasty established territories in the former Goguryeo, and began to administer and establish communities in Baekje. Silla attacked the Chinese in Baekje and northern Korea in 671.

China then invaded Silla in 674 but Silla defeated the Chinese army in the north. Silla drove the Tang forces out of the peninsula by 676 to achieve unification of most of the Three Kingdoms.

Unified Silla was a time when Korean arts flourished dramatically and Buddhism became a large part of Silla culture. Buddhist monasteries such as the Bulguksa are examples of advanced Korean architecture and Buddhist influence. State-sponsored art and architecture from this period include Hwangnyongsa Temple, Bunhwangsa Temple, and Seokguram Grotto, a World Heritage Site.

Silla began to experience political troubles in 780. This severely weakened Silla and soon thereafter, descendants of the former Baekje established Later Baekje. In the north, rebels revived Goguryeo, beginning the Later Three Kingdoms period.

Unified Silla lasted for 267 years until, under King Gyeongsun, it was absorbed by Goryeo in 935.

 

Goryeo Dynasty 918–1392

The Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ (Officially the Kingdom of Goryeo) (918-1392) was a Korean sovereign state established in 918 by Emperor Taejo. Korea gets its name from this kingdom which became to be pronounced Korea. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392. Goryeo expanded its borders to present-day Wonsan in the north-east (936~943) and the Amnok River (993) and finally almost the whole of the Korean peninsula (1374).

Two of this period's most notable products are Goryeo celadon pottery and the Tripitaka Koreana — the Buddhist scriptures (Tripitaka) carved onto roughly 80,000 woodblocks and stored, and still in, Haeinsa. Goryeo also created the world's first metal-based movable type printing press in 1234 and the oldest surviving movable metal type book, the Jikji, was made in 1377.

In 668, Silla conquered Baekje and Goguryeo with Tang Dynasty help, but by the late 9th century it was tottering, its monarchs being unimaginative and pressed by the power of powerful statesmen. Many burglars and outlaws bubbled and in 900 Gyeon Hwon revolted from Silla control in the Jeolla region as Hubaekje and next year Gung Ye revolted from the northern regions as Hugoguryeo (Taebong). A son-of-a regional lord, Wang Geon went into Hugoguryeo as a general.

Hugoguryeo fell when Wang Geon revolted and killed Gung Ye in 918, and the tottering Silla was too overpowered by Goryeo and Hubaekje and surrendered to Goryeo in 935. In 936 Hubaekje surrendered and Goryeo started a unbroken dynasty that ruled Korea for 474 years.

By the 14th century Goryeo was tottering under Yuan Dynasty control. Although King Gongmin managed to "free" his kingdom from the Mongolian yoke, the Goryeo general Yi Seonggye revolted and overthrew the last king of Goryeo, King Gongyang in 1392. Gongyang was killed in 1394.

 

The name "Goryeo" is derived from "Goguryeo," one of the ancient Three Kingdoms of Korea. The English name "Korea" derives from "Goryeo." See also Names of Korea.

 

Joseon Dynasty 1392–1897

Joseon (July 1392 – August 1910) (also Chosŏn, Choson, Chosun), was a Korean sovereign state[3] founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo Kingdom at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul and the kingdom's northernmost borders were expanded to the natural boundaries at the Amnok and Duman rivers (through the subjugation of the Jurchens). Joseon was the last royal and later imperial dynasty of Korean history. It was the longest ruling Confucian dynasty.

During its reign, Joseon consolidated its absolute rule over Korea, encouraged the entrenchment of Confucian ideals and doctrines in Korean society, imported and adapted Chinese culture, and saw the height of classical Korean culture, trade, science, literature, and technology. However, the dynasty was severely weakened during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, when invasions by the neighboring Japan and Qing virtually overran the peninsula, leading to an increasingly harsh isolationist policy for which the country became known as the Hermit Kingdom. After invasions from Manchuria, Joseon experienced a nearly 200-year period of peace.

However, whatever power the kingdom recovered during its isolation further waned as the 18th century came to a close, and faced with internal strife, power struggles, international pressure and rebellions at home, the Joseon Dynasty declined rapidly in the late 19th century. In 1895, the Joseon Dynasty was forced to write a document of independence from the Qing Dynasty after the Japanese victory in the First Sino-Japanese War and its peace treaty, the Treaty of Shimonoseki. From 1897 to 1910, Korea was formally known as the Korean Empire to signify a sovereign nation no longer a tributary of the Qing Dynasty. The Joseon Dynasty came to an end in 1910, when the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty was enforced by the Empire of Japan.

The Joseon's rule has left a substantial legacy on the modern face of Korea; much of modern Korean etiquette, cultural norms, societal attitudes towards current issues, and even the modern Korean language and its dialects stem from the traditional thought pattern that originated from this period.

 

Korean Empire 1897–1910

The Sino-Japanese War marked the rapid decline of any power the Joseon Dynasty of Korea had managed to hold against foreign interference, as the battles of the conflict itself had been fought on Korean soil and the surrounding seas. With its newfound preeminence over waning China, Japan had Japanese delegates negotiate the Treaty of Shimonoseki with the Qing emissaries, through which Japan wrested control over the Liaodong Peninsula from China (a move designed to prevent the southern expansion of Japan's new rival, Russia), and, more importantly to Korea, scrapped the centuries-old tributary relationship between Joseon and the Qing Dynasty. However, Russia realized this agreement as an act against its interests in northeastern China and eventually brought France and Germany to its side in saying that the Liaodong Peninsula should be repatriated to China.

At the time, Japan had no power to resist such foreign pressure, especially by nations that it considered far more advanced and which it sought to emulate, and as such relinquished its claim to the Liaodong Peninsula. With the success of the three-country intervention, Russia emerged as another major power in East Asia, replacing the Qing Dynasty as the country that the many government officials in the Joseon court advocated close ties with to prevent more Japanese meddling in Korean politics. Queen Min (the later Empress Myeongseong), the consort of King Gojong, also realized this change and recognized it by formally establishing closer diplomatic relations with Russia to counter Japan.

Queen Min began to emerge as a key figure in higher-level Korean resistance to Japanese influence. Japan, seeing its designs endangered by the queen, quickly replaced its ambassador to Korea, Inoue Kaoru, with Miura Goro, a diplomat with a background in the Japanese military. It is widely believed that he orchestrated the assassination of Queen Min on October 8, 1895, at her residence at Gyeongbokgung, nearby the Geoncheong Palace, the official sleeping quarters of the king within Gyeongbok Palace.

 

Japanese rule 1910–1945

Korea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion (22 August 1910 to 15 August 1945). Formally, Japanese rule ended on 2 September 1945 upon the Japanese defeat in World War II in 1945.

Korea was occupied and declared a Japanese protectorate in the 1905 Eulsa Treaty, and officially annexed in 1910 through the annexation treaty. Japan's involvement in the region began with the 1876 Treaty of Ganghwa during the Joseon Dynasty and increased with the subsequent assassination of Empress Myeongseong (also known as "Queen Min") in 1895. The 1905 and 1910 treaties were eventually declared "null and void" by both Japan and South Korea in 1965.

In Korea, the period is usually described as a time of "Japanese forced occupation" (Hangul: 일제 강점기; Ilje gangjeomgi, Hanja: 日帝强占期). Other terms used for it include "Japanese Imperial Period" (Hangul: 일제시대, Ilje sidae, Hanja: 日帝時代) or "Wae (Japanese) administration" (Hangul: 왜정, Wae jeong, Hanja: 倭政). In Japan, a more common description is "Japanese rule of Chosun" (日本統治時代の朝鮮, Nippon Tōchi-jidai no Chōsen?).

 

Provisional Gov't 1919–1948

The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea was the partially recognised government in exile of Korea, based in Shanghai, China and later in Chongqing, during the Japanese colonial rule of Korea.The Government was formed on April 13, 1919, following the Korean Declaration of Independence during the March 1st movement of the same year.

The government did not gain formal recognition from world powers, though modest form of recognition was given from the Nationalist Government of China and a number of other governments, most of whom were in exile themselves.

The Government strived for the independence of Korea from Japanese annexation that lasted from 1910 to 1945. They coordinated the armed resistance against the Japanese army during the 1920s and 1930s, including the Battle of Chingshanli in October, 1920 and the assault on Japanese military leadership in Shanghai in April 1932.

This struggle culminated in the formation of Korean Liberation Army in 1940, bringing together many if not all Korean resistance groups in exile. The government duly declared war against Japan and Germany on December 9 1941, and the Liberation Army took part in allied action in China and parts of Southeast Asia.

Prior to the end of World War II, the Korean Liberation Army was preparing an assault against the Japanese in Korea in conjunction with American Office of Strategic Services, but the Japanese surrender prevented the execution of the plan. The government's goal was achieved with Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945.

 

Division of Korea 1945–1948

The division of Korea into North Korea and South Korea stems from the 1945 Allied victory in World War II, ending Japan's 35-year colonial rule of Korea. In a proposal opposed by nearly all Koreans, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to temporarily occupy the country as a trusteeship with the zone of control demarcated along the 38th parallel. The purpose of this trusteeship was to establish a Korean provisional government which would become "free and independent in due course." Though elections were scheduled, the two superpowers backed different leaders and two states were effectively established, each of which claimed sovereignty over the whole Korean peninsula

The Korean War (1950-1953) left the two Koreas separated by the DMZ, remaining technically at war through the Cold War to the present day. North Korea is a communist state, often described as Stalinist and isolationist. Its economy initially enjoyed substantial growth but collapsed in the 1990s, unlike that of its Communist neighbor China. South Korea emerged, after decades of authoritarian rule, as a capitalist liberal democracy with one of the largest economies in the world.

Since the 1990s, with progressively liberal South Korean administrations, as well as the death of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung, the two sides have taken small, symbolic steps towards a possible Korean reunification.

 

Geography

North Korea is located in east Asia on the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. North Korea shares a border with three states, including China along the Amnok River, Russia along the Duman River, and South Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The Yellow Sea and the Korea Bay are off the west coast and the Sea of Japan (also called East Sea of Korea) is off the east coast.

 

Other infos

Oficial Name:

조선 민주주의 인민 공화국

朝鮮民主主義人民共和國

Chosun Minchu'chui Inmin Konghwa'guk

 

Establishment:

Independence declared March 1, 1919c

- Liberation August 15, 1945

- Formal declaration September 9, 1948

 

Area:

122.762km2

 

Inhabitants:

23.789.000

 

Language:

Korean

Korean [kor] 20,000,000 in North Korea (1986). Dialects: Hamgyongdo (North Hamgyongdo, South Hamgyongdo), P'yong'ando (North P'yong'ando, South P'yong'ando), Hwanghaedo. Classification: Language Isolate

 

Capital city:

Pyongyang

 

Country name:

Korea ( 조선 in North Korea, ) is a geographic area, civilization, and former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. Korea is currently divided into North Korea and South Korea.

Although the borders of historical Korean dynasties fluctuated, the peninsula today is defined as coterminous with the political borders of the two Koreas combined. Thus, the peninsula borders China to the northwest and Russia to the northeast, with Japan situated to the southeast across the Korea Strait.

The history of Korea began with the legendary founding of Gojoseon in 2333 BC by Dangun. Limited linguistic evidence suggests probable Altaic origins of these people, whose northern Mongolian Steppe culture absorbed immigrants and invaders from northern Manchuria, Mongolia and China.[citation needed] The adoption of the Chinese writing system ("hanja" in Korean) in the 2nd century BC, and Buddhism in the 4th century AD, had profound effects on the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Koreans later passed on these, as well as their own advances, to Japan.[1][2][3][4]

After the unification of the Three Kingdoms by Silla in 676, Korea was ruled by a single government and maintained political and cultural independence until the nineteenth century, despite the Mongol invasions of the Goryeo Dynasty in the 13th century and Japanese invasions of the Joseon Dynasty in the 16th century. In 1377, Korea produced the Jikji, the world's oldest movable metal print document.[5] In the 15th century, the turtle ships, possibly the world's first ironclad warships, were deployed, and during the reign of King Sejong the Great, the Korean alphabet han-geul was created.

During the latter part of the Joseon Dynasty, Korea's isolationist policy earned it the Western nickname the "Hermit Kingdom". By the late 19th century, the country became the object of the colonial designs of Japan and Europe. In 1910, Korea was forcibly annexed by Japan and remained occupied until the end of World War II in August 1945.

In 1945, the Soviet Union and the United States agreed on the surrender and disarming of Japanese troops in Korea; the Soviet Union accepting the surrender north of the 38th parallel and the United States taking the surrender south of it. This led to division of Korea by the two great powers, exacerbated by their inability to agree on the terms of Korean independence. The two Cold War rivals then established governments sympathetic to their own ideologies, leading to Korea's current division into two political entities: North Korea and South Korea.

 

Description Flag:

The Flag of North Korea was adopted on September 8, 1948, as the national flag and ensign. The famous red star of Communism can be seen on this flag on a white disk. Interestingly enough, North Korea had originally adopted a "taegeugki" following independence from the Japanese Empire with a taoist yin-yang symbol similar to that in the South Korean flag but later revised its flag to more closely reflect that of the USSR.

Flagpole with North Korean flag in 'Peace village'.The colour red represents revolutionary patriotism. The blue stripes connote "The aspiration of the Korean people to unite with the revolutionary people of the whole world and fight for the victory of the idea of independence, friendship and peace."

A 300-pound (136 kg) North Korean national flag flies from the world's largest flagpole, which is located at Kijŏng-dong, on the North Korean side of the Military Demarcation Line within the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

The flag created in 1948 consists of three stripes - blue, red, blue - separated from each other by two narrow white lines, the proportions being 6 : 2 : 17 : 2 : 6. The hoist of the red stripe is charged with a white disc containing a red five-pointed star. The blue stripes stand for the people's desire for peace, the red one symbolizes the revolutionary spirit of the struggle for socialism, and white - a traditional Korean color - represents the purity of the ideals of (North) Korea and national sovereignty. The five-pointed star signifies the happy prospects of the people building socialism under the leadership of the Korean Worker's Party.

 

Coat of arms:

The National Emblem of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea bears the design of a hydroelectric power plant under Mount Paektu and bearing the beaming light of a five-pointed red star, with ears of rice forming an oval frame, bound with a red ribbon bearing the inscription "The Democratic People's Republic of Korea" in Hangul characters.

This coat of arms follow the basic design guidelines of the coat of arms of the Soviet Union adopted in many other countries, which indicates clearly relations between the communist ideology and the foundation of the country at the beginning of the Cold War.

 

Motto:

"강성대국" "(強盛大國)" "A powerful and prosperous country"

 

National Anthem : Aegukka

 

Chosongul

 

아침은 빛나라 이 강산

은금에 자원도 가득한

삼천리 아름다운 내 조국

반만년 오랜 력사에

찬란한 문화로 자라난

슬기론 인민의 이 영광

몸과 맘 다 바쳐 이 조선

길이 받드세

 

백두산 기상을 다 안고

근로의 정신은 깃들어

진리로 뭉쳐진 억센 뜻

온 세계 앞서 나가리

솟는 힘 노도도 내밀어

인민의 뜻으로 선 나라

한없이 부강하는 이 조선

길이 빛내세

 

Chosongul and hanja

 

아침은 빛나라 이 江山

銀金에 資源도 가득한

三千里 아름다운 내 祖國

半萬年 오랜 歷史에

燦爛한 文化로 자라난

슬기론 人民의 이 榮光

몸과 맘 다 바쳐 이 朝鮮

길이 받드세

 

白頭山 氣像을 다 안고

勤勞의 精神은 깃들어

眞理로 뭉쳐진 억센 뜻

온 世界 앞서 나가리

솟는 힘 怒濤도 내밀어

人民의 뜻으로 선 나라

限없이 富强하는 이 朝鮮

길이 빛내세

 

Transliteration

 

Ach'imŭn pinnara i kangsan

Ŭn'gŭme chawŏndo kadŭkhan

Samch'ŏlli arŭmdaun nae choguk

Panmannyŏn oraen ryŏksaë

Ch'allanhan munhwaro charanan

Sŭlgiron inminŭi i yŏnggwang

Momgwa mam ta pach'yŏ i chosŏn

Kiri pattŭse

 

Paektusan kisangŭl ta anko

Kŭlloŭi chŏngsinŭn kittŭrŏ

Chilliro mungch'yŏjin ŏksen ttŭt

On segye apsŏ nagari

Sonnŭn him nododo naemirŏ

Inminŭi ttŭsŭro sŏn nara

Hanŏpsi puganghanŭn i chosŏn

Kiri pinnaese

 

English

 

Let morning shine on the silver and gold of this land,

Three thousand leagues packed with natural wealth.

My beautiful fatherland.

The glory of a wise people

Brought up in a culture brilliant

With a history five millennia long.

Let us devote our bodies and minds

To supporting this Korea forever

 

The firm will, bonded with truth,

Nest for the spirit of labour,

Embracing the atmosphere of Mount Paektu,

Will go forth to all the world.

The country established by the will of the people,

Breasting the raging waves with soaring strength.

Let us glorify forever this Korea,

Limitlessly rich and strong.

 

Internet Page: www.Korea-dpr.com

www.kcckp.net/en

www.visitnorthkorea.org

 

N.C. in diferent languages

 

eng: North Korea

afr | lim | nld: Noord-Korea

cat | ina | ita: Corea del Nord

roh-enb | roh-eno | roh-gri: Corea dal Nord

ast | spa: Corea del Norte

dan | swe: Nordkorea

deu | ltz: Nordkorea / Nordkorea

fra | jnf: Corée du Nord

ind | msa: Korea Utara / كوريا اوتارا

kin | run: Koreya y’uburaruko

arg: Corea d’o Norte

aze: Şimali Koreya / Шимали Кореја

bam: Kɔre Saheliyanfan

bos: Sjeverna Koreja / Сјеверна Кореја

bre: Korea an Norzh; Norzhkorea

ces: Severní Korea

cor: Korea Gledh

cos: Corea tramuntana

crh: Şimaliy Koreya / Шималий Корея

csb: Nordowô Kòreja

cym: Gogledd Corea

dsb: Pódpołnocna Koreja

epo: Nord-Koreo; Nord-Koreio

est: Põhja-Korea

eus: Ipar Korea

fao: Norður-Korea

fin: Pohjois-Korea

frp: Corê du Nord

fry: Noard-Korea

fur: Coree dal Nort

gag: Poyraz Koreya / Пойраз Kорея

gla: Coirea a Tuath; Coiria a Tuath; Corea a Tuath

gle: An Chóiré Thuaidh / An Ċóiré Ṫuaiḋ; An Choria Thuaidh / An Ċoria Ṫuaiḋ

glg: Corea do Norte

glv: Yn Chorea Twoaie

hat: Kore dinò

hau: Koreya ta Arewa

hrv: Sjeverna Koreja

hsb: Sewjerna Koreja

hun: Észak-Korea

ibo: Kọria Ugwu

isl: Norður-Kórea

jav: Korea Utara

kaa: Arqa Koreya / Арқа Корея

kmr: Korê ya Bakur / Коре йа Бакӧр’ / کۆرێیا باکوڕ; Korê ya Şimalê / Коре йа Шьмале / کۆرێیا شمالی

kur: Koreya Bakur / کۆرەیا باکور

lat: Corea Septentrionalis

lav: Ziemeļkoreja

lin: Kore ya Nola

lit: Šiaurės Korėja

lld: Corea dl Nord

mlg: Kôrea Avaratra

mlt: Korea ta’ Fuq

mol: Coreea de Nord / Корея де Норд

nds: Noordkorea / Noordkorea

nor: Nord-Korea

nrm: Coraée-du-Nord

oci: Corèa del Nòrd

pol: Korea Północna

por: Coreia do Norte / Coréia do Norte

que: Chinchay Kuriya

rmy: Nordutni Koreya / नोर्दुत्नी कोरेया

roh-srs: Corea dil Nord

ron: Coreea de Nord

rup: Corea di Aratsile

scn: Corea dû Nord

slk: Severná Kórea

slo: Severju Korea / Северйу Кореа

slv: Severna Koreja

sme: Davvi-Korea

smg: Šiaurės Kuoriejė

smo: Korea i Matu

som: Kooriyada Waqooyi; Kuuriyada Waqooyi

sqi: Korea Veriore

srd: Corea de Susu

swa: Korea ya Kaskazini

szl: Korea Půunocno

tet: Koreia Norte

tgl: Hilagang Korea

tpi: Not Korea

tuk: Demirgazyk Koreýa / Демиргазык Корея

tur: Kuzey Kore

uzb: Shimoliy Quriya / Шимолий Қурия; Shimoliy Koreya / Шимолий Корея

vie: Bắc Hàn; Triều Tiên

vol: Nolüda-Koreyän; Tjosönän; Tsyosönän

vor: Põh́a-Korea

wln: Bijhe Corêye

wol: Koore bu Noor

zza: Korya Zımey

abq | bul: Северна Корея (Severna Koreja)

alt: Тӱндӱк Корея (Tündük Koreja)

bak: Төньяҡ Корея / Tönyaķ Koreya

bel: Паўночная Карэя / Paŭnočnaja Kareja

che: Къилбседера Корея (Q̣ilbsedera Koreja)

chm: Йӱдвел Корея (Jüdvel Koreja)

chv: Ҫурҫӗр Корейӑ (Śurśĕr Korejă)

kaz: Солтүстік Корея / Soltüstik Koreya / سولتۇستىك كورەيا; Чаушьян / Çawşyan / چاۋشيان

kbd: Севернэ Корея (Severnă Koreja)

kir: Түндүк Корея (Tündük Koreja)

kjh: Севернай Корея (Severnaj Koreja)

kom: Севернӧй Корея (Severnöj Koreja)

krc: Север Корея (Sever Koreja)

kum: Темиркъазыкъ Корея (Temirqazyq Koreja)

mkd: Северна Кореа (Severna Korea)

mon: Умард Солонгос (Umard Solongos); Хойд Солонгос (Ĥojd Solongos)

oss: Цӕгат Корей (Cägat Korej)

rus: Северная Корея (Severnaja Koreja)

srp: Северна Кореја / Severna Koreja

tat: Төньяк Корея / Tönyaq Koreä

tgk: Қурияи Шимолӣ / قوریۀ شمالی / Qurijai Şimolī; Кореяи Шимолӣ / کاریۀ شمالی / Korejai Şimolī

tyv: Соңгу-Көрей (Soṅgu-Körej)

udm: Уйпал Корея (Ujpal Koreja)

ukr: Північна Корея (Pivnična Koreja)

ara: كوريا الشمالية (Kūrīyā š-Šimālīyâ)

fas: کرۀ شمالی / Koreye Šemâli

prs: کوریای شمالی (Kōriyā-ye Šemālī)

pus: شمالي کوريا (Šimālī Koriyā)

snd: اتر ڪوريا (Utaru Koriyā)

uig: شىمالىي چاۋشيەن / Shimaliy Chawshyen / Шималий Чавшйән; شىمالىي چاۋشەن / Shimaliy Chawshen / Шималий Чавшән

urd: شمالی کوریا (Šimālī Koriyā)

div: ކޮރެއާ ޑީ.ޕީ.އާރ (Kore'ā Ḋī.Pī.Ār)

heb: צפון קוראה (Tsəfôn Qôreʾah); צפון קוריאה (Tsəfôn Qôrêʾah); קוראה הצפונית (Qôreʾah ha-Tsəfônît); קוריאה הצפונית (Qôrêʾah ha-Tsəfônît)

lad: קוריאה דיל נורטי / Korea del Norte

yid: צפֿון קאָריִיע (Tsofn Koriye)

amh: ሰሜን ኮርያ (Sämen Korya)

ell-dhi: Βόρεια Κορέα (Vóreia Koréa)

ell-kat: Βόρειος Κορέα (Vóreios Koréa)

hye: Հյուսիսային Կորեա (Hyousisayin Korea)

kat: ჩრდილოეთ კორეა (Č̣rdiloeṭ Korea)

hin: उत्तर कोरिया (Uttar Koriyā)

ben: উত্তর কোরিয়া (Uttôr Koriyā)

pan: ਉੱਤਰੀ ਕੋਰੀਆ (Uttarī Korīā)

kan: ಉತ್ತರ ಕೊರಿಯಾ (Uttara Koriyā)

mal: ഉത്തര കൊറിയ (Uttara Koṟiya)

tam: வட கொரியா (Vaṭa Koriyā); வடகொரியா (Vaṭakoriyā)

tel: ఉత్తర కొరియా (Uttara Koriyā)

zho: 北韓/北韩 (Běihán); 朝鮮/朝鲜 (Cháoxiǎn)

yue: 北韓/北韩 (Bākhòhn); 朝鮮/朝鲜 (Chosen)

jpn: 朝鮮 (Chōsen)

kor: 북조선/北朝鮮 (Pukchosŏn); 북한/北韓 (Pukhan)

bod: བྱང་ཁྲའོ་ཤན་ (Byaṅ. Kʰra'o.šan.); ཁྲའོ་ཤན་བྱང་རྒྱུད་ (Kʰra'o.šan. Byaṅ.rgyud.)

dzo: བྱང་ཀོ་རི་ཡ་ (Byaṅ.Ko.ri.ya.)

mya: မ္ရောက္ကုိရီးယား (Myouʿ Koẏìyà)

tha: เกาหลีเหนือ (Kaw[h]lī [h]Nʉ̄a)

lao: ເກົາຫຼີເໜືອ (Kaw[h]ḷī [h]Nʉ̄a)

khm: កូរ៉េខាងជើង (Kūre Kʰāṅčøṅ)

chr: ᏅᏒᏢ ᎢᏗᏢ ᎪᎴᏯ / Nvsvtlv Iditlv Goleya; ᏅᏒᏢ ᎢᏗᏢ ᎪᎴᎠ / Nvsvtlv Iditlv Golea

 

Done