Overview

Censorship is the practice of officially examining the public media like books, movies, etc., and suppressing unacceptable parts. The term "censorship" comes from the Latin, censere "to give as one's opinion, to assess." Many countries in today world are censored, meaning they are only allowed to show or tell what the government whats them to know. Countries can also use censorship to manipulate the people into just believing what they are told. For example they can blame certain acts on a group of people that really didn't do it, just to make the people of their country hate them. They also use censorship to promote their country by just showing the positive about their country or leaders and covering up the bad. The country of North Korea is Communist. This means it is a lead by one leader with the most power in government, which can be called a dictator. The leader of North Korea is Kim Jong Un, who took over when his father Kim Jong Il who died in December 2011. Kim Jong Un wants the citizens of North Korea to view the country as a strong and victorious country led by powerful and excellent leaders. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, North Korea is ranked number 2 on their list of the top 10 censored countries in the world. Nearly all the content of North Korea's 12 main newspapers, 20 periodicals, and broadcasters comes from the official Korean Central News Agency and focuses on the political leadership's statements and supposed activities. Although most urban households have radios and some have television sets, neither radios nor televisions can be tuned to anything other than official programming. Although Article 53 of the constitution states that North Korean citizens have freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, and demonstration, such activities are permitted only in support of government. This therefore violates at least 3 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It does not allow the citizens of North Korea to have freedom of opinion and information, freedom from interference with privacy, or freedom of belief. The government in North Korea is known for covering up information that displays the country in a negative way. For instance, they recently covered up a famine in the country which had affected millions of citizens. These newspapers, broadcasting, and other mass media controlled by the government are major vehicles for the dissemination of false information and political propaganda. Ruling elites have access to the World Wide Web, but the public is limited to a heavily monitored and censored network with no connections to the outside world. This propaganda is allowing North Korea to unite in hate for Americans and Japanese just because the government says they should. Censorship in North Korea is so serious that being in possession of video footage of news that the country doesn't approve of qualifies as a crime worth punishable.


Did you know?

An estimate of 500,000 to 700,000 mobile phones are believed to be in North Korea. One mobile phone network operates in the country but it is not an open network and only the elite use it. In the past, possession of a mobile phone was not a grave crime and one would only be fined. But lately, crack downs on mobile phones have escalated ant the possession of a phone is now being treated as a serious crime. North Koreans use a mobile phone network owned by China although it is illegal. The North Korean population depends on mobile phones as a major gateway for information. The mobile phones are used for communication between the North Koreans in Korea and those living in China. In addition to jamming phone networks, the regime in North Korea has established a system that monitors all outgoing calls from North Korea.

Below is a video to help explain it some more: Works Cited Comuzie, Jason. "North Korea Censorship." 'Global Media News' SUNY College, 28 Feb. 2011. Web. 16 May 2013. "10 Most Censored Countries." Committee to Protect Journalists. N.p., 02 May 2012. Web. 22 May 2013. "North Korea - THE MEDIA." Countrystudies.us. U.S. Library of Congress, n.d. Web. 22 May 2013. "Definitions of Censorship." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 22 May 2013.