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Article Type: Research Paper
Purpose-This paper sets out to explore the ways in which North Korea has low efficacy in fulfilling its self-prescribed duties to ensure economic and social equality to the masses. Furthermore, this paper aims to expose these issues of inequality and other domestic problems in order to focus on topics which are often left at the wayside in a chiefly international relations based discourse about the state.
Design, Methodology, Approach-Many scholars would already critique communism of its inability to achieve equality, however, I suggest that the critique of a communist society's success in achieving equality should be directional. That is, does the communist state directionally achieve as much equality as it reasonably can, or is the state simply claiming to do this when the reality is much different? This framework is used to critique North Korea on equality.
Findings-By reviewing some domestic spheres of North Korean life-Songbun, the Jangmadang, Sexism, Healthcare and Pyongyangism-it can be determined that there is not only a level of inequality due to the inability of communism to comprehensively eliminate it, which is assumed, but also due to the systemic failure of the North Korean government and civil society to eliminate these inequalities.
Practical Implications-This article concludes that these dynamics of inequality might be useful for foreign actors while also demonstrating that these discussions are lacking from the general scholarship, which might concern those who aim to study the region.
Originality, Value-This paper synthesizes existing literature and research to reorganize the discussion away from traditional discussions on the North Korean state to orient ourselves toward a new area.
Keywords: directional equality, Jangmadang, Marxism, Songbun, utopianism
Introduction
Utopian egalitarianism is/was the cornerstone for communist movements. Certainly one logically holds suspect the goal of pure utopianism and the comprehensive elimination of social, economic, and political classes. The overly hopeful aims of these theories have become longstanding critiques of Marxism and related communist movements. Although rejecting the attainability of rigid egalitarianism is logical-egalitarian directionality, conversely, appears obtainable. Egalitarian directionality is a well-founded and clear attempt to be as equal as reasonably possible. North Korea consistently claims the success of its socialist revolution, and as of 1972, North Korea constitutionally declared the conclusion of their class struggle.1 Rejecting claims...