What is the impression of North Korea? Some people may say North Korea is militaristic, whereas others may say that North Korea is the country that is unwilling to have relationship with and isolated from other countries. These ideas are conventional wisdom, which people can misunderstand because they are made through influences by education, media and so on. Suzy Kim's book, Everyday Life in The North Korean Revolution 1945-1950, and Hazel Smith’s book, North Korea Markets and Military Rule, support or challenge conventional wisdom. However, ways to analysis North Korea are different between two authors. Suzy Kim explains North Korea by using words, whereas Hazel Smith uses numbers to analyze North Korea. This difference should be argued because
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Kim does not often mention the entire economy of North Korea. However, she notices the circumstances of economically weak people by quoting their autobiography. It is particularly written about their lives, including facts that it was difficult for them to grow enough crops and they could not help going to mountain to search their food (Kim, 212). This autobiography represents their economically miserable situation with facts that make readers easily imagine it. It also makes them expect that North Korean government could not consider about improving economy including people in not only upper class but also lower class. However, Smith has a different perspective about the economy of North Korea. She does not strongly regard individuals as important elements of representing North Korean economy. Instead of them, she focuses on leader’s economic plans. North Korea used to have a low basic economy, so it looks successful in economic growth with even small progress. However, its economic growth rate had been decreasing 17 percent to 10 percent between the 1970s and 1980s (Smith, 155). Kim criticized this fact because the economic policy’s purpose was to build military capacity. In other words, Smith sees economy in North Korea in a national perspective and objectively explaining it by the
Kim does not often mention the entire economy of North Korea. However, she notices the circumstances of economically weak people by quoting their autobiography. It is particularly written about their lives, including facts that it was difficult for them to grow enough crops and they could not help going to mountain to search their food (Kim, 212). This autobiography represents their economically miserable situation with facts that make readers easily imagine it. It also makes them expect that North Korean government could not consider about improving economy including people in not only upper class but also lower class. However, Smith has a different perspective about the economy of North Korea. She does not strongly regard individuals as important elements of representing North Korean economy. Instead of them, she focuses on leader’s economic plans. North Korea used to have a low basic economy, so it looks successful in economic growth with even small progress. However, its economic growth rate had been decreasing 17 percent to 10 percent between the 1970s and 1980s (Smith, 155). Kim criticized this fact because the economic policy’s purpose was to build military capacity. In other words, Smith sees economy in North Korea in a national perspective and objectively explaining it by the