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8/13/2019 Process Paper History Day 2014
1/1
This is the third year that our group has participated in the National History Day
competition. We have always been interested in foreign events with drastic modern day
implications. When choosing this years topic for the theme of Rights and
Responsibilities, we decided on North Korea and the Juche ideology because of its
prominence in modern American media. We wanted to get a better understand of this
rogue nation. Although constantly discussed and debated in the media, little is known
about the Kim regime and the country it rules. We were interested in the philosophies of
Korea and to see if it truly matched the madness that the American media portrays it as.
To develop our thesis, we began by researching the Arduous March and learning
how the Juche ideology played a large role in allowing to regime to continue maintaining
its position of power. We continued to research at our school library and the San Diego
Public Library, dividing the work into different topics among our members. We then
contacted and conducted interviews with professors whom we learned about while
conducting our research process. Our most important source, The Impossible Stateby
Victor Cha, contained information that was essential for the completion of our project. Itcontained primary source quotes that were beneficial in explaining the human rights
atrocities taking place within the North Korean regime. It helped to shine light on the
inner workings of the Korean political system and economic situation. The difficulties in
conducting our research were avoiding the strong bias continuously present in many of
the sources we found. After conducting these interviews and gaining a large compilation
of notes on the ideology of Juche, we developed and restructured our thesis keeping in
mind this years theme.
As previously mentioned we have competed in History Day before and each year
we have chosen to produce a website. We decided to construct a website again
because we have grown familiar with how to produce a strong website. We love that awebsite allows us to blend media and writing with a perfect balance that allows readers
to navigate our website at their own pace. We divided the pages by the topics in which
each individual member specialized.
The question of North Korea raises numerous moral questions in the
international community. The world is simultaneously concerned about the millions
starving in the aftermath of the Arduous March, but also does not want to support a
regime that lets this mass famine happen. The increased nuclear belligerence further
complicates the matter, as most countries are unwilling to support a nation that has the
capabilities to launch nuclear missiles. North Korea presents a rich pantheon of rights
and responsibilities, neatly encompassing all aspects of this years History Day theme.
Our project attempts to directly address all of these issues and more, exploring the rich
dichotomy of rights and responsibilities present in North Korea and the Juche
philosophy.