North Korea Racism Rears Its Ugly Head

by Joshua Keating

A new piece has came out from North Korea that showcases the bigotry the countrymen have against Americans, with notable place of Americans of African Descent. Well, it is not exactly new, it is from early in the month, but due to it only being in Korean, it missed notice right away. The author of this article notes that normally the prejudice is noted right away because there is an English translation. For this video, this is not the case. The piece claims Obama is "a dirty fellow" who "still has the figure of a monkey while the human race has evolved through millions of years." The comments go on, but you get the point. This is a long standing line of prejudice, Keating, the author, mentions a film from the 80s which portrays African Americans in a light reminiscent of the days of the Jim Crow Laws.

This article goes on to point out that this type of overt racism against any of non-North Korean blood is comparative to that which could be found during WWII. North Korea carries the doctrine that they are racially superior. Americans are not, by any means, the only objects of North Korea's anti-anything-North-Korean stance. South Koreans are seen as "impure" and the Japanese are inferior. Just recently the South Korean President Park Geun-hye was called a "despicable whore."

This type of prejudice used in propaganda is dangerous. I would be wary of overlooking and ignoring this type of group feeling. If the wrong leader begins to take control of the country, it may get out of control.

I cannot find the exact article I read it off my phone since I found it through a multiple news app which pointed me to a place called Slate.

Here are several other websites which talk about this piece. One Two Three

Katie Madel