There is a great documentary by Natural Geographic about a doctor who goes to North Korea and performs surgery for cataracts on dozens of people over the course of only a few days. The doctor's team brings along its own medical supplies and even an electric generator.
Virtually every blind North Korean interviewed prior to surgery states that the most important reason they want the surgery is so they can see the face of their now deceased leader Kim Jong-Il.
Following the completion of the surgery, one by one the North Koreans prostrate themselves to a picture of Kim (referred to as "The Great Leader") in gratitude of the surgery. While not exactly rude, the doctor's team that conducted the surgery were of secondary consideration. It is quite a shocking and powerful scene to watch, and I could hardly imagine what it would have been like to see it in person.
We don't exactly know how much is theatrics conducted in fear, and how much is true belief. The woman narrating asks this question to herself and suggests there may not be a difference anymore. Granted, the people who received the surgery are the lucky ones, likely handpicked based on their families status within the Regime. However if you watch the video, the reactions of the North Koreans sobbing and worshipping their leader... its just spooky and depressing.
If the North Korean Regime falls, how do you beat such blind dedication? Thank you for asking because I have an epic solution... if only mildly unrealistic!
Empire of Japan and North Korea
You might have noticed that many of my posts draw on historical incites and examples. In my quest to find a possible counter to North Korean brainwashing, I tried to find a historical example where an external free nation managed to reverse a nationwide personality cult along the same vein as North Korea.
The best example I found was Japan following World War II.
Prior to the Allies' victory in 1945, Japanese Emperor Hirohito was virtually a God among his people. When it became clear Japan would lose the Battle of Saipan, the Emperor made an imperial degree stating any civilian that committed suicide rather then be captured by US forces would have an elevated position in the afterlife. As a result, thousands of Japanese civilians committed suicide throughout the rest of the war facing US advances.
How do you change minds in a country where that type of dedication is the accepted norm?
Despite significant opposition to the idea among Japanese military circles and an attempted coup de latte, Japan surrendered following the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, US military and civilian officials were still weary of what they would find on the Japanese mainland. Would the country as a whole lay down their arms or would major pockets fight to the last man, woman, and child despite formally surrendering?
The Value of Emperor Hirohito
While many Japanese officers committed suicide rather then surrender, the transition from an ultra-nationalistic militant state to a peaceful democratically elected nation was relatively calm and quick. The critical first step for the smooth transition was when the Emperor spoke over the national radio for the first time in history, telling his people to peacefully submit to the Allies - though he never uses the term "surrender."
When General MacArthur took over control of Japan, he understood the power the Emperor held over the Japanese people. Rather then prosecuting him for war crimes he was obviously guilty of, MacArthur exploited the Emperor's image and significant influence over the Japanese people to fundamentally change the very bedrock of Japanese society.
I do not want to sideline the importance of General MacArthur. He did an excellent job rebuilding Japanese institutions. Many historians believe that was his greatest achievement - even more so than his military successes. However, if MacArthur rebuilt the body of Japan, the Emperor helped redefined the Japanese identity.
The parallels between the way Japanese saw their emperor and the way North Koreans see Kim are obvious.
Kim vs Hirohito
Today, if North Korea were to collapse, one of South Korea and the US's first actions would be to dispose of Kim Jung-Un and prosecute him for crimes against humanity. Hanging the murdering sociopath would be my first impulse too.
However, drawing on lessons learned from Emperor Hirohito and the Occupation of Japan, it might be better to keep Kim around as a tightly controlled puppet to help guide North Koreans towards a free and prosperous future. We could always cut off his toes if he needs a little "persuasion" to play nice.
I'm a little disturbed by that last toe comment I made...
Anyways, MacArthur understood that sometimes one needs to sacrifice justice in the pursuit of successful diplomacy. However, if we go down this path, we would need to remain very conscious of our actions as this is a very dangerous philosophy to live by - tens of millions of people have been killed by dictators for "the greater good." Another more palatable option would be to secretly hang Kim and then install a South Korean look-alike intelligence officer to pretend to be him.
The comparison between Japan and North Korea is not perfect. Emperor Hirohito's power was not as absolute as Kim's. While over a third of Japan's wealth was destroyed (compliments of American bombs), it had reasonably educated elites to help rebuild the economy. Japan also didn't spend decades completely isolated from the world, and was considered relatively modern and developed prior to the War.
However, I believe there are enough similarities that Japan could be a useful model and case study for dealing with the fall of the North Korean Regime. Whether South Korea and the US could realistically pull it off or not is a whole other story.
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