I read 1984 by George Orwell on Jan 3rd, 2025

When I read this novel in the winter break, it kept reminding me the book, Nothing to Envy, a totalitarianism materialized in North Korea.

The Big Brother is watching you

In 1984, citizens lived under constant surveillance of Big Brother with ubiquitous cameras and microphones. The citizens were trained to behavior as they were under the spotlight. A fleeting facial expression might betray their innermost thoughts, inviting peril and punishment. Individuals were also educated and urged to snitch on their closest loved ones.

The excursion Winston and Julia went for their first date reminded me the couple in North Korea, Mi-Ran and Jun-sang walking long hours in the darkness at night to avoid being spotted. Their affairs were forbidden by the authorities.

Doublethink

Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.

The Party not only monitored the public, but also painted the Big Brother as omniscient and omnipotent. Predictions were declared infallible; the production surpassed planning under their leadership. Thus, the Ministry of Truth had to continuously rewrite the history to align to the present. The public was compelled to adopt the doublethink, consciously to forget the truth, and then become unconscious of the very act of forgetting. As the Party slogan claimed: Ignorance is strength.

To suppress the rebeller, the Party would go extra miles to baptize them by torture, brainwash, before the elimination.

Freedom is slavery

It is also reversible, Slavery is freedom. The citizens voluntarily gave up the autonomy for trade of security as despotic leviathan discussed in the The Narrow Corridor.

In North Korea, citizens are assigned specific jobs by the state, rely on government-controlled food distribution, and face inspections of their residences without the need for warrants.

War is peace

War served as a convenient pretext for the dictator to declare a state of emergency, stripping citizens of their basic rights. In Oceania, the perpetually stalled conflict also disposed surplus products without improving the standard of living.

Between 2010 and 2020, military expenditures accounted for an estimated 20-30% of North Korea’s GDP annually according to CIA. Songun aka military-first policy prioritize the Korean People’s Army in the affairs of state and allocation of resources. It might be only occupation to survive the 1990s North Korean famine.

Closing Thought

When I cross-referenced the novel with the cruel reality in North Korea, I felt a chill down to my spine,how could such a dystopian vision manifest in real life? As the novel pointed out, the Party sought only one thing: power. Absolute power. The unchecked power proved to be grotesque and profoundly dangerous.