8/13/2019 Process Paper History Day 2014

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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.