North Korea: Culture and ConsiderationsThe Democratic People's Republic of Korea, more commonly known as North Korea, is the nation that occupies the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. North Korea is a young state, and little is known about the nation in the United States or around the world. So little, in fact, that most Western media describe North Korea with negative connotations. North Korea has a closed country policy, hiding its culture, history, and the daily lives of the nation's civilians from the rest of the world. Not many foreigners have visited the People's Republic of Korea, and not many North Koreans have traveled to the rest of the outside world. North Korea has grown significantly considering its young age compared to many other world powers. The country was founded in 1948, after the United States and the Soviet Union replaced the Japanese in 1945 and divided the Korean Peninsula into the American South and Soviet-controlled north. The world considered North Korea a Soviet satellite until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, and it has grown with its unique socialism ever since. Although North Korea and South Korea derive from a single nation, more than fifty years of confrontation, antagonism and warfare, culminating in the Korean War of 1950-1953, have drastically divided their cultures and even perceptions of the countries from the world. In stark contrast to the demonized perception of the People's Republic of Korea, South Korea has a much more Westernized presence within America and its own nation. The closed-country policy has also had a profound effect on North Korea's demographic statistics. The population is almost entirely Korean, with a small Chinese community at the center of paper hotels and international restaurants. Most P'yongyang residents reside in apartments with electricity and heating reserved for high-ranking party members and army officers. Most citizens do not own a car. Apart from the capital, there are very few cities with comparable infrastructure. Little is known about North Korea's more rural or agricultural areas as visitors are banned. Works Cited Buzo, Adrian. The Guerrilla Dynasty: Politics and Leadership in North Korea. Np: np, 1999. Print.Cummings, Bruce. Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History, 1997. Print.Park, Han S. North Korea: Ideology, Politics, Economics. Np: np, 1996. Print.Yang, Sonia R. “Democratic People's Republic of Korea.” www.everyculture.com.ADVAMEG, inc., January 1, 2006. Web. June 1 2014.