At 40° N and 127° E, lies a country that is apprehensively called “the hermit kingdom”. While the rest of the world noisily goes about its business, this country quietly hides. The black sheep in a global network. Thanks to Kim Il-sung and his sons, North Korea has become a nation grappling with a myriad of problems, including gross human rights violations. However, nations never find themselves in the middle of these problems by chance. The political context of North Korea has created an environment in which civilians have no idea that the nation they live in is a world apart. Kim Il Sung's intentions and ideals serve as the foundation of North Korea's infamous government. So it is important to understand where exactly it came from. Like many other totalitarian and fascist leaders, Kim Il-sung was not simply born that way. Rather, a series of events helped shape the man who would become Korea's "eternal president." It all began in 1905, when Korea became a protectorate of Japan. Then, in 1910, Korea was annexed to Japan and fell under Japanese Imperial rule for the next thirty-five years. At this time, Kim Il-sung (born Kim Song-ju) was raised in a patriotic family that despised Japanese leaders (Martin 15). Eventually his family sought refuge in Manchuria and Kim bounced from school to school where he adopted communist views and became interested in fighting his Japanese oppressors. In 1929, Kim was arrested for being part of a student organization that intended to overthrow Japanese rule in Korea (Martin 27). After her release from prison, Kim did not return to school. Instead, he joined a Chinese guerrilla group that intended to fight this Japanese against the...... middle of paper...... state is placed in a camp without due process then subjected to torture by the guards. and security officials (UN Report 12). In a world where widespread crimes against humanity are assumed to no longer exist, this is a shocking revelation. It is clear that North Korea faces many difficult dilemmas and has done little, if anything, to resolve them. Foreign involvement is almost impossible due to the nuclear weapons that North Korea possesses. It is important for people to know that these people are experiencing the loss of their basic human rights in a world where society is supposed to progress. Just by looking at a satellite image of North Korea at night, one can see that North Korea is a land lost in time. This is all we can do to wish for the end of the Kim dynasty and the realization of democracy in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea..