Background
-North Korean Famine of 2008-
 
What the entire world could do was watch the North Koreans and their plight, deteriorating and malnourished from hunger, 15 years ago. And now, it could be the same again. In 1995, North Korea had suffered a famine which claimed 10% of their population. It was created by torrential flooding and the fall of the Soviet Union. As a result of poor industrial and agricultural productivity between the two nations, North Korea had fallen into famine. The United States had initially provided North Korea over $8,000,000 in general humanitarian assistance. Over a period of eight years, the United States alone had given North Korea $644,000,000 in aid of the famine, which is approximately 50% of the aid that went to North Korea. Even though North Korea was receiving abundant funds for aid, it is unsure of whether it is being used to assist those starving in rural regions, not those in urban areas. As the famine progressed, in 1999, it was estimated that three million people had perished from starvation due to the food crisis.
 
As the world braced itself for the millennium, North Koreans living in rural areas were bracing themselves for the next day. North Korea’s agricultural machine had broken down, crippling its production immensely. In 1990, the total harvest output was roughly 9.1 million tons whereas in 2000, the harvest output was 3.2 million. This large drop in harvest output was caused by the many millions of people dying to starvation, little or no aid from the government, and the fact that North Korea’s self sufficient food suppliers had collapsed. Grain production had fallen by 1.9 million tons, about 30% of the total amount of grain required to feed the people. Numbers were reporting that North Koreans were fleeing to other countries in a bid to save themselves and their families.
 
Large numbers of the North Korean population are reported to be malnourished, out of twenty four million; eight hundred thousand of them are children. Ten percent of these children are on the brink of starvation. Approximately eighty five percent are thought to be malnourished where twenty nine are severely malnourished. These numbers have increased alarmingly since the last famine in 1995, causing great discomfort in other nations. More alarming numbers is where the average daily ration per person is about six hundred calories or about one fourth of what the body requires to function and maintain itself properly. Shockingly, in some areas, people receive less. North Korea has recently released data indicating that 220,000 people have died of malnutrition-related ailments. Although this was the previous North Korean famine of 1995, recent statistics have lead the most organizations to believe that another famine may strike North Korea again, leaving many to fend for themselves. As the world hasalready seen the devastating effects it had on North Korea, the worst part is that, only a small few have knowledge about the next "great" famine.
 
 
 
The Issue
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2rJSCkTAdg
 
 
What can we do to help?
The   solution ?
 
North Korea has been riddled with constant criticism over its testing and armaments of nuclear weapons. For so long, we the world have been so focused on the fact that they possesed nuclear weapons that we've failed to see that the North Korean people are not responsible for their leader's actions. We've failed to see that they were suffering from a wide range of disease, plague, and ailment which occurs mostly in under developed nations. North Korea is anything but an underdeveloped nation. If they possessed the technology to detonate a nuclear weapon, then they are and should be able to feed their people, instead of having them worry whether or not they'll make it through the day on an empty stomach. North Korea's government has long neglected those that are not within the city limits, meaning those that work long hours on the fields, or those that cannot work within the city. Although Kim Jong Il has made North Korea a nation that wields immense power, he has failed his duty to care for his people. In the countryside, many are starving, many are desperate. At times, he has accepted food aid from the US, but then was quickly discovered to have been distributing them unevenly amongst the population. As each day passes by without food, these people have forgotten what it was like to feel full or what it was like to taste food. The children of North Korea are implicated as well. Day by day they are forced to scavenge for food, sometimes even risking their lives for a tiny morsel. We can stop all of this from happening, not all at once. We can b convincing Kim Jong Il to stop starving his people who are in need of dire aid. If he is not swayed from helping his people, the international community MUST apply more pressure on North Korea to give their people what they need. North Korea's economy is based mostly on trade amongst other nations. China is one of their biggest traders and allies. If China can put an end to this senseless starvation, then they should do it immediately. Anything we can do, everything we can do should be aimed towards letting these people, our fellow humans, see the light of another day. They should not be left alone in this world. WE can put a stop to the needless deaths. As long as we try to pressure the North Korean government and other nations as well to keep sending food aid and supplying those in need with the proper necessities, then we can take DOWN this issue.    
 
So please
Help the people of North Korea, help the children of North Korea.
 
If you wish to help in more ways, please visit the following sites.
http://www.prayfornorthkorea.org/
http://www.helpinghandskorea.org/
http://www.hrnk.org/
 
 
 
 
 
Works Cited

Case Studies: North Korea Famine (1995 to 1998). 14 May 2008 <http://library.thinkquest.org/C002291/high/past/korea.htm>.

 

Cornwell, Susan. "US working on food aid plan for North Korea." 13 May 2008. Reuters. 14 May 2008 <http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSN13395026._CH_.2400>.

 

"Korea: Death Before Disarming." 12 May 2008. Strategy Page. 14 May 2008 <http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/korea/articles/20080512.aspx>.

 

"North Korean prisoners 'starving to death'." 13 May 2008. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). 14 May 2008 <http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2243794.htm?tab=latest>.

 

Powell, Bill. "The Next Great North Korean Famine." 06 May 2008. TIME. 14 May 2008 <http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1737780-2,00.html>.

 

 

 

 

 

Images

http://www.willisms.com/archives/children-thumb.gif
http://www.flatrock.org.nz/topics/terrorism/assets/starving_children.jpg
http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/04/17/korea.food/art.nkorea.afp.gi.jpg
http://members.tripod.com/~nkorelief/nurs.jpg
http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/ro/renk/ahnchol/p4_2s.jpg
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/images/publications/reports/2005/top10_nkorea2.jpg
http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20080430/2008_04_30t084424_450x293_us_food_korea_north.jpg
http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20080430/i/ra168010055.jpg
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44185000/jpg/_44185042_kangwon1_ap203b.jpg
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=58661003
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/416193.stm
http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/051228/051228_koreafamine_hmed_4p.hmedium.jpg
http://www.prima-news.ru/upimg/m_8993.jpg
http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/models/9famstudworldhunger/images/WH_grnkorea.jpg
 
 
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