In 2011, Kim Jong-Un was appointed supreme leader of the Democratic People Republic of Korea and with his appointment came his desire to show his might to the rest of the world. From here on out the militarization of all aspects of North Korean society steadily increased. According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, between 2012 to 2021 North Korea fired 129 missile launches under the leadership of Kim Jong-Un, a drastic increase compared to his father who fired 16 missile tests between 1998 to 2008. Another way this society has become more militarized is in the government's decision to require female participation in the North Korean military. In2015, the North Korean government order every female within the nation from the ages of 17-20 to serve in the military for 7 years (men have had a military service mandate of 10 years starting in 1993). While some might argue that this action actively promotes equality of the sexes, the reality is that women in the North Korean military are subject to mass amounts of unfair treatment by their male counterparts and dehumanizing treatment by military officials.
Female members of the military are not provided with the proper materials and resources needed to maintain their health. In an 2017 interview with the BBC, Lee So Yeon, a former member of the Korean People's Army who has defected and is now living in South Korea, detailed her experiences in while in the military. Yeon explained how the conditions that herself and many of her counterparts were placed under were so intense and stressful that they would not have their period for abnormally long periods of time. In her cases, she stated that after 6 months in service, her period stopped occurring. Woman in North Korean military are placed under such extreme conditions that their bodies are unable to properly function. Additionally, she describes how females were not provided with the proper menstruation products and would often have to wash used sanitary pads. Providing proper products and environment to ensure the health of its female military officers is not an issue that the North Korean takes an effort in addressing. In a nation were the government struggles to feed a majority of of its citizens, it is not surprising that they are not able to properly provide for members of its military.
Women in the North Korean military are also often faced with sexual assault and harassments by higher officials. In an2021 interview with The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK), Jennifer Kim, another North Korean defector who was once a part of the North Korean military, shares that she considers sexual assault crimes to be the most common human rights violation facing female soldiers. She believes that around 70% of female soldiers are victims of sexual assault and sexual harassment. Male officers with higher positions often subject female soldiers to forms of blackmail and coercion in order to ensure the female soldiers perform sexual acts and do not report their illicit actions. Kim outlined a situation where her residing male supervisor leverage his ability to approve her membership to the Worker's Party of Korea, a position that most young North Koreans are expected to receive, to elicit sexual acts from her. If she had refused his advances, he would use his rank to reject her request and in turn she would be shamed once she returned home. Kim's experiences are not unique. If her estimates are correct and over 70% of females have similar or worse experiences of sexual assaults and harassment, most women are returning home after their military services with trauma-inducing memories.
The North Korean government can be very flamboyant in displaying the participation of women in its military. Online, videos of all female military groups marching or performing in military parades have gained millions of views. In the video below, a group of women march while carrying firearms in celebration of Kim Jong-Un's appointment as the next supreme leader.
Many nations are proud that they are able to have so many brave women fight alongside their male counterparts, so they actively choose to share this aspect of their society with the rest of the world. The North Korean government is no different. However, the North Korean government uses eccentric displays of women within its military to prove to the world the dedication of its citizens. Publicly available videos of the military display the steadfast nature of North Korean women that the government wishes for the world to see. The North Korean government needs displays like this to attempt to generate fear and concern of their military capabilities. Fear of the their military stops other nations from taking a more aggressive approach in holding the North Korean government accountable for its inhuman treatment of its citizens. The militarization of North Korean women displays this government's insecurity on the world stage.
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