No country produces more rumors and theories than North Korea. Every new photograph of the young leader Kim Jong-un is scrutinized for clues about his intentions. North Korea watchers look wishfully for signs of “change” that will eventually lead to an opening up a la China or a collapse a la East Germany.
As in the past, the recent wave of tension over South Korean propaganda broadcasts near the DMZ has produced a flurry of news coverage about North Korea’s strategy and tactics. Seasoned pundits argued correctly that North Korea’s war threat was only posturing and that it would find a facing-saving way to back down. The South Korean media declared victory and President Park Geun-hye’s approval rating has risen to nearly 50 percent after a long slump.
Before declaring victory, however, it is important to step back and think about what North Korea is. Two keywords come to mind: nation and brand. North Korea is a nation state that claims legitimacy over the entire Korean Peninsula, just as South Korea does. All nation states have a birth story that is used to claim legitimacy over a territory or a people. Birth stories can be central to claims of legitimacy or peripheral, but they are always important.
North Korea’s birth story is centered on the idea of Kim Il-sung leading an anti-imperialist revolution aimed at liberating Korea from foreign influence. This birth story gives North Korea a revered “founding father” and a list of enemies who are seen as threats to the existence of the nation. North Korea uses the birth story to claim legitimacy over the entire Korean Peninsula and to cast nations close to South Korea as permanent enemies. Together, the birth story and claim of legitimacy create a powerful national narrative that has helped the country survive famine, economic collapse, and two changes in leadership since 1990.
Ironically, North Korea’s main enemy, the United States, also has a powerful birth story headed by the Founding Fathers. Instead of a list of enemies, the U.S. birth story’s claim to legitimacy is “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Like North Korea, the birth story and claim to legitimacy has helped the U.S. survive points of crisis in its history. Today, political discourse in the country revolves largely around how these ideals are interpreted.
By contrast, South Korea’s birth story is fraught with controversy. Rhee Syngman, the first president, left office in disgrace. Instead, Park Chung-hee, who took power in a coup d’etat, is the de facto “founding father” because he turned the promise of prosperity into a claim to legitimacy over the Korean Peninsula. This has fed the impressive drive for economic growth that has turned South Korea into a wealthy society. It also explains why South Koreans find it difficult to understand why North Korean has not collapsed amid the intense pressures of the past 25 years.
A powerful birth story and unending claim to legitimacy ultimately gives North Korea strong brand identity, much as its enemy the United States has strong brand identity. According to Wikipedia, a brand is “a name, term, design, symbol or other feature that distinguishes one seller’s product from those of others.” Domestically, North Koreans perceive their nation as unique and involved in a protracted struggle against foreign enemies. Internationally, North Korea is perceived as a wild, mysterious state that instills fear and inspires laughter at the same time.
All good brands need to be maintained, and that requires reinforcement through words and actions. For North Korea, this means constant cultivation of the “founding father” image of Kim Il-sung and his lineage through propaganda. It also requires periodic outbursts that raise tensions to reinforce the image of North Korea as being at constant war with its enemies. Each outburst produces counteractions that North Korea in turn uses to reinforce “the struggle.” Some outbursts produce negotiations that North Korea uses to extract concessions from its enemies. On rarer occasions, such as in the two summits with South Korean presidents in the 2000s, North Korea uses a relaxation of tensions to portray its leaders as bigger than those of its enemies. Either way, North Korea wins because each event contributes to brand maintenance.
North Korea knows well that it cannot win a war. It also knows that its brand is becoming dated, as Kim Il-sung and the Japanese colonial experience fade deeper into history. The cycle of outburst, tension, and brand maintenance will most likely continue until North Korea rebrands itself. When — and what — that will be is anybody’s guess.
By Robert J. Fouser
Robert J. Fouser, a former associate professor of Korean language education at Seoul National University, writes on Korea from Ann Arbor, Michigan. — Ed.
