NORTH
KOREA
The DMZ (demilitarized zone)
along the 38th parallel is the most heavily guarded border in the world. Christmas is a nonevent in North Korea.
Instead of Christmas celebrations, many North Koreans celebrate the birth of
current president Kim Jong-il’s mother on December 24. North Koreans also do
not celebrate Valentine’s Day, but instead celebrate “The General’s Birthday”
on February 16. A popular “Valentine’s” gift between couples is a “Worker’s Party badge” case. Kim Jong-il has a
collection of over 20,000 movies, including all the James Bond films.
The North Korean
government strictly controls all levels of education. The literacy rate of
those aged 15 and older in North Korea is 99%. North Korea officially worships Kim Jong-il, the defacto leader of
North Korea (the official leader is still his father, Kim Il-sung, who died in
1994). North Koreans are told he was born on Mount Paektu, like a mythical god.
Russian records show, however, that he was actually born in Siberia. Kim Jong-il is only 5’ 2’’ tall. He wears
four-inch lifts in his shoes to compensate for his short stature.
After his death, Kim Il-sung was
declared the country’s “Eternal President.”
The manjoko (“satisfaction
teams”) are made up of young girls who receive training in sexual practices to
please high-ranking North Korean officials.
North Korea measures the passage of
years with the juche calendar. In this calendar, year 1 is
1912, the year Kim Il-sung was born. The year 2017 is juche year 106 and would
be written as Juche 106 (2017).
T E X T
C O M P R E H E N S I O N
01-In “North Korea worships Kim
Jong-il”, the underlined word means:
a)meet b)receive c)hold d)hug e)idolize
02-Kim Jong-il…
a)…is a James Bond’s fan
b)…is the country’s eternal president
c)…lives on mount Paektu
d)…is North Korea’s official leader
e)…created the 38th parallel
03-North Koreans are told that
_____________________was born on Mount Paektu.
a)Kim il-sung b)kim Jong-il c)Valentine d)Manjoro e)kim Jong-il’s mom
04-2020 in the Juche calendar is:
a)Juche 106 b)Juche 107 c)Juche 108 d)Juche 109 e)Juche 110
05-Choose the correct sentence according
to the text:
a)Christmas is the most important date
in North Korea
b)The 38th parallel is the
world’s biggest border
c)The birth of Kim Jong-il is on Dec 24
d)Kim Jong-il despises the Western
Culture
e)Kim Jong-il is a short person
