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People
Cultural Demography
The Korean peninsula is one of the most homogeneous regions in the world, both ethnically and linguistically. The population of North Korea -- numbering around 24 million -- is almost entirely Korean, although there is a small number of Chinese, and a tiny number of Japanese, who constitute the only notable minority groups in the country.
Language
Korean is the only language spoken in the country. Although dialects exist, the Korean spoken throughout the peninsula is mutually comprehensible. The Korean language is related to Japanese, and some Chinese characters are used for the written language. Since 1945, North Korea has made efforts to eliminate Chinese loanwords from the written language, and the Korean script known as Choson muntcha has been used exclusively in newspapers and other publications.
Religion
Confucianism has an enormous influence in Korean people's way of life and ideology system. In addition, Buddhism is the most important religion in Korea. A religious belief known as Shamanism, derived from belief in gods, demons and ancestral spirits responsive to a priest, or Shaman, existed in Korea before the introduction of Confucianism and Buddhism, but it is no longer practiced in North Korea. Christian missionaries arrived in Korea and began missionary activities there in the 19th century, but by the end of World War II, there were no foreign missionaries left in the country because of the Japanese repression of Christianity.
Although freedom of religion is constitutionally confirmed in North Korea, religious activity is restricted and under control of the government. After the Korean War in the 1950s, churches and Buddhist temples were confiscated or converted to other uses. On the other hand, religion has been used for purpose of propaganda, and since the late 1980s, Christianity has been used in contact with South Korea and the Western countries.
Human Development
In terms of health and welfare, two percent of GDP is spent on health expenditures. Generally, access to sanitation and water in this country is good in urban areas and far more problematic in certain rural areas.
The population of North Korea has a life expectancy rate at birth of 72.2 years of age on average (69.45 for males and 75.08 for females), according to recent estimates. The infant mortality rate of North Korea is 21.86 deaths/ per 1,000 live births. In terms of literacy, 99 percent of the female and male population, age 15 and over, can read and write.
Written by Dr. Denise Youngblood Coleman, Editor in Chief, www.countrywatch.com . See Bibliography for list of research sources.
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