1.No Freedom of Movement in North Korea

If you go to North Korea, you will see that for a long time the people there have had no freedom of movement. Even if a person wants to go from one hamlet to another, he will never be allowed to go alone. The residents of a particular hamlet cannot come and go as they please. Even if someone says he wants to visit the hamlet of a relative, he wonOt be allowed. Even if a person wants to visit the hamlet where his son lives, he canOt go without permission from the Party.

Horizontal contact is absolutely forbidden. They just want people to follow the orders given to them vertically, from above. A married man canOt visit his parents-in-law. Parents canOt visit the relatives of their son-in-law. They canOt even go to see their own son or daughter. If it's summer, the authorities will spread the rumor that there is an epidemic, and so anyone wanting to go to another hamlet must first receive an immunization. Who is going to get immunized? If anyone does go to get a shot, the authorities wonOt just give him the shot and let him go. They will ask all sorts of questions about his purpose in going. Because of this questioning, the person will decide not to get the immunization and will cancel his trip. No one will go through with the immunization and actually make the trip. Do you understand what I'm saying?

In North Korea, the authorities don't allow the conditions to exist in which people can say that they want to travel. They will demand to know every detail of a person's travel plan. If the person refuses to be dissuaded, then they will notify the party representative at his destination that so-and-so will be making a trip there, and the representative will have to give his permission before the person is allowed to leave. They make it so difficult to make a simple trip that most people just decide to spend their entire lives in the place of their birth, and never leave. Even the offspring of a wild boar can move from place to place in search of food. Are human beings inferior to a baby wild boar? Is a human being less than the offspring of a dog? Because people there have so little freedom of movement, it is very easy for the authorities there to catch any spies that are sent there from the South. People there have to carry about a dozen certificates.

A person who wants to go anywhere has to successfully negotiate all these obstacles and make certain that he receives official permission for his plans. Then, when he gets to his destination, he is subjected to more questioning. The authorities there will keep him under close watch the whole time he is there, to see whether his conduct is consistent with the stated purpose of his trip. If he does anything that is outside the scope of his approved plan, there will be no mercy. That's the kind of society it is. Do you understand what I'm saying? Horizontal relations are not permitted there. (163-196)