Unlike the other healthcare systems mentioned in our paper, North Koreas healthcare system consists of a complex and

unique infrastructure that both restricts its citizens and grant them a seemingly perfect healthcare system. North Korea is a private country whose government limits the amount of information going in and out of it, so the level of difficulty that I faced when starting my research was not a surprise. Very little information is given about North Koreas healthcare system and the little information that is out is very condescending and bias. After pulling together information from very reliable sources; I have gather enough information to conclude that the state of North Koreas healthcare system is not only poor, but outdated and dysfunctional. North Korea has been using the same universal care system since 1948. According to my sources everyone in North Korea is granted free healthcare and can visit doctors and hospitals without a fee, while still receiving vaccinations, screenings, and major operations. In theory this type of healthcare system is perfect and with 33 physicians per population count everyone should be healthy and happy, but that is not the case. North Korea is facing a health crisis. With a lack of resources, malnutrition and starvation is only half of their problems. Their once secure water source neglected; it now serves as a pathway for diarrheal diseases and TB has taken hold over most of the country. Their death rate has increased to 10.6% per 1000 population count and their life expectancy is only 66 years old. Along with a maternal mortality rate 64 per 1000 births and under-5 mortality rate of 55 per 1000 births, it is no surprise that their population is almost half that of their southern counterparts. One of the contributing factors of North Koreas poor health system is their governments focus on military innovation and their lack of concern of its citizens. North Korea invests less than $1 per capita per year on health expenditures. With free healthcare country wide and little

government founding for the various medical centers and professionals in the country; it is not shocking that the physicians have started collecting other means of payment such as cigarettes or food. With a starving country and TB running amuck one question comes to mind why didnt North Korea ask for help sooner? North Korea provides a show to all travelers who manage to gain entry into the country. After watching clips of vice travel experience, I noticed the tour of the country was so limited that even the food prepared was controlled by the government. They set in a big buffet room by themselves and were given large amounts of food to prove that North Korea had more than enough food. They were also retold historical facts in a manner that made North Korea look like the victim of the larger nations. With the twist of information and tours it is no wonder that most of the real views of North Korea come from escapees who needed help rescuing their families. But there is hope for its citizens. In 1995, North Korea formally asked for foreign help and was given NGOs to help serve its citizens, but instead of allowing them all the resources necessary, the North Korea government does not supply them with anything and are only there to help rebuild and support the existing infrastructure in the limited amount of time they are allowed in the country. In 2010, the CSIS held a convention to address the healthcare and discuss plans to reform the system. This plan implemented not only the support of the North Korean government, but the support of the United States, China, Japan, WFP, WHO, UNICEF, GAVI, and many others. Using the plan the RAND study provided, these organizations have come together to help North Korea turn their health system around.

North Koreas lack of information sharing was not the only thing keeping its citizens in unhealthy conditions. Past officials who went to the country and did not bother to ask questions provided false reports calling North Koreas health system a system to be envied and casting a negative light on the information provided by the few people who managed to escape. Those who did welling acclaimed to North Koreas health policies where so used to living in those conditions they did not realize the suffering they went through living in that country. With officials covering up for the country and fear stricken citizens it is no wonder the countrys health is in poor condition. Its conditions make it a fine example of international interference and how the system and politics can be closely related. Using what we learned in class we can view North Korea as an example of how other countries can affect each other in positive ways and not just the negative ways that we saw in Haiti.