North Korea (The 21st Century)

North Korea was the northern part of Korea. Throughout its existence, it was regarded as the least free country in the world. Unlike its southern counterpart, North Korea did not enjoy fast internet or freedom. Instead, the country remained frozen in time from the early 90s and it appeared o the bottom of freedom indexes.

History
After the Japanese Empire was defeated in August 1945, the korean peninsula was split along the 49th parallel. Throughout the fifties, the korean war ravaged both countries.

What a lot of people don't know is that until 1972, North Korea's GDP per capita was higher than South Korea's; the latter suffered a corrupt government and even a coup.

However, North Korea's prosperity ended after the collapse of the soviet union. Unlike East Germany and South Yemen (really east yemen), North Korea did not give up its sovereingty.

During that time, the country began a nuclear program which saw heavy sanctions from the US. In 2006, the country made its first test. A decade later, the country successfully tested the Musudan which could reach Guam.

In the 2020s, Kim Jong Un began suffering health problems; in 2025, he kicked the bucket. As a result, there was a power vacuum since he previously executed many of the would be successors. Later, there was a short civl war between rival factions. In 2026, South Korea, with help from the US and Japan went into the north and annexed it, putting an end to 80 years of tyranny.

Prison Camps:
The conditions at the prison camps were only comparable to that of the gulags and the concentration camps from Nazi Germany. Political opponents were sent there along with their entire extended family. Children born in the camps lived their entire lives on the brink of starvation and in hard labor, as soon as they were old enough to do so.

Freedom of Expression:
North Korea was one of the worst offenders in freedom. Those who did not praise the regime were threatened with the prison camps. The constitution protected freedom of religion but this was often circumvented as the country saw the highest christian persecution in the world. Outside media was strictly forbidden and pornography was punishable by death.

Corruption:
This country achieved the lowest score on the corruption transparency index. Despite NK's milataristic and authoritarian manners, it had a higher homicide rate than the US.