Editors' note
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What would your life be like if you were born in North Korea?
There's a one in three chance you would have been born stunted or with malnutrition defects, according to the World Food Program and as reported by U.S. News & World Reports.
There's a 50% chance you would have been born into "extreme poverty," according to U.S. News & World Reports, and your diet would consist of corn and kimchi as you would have "severely restricted in access to fuel for cooking and heating."
You would have grown up having to depend on a fireplace for warmth as it is unlikely that you would have been born into a family with indoor heating privileges.
Electric power would only last a few hours per day, if you received it at all. Flush toilets would be a luxury enjoyed by only half the country, as water is only provided for 2-3 hours a day.
If your parents decided to send you to a "free" state school, they would be expected to provide "the schools with sand, cement, glass panes and other material goods as well as cash for management." They would also have to pay for your desk and chair.
Some of your day at school would be devoted to working for the state. You might have to salvage "discarded steel, copper and lead" as well as wastepaper. Your parents could bribe your teachers to exempt you from this forced labor.
At the age of 7, you would be inducted into the Korean Children's Union, where you would have had to pledge your lifelong allegiance to Kim Jong Un, according to the Daily Mail.
From this point on you would refer to Kim Jong Un as "father."
This is be one of many political organizations you would be forced to join in your lifetime.
After the age of 13 you would be enlisted in the Red Guard Youth and receive about 300 hours of rudimentary military training annually, according to Country Data.
If you're male, you would be conscripted into the Korean Peoples Army at the age of 17, according to the CIA Factbook.
Women are conscripted selectively with many pre- and post-service requirements, according to UN data.
Conditions are harsh in the military. Your rations would be hardly enough for sustenance and your exhaustive work day would extend from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
As an adult, you would be allowed to join one political organization: The Workers' Party of Korea.
After your military service you would be directed to the industry that needed your labor the most. Most workers will make on average of $2 to $3 per month in pay from the government, as reported by U.S. News & World Reports, if they get paid at all.
You only would have been allowed a university education if you were very privileged. That would be the only hope of securing a position outside manual labor and ensuring a place in the state sanctioned aristocracy.
The life of this aristocracy would be unimaginable to the average North Korean.
Your leader, Kim Jong Un would reportedly be worth $5 billion, according to Business Insider.
But according to government insiders, none of "Dear Leaders" money is invested in North Korea. It is instead spread around the world in elite private accounts.
You would have to pay for your prescriptions, heating and food in the hospital.
You would receive no realistic news of the outside world.
Your travel would have to be state sanctioned within North Korea.
The chances of living to old age would be slim.
Just a glimpse....
