--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even in former days, Korea was known as…" description: "\"“Even in former days, Korea was known as the 'hermit kingdom' for its stubborn resistance to outsiders. And if you wanted to create a totally isolated ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd5/christopher-hitchens-117_1945_even-in-former-days-korea-was-known-as-t_181155.jpg" --- # Even in former days, Korea was known as the 'hermit… ![“Even in former days, Korea was known as the 'hermit kingdom' for its stubborn resistance to outsiders. And if you wanted to create a totally isolated and hermetic society, northern Korea in the years after the 1953 'armistice' would have been the place to start. It was bounded on two sides by the…” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd5/christopher-hitchens-117_1945_even-in-former-days-korea-was-known-as-t_181155.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd5/christopher-hitchens-117_1945_even-in-former-days-korea-was-known-as-t_181155.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd5/christopher-hitchens-117_1945_even-in-former-days-korea-was-known-as-t_181155.jpg) > ““Even in former days, Korea was known as the 'hermit kingdom' for its stubborn resistance to outsiders. And if you wanted to create a totally isolated and hermetic society, northern Korea in the years after the 1953 'armistice' would have been the place to start. It was bounded on two sides by the sea, and to the south by the impregnable and uncrossable DMZ, which divided it from South Korea. Its northern frontier consisted of a long stretch of China and a short stretch of Siberia; in other words its only contiguous neighbors were Mao and Stalin. (The next-nearest neighbor was Japan, historic enemy of the Koreans and the cruel colonial occupier until 1945.) Add to that the fact that almost every work of man had been reduced to shards by the Korean War. Air-force general Curtis LeMay later boasted that 'we burned down every town in North Korea,' and that he grounded his bombers only when there were no more targets to hit anywhere north of the 38th parallel. Pyongyang was an ashen moonscape. It was Year Zero. Kim Il Sung could create a laboratory, with controlled conditions, where he alone would be the engineer of the human soul.”” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes North Korea’s extreme isolation after the Korean War, framed as a deliberate, controlled environment for ideological engineering. **In simple terms:** North Korea became an isolated, controlled society after the war. Key Takeaway Recognize how isolation can be used to shape societies. Themes isolation political control war aftermath ideological engineering historical context Mood somber reflective critical Type historical analytical political When to use this quote - post‑war reconstruction - authoritarian regime building - cold war geopolitics Key Concepts totalitarianism statecraft psychological manipulation Questions to Reflect On - What are the ethical limits of using isolation for social engineering? - How does extreme control affect individual autonomy? A Different Perspective Isolation can stifle human development and external innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [1945](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1945-404/) [1953](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1953-416/) [China](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/china/) [Curtis Lemay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curtis-lemay-228907/) [Curtis-lemay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curtis-lemay-40732/) [General Curtis Lemay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/general-curtis-lemay-228524/) [Human soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-soul/) [Japan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/japan/) [Joseph stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joseph-stalin/) [Kim il sung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kim-il-sung/) [Korea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/korea/) [Korea Northern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/korea-northern-1937062/) [Korea Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/korea-years-1937064/) [Korean war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/korean-war/) [Korean-demilitarized-zone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/korean-demilitarized-zone-102380/) [Mao-zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mao-zedong-117438/) [North korea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/north-korea/) [Northern Korea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/northern-korea-1937063/) [Pyongyang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pyongyang/) [Siberia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/siberia/) [South korea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/south-korea/) [Two sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-sides/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [World war ii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war-ii/) ## Related quotes > [“The North Korean capital, Pyongyang, is a city consecrated to the worship of a father-son dynasty. (I came to think of them, with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-north-korean-capital-pyongyang-is-a-city-consecrated-to-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Seeing the name Hillary in a headline last week—a headline about a life that had involved real achievement—I felt a mouse stirring in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/seeing-the-name-hillary-in-a-headline-last-week-a-headline-about-a/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“It's a good thing we won the war. If we hadn't, I'd be hanged as a war criminal" -- Gen Curtis LeMay, quoted by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mahaffey/it-s-a-good-thing-we-won-the-war-if-we-hadn-t-i-d-be-hanged-as-a-war/) [James Mahaffey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mahaffey/) > [“Between love and the automatic garbage chute, young people everywhere have made their choice and prefer the garbage chute. \[Entre l'amour et le vide-ordure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-chtcheglov/between-love-and-the-automatic-garbage-chute-young-people-everywhere/) [Ivan Chtcheglov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-chtcheglov/) ## More by Christopher Hitchens > [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. They think they'll be young and beautiful forever, even though most of them… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense-and-delusion-and-egomania/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [To be against rationalization is not the same as to be opposed to reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-be-against-rationalization-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-opposed-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ \[Religion\] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“In the very recent past, we have seen the Church of Rome befouled by its complicity with the unpardonable sin of child rape, or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-the-very-recent-past-we-have-seen-the-church-of-rome-befouled-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's surprising to me how many of my friends send Christmas cards, or holiday cards, including my atheist and secular friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-surprising-to-me-how-many-of-my-friends-send-christmas-cards-or/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Suppose there were groups of secularists at hospitals who went round the terminally ill and urged them to adopt atheism: 'Don't be a mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/suppose-there-were-groups-of-secularists-at-hospitals-who-went-round/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“It isn’t so long since a test of Anglican orthodoxy was applied to anyone seeking to study or teach at Oxford and Cambridge universities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-isn-t-so-long-since-a-test-of-anglican-orthodoxy-was-applied-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Gullibility and credulity are considered undesireable qualities in every department of human life - except religion ... Why are we praised by godly men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/gullibility-and-credulity-are-considered-undesireable-qualities-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's much worse to see a woman drunk than a man: I don't know quite why this is true but it just is. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) [Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More 1945 quotes > [“It was astonishing that the pseudo wreckers, who knew perfectly well that they weren't wreckers, believed that military men and priests were being shaken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/it-was-astonishing-that-the-pseudo-wreckers-who-knew-perfectly-well/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“Sex is, directly or indirectly, the most powerful weapon in the armoury of the Magician; and precisely because there is no moral guide, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/sex-is-directly-or-indirectly-the-most-powerful-weapon-in-the-armoury/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [“What do I mean when I say that I think I was Eliphaz Lévi ? No more than that I possess some of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/what-do-i-mean-when-i-say-that-i-think-i-was-eliphaz-l-vi-no-more/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [“But if you ask me what I remember (about 1945), I will say it was the year Franklin D. Roosevelt died and I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-moyer-hostetter/but-if-you-ask-me-what-i-remember-about-1945-i-will-say-it-was-the/) [Joyce Moyer Hostetter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-moyer-hostetter/) > [“At no time have governments been moralists. They never imprisoned people and executed them for having done something. They imprisoned and executed them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/at-no-time-have-governments-been-moralists-they-never-imprisoned/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“The noble old synagogue had been profaned and turned into a stable by the Nazis, and left open to the elements by the Communists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-noble-old-synagogue-had-been-profaned-and-turned-into-a-stable-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“When I was a schoolboy in England, the old bound volumes of Kipling in the library had gilt swastikas embossed on their covers. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/when-i-was-a-schoolboy-in-england-the-old-bound-volumes-of-kipling-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Shameful confession, one of my own Chelas (or so it is rather incredibly reported to me) said recently: "Self-discipline is a form of Restriction."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/shameful-confession-one-of-my-own-chelas-or-so-it-is-rather/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [You must on no account attempt to use the squares given in the Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/you-must-on-no-account-attempt-to-use-the-squares-given-in-the-book/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [But neither Europe nor Africa can show any such desolation as America. The proudest, stubbornest, bitterest peasant of deserted Spain, the most primitive and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/but-neither-europe-nor-africa-can-show-any-such-desolation-as-america/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [ “We \[of Thelema\] are whole-hearted extroverts; the penalty of restricting one self is anything from neurosis to down right lunacy; in particular, melancholia.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/we-of-thelema-are-whole-hearted-extroverts-the-penalty-of-restricting/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [“Every individual has some qualities that endear him to some other. And per contra, I doubt if there is any class which is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/every-individual-has-some-qualities-that-endear-him-to-some-other-and/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [“The moral, dear child, is that such powers are never to be considered as the main object; it ought in fact to be obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/the-moral-dear-child-is-that-such-powers-are-never-to-be-considered/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [“For true Magick means "to employ one set of natural forces at a mechanical advantage as against another set"—I quote, as closely as memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/for-true-magick-means-to-employ-one-set-of-natural-forces-at-a/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [“The mystic's idea of deliberately stupefying and stultifying himself is an "abomination unto the Lord." This, by the way, does not conflict with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/the-mystic-s-idea-of-deliberately-stupefying-and-stultifying-himself/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) [Browse all 20 1945 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1945-404/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Even in former days, Korea was known as the 'hermit kingdom' for its stubborn resistance to outsiders. And if you wanted to create a totally isolated and hermetic society, northern Korea in the years after the 1953 'armistice' would have been the place to start. It was bounded on two sides by the sea, and to the south by the impregnable and uncrossable DMZ, which divided it from South Korea. Its northern frontier consisted of a long stretch of China and a short stretch of Siberia; in other words its only contiguous neighbors were Mao and Stalin. (The next-nearest neighbor was Japan, historic enemy of the Koreans and the cruel colonial occupier until 1945.) Add to that the fact that almost every work of man had been reduced to shards by the Korean War. Air-force general Curtis LeMay later boasted that 'we burned down every town in North Korea,' and that he grounded his bombers only when there were no more targets to hit anywhere north of the 38th parallel. Pyongyang was an ashen moonscape. It was Year Zero. Kim Il Sung could create a laboratory, with controlled conditions, where he alone would be the engineer of the human soul.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christopher Hitchens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/even-in-former-days-korea-was-known-as-the-hermit-kingdom-for-its/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "1945" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/even-in-former-days-korea-was-known-as-the-hermit-kingdom-for-its/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd5/christopher-hitchens-117_1945_even-in-former-days-korea-was-known-as-t_181155.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd5/christopher-hitchens-117_1945_even-in-former-days-korea-was-known-as-t_181155.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd5/christopher-hitchens-117_1945_even-in-former-days-korea-was-known-as-t_181155.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Even in former days, Korea was known as the 'hermit kingdom' for its stubborn resistance to outsiders. And…” — Christopher Hitchens", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Christopher Hitchens", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Even in former days, Korea was...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/even-in-former-days-korea-was-known-as-the-hermit-kingdom-for-its/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/even-in-former-days-korea-was-known-as-the-hermit-kingdom-for-its/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```