Can Entire Countries Suffer from PTSD?

“War is hell!” my grandfather declared as he shared about his experiences on a flag ship in World War II. Being both a religious and conservative man, I had never heard such words come out from my grandpa’s mouth, but now that he is in his mid-90’s, he is processing his life and sharing things that many of us had never heard before.

Anyone who has had a member of their family serve in the military who has seen combat knows the meaning of these words. Soldiers return from the battle field never to be the same again. Modern advances in psychology and psychiatry have educated us that not only soldiers but all people who experience traumatic incidents often suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD.

But can entire countries suffer from PTSD? I propose that they can.

I was unaware of the depth of North Korea’s trauma until I witnessed their depictions of the Korean War. As I often visited orphanages, kindergartens, and childcare facilities in North Korea, I caught a glimpse into how the war is affecting the current generation. Orphanages house kids from ages five to sixteen, and daycare and kindergarten facilities care for children from three months to four years. Without exception, almost every childcare center I visited had pictures of the Korean War on the walls of their hallways. These pictures may be replicas of actual photographs or they may just be murals painted on the walls. Either way, they provide examples of the suffering and inhumane treatment of their people by U.S. and U.N. forces during the Korean War. Some pictures are of war scenes and gruesome fights. Other photographs are of dead bodies and mass graves and are comparable to the photographs I have viewed from the Jewish Holocaust. Every child in North Korea grows up viewing these pictures on a daily basis. It was through these pictures in childcare facilities and schools that I realized how deeply traumatized North Koreans were by the war.

Sculpture of the Socialist Revolution in North Korea

It may appear at first glance that these pictures are just another example of the state’s propaganda. But how is this information shaping the hearts and minds of children in North Korea? In North Korea, it can be difficult to distinguish between propaganda and truth. However, there is no doubt that the Korean War, though it lasted only three years, was one of the most brutal wars ever fought. Approximately 400,000 bombs were dropped on the capital city Pyongyang alone, and at the time, the population of Pyongyang was only 400,000. That means that one bomb was dropped for each person living in the city. Inyeop Lee states that twenty percent of the North Korean population was killed in the Korean War.

To put this in perspective, the number of bombs dropped on North Korea during the Korean War was roughly the same as the number of bombs dropped on Japan during World War II. But since the DPRK has a much smaller geographical area, there were more bombs dropped on North Korea per square meter than on Japan in World War II, even though North Korea was never attacked with a nuclear bomb. According to Talmadge, North Korea is estimated to be the second most bombed nation in our entire world history! Cambodia is the only nation in the world that was bombed more, sadly. (Excerpts from Discovering Joy: Ten Years in North Korea)

So, if you ask me if a country can suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder my answer is, “Yes!” This lends insight North Korea’s nuclear missile program. If a country is affected such from war, their governmental spending will concentrate on military defense. This is furthermore compounded by the fact that technically North and South Korea are still at war.

Currently, H.Res.152 in U.S. Congress is calling for an end to the Korean War. The Armistice Agreement signed on July 27, 1953 was not a peaceful settlement. The Korean War never officially ended.

On April 27, 2018, the North and South Korean leaders met at the 13th Parallel’s Demilitarized Zone declaring, “there will be no more war and a new era of peace has begun on the Korean peninsula.” Now is the time for the U.S. to follow suit. President Trump and Chairman Kim already committed to establishing new relations between the U.S. and the DPRK at the Singapore summit in June 12, 2018.

It is time for Congress to declare a new era of peace on the Korean Peninsula. Join in these peace efforts. Contact your congressional representatives and encourage them to approve H.Res.152 to once and for all end the conflict on the Korean Peninsula!