Hermit kingdom
The term hermit kingdom is used to refer to any country, organization or society which willfully walls itself off, either metaphorically or physically, from the rest of the world, although more often than not, used prejoritively to distinguish between Eastern and Western cultures and policies. The East Asian country of North Korea is commonly regarded as a prime example of a hermit kingdom, and the term is contemporarily used to describe that country.
Korea in the age of Joseon dynasty was the subject of the first use of the term, in William Elliot Griffis's 1882 book Korea: The Hermit Nation,[1][2] and Korea was frequently described as a hermit kingdom until 1905 when it became a protectorate of Japan.[3]
Today, the term is often applied to North Korea in news and social media, and in 2009 it was used by United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.[4] Other current countries considered isolationist "Hermit Kingdoms" include Turkmenistan, Belarus, and Eritrea.[5][6][7][8][9] During the Cold war, Albania under Enver Hoxha was widely considered an isolationist "Hermit Kingdom", since it was a Stalinist regime, did not allow ordinary citizens out of the country, and was entirely self-sufficient. Unlike North Korea, Enver Hoxha's regime after the Sino-Albanian split refused to ally with anyone and was hostile towards the entire world, making it more isolationist than North Korea, as during this period, North Korea, even though Stalinist, was allied with other Eastern Bloc states and only became isolationist after the end of the Cold War. Enver Hoxha's regime can therefore be considered the first "Hermit Kingdom".[10][11]
The term “Hermit Kingdom” has been colloquially used to describe Australia’s and New Zealand's lockout of citizens, visa holders, and tourists from other states during the COVID pandemic.[12]
See also
References
- ^ Fischer, David H. Historians' Fallacies: Toward a Logic of Historical Thought.
- ^ Wilson, Myoung Chung. Korean Government Publications: An Introductory Guide. Lantham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2000.
- ^ The Obliteration of the Kingdom of Korea by Stephen Bonsal, The New York Times, July 28, 1907
- ^ http://beta.mytelus.com/telusen/portal/NewsChannel.aspx?CatID=World&ArticleID=news/capfeed/world/w022017A.xml[permanent dead link]
- ^ Gaffey, Conor (2017-07-15). "Eritrea: Can You Travel to Africa's Hermit Kingdom?". Newsweek. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
- ^ "Belarus is becoming Europe's 'North Korea.' What can EU do about it?". Democratic Europe without Borders. 2021-06-18. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
- ^ "Turkmenistan: The New Hermit Kingdom". Stratfor. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
- ^ Landay, Jonathan (2021-06-09). "Opposition leader says Belarus has become 'North Korea of Europe'". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
- ^ "The horse crazy leader and a hermit state 'on the edge of catastrophe'". South China Morning Post. 2019-07-15. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
- ^ "Suspicious Minds – Enver Hoxha & Albania: A Cult of Capriciousness". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
- ^ Sakalis, Alex. "Enver Hoxha: The Lunatic Who Took Over the Asylum". Retrieved 2022-11-11.
- ^ "'He has pulled the rug': Mark McGowan's backflip on Covid reopening splits WA". the Guardian. 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
 | This article about geography terminology is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |