I would like to express my concern for an article featured in BBC History, "North Korea - a country never at peace" by Dhruti Shah. It is my belief that the BBC normally maintains a high standard of historical accuracy and impartial news and to see this breached by this article has led me to write to you today.

My concern is based upon the fact that I have spent a great deal of time reading about the history of Korea and that the portrayal of the history of North and South by Shah, who seems to have based his article on popular opinion, is highly inaccurate and creates a (possibly intended) bias towards the South, which in this current political climate, is not wise or fair.

In discussing the history of North Korea, a state created under the Soviets, he fails to make clear comparisons with the treatment of the South under involuntary U.S. military leadership. He paints the history of South Korea as utopic, and only mentions that "South Korea became really wealthy in the 1970s, while North Korea remained a typical example of Stalinist policy". Little would the average reader know about the South's struggle against fascism throughout the 70s and 80s, such as the Gwangju massacre. Little would they know of the economic prosperity of the North during the division of the two countries.

The reader also remains unaware of Kim il-Sung's seperation from Soviet policy. Like Mao or Tito, Kim il-Sung was a proponent of his own communist philosophies, and seeked to distance himself from the U.S.S.R. as much as possible.

And the most shocking fact that Shah leaves out regards the Armistice agreements, and the fact that Koreans were not invited to these agreements. This fact sheds more light on the Korean situation than anything, and it is purposefully omitted to create a damning report that we have heard all too often regarding the North Koreans.

Korean is a country invaded by Japan, invaded by the two great superpowers, divided involuntarily and bombed to oblivion in the 1950's. Koreans of both North and South, deserve better than the polarisation that East and West continue to force upon them.

I would hope that your news would reflect the tragic circumstances of the division of Korea more accurately, rather than simply stating that the North is a evil dictatorship and the South a democratic utopia. This issue is close to my heart and I feel that you do the people of Korea a disservice with such poorly-written articles.

Kind regards,