North Korea has recently stepped up ideological education aimed at teaching young people the greatness of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
According to a source in Yanggang Province last Tuesday, North Korea has recently been going all out to promote Kim’s greatness among the country’s young people.
In particular, North Korea reportedly instructed organizations attached to party committees and workers groups to lengthen ideological education on Kim’s greatness from one hour a day to two — an hour in the morning and another in the afternoon. It is also conducting three or more individual study sessions or explanatory group sessions a week.
In fact, the party committee of a foodstuff factory in Hyesan produced a booklet on Kim’s greatness early this month, making workers read it during their morning assembly period and break times.
The party committee is also subjecting workers to daily propaganda during the ideological education sessions calling on them to “store deeply in their hearts their pride and self-respect that they live with a man of such unsurpassed greatness, and obey the party by delivering high production results.”
The source said the authorities have also been carrying out aggressive so-called “front line-style political activities,” running press reports on Kim’s activities or articles promoting Kim’s greatness at the workplace.
However, North Koreans suffering from hardships from the COVID-19 pandemic are reportedly reacting poorly to the propaganda.
“It’s hard to even put food on the table, so will lessons on Kim’s greatness feed us?” they ask.
The source said with the exception of national holidays, the authorities have been making almost no mention of Kim Il Sung or Kim Jong Il since last year.
“Even during criticism sessions, they have been ordering people to quote only the Supreme Leader (Kim Jong Un) as a matter of principle,” he said.
In fact, North Korea has been noticeably reducing propaganda about the greatness of Kim Il Sung or Kim Jong Il on state-run broadcasts and media, except on state holidays like Kim Il Sung’s birthday on Apr. 15 and Kim Jong Il’s birthday on Feb. 16.
Prior to this, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service also reported during a parliamentary audit last October that North Korea had removed photos of the country’s two late leaders from the background at party meeting venues.
North Korea’s focus on promoting and teaching Kim’s greatness suggests Kim is trying to acquire a mass base of support for his efforts to move beyond the reflected glory of his ancestors and firmly establish a revolutionary ideology of his own, as well as promote public loyalty.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
