June 1st is International Children’s Day. Since June 1st, 1950, North Korea has officially celebrated Children’s Day with various events for children.
North Korea also celebrates June 6th, the day in 1949 when the Korean Children’s Union was started.
North Korean policies on children’s rights are backed by the Childcare and Education Law, which was passed by the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) on April 29th, 1976 and amended by order no. 488 of the Presidium of the SPA.
Article 2 of the first chapter of the Childcare and Education Law says, “Raising children in a socialist way is an important national policy and the foundation of socialist pedagogy. Children in the DPRK are raised by society and state in kindergartens.”
Until the late-1980s, to take care of the buds of the nation’s future, North Korea regularly checked children’s health condition to prevent infectious diseases and other problems. In order to do this, doctors and nurses were assigned to kindergartens, while local food factories provided kindergartens with snacks and soybean milk.
However, during the late-1990s famine, supplies to kindergartens by the state ceased. Thereafter, kindergartens have relied on parents to realize their budget for food, snacks and educational materials.
Therefore, many parents have grown reluctant to send their children to kindergartens because they can easily contract infectious diseases including flu, or catch lice.
In the summer, food poisoning is a constant in kindergartens and primary schools, because of poor sanitation in food factories. Of course, most places don’t even get such items; in terms of snacks provided by the state, only kindergartens and primary schools located in the center of Pyongyang are beneficiaries.
Orphanages, and even first-aid stations for children, which are specially managed by the North Korean authorities as models of facilities to show to international aid organizations and the media, are in difficulties, so a U.S. aid organization was not allowed to visit such a facility for children early last month.
Since the late-1990s, infant and toddler trafficking has also increased. A boy from one to three years old can fetch 10,000 to 20,000 Yuan, and a girl can be from 8,000 to 10,000 Yuan, if sold to traders from the southern provinces of China.
In September, 1986, Changkwang Kindergarten was established as a model of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il idolization and artistic education, and of course a tour destination for foreign visitors. Since then, North Korea has been showing to foreign visitors how well four to six year-old children can play musical instruments after being brainwashed by the idolization educational philosophy.
Of course, children from six to ten years old with the exception of officials’ children are mobilized for the No. 1 performances for New Year, while many children are also required to take part in “Arirang,” the Mass Games.
Trainers in charge of these events push the children to perfect their performances through hard training. They also treat students who make mistakes during the performances as people with a shortage of loyalty for the General.
Even though the North Korean authorities commemorate Children’s Day every year, the clock of children’s human rights is running backward.
