The North Korean authorities are encouraging “voluntary” donations from North Korea’s citizens in the name of patriotism and developing the economy, according to internal documents obtained by Daily NK.
The regime is facing difficulties in acquiring funds abroad due to international sanctions, and so appears to have reverted to taking from the pockets of its own citizens.
According to North Korean state material related to political activities near the border obtained by Daily NK in June, the authorities have emphasized that “[a]ll citizens of the Republic [North Korea] must practice ‘Kim Jong Il patriotism’ and spare no effort to toward the construction of a rich and powerful fatherland.”
The “Kim Jong Il patriotism” referred to is a new “national viewpoint” and “leadership ideology” that has appeared during the Kim Jong Un era. During a speech at the 2012 KWP Central Committee meeting with high-level officials entitled, “Let’s put Kim Jong Il patriotism into practice and build a strong and prosperous nation,” Kim Jong Un announced that “Kim Jong Il patriotism is the most refined version of socialist patriotism,” and a “valuable spiritual legacy and the model for action.”
According to these materials, the North Korean authorities praised the example of a group of workers at a state-run shop in Moran, Ryanggang Province, saying, “There are many people who are sparing no effort toward the construction of a strong and prosperous nation and look to themselves as the leaders when asked the question of what they have done for their country.”
The materials also emphasize that “workers [in Hyesan] received a certificate confirming their donations to the Kim Il Sung/Kim Jong Il Fund and their patriotic actions resulted in the beautiful donation of 20 tons of material to the nation […] They donated a great amount of funds and materials to the construction of statues of the Suryong [Kim Il Sung] and the Great General [Kim Jong Il].”
The North Korean authorities are rewarding such “patriotic donations” from the population with membership in the “Kim Il Sung/Kim Jong Il Fund.”
The authorities have also requested the donations from honorary Party members in Jagang Province and retired laborers.
“Even a small donation [by those who have retired] to the construction of a strong and prosperous nation is the path to fulfilling the long-held duty of the Korean people […] Many people grew silkworms in their homes and this resulted in the production of 2.5 tons of silkworm cocoons last year,” the documents state.
The materials also mentioned that retirees in Chagang Province “sent several hundred tons of good quality manure to the county’s Complex Microbiological Manure Factory over the past two year, contributing to an increase in the country’s agricultural production.”
It further emphasized that, “[a] strong socialist nation cannot be built when everyone is just sitting around waiting for things to do or for others to lend a hand […] Enthusiastic patriots are needed to work to make the dream of a strong nation a reality.”
All of this propaganda appears to be linked with the country’s “Learn from the Hidden Heroes Campaign,” aimed at encouraging voluntary patriotic efforts on the part of North Koreans.
The mass campaign is aimed at encouraging North Koreans to be loyal to the regime in their daily lives and originated from the North Korean state’s awarding of “Hero of Socialist Labor” titles to Pak Sol Hui and three other scientists at the Botany Research Institute in 1979.
The authorities launched the most famous instance of the campaign in 1991 when they announced that “All officials and laborers in the commercial department should learn from Jong Chun Sil’s [a female director of a commercial office in Chagang Province] loyalty to the Party and Suryong and dedicated attitude toward work and the people.”
