The North Korean regime has long emphasized the importance of the so-called Mount Paektu bloodline, and recently announced plans for the first statue of Kim Jong Un to be constructed at the location. A phrase gaining widespread popularity among many residents of North Korea in response to the news is to “put your faith in Mount Halla [instead]”. Mount Halla is South Korea’s largest mountain, and is located on the island of Jeju, south of the mainland.
Mount Paektu is referred to as “the sacred mountain of the revolution” in North Korea’s constitution. This volcanic mountain near the Chinese border is often used in propaganda to tie the Kim family to the ancestral roots of the Korean people.
The new phrase referencing Mount Halla reflects changes in the way that North Koreans view family members who have escaped the North and entered South Korea, suggesting that having a defector in the family is a positive thing. Even cadres are known to acknowledge the value of defectors, indicating that the Paektu bloodline story is becoming less persuasive for regime idolization.
“Since UN sanctions came into effect last year, residents have been told in mandatory lecture sessions that they need to prepare for the possibility of another Arduous March [a reference to the mid-1990s famine],” a source in South Pyongan Province reported to Daily NK on January 13. “Since hearing that, residents have responded critically by saying, ‘They can’t even take care of their own people!’ and, ‘Instead of looking up to Mount Paektu, it’s better to put your trust in Mount Halla.’”
Although the regime endeavors to teach its citizens that South Korea is the enemy, opinions about defectors have changed dramatically, while loyalty to the regime has been eroded.
When asked to explain this development in greater detail, the source said, “Ordinary residents and even Party Cadres have dramatically changed their opinion of defectors. Similar to the famine in the 1990s, people are publicly saying, ‘It’s necessary to have reinforcements.’”
The phrase ‘reinforcements’ was originally used in North Korea to describe the People’s Liberation Army. During the Korean War, the expression was commonly used as a way of thanking the Chinese for their assistance in fighting the United Nations.
However, residents have begun to use the phrase to refer to money sent from South Korea. Remittances from family members in South Korea have become so significant that they’ve become hard to ignore.
For a while, North Koreans were jealous of ethnic Koreans who returned to their homeland in Japan, but this is no longer the case. North Koreans also once looked up to Korean relatives in China, but they often criticize them now as “no big help at all,” a source in Ryanggang Province said.
“If you look at where people are getting financial support from today, a lot is originating from defector relatives in South Korea. That’s why people call it the ‘Mount Halla Stream’ or the ‘unbreakable lifeline.’”
He added that most families with relatives in Japan have not been able to receive assistance since the UN’s latest round of sanctions kicked into effect. In general, those with relatives in China have also been unable to secure significant financial assistance, with the exception of receiving second hand products on occasion.
“When you look at the well-off families in the border regions and even in the interior regions, a lot of them have defector relatives. The cadres in the border areas more or less permit this; they just encourage these individuals to live a quiet life and avoid being too conspicuous. In return, the cadres often ask for ‘help’ from the defector families,” he explained.
“The situation has changed so much that some parents are even scolding their kids for hanging around the house. The implication is that these parents believe their children can help the family more by escaping to South Korea and sending money back home.”
