YOO, Ki Hong, 1936- A STUDY OF NORTH KOREAN COMMUNISM AS RELATED TO THE RISE OF KIM IL-SONG. The American University, Ph.D., 1969 Political Science, general University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan @ KI HONG YOO 197 0 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. A STUDY OF NORTH KOREAN COMMUNISM AS RELATED TO THE RISE OF KIM IL-SONG A Dissertation Presented to the School of Government and Public Administration American University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY by JAN 2 7 1970 Ki Hong Yoo November, 1969 Approved by: Date: Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. FORWARD Since 1S53, when tension in Korea was reduced to the point where the status quo appeared to have been restored, world attention has been focused on other areus of Hsia. Many in the West had forgotten the potential threat to peace and order posed by North Korea until the January 1968 attempt at assassination of President Pak Chong-hi of South Korea and the North Korean seizure of the U.S.S. Pueblo. Actually these recent incidents are merely widely publicized symptoms of a ten­ dency which has characterized North Korean Communism from its inception and will characterize it for the foreseeable future — an aggressive drive to reunify Korea under Socialist leadership. This aggressive drive presents a real threat to South Korea and to American interests. The threat is more imposing by reason of North Korea's massive military built-up, the total indoctrination and sys­ tematic regimentation of its citizenry, the establishment of an effec­ tive chain of command from Kim Il-song downward, and continuing war talk in P'yong-yang, the capital of North Korea. All of these factors increase the likelihood of a new Korean war, or rather the resumption of a conflict that was never really solved. The danger is especially imminent in the light of the North Korea's growing independence of China and Russia. For it is possible that a new outbreak of hostilities could be initiated by North Korea — acting on her own initiative, with­ out the restraining influence of China and Russia. Therefore, the study of North Korea is as important as that of Vietnam, China, and Russia. One of the main characteristic features of totalitarian states in our age is one-man dictatorship. Just as Mao Tse-tung in China, Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Ho Chi-min in North Vietnam, and Fidel Castro in Cuba, rule their countries with heavy hands, so does Kim Il-song in North Korea. It is Kim Il-song, who, as the premier, the chairman of the Korean Workers Party, and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the "Korean People's Army," controls North Korea with absolute power. The authority of Kim Il-song emanates not only from his practical power sources but also from the institutionalized cult of personality. He is idolized as a man of com­ passion, the supreme patriot, a national hero, steel-willed Marshall, and the outstanding leader of the international Communist movement. He is revered as a theorist of the first rank, who interprets Marxism-Leninism correctly and gives brilliant guidance to the Korean people. To study Kim Il-song is to understand North Korean politics, which, in turn, is to understand much of what North Korea is likely to do in the future. This dissertation is intended to trace the development of the North Korean Communists' views of communism, with prime emphasis on what Kim Il-song has said about North Korean Communism. Although his contri­ bution to Marxist philosophy may be insignificant in ".erms of originality, it is important to see at what point his communism becomes different from the "classical" tradition, and in what sense he has followed the ideas and methods of Stalin and Mao. The study involves mainly historical as well as theoretical con­ siderations. Historical analysis is necessary because it is of vital importance to understand how Marxist ideas in Korea have evolved. At the same time, it is strongly felt that the study should not be over­ burdened with descriptive and historical details without a conceptual treatment of the subject, for all the relevant subject matter in this dissertation has to be discussed in the context of what important Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. communist leaders and theorists, especially Kim Il-song, have written on theoretical issues of Communism. What is needed, in short, is a conceptual approach to a better understanding of communism in North Korea. With this in mind, chapters of this dissertation are divided into three parts. The first chapter deals with the general background of the traditional Korean ideas and a brief description of the origin and the development of the Korean Communist Movement. It also examines ideological differences between Communist and non-Communist national revolutionaries and ideological similarities and differences among the several Communist factions in China, Manchuria, Russia, and Korea. The second chapter will cover briefly major events, political struggles, and political ideas of the Korean Communists in the early stages of founding Communism in North Korea. In this process, a major effort will be concentrated on the idea uf iQulti-class coalition advocated by Kim-Il-song, but consideration also will be given to some important subsidiary points such as the methods used by Kim Il-song to consolidate his power base, and the theoretical basis for his fierce prosecution of the Korean War. In the final chapter, the primary emphasis is centered on the process of converting persons from all social classes into communists, and Kim Il-song's leadership style under his tightly built one-man dictatorship. Special attention will also be paid to changes effected by the international situation, which have been arising out of the Sino-Soviet conflict. In dealing with these comprehensive issues which cover more than a half-century's history, the study of North Korean Marxism — Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. particularly the study of Kim Il-song, poses a number of difficulties. First, the scope of research is so vast that the study cannot be effecti.vely carried out unless a decision is made on selection of the issues to be dealt with. Here we are confronted with a subjective decision. The writer must make his own choice. Second, the extent of the availability of source material is ex­ tremely limited, for all communications media in North Korea, as in the case of any Communist country, are closely controlled by the government and the Korean Workers Party. Most of the material available in the United States has been obtained through Japan and Hongkong, and only a handful of these sources are trustworthy because most of the data sre published for propaganda purposes. This problem is particularly acute in dealing with the second chapter of this dissertation which covers roughly the period between 1945 and 1953. There are quite a few primary sources available for research rele­ vant to the subject of this dissertation. Facing these problems, the writer relies heavily on the following materials: for the first chapter, particularly for substantiating historical facts on the development of the Korean Communist movement, Dr. Suh Dae-sook's book, The Korean Communist Movement: 1918-1948; the microfilms of the archives of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs kept in the Library of Congress; two books published by Tsuboe Senji in Tokyo; Holcusen no lcaiho junen (Ten Years History of North Korea Since the Liberation), and Chosen minzoku dokuritsu undo hishi (Secret History of the Korean People's Independence Movement). In the second chapter, the Selected Works of Kim Il-song was a Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. V major source. It has been published in several different editions, in Korean and Japanese, each of which has been slightly revised by elimi­ nating, replacing, or by modifying certain words and phrases to accomo­ date his works to newly developing situations. Although it is not easy to compare word by word and page by page all editions published so far, an attempt will be made to single out important changes in later editions by comparing them with the early ones. And for the final chapter, North Korean newspapers, Kullocha and Nodong sinmun, and several books, published by the Korean Workers Party and the Academy of Science, were used in addition to the English edition of the Selected Works of Kim Il-song. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword CHAPTER I. TRADITIONAL KOREAN IDEOLOGY AND REVOLUTIONARY ACTIVITIES IN KOREA IN THE 20TH CENTURY A. Key Concepts of Korean Confucianism B. The Revolutionary Search for National Independence II. KIM IL-SONG'S RISE TO POWER AND THE "ANTI-IMPERIALIST, ANTI-FEUDAL DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION A. Divergent Forces in North Korea and the Early Activities of Kim Il-song after Korea's Emancipation B. Democratic Reforms C. Sovietization of Ideology 1) The Question of the Revolutionary Stage in Korea 2) True Revolutionaries and Revolutionary Allies 3) Coalition Tactics and the Fatherland Liberation War III. ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD TO SOCIALISM AND ONE MAN DICTATORSHIP IN SOCIALISM A. Economic Plans and Social Regimentation 1) The Downfall of International Monolithic Communism and Kim Il-song's Neutrality 2) The Three Year and Five Year Plans 3) Cooperativization of Capitalist Trade and Industry 4) Cooperativization of the Peasantry 5) The Ch'ollima Movement Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner.