The objective of this thesis is to grasp the interior 'Propaganda-Agitation' activity of the Propaganda and Agitation Department, which is in charge of North Korea's mass mobilization and the spread of dominant ideology, in order to understand the pol...
The objective of this thesis is to grasp the interior 'Propaganda-Agitation' activity of the Propaganda and Agitation Department, which is in charge of North Korea's mass mobilization and the spread of dominant ideology, in order to understand the policy of 'Propaganda-Agitation' deeply. Under these circumstances, this paper deals with the domestic 'Propaganda-Agitation' activity of North Korea after Kim Il-sung ruled North Korea in October 1945 under the purpose of establishing the Communist nation-state.
This paper approaches the North Korean 'Propaganda-Agitation' based on given theories, rather than creating new theory, considering that the 'Propaganda-Agitation' of North Korea has different characters with other Western nation-states or even Communist ones. In addition, it studies only the peculiar North Korea characteristics, reconsidering that the 'Propaganda-Agitation' policy was introduced during the process of Communist revolution in North Korea and has been used as a control means to strengthen the Kim Il-sung and Kim Jung-il regime. The major traits of the 'Propaganda-Agitation' policy of North are as follow:
First, the 'Propaganda-Agitation' of North Korea is a framework not only for maintenance of regime, idolization of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jung-il, and construction of hereditary system, but for mass mobilization, control and watch toward North Koreans. It has been strengthened under the Korean War, the construction of 'Supreme Leader only system', and military-first policy since it was widely spread by Red Army(especially 25군 7호과 agents) and agents of North Korean 'The People's Committee' in May 1947.
Second, the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Korean Workers' Party(KWP) has been responsible for mass mobilization and ideological back-up, while the Organization and Guidance Department of the KWP is in charge of overruling. Kim Jung-il has maintained regime through the competition between the Propaganda and Agitation Department and the Organization and Guidance since he controled the Propaganda and Agitation Department in 1973.
Third, The Propaganda-Agitation of North Korea faithfully follows the I. P. Pavlov's conditioned reflex, and is characterized by the 'blocking-simplicity-repetition'. Kim Il-sung and Kim Jung-il has maintained the archtype of the peculiar dictatorship by creating continuing discourse and dominant ideology through circular and repetitious Propaganda-Agitation activity, although such Propaganda-Agitation has been tried by other Communist and totalitarian state-nations.
Fourth, the domestic Propaganda-Agitation has been consistently maintained and controled by the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the KWP, and has been processed through the systematic studies and lectures. However it has some difference between North Korea and other Communist countries in terms of the 'Propaganda-Agitation' policy. Kim Il-sung and Kim Jung-il has activly made use of popular education and culture-arts as the means of propaganda whereas other communist ones, such as the old Soviet Union, only relied on popular education, such as newspapers, broadcastings, communications and publications.
Fifth, the ideology and education study of North Korea toward executive staffs and members of the KWP, a means of propaganda, has been processed for in office and at home based on education of history on Revolutionary activity of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jung-il. The destination of such 'Propaganda-Agitation' is the inducement of loyalty and subordination to Kim Il-sung and Kim Jung-il, while it ostensibly purposes the construction of the Communist nation-state.
The limit of this paper is that the subject of study is under going. This study is very restrictive and fragmentary, considering of the importance of social unification in terms of the will-be inter-Korean unification. Moreover it is so difficulty to correctly conclude the direction of the 'Propaganda-Agitation' of North Korea. It is also necessary to complement more verification and study on the 'Propaganda-Agitation' of North Korea in the near future.