Commentary by ASSPUK, JISGE and UK KFA on the plight of children in the DPRK and south Korea(and the capitalist west)

It should be a matter of congratulation that the DPRK has decided to hold the grand celebrations of the 66th anniversary of the Korean Childrens Union . The 20,000 delegates to the celebrations are being feted and given wonderful treatment including going to funfair and enjoying tasty food. However the south Korean puppet media who are clearly jealous of this .  What is the true situation of children in the DPRK and in south Korea   ?
                        In the DPRK under the people-centred socialist system children taken good care of , they are viewed as the successors to the revolution. In the DPRK children enjoy the benefits of free education and free health care. Education at all levels including university is free of charge. Children are even supplied with uniforms free of charge. The great leader President Kim Il Sung said that the "child is king " in the DPRK and instructed that palaces should be built for them. One was built in Pyongyang in 1961 and a second children's palace was built in Pyongyang in the Mangyondae district in 1989. Many other childrens palaces exist in other parts of the DPRK. Here the children can come to learn the violin or accordion free of charge as well ballet, calligraphy , martial arts and swimming. The Mangyondae childrens palace has its own big swimming pool plus a theatre. There is nothing like in London or any capitalist country lest of all south Korea.
                               Pre-school children fully enjoy the benefits of Korean -style socialism. They are growing up a nurseries and kindergartens. Some kindergartens even work around the clock. A JISGE and ASSPUK visited the Changgwang kindergarten in 2008. This was a 10 story building(normally in the  UK child nurseries are usually 1 or 2 storeys).  The kindergarten had its own paddling pool as well a room with a model train donated by railworkers. The kindergarten has a spacious dining room. The children receive 5 meals a day including 150grams of rice. All of this is free of charge. In the UK nursery fees can be a much as £700 to £800 per month.
                         
                              In the DPRK's childrens welfare is fully protected by the law. In 1976 the Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on the Nursing and Upbringing of Children " was passed.  Article 2 states that all children are brought up at state and public expense.  Article 15 states that all children ar supplied with an allocation of food from birth  and article 15 states that the expenses for food supplied to children should be borne by the state and public.
                     Even during the years of the 'arduous march' the bean milk vans which carried soya milk to the children carried on running. This was thanks to the great leader comrade Kim Jong Il.

 
                             Children in the DPRK are able to play safely on the streets. Nowadays it is dangerous for children to do so in many capitalist countries. In the imperialist west under the slogan of "liberalism " and "individual freedom" governments allow the production and distribution of pornography which cause the sexual abuse of children. In the UK and US there have been countless cases of child sexual abuse. In south Korea the Anyang child murder cases and Nayoung cases occurred.
                    Abuse of children is very common in south Korea . "South Korean
pastor and wife held over child killings " said a headline on the BBC(not a friend of the DPRK) website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17009363) . 3 children were beaten and starved to death by a so-called man of the cloth in south Korea.
                       It is shocking that in south Korea children take their own lives rather than grow up in the exploitative capitalist society ruled by the US imperialists. Even south Korean analysts had to admit the truth
"the breakdown of the family, due to unemployment and other financial difficulties, is truly making life painful for many children. One million, that is 9% of the all children, live in extreme poverty and and hopelessness. If they are not offered the chance to have a good education, they will never leave their poor conditions", the professor said.
Unfortunately the expense of children's education has become a problem even for middle class families. According to figures released by the Korean Central Bank in 1997, the year of a huge economic crisis, elementary school cost 302,000 won (220 euro) each family. Today that same expense has risen by a third to 462,000 won (335 euro)."
( www.asianews.it/news-en/Suicide,-poverty-and-desperation-among-children-597.html)

In the 1970s south Korea became widely known as an exporter of children.  Between 1953 and 2001  150,000 south Korean children were sold abroad including 99,000 to the US.
                 This still continues in south Korea. In 2009 south Korea was exposed for offering unborn babies for sale on the internet
(http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2009/11

/2009112222512516969.html)

Thus south Korea under the rule of American imperialism and the anti-people Lee regime violates the human rights of children . Money rules everything in south Korea and other capitalist countries. In the socialist DPRK led by respected general Kim Jong Un children are valued and cherished as the future of the nation.
ASSPUK
JISGE
UK KFA