From Hannes KFA Germany
Is it possible to watch military parades in Korea as a visitor?Answer-yes but only if you are an invited guest not a tourist .
I have watched military parades in the DPRK in 2012 , 2013 , 2015 , 2017 and 2018 .
My first time watching in person a DPRK military parade was in April 2012 . This was on April 15th for the 100th anniversary of the birth of the great leader comrade KIM IL SUNG . Previously I only watched videos of DPRK military parades such as the one held in April 1992 for the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) . This time was different. It was truly spectacular and awe inspiring . The level of discipline and enthusiasm was amazing . What was impressive to me was the ICBMs . . Our guide Professor Ri , a teacher from KIM IL SUNG University , said with pride ‘Our missiles can hit Alaska ! ‘, A delegation near us was not happy with this remark as they believed in ‘peaceful co-existence ‘ .
At each DPRK military parade we have seen respected Marshal KIM JONG UN . In April 2012 I remember him waving at the crowds.
Each DPRK military parade is different and has its own unique features . In 2013 during the parade for the 60th anniversary of the victory in the Fatherland Liberation War helicopters flew through the streets into KIM IL SUNG square and then over the buildings . The parade for the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the Workers Party of Korea , was led by the original tank 312 , which was the first KPA Tank to enter Seoul on the 3rd day of the Fatherland Liberation War when Seoul was liberated from south Korean puppet and US imperialist colonial rule.In 2018 ,planes flew across the square and with fireworks made the number "70 " , this was extremely creative . Then fighter bomber aircraft of the KPA roared across the sky trailing beautiful plumes of red , white and blue smoke , the colours of the national flag of the DPRK.
From KFA Valencia
How is communism and Juche Idea taught to school children since their earliest childhood? In a way that they understand it and in a friendly way to make them interested in it.
Ideological education is included in the school curriculum and even nurseries and kindergartens have ideological education .
Visual aids are sometimes used .Visits to revolutionary sites for schoolchildren are often organised
When I visited the Pyongyang School for Orphans in 2015 we saw an anti-US , anti-imperialist class education room which had pictures and diagrams illustrating the nature of US imperialism , Japanese militarism and the exploiting class .
The Korean Children's Union also assists in educating children about the Juche idea and communism.
From Alan Bolon KFA UK Organisation Secretary
What does the general education system in DPRK look like? From a small child to an adult, how is a DPRK citizen educated and what schools are there for education?
The DPRK has a 12 year compulsory education system .
Education starts with one year of preschool education which is followed by primary school , middle school and senior middle school . Some people go on to university . There are also some specialist schools for sports and music . Adults can learn at learning spaces at their workplaces and also enrol in part time courses at universities or through distance learning .
Typically a child in the DPRK would start in a creche or nursery when young and then get 1 year of pre-school education before starting primary school and then middle school . Those with good grades would go onto university .
In the DPRK each province or city has a Senior Middle School No 1 which serves as a model school for education .
The DPRK introduced universal free compulsory education in 1959 and then 9 year compulsory technical education in 1967 , then 11 year compulsory education in 1972 and finally 12 year compulsory education was introduced in 2012 .
Education in the DPRK at all levels is free of charge including university .Children and students are provided with free uniforms and school bags.
School education is backed up by extra curricular education at Schoolchildrens palaces such as the Mangyongdae Schoolchildrens . At these places children can learn arts , music , dance ,sports and even how to take a tractor apart.
Would you agree that one reason that development of ideology in the masses is so necessary is that in the development of socialism national production must focus its efforts on heavy industry (in particular iteration and improvement) and defence.
This can cause a delay in the production of light industry and the output of consumer goods as they are not immediately urgent. Therefore the workers must understand the importance of the development of both defence and heavy industry, and how it relates to the ideology of the nation. To some degree they must make a sacrifice, and they must understand what it is for.
Would you agree? Or is the initial holding back of light industry just a Trotskyist attack on socialist development in the USSR, China, DPRK et al?
Essentially, is ideological development necessary to help prepare the people for sacrifice? What are those sacrifices? And do they involve the focusing of production on heavy industry and defence?
Firstly , I would clarify that in the DPRK the policy of developing heavy industry simultaneously with light industry and agriculture was laid down in the 1950s so the DPRK was different to the USSR where stress was primarily put on heavy industry .
However, that is not to deny that the DPRK sees the building of socialism as involving a hard struggle. Moreover , the DPRK is always prepared for the possibility of war breaking out which would involve sacrifice .
In the DPRK ideological work is stressed because it is recognised that ideological work is essential for building socialism . As comrade KIM JONG IL said in his work “Giving Priority to Ideological Work Is Essential for Accomplishing Socialism “ that “The most serious lesson of the collapse of socialism in several countries is that the corruption of socialism begins with ideological corruption, and that a break-down on the ideological front results in the crumbling of all socialism’s fronts and ends in the total ruin of socialism.”
Moreover he stressed that “"Ideological consciousness plays the decisive role in human activity. Because it reflects man’s demands and interests, ideological consciousness governs all his activities and serves as the prime mover which propels him to struggle to transform the world".
It is for the above reasons that the DPRK prioritises ideology .
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