Last year Spokesman Books published the book “ Picturing the DPRK “ by Glyn Ford , a former Member of the European Parliament from the Labour Party who had visited the DPRK in official capacity . KFA UK was able to obtain a copy for scrutiny and analysis.
Although the book was published in the UK in 2023 by Spokesman books , a Trotskyite publishing house , it was actually originally published in the US by the ‘Pacific Century Institute ‘(PCI) , which is yet another think-tank , a ‘non governmental organisation’ (NGO) . The board of directors of the PCI is littered with establishment figures from the US ,south Korea and elsewhere including former US diplomats . The fact that Ford’s book has been published by the Pacific Century Institute makes his claim to a ‘socialist ‘ or ‘Left wing ‘ friend of the DPRK to be very hollow indeed.
At first glance the book may appear to offer an interesting insight to life in People’s Korea with original photographs . Some may view the book as giving an alternative view of the DPRK radically different to the 24/7 demonisation of People’s Korea by the mainstream media replete with horror stories about ‘mass starvation ‘ ‘famines ‘ and ‘executions by anti-aircraft guns ‘ . However its author Gyn Ford stays away from cheap , crude and frankly idiotic tabloidseque throwaway propaganda and insteads opts for a different approach but nevertheless a hostile one ; Ford’s book uses pictures ,some of them nearly 20 years ago , taken out of context to show the DPRK in a negative way and totally downplay or ignore the great achievements of the Juche-based , socialist system of the DPRK.
Who is Glyn Ford ? Some people often refer to him as Glyn Fraud . Ford was the Labour party Member of Parliament for the South West from 1984 to 2009 .Ford co-authored a pro EU book with Glenys Kinnock. .During his last year as an MEP he would have been receiving about £78,000 per year plus allowances and has no doubt got a generous pension from the EU.As we know the EU is no friend of workers' or progressive people , it is very much a vehicle for neo-liberalism , austerity and globalisation. The EU has imposed sanctions on the DPRK , Venezuela and other independent countries.
The website Corporate Europe Observatory reveals that Ford runs Polint, a “UK based EU Consultancy operating in Brussels, specialized in EU Public Affairs and International Relations'' and whose clients included " a number of Japanese clients, according to the EU's Transparency Register including: JEITA (Japan Electronics & Information Technology Industries Association), JMC (Japan Machinery Center for Trade and Investment) and JAMA (Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association)." Ford had also written an article in favour of a US-south Korea free trade agreement which shows that he is a supporter of globalisation.
Some people wrongly think that Ford is a friend of the DPRK but this is not true .The introduction to the book shows that Ford is in fact very hostile to People’s Korea .As the book was published in 2023 , Ford’s introduction is outdated because of the changes to the DPRK’s policy on inter-Korean relations and reunification .Pyongyang and Seoul are not ‘ceaseless dance partners ‘ as Ford claims but actually sworn enemies , the DPRK has correctly defined south Korea as the No 1 enemy of the DPRK.
Ford’s introduction fails to mention the Juche idea once ! The Juche idea is the guiding ideology of People’s Korea and essential for understanding the DPRK and its history as well as its present and future but Ford ignores it and just rehashes cliched mainstream historiography.
There are many inaccuracies in Ford’s introduction ; Ford claims that that the DPRK has conscription and that people serve 10 years in the army .However this is not true on a visit to the DPRK in 2017 our guides from the DPRK Committee For Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries told us that it is not compulsory to serve in the Korean People’s Army(KPA) pointing that there is no shortage of people wanting to join the KPA to fight the US imperialists to defend the country . Usually the term of service in the KPA is 3 to 5 years.
Ford claims south Korea is more prosperous than the DPRK and reels off lots of GDP statistics but these are meaningless for in south Korea the economy is dominated and controlled by the big US and Japanese monopolies and also capital from Britain , France , Germany and other countries so any wealth in south Korea goes into their pockets rather than the south Korean people .The so-called ‘south Korean miracle ‘ is actually a fake , an illusion . The so-called ‘growth of south Korea was based on foreign capital and super-exploitation. South Korea is actually a country of poverty and slums with a big gap between rich and poor as typified by films like the “Squid Game “ and the “Parasite “.South Korea has the longest working hours in the world and a high suicide rate . Of course south Korea is a US colony and a puppet regime as well as being a brutal fascist dictatorship but this does not appear to worry Mr Ford .
The true hostility of Ford towards the DPRK and its socialist system reveals itself openly when Ford mendaciously characterizes the DPRK countryside as being a place of ‘never ending work, darkness ‘ . This is a grotesque slander on Juche socialism by Ford . He ignores the fact that in the DPRK countryside people get free housing and a massive programme of socialist rural construction has been embarked upon . Visiting a farm house on the Migok Co-Operative Farm in 2017 our impression was not of one of ‘never ending work ,darkness ‘ but of a reasonable standard of living and a good one compared to rural areas in some countries .
Flicking through the selection of photographs in the book I stumbled upon inaccuracies such as Changgwang Street was inaccurately referred to as Sosong Street . Ford tries to whitewash crimes of the Japanese imperialists by describing the horrendous sexual slavery of the Japanese simply as ‘prostitution ‘ .
Many of the images have been deliberately selected to portray the DPRK as a backward and poor country .The images are often out of context and many are out of date , many of the images are from over 15 years ago so do not show the rapid growth of the DPRK in the past 10 years . Ford’s book does not show new housing in Ryomyong Street and Mirae Scientists . Ford shows a broken down car being pushed near to the Koryo Hotel . Ford assumes that it has run out of petrol but it could be mechanical failure . The implication of the picture is that cars only run out of petrol in the DPRK and nowhere else in the world but in fact cars break down and have to be pushed in many countries .
The purpose of the book is to tarnish the image of the DPRK and subtly undermine support for the Juche idea and the socialist system of the DPRK by pretending to be fair and objective whilst hiding a hidden anti-DPRK agenda .People should not waste their hard earned cash on the book . Instead you can learn about People’s Korea by coming to KFA UK meetings , by reading my books and visiting the DPRK .
We must be vigilant against fake friends of People’s Korea .
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