Union_of_Agricultural_Workers_of_Korea

Union of Agricultural Workers of Korea

Union of Agricultural Workers of Korea

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The Union of Agricultural Workers of Korea (UAWK; or Korean Federation of Agricultural Workers[1]) is a trade union and mass organization for agricultural workers in North Korea.[2] It is one of the most important mass organizations in the country.[3] UAWK was founded in 1946 and reformed in 1965 along the lines of North Korean leader Kim Il Sung's landmark Theses on the Socialist Rural Question in Our Country. The organization is directly controlled by the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea.

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UAWK educates its 1.6 million members – farmers as well as office workers and manual laborers in the farming sector – on agricultural issues. Additionally, the organization educates on ideological matters, including Juche. The current chairman is Han Jong-hyok.

History

The Union was founded as the Farmers' Union of North Korea(북조선농민동맹) on 31 January 1946.[4] In February 1951, it was combined with its South Korean equivalent, the General Federation of Farmers' Unions(농민조합총연맹), to form the Farmers' Union of Korea(조선농민동맹). The organization adopted its current name on 25 March 1965. The reason behind the name change was a decision to renew the organization according to the guidelines set in Kim Il Sung's 1964 landmark work on agricultural policy, Theses on the Socialist Rural Question in Our Country.[5]

Organization

The organization is headquartered in the capital Pyongyang.[6] It is directly controlled by the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea.[7] UAWK was a member of the popular front Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea[8] until its dissolution in 2024.[9] UAWK publishes the journal Agricultural Working People of Korea in Korean and English.[10][11]

The current chairman of UAWK is Han Jong-hyok.[12] His predecessors were Kim Chang-yop(김창엽)[13] and Ri Myong-kil(리명길),[14] who in turn was preceded by Seong San-sop(성산섭) from April 1998. Seong was preceded by Choe Seong-suk(최성숙), who became chairman in 1993.[5]

Membership

The Union's current membership of 1.6 million is down from three million in the 1980s and 2.6 million in the 1970s.[15][1][16]

North Korean citizens are required to be members of at least one party-affiliated mass organization, one of which is the UAWK. Membership in the UWAK is open to farmers on collective farms between the ages of 31 and 65 (60 for women),[15] as well as office workers, and manual laborers in the agricultural sector.[4]

In addition to educating about agricultural matters, the organization provides education on ideology,[15] including the Juche idea.[17] The role of the organization can be characterized as "indoctrinating and controlling ... rather than [representing] workers."[2]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Scalapino & Kim 1983, p. 102.
  2. [2]
    Hassig, Ralph; Kongdan Oh (2015). The Hidden People of North Korea: Everyday Life in the Hermit Kingdom (2nd ed.). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 63. ISBN 978-1-4422-3719-3.
  3. [3]
    Scalapino & Kim 1983, p. 84.
  4. [4]
    Yonhap 2002, p. 389.
  5. [5]
    Yonhap 2002, p. 390.
  6. [6]
    The Europa World Year: Kazakhstan – Zimbabwe. London: Europa Publications. 2004. p. 2486. ISBN 978-1-85743-255-8.
  7. [7]
    "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2015: Korea, Democratic People's Republic of". Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor; U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  8. [8]
    Lansford, Tom (2015). Political Handbook of the World 2015. Singapore: CQ Press. p. 3330. ISBN 978-1-4833-7155-9.
  9. [9]
    "Longstanding N. Korean unification-oriented front dissolves itself, saying there's 'no need' for it". The Hankyoreh. 25 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  10. [10]
    "Item : Korean Serials (한국 정기 간행물) (Asian Reading Room: Library of Congress)". Library of Congress. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  11. [11]
    "Item : Korean Serials (한국 정기 간행물) (Asian Reading Room: Library of Congress)". Library of Congress. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  12. [12]
    "N. Korea replaces heads of key farmer and labor groups amid economic drive". Yonhap News Agency. 5 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  13. [13]
    "6th Session of the 13th SPA Held". North Korea Leadership Watch. 14 April 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  14. [14]
    "Workers' Organizations". North Korea Leadership Watch. November 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  15. [15]
    Understanding North Korea 2014, p. 367.
  16. [16]
    "Korea". The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (3rd ed.). The Gale Group, Inc. 1970–1979. Retrieved 3 February 2021 – via TheFreeDictionary.com.
  17. [17]
    Cha, Victor (2012). The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future. London: The Bodley Head. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-4481-3958-3.

Works cited

Further reading
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