Table Of Content

area handbook series North Korea a country study North Korea a country study Federal Research Division Library of Congress Edited by Robert L. Worden South Country Library 22 Station Road Beilport, NY 11713 may i 8 im On the cover: Statues of a worker, a peasant, and a party intellectual in front of Chuch’e Tower in Pyongyang Courtesy Pulmyol ui t’ap (Tower of Immortality), Pyongyang: Munye Ch’ulpansa, 1985, 325 Fifth Edition, First Printing, 2008. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data North Korea: a country study / Federal Research Division, Library of Congress; edited by Robert L. Worden. — 5th ed. p. cm. — (Area handbook series) (DA Pam ; 550-81) “Research completed October 2007.” Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8444-1188-0 1. Korea (North). I. Worden, Robert L. II. Library of Congress. Federal Research Division. DS932.N662 2008 951.93—dc22 2008028547 Use of ISBN AUTHENTICATED This is the Official U.S. Government edition of this U.S. GOVERNMENT INFORMATION publication and is herein identified to certify its GPO authenticity. Use of the ISBN 978-0-8444—1188-0 is for U.S. Government Printing Office Official Editions only. The Superintendent of Documents of the U.S. Government Printing Office requests that any printed edition clearly be labeled as a copy of the authentic work with a new ISBN. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512-1800; DC area (202) 512-1800 Fax: (202) 512-2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-00001 ISBN 978 -0-8444-1188-0 Foreword This volume is one in a continuing series of books prepared by the Federal Research Divison of the Library of Congress under the Coun¬ try Studies/Area Handbook Program, formerly sponsored by the Department of the Army and revived in FY 2004 with congressionally mandated funding under the sponsorship of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate (J-5). Most books in the series deal with a particular foreign country, describing and analyzing its political, economic, social, and national security systems and institutions, and examining the interrelationships of those systems and the ways they are shaped by historical and cultural factors. Each study is written by a multidisciplinary team of social sci¬ entists. The authors seek to provide a basic understanding of the observed society, striving for a dynamic rather than a static portrayal. Particular attention is devoted to the people who make up the society, their origins, dominant beliefs and values, their common interests and the issues on which they are divided, the nature and extent of their involvement with national institutions, and their attitudes toward each other and toward their social system and political order. The books represent the analysis of the authors and should not be construed as an expression of an official U.S. government position, pol¬ icy, or decision. The authors have sought to adhere to accepted stan¬ dards of scholarly objectivity. Corrections, additions, and suggestions for changes from readers will be welcomed for use in future editions. David L. Osborne Chief Federal Research Division Library of Congress Washington, DC 20540-4840 E-mail: [email protected] in Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation https://archive.org/details/northkoreacountrOOOOunse Acknowledgments This edition supercedes North Korea: A Country Study, published in 1994. The authors wish to acknowledge their use of portions of that edition in the preparation of the current book. Various members of the staff of the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress assisted in the preparation of the book. Sandra W. Meditz made many helpful suggestions during her review of all parts of the book and managed the editing, indexing, and production of the book. Catherine Schwartzstein edited the manuscript, made many very useful suggestions, and helped clarify obscure points. She also performed the final prepublication editorial review and compiled the index. Sarah Ji-Young Kim provided valuable assistance in check¬ ing facts, reviewing and revising maps and figures, collecting illustra¬ tions, and assisting with the preparation of the Country Profile and Bibliography. Margaret L. Park, a Library of Congress intern from Rutgers University, prepared the preliminary drafts of the maps for the book. Janie L. Gilchrist performed word processing. The authors also are grateful to other individuals in the Library of Congress who contributed to the book. Foremost was Sonya Sungeui Lee, Korea Reference Specialist in the Asian Division, who gave important advice and clarified many points. She also helped identify illustrations from the Library of Congress collections to use in the book. Paul Dukyong Park of the Asian Division assisted in locating and providing copies of North Korean publications. Youngsim Leigh of the African/Asian Acquisitions and Overseas Operations Division provided various sources and contact information for photographs and other information on North Korea. Sarah Byun, Elaine Hyojoung Kim, and Young-ki Lee of the Regional and Cooperative Cataloging Division clarified points on the romanization of Korean-language words. Suk-Young Kim, a fellow in the John W. Kluge Center of the Library of Congress, on sabbatical from the University of California Santa Barbara, read parts of the manuscript and made valuable sugges¬ tions both on the text and on North Korean propaganda posters that could be used for illustrations. The extensive research assistance on Chapter 4 by Lucia Selvaggi of Boston University must be acknowl¬ edged as well. Christopher S. Robinson prepared the book’s maps and charts and also performed the photocomposition and preparation of the final digi¬ tal manuscript for the printer. Both he and Katarina David of the Fed- v eral Research Division performed digital conversion of photographs and illustrations used in the study. Finally, the authors acknowledge the generosity of individuals and public and private organizations that allowed their photographs to be used in this study; they have been acknowledged in the illustration captions. Additionally, thanks goes to Boon-hee Jung and Chan-ho Lee of the Ministry of Unification of South Korea and to Jung-woo Lee of the Overseas Pan-Korean Center in Washington, DC, for pro¬ viding recent photographs of North Korea. vi