Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly in DPRK passes 4 laws, notably a law “on rejecting reactionary ideology and culture”
[December 6, 2020]
koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2020/12/06/nat…
“According to the official KCNA, the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) convened under its
2/"president, Choe Ryong-hae, to pass four laws unanimously.  
 
Particularly notable was a law “on rejecting reactionary ideology and culture,” which KCNA reported would be “certainly observed by all the institutions, enterprises, organizations and citizens” in the country.
3/"The principles enshrined in the law were aimed at “further cementing our ideological, revolutionary & class positions by thoroughly preventing the inroads & spread of the anti-socialist ideology and culture and firmly maintaining our idea, spirit and culture,” the report said.
4/"The term “reactionary” has been loosely employed in North Korea to define a variety of condemned behaviors, including engaging in capitalist practices.
 
While it is not exactly known what events triggered an already draconian regime to take such actions, the new law may be
5/"related to corruption or the popularity of foreign cultural influences spurred on by the growth of the private economy."

First takeaway: This was no "dictatorial move" by KJU but one of the laws passed by the SPA's Presidium [= "a standing executive committee in a communist
6/country"].
Second takeaway: This accords w/ DPRK's Socialist Constitution:
"Article 41
The DPRK shall develop a truly popular, revolutionary culture which serves the socialist working people.
In building a socialist national culture, the State shall oppose the cultural
7/"infiltration of imperialism and any tendency to return to the past, protect its national cultural heritage, and develop it in keeping with the existing socialist situation.

Article 42
The State shall eliminate the way of life inherited from the outmoded society and establish
8/"a new socialist way of life in every sphere.

Article 43
The State shall put the principles of socialist education into practice and raise the new generation to be steadfast revolutionaries who will fight for society and the people, to be people of a new communist type who
9/"are knowledgeable, morally sound and physically healthy."

The law is to curb "reactionary thought". The word "reactionary" means:
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactiona…
“20th century: In the 20th century, proponents of socialism and communism used the term reactionary polemically to label
10/"their enemies, such as the White Armies, who fought in the Russian Civil War against the Bolsheviks after the October Revolution. In Marxist terminology, reactionary is a pejorative adjective denoting people whose ideas might appear to be socialist, but, in their opinion,
11/"contain elements of feudalism, capitalism, nationalism, fascism or other characteristics of the ruling class, including usage between conflicting factions of Marxist movements.”

So the "anti-reactionary law" targets those who appear to be socialist but "whose ideas contain
12/elements of capitalism or nationalism". The piece above 👆remarks: "The “new law may be related to…the popularity of foreign cultural influences spurred on by the growth of the private economy." When you factor in the strictures of Articles 41 - 43 in DPRK's Constitution
13/the law appears designed to nip any desire to align to capitalist ideology. Remember that Juche socialism is in a perennial struggle against bourgeoise Western capitalist forces whose sanctions seek to undermine their socialist economy & threaten their sovereignty.
14/The "popularity of foreign cultural influences" resulting from USBs of K-pop & Korean dramas brought in can be remedied by DPRK developing its own pop culture (albeit one not driven by a multi-$B capitalist industry), music and contemporary dance by teaching students in school
15/the rudiments of Western music & dance forms. We see this in:
Blue Sky, Blue Sea, Blue Dream
From NEW DPRK:
A DPRK Vlog: Teenagers in North Korea
16/The best way to guide your students and people who look at South Korea w/ longing & pangs of envy is to instill in them the idea & belief that they can be as good as, or even better, than ROKers. And to do that means developing your own homegrown "DPRK-pop culture" & to
17/represent it w/ socialist pride.

The struggles DPRKers have endured no American or S Korean can fathom. They're on a journey to reach ☮️, socialist independence & security in a cold world that's just ONE BIG HATER. They've earned the right to ☮️, independence & security. ✌️❤️

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More from @BonicMichael

23 Jul
Being half-Asian I've seen & realized that North Koreans (particularly those in vid👇) are a really cool people. I get Socialism. Why does everyone malign DPRK? Oh yeah, b/c of its nukes. I'm for DPRKers' dreams being realized.
North Korea Under Sanctions
2/It's easy to see in the video that North Koreans are a people comfortable in their skin, culture & society. Their views of South Koreans must reflect an "Us & Them" perspective, "they" being water, North Koreans being "blood". And "blood is thicker than water".
3/Defectors on the other hand are no longer North Koreans. They've sold their country out & betrayed Socialism to become South Koreans. They were North Koreans, but no longer, so they've forfeited their authority speak on behalf of DPRK. And they don't. NIS trains them to lie.
Read 7 tweets
23 Jul
“Anti-reactionary thought” law. Check.
Develop Juche NK-pop to compete w/ K-pop. Blue checkmark.

Preamble to DPRK’s Constitution:
“The DPRK is a socialist fatherland of Juche which embodies the idea of & guidance by the great leader Comrade Kim II Sung.“
threadreaderapp.com/thread/1418396… ImageImageImageImage
2/DPRK has transcended ideology by subsuming Blue Korea thru lassoing & hog-tying Western ideology and appropriating the word "Blue" into its own brand of North Korea pop culture.

Blue Sky, Blue Sea, Blue Dream
3/Clearly, "anti-reactionary thought" law is intended not to prevent North Koreans from appreciating Mickey Mouse & Friends, Rocky, Frank Sinatra & Western cultural icons, but to goad them against forsaking Juche & becoming a Judas working for Capitalists.
Read 4 tweets
23 Jul
Capitalism Isn't A Monopoly

15 Socialist Countries that Have Succeeded
yahoo.com/now/15-sociali…
“Socialism is an economic theory that stresses the ownership of means of production by society instead of private individuals. The core essence or principle in socialism is to shape
2/"society based on cooperation and welfare rather than on free market capitalist competition and “exploitation”. This is the textbook definition of socialism. In practice however, it is not clearly defined, is subjective and encompasses a whole range of different economic
3/"policies and even exists parallel to capitalism in some countries through what can be described as a pragmatic approach to socialism.

Socialism is thought to impede innovation because it is thought to take away the incentive to innovate as society loses its competitive edge
Read 7 tweets
23 Jul
Preambles to Constitutions are preludes to the political ideologies that follow.
PREAMBLE to the U.S. Constitution: We the People
constitutioncenter.org/interactive-co…
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility,.” Image
2/Preamble to DPRK’s Socialist Constitution:
“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is a socialist fatherland of Juche which embodies the idea of and guidance by the great leader Comrade Kim II Sung. ..“
constituteproject.org/constitution/P… Image
3/If the USSR & China had/have Constitutions laying out Marxist or Socialist political ideologies, why is it any different for the DPRK? Seoul doesn't acknowledge DPRK as a sovereign political entity just as Palestine doesn't acknowledge modern Israel as a Jewish state. DPRK is
Read 24 tweets
23 Jul
So - Mickey and Minnie Mouse and Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, the "Theme from Rocky" and Frank Sinatra's "My Way"…
IN NORTH KOREA??!
[explained]

Moranbong Band - Medley of Disney Songs [audio & color enhancement]
2/“The band debuted on July 6, 2012. Their first performance featured Western popular culture imagery and music, including Disney characters Mickey and Minnie Mouse and Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, the "Theme from Rocky" and Frank Sinatra's "My Way". Other Western music included
3/“"Czardas", "Zigeunerweisen", "La Reine de Saba", "Menuet", "Penelope", and "Serenade de l’Étoile", as well as "The Duel", described as "a popular song"; '"Victory", introduced as "a rap song"; and "Dallas": "a country music selection." Twelve cartoon film scores were also
Read 6 tweets
22 Jul
Israel is NOT a "settler colonial state" by definition. Anyone making that claim is just historically shortsighted. Israel's patriarchs Abraham, Isaac & Jacob were living in Israel c. 2200 BCE, Israel's period of Kings was from 1350 to 586 BCE...👇 Palestine of the ancient world
2/and the Land of ancient Israel are the same geographic territory. So it's an indisputable historical fact that the Jewish people have been living in the Land of Israel from c. 2200 BCE to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and since 1948. You have to look at the whole timeline.
3/Settler colonialism
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Settler_c…
“is a form of colonialism that seeks to replace the original population of the colonized territory with a new society of settlers. As with all forms of colonialism, it is based on exogenous domination, typically organized or supported
Read 12 tweets

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