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Songbun
Songbun (Korean: 성분; MR: sŏngbun), formally chulsin-songbun (Korean: 출신성분; MR: ch'ulsin sŏngbun, from Sino-Korean 出身, "origin" and 成分, "constituent"), is the system of ascribed status used in North Korea. According to the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea and the American Enterprise Institute, it is based on the political, social, and economic background of one's direct ancestors as well as the behavior of their relatives; according to the North Korean secret police, songbun is used to classify North Korean citizens into three primary castes—core, wavering, and hostile—in addition to approximately fifty sub-classifications, and determine whether an individual is trusted with responsibilities, is given opportunities within North Korea, or even receives adequate food. The U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea and the American Enterprise Institute states that songbun affects access to educational and employment opportunities and it particularly determines whether a person is eligible to join North Korea's ruling party, the Workers' Party of Korea. The DPRK itself, however, proclaims that all citizens are equal and denies any discrimination based on family background.
According to the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, being based on the Resident Registration Project of 1967–1970, there are three main classifications and about 50 sub-classifications. They are:
1. Core Class (핵심 계층 / 核心階層) – 12 categories:
2. Wavering Class (동요 계층 / 動搖階層) – 18 categories:
3. Hostile Class (적대 계층 / 敵對階層) – 21 categories:
According to former CIA analyst Helen-Louise Hunter, those with a landlord, merchant, lawyer, or Christian minister in their background are given very low status. The highest status is accorded to those descended from participants in the resistance against Japanese occupation during and before World War II and to those who were factory workers, laborers, or peasants as of 1950. B. R. Myers, associate professor of international studies at Dongseo University in Busan, South Korea, summarizes the core (haeksim) class as consisting of "high-ranking party cadres and their families". The wavering (dongyo) class is reserved for average North Koreans, whereas the hostile (choktae) class is made of possible subversive elements (e.g. former landowners). According to CIA analyst Helen-Louise Hunter, the Communists were highly successful in turning the pre-revolutionary social structure upside down, and songbun is reflective of that. In her view, the "preferred class" consists of 30% of the population, the "ordinary people" make up the middle 40%, and "undesirables" make up the bottom 30%.
Files are maintained on every North Korean by security officials and party cadres[page needed] from age 17 and updated every two years. In general, songbun is difficult to improve, but it can be downgraded for a variety of reasons such as a lack of political enthusiasm, marrying someone of lower standing, or being convicted—or having a family member convicted—of a crime, political or otherwise.[page needed] Before the late 1960s, it was possible to conceal that a relative had bad songbun; however, the ancestry of all citizens was thoroughly checked starting with a 1966 census.[page needed] These investigations have been suggested to have been a response to the Chinese Cultural Revolution which began in 1966. Kim Il Sung, afraid that Beijing would also interfere in his country, whether by invading or sponsoring a coup d'état (Chinese soldiers had been sent previously on "provocative incursions" into Korea), aimed to increase internal security by classifying his citizens. These investigations were repeated several times in subsequent years, for reasons varying from suspected corruption in previous checks to weeding out possible opposition.[page needed]
U.S. journalist Barbara Demick describes this "class structure" as an updating of the hereditary "caste system", combining Confucianism and Stalinism. She claims that a bad family background is called "tainted blood", and that by law this "tainted blood" lasts for three generations. She asserts, however, that North Koreans are not told of their classification, and that children can grow up without knowing about their family status. Similarly, analyst Helen-Louise Hunter describes songbun as "class background" and says that it is not officially published or precisely defined.
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Songbun
Songbun (Korean: 성분; MR: sŏngbun), formally chulsin-songbun (Korean: 출신성분; MR: ch'ulsin sŏngbun, from Sino-Korean 出身, "origin" and 成分, "constituent"), is the system of ascribed status used in North Korea. According to the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea and the American Enterprise Institute, it is based on the political, social, and economic background of one's direct ancestors as well as the behavior of their relatives; according to the North Korean secret police, songbun is used to classify North Korean citizens into three primary castes—core, wavering, and hostile—in addition to approximately fifty sub-classifications, and determine whether an individual is trusted with responsibilities, is given opportunities within North Korea, or even receives adequate food. The U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea and the American Enterprise Institute states that songbun affects access to educational and employment opportunities and it particularly determines whether a person is eligible to join North Korea's ruling party, the Workers' Party of Korea. The DPRK itself, however, proclaims that all citizens are equal and denies any discrimination based on family background.
According to the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, being based on the Resident Registration Project of 1967–1970, there are three main classifications and about 50 sub-classifications. They are:
1. Core Class (핵심 계층 / 核心階層) – 12 categories:
2. Wavering Class (동요 계층 / 動搖階層) – 18 categories:
3. Hostile Class (적대 계층 / 敵對階層) – 21 categories:
According to former CIA analyst Helen-Louise Hunter, those with a landlord, merchant, lawyer, or Christian minister in their background are given very low status. The highest status is accorded to those descended from participants in the resistance against Japanese occupation during and before World War II and to those who were factory workers, laborers, or peasants as of 1950. B. R. Myers, associate professor of international studies at Dongseo University in Busan, South Korea, summarizes the core (haeksim) class as consisting of "high-ranking party cadres and their families". The wavering (dongyo) class is reserved for average North Koreans, whereas the hostile (choktae) class is made of possible subversive elements (e.g. former landowners). According to CIA analyst Helen-Louise Hunter, the Communists were highly successful in turning the pre-revolutionary social structure upside down, and songbun is reflective of that. In her view, the "preferred class" consists of 30% of the population, the "ordinary people" make up the middle 40%, and "undesirables" make up the bottom 30%.
Files are maintained on every North Korean by security officials and party cadres[page needed] from age 17 and updated every two years. In general, songbun is difficult to improve, but it can be downgraded for a variety of reasons such as a lack of political enthusiasm, marrying someone of lower standing, or being convicted—or having a family member convicted—of a crime, political or otherwise.[page needed] Before the late 1960s, it was possible to conceal that a relative had bad songbun; however, the ancestry of all citizens was thoroughly checked starting with a 1966 census.[page needed] These investigations have been suggested to have been a response to the Chinese Cultural Revolution which began in 1966. Kim Il Sung, afraid that Beijing would also interfere in his country, whether by invading or sponsoring a coup d'état (Chinese soldiers had been sent previously on "provocative incursions" into Korea), aimed to increase internal security by classifying his citizens. These investigations were repeated several times in subsequent years, for reasons varying from suspected corruption in previous checks to weeding out possible opposition.[page needed]
U.S. journalist Barbara Demick describes this "class structure" as an updating of the hereditary "caste system", combining Confucianism and Stalinism. She claims that a bad family background is called "tainted blood", and that by law this "tainted blood" lasts for three generations. She asserts, however, that North Koreans are not told of their classification, and that children can grow up without knowing about their family status. Similarly, analyst Helen-Louise Hunter describes songbun as "class background" and says that it is not officially published or precisely defined.
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