The North Korean Revolution, 1945–1950 (Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University)

North Korea, despite a shattered economy and a populace suffering from widespread hunger, has outlived repeated forecasts of its imminent demise. Charles K. Armstrong contends that a major source of North Korea's strength and resiliency, as well as of its flaws and shortcomings, lies in the poorly understood origins of its system of government. He examines the genesis of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) both as an important yet rarely studied example of a communist state and as part of modern Korean history. North Korea is one of the last redoubts of "unreformed" MarxismLeninism in the world. Yet it is not a Soviet satellite in the East European manner, nor is its government the result of a local revolution, as in Cuba and Vietnam. Instead, the DPRK represents a unique "indigenization" of Soviet Stalinism, Armstrong finds. The system that formed under the umbrella of the Soviet occupation quickly developed into a nationalist regime as programs initiated from above merged with distinctive local conditions. Armstrong's account is based on longclassified documents captured by U.S. forces during the Korean War. This enormous archive of over 1.6 million pages provides unprecedented insight into the making of the Pyongyang regime and fuels the author's argument that the North Korean state is likely to remain viable for some years to come. Author Bio:Charles K. Armstrong is Associate Professor of History and Director of the Center for Korean Research at Columbia University. He is the editor of Korean Society: Civil Society, Democracy, and the State. Foreign Affairs Armstrong has carefully gone over all of the newly available documents on the founding of the North Korean regime to ask why Pyongyang, in spite of the appalling suffering of its people, remains one of the last holdouts of "unreformed" Marxism-Leninism. He finds that although the Soviet Union was involved early on, Kim Il Sung masterminded a unique adaptation of Soviet totalitarianism so that North Korea turned out to be more Stalinist than Stalin himself. Indeed, Kim's commitment to Marxism-Leninism was stronger than that of the Soviet bloc regimes in Eastern Europe or the communist regimes of China and Vietnam. Kim's success in creating such an enduring Marxist-Leninist system had foundations in Korean culture, such as the stress on ideas and ideology over material conditions and the complete mobilization of society. Armstrong argues that Kim's leadership brought about the "Koreanization" of Soviet communism, not the "Sovietization" of North Korea. He sets the stage for comparisons with Chinese communism, which shared many features with that of the North Koreans but lacked the enduring fanatical intensity. Annotation North Korea, despite a shattered economy and a populace suffering from widespread hunger, has outlived repeated forecasts of its imminent demise. Charles K. Armstrong contends that a major source of North Korea's strength and resiliency, as well as of its flaws and shortcomings, lies in the poorly understood origins of its system of government. He examines the genesis of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) both as an important yet rarely studied example of a communist state and as part of modern Korean history. North Korea is one of the last redoubts of "unreformed" Marxism-Leninism in the world. Yet it is not a Soviet satellite in the East European manner, nor is its government the result of a local revolution, as in Cuba and Vietnam. Instead, the DPRK represents a unique "indigenization" of Soviet Stalinism, Armstrong finds. The system that formed under the umbrella of the Soviet occupation quickly developed into a nationalist regime as programs initiated from above merged with distinctive local conditions. Armstrong's account is based on long-classified documents captured by U.S. forces during the Korean War. This enormous archive of over 1.6 million pages provides unprecedented insight into the making of the Pyongyang regime and fuels the author's argument that the North Korean state is likely to remain viable for some years to come North Korea, Despite A Shattered Economy And A Populace Suffering From Widespread Hunger, Has Outlived Repeated Forecasts Of Its Imminent Demise. Charles K. Armstrong Contends That A Major Source Of North Korea's Strength And Resiliency, As Well As Of Its Flaws And Shortcomings, Lies In The Poorly Understood Origins Of Its System Of Government. He Examines The Genesis Of The Democratic People's Republic Of Korea (dprk) Both As An Important Yet Rarely Studied Example Of A Communist State And As Part Of Modern Korean History.--jacket. 1. Revolution On The Margins -- 2. Liberation, Occupation, And The Emerging New Order -- 3. Remaking The People -- 4. Coalition Politics And The United Front -- 5. Planning The Economy -- 6. Constructing Culture -- 7. A Regime Of Surveillance -- 8. The People's State. Charles K. Armstrong. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 255-261) And Index. "North Korea, despite a shattered economy and a populace suffering from widespread hunger, has outlived repeated forecasts of its imminent demise. Charles K. Armstrong contends that a major source of North Korea's strength and resiliency, as well as of its flaws and shortcomings, lies in the poorly understood origins of its system of government. He examines the genesis of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) both as an important yet rarely studied example of a communist state and as part of modern Korean history."--BOOK JACKET. In order to understand how communism was subsequently implemented in North Korea, it is important to recognize some of the distinctive features of northern Korea and the Sino-Korean border region before 1945.