So-called documentary study sessions praising the greatness of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are underway in South Hamgyong province, with authorities harshly criticizing young people who doze off during the sessions.
“Intensive documentary study sessions on the achievements of the Supreme Leader have been underway at enterprises in Hamhung and elsewhere from the start of the month,” a Daily NK source in South Hamgyong province said recently.
“The sessions are underway in the research rooms of workplaces with such rooms, the city research rooms of city-level workplaces, and the libraries of provincial-level workplaces, with authorities organizing ideological struggle sessions because some young people fell asleep during the study sessions.”
In the past, lecturers would simply warn those who dozed off or chatted with the person next to them during lectures, but recently, authorities have responded harshly by subjecting offenders to struggle sessions, treating their behavior as serious political problems.
“Documentary study sessions” are forms of ideological education in which people watch documentaries about the revolutionary activities or accomplishments of the country’s supreme leaders, praising their leadership and greatness and encouraging loyalty.
The documentaries shown during recent study sessions highlight how Kim works day and night to improve people’s lives and how rural homes and regional factories are being built under his guidance.
Sleeping during propaganda now a political offense
North Korea makes everyone participate in regime propaganda and study sessions, which have become a powerful tool to promote unity, but many people simply take part in a perfunctory way without concentrating, sick of the same message repeated every time.
In response, authorities have organized ideological struggle sessions targeting those who appear “insincere” during study sessions to put people on guard.
The party committee of one enterprise in Hamhung, taking umbrage with one member of the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea and two members of the Socialist Patriotic Youth League for dozing off during a documentary study session on Jan. 17, announced that the three would be stood before an ideological struggle session set for Sunday.
Another enterprise in South Hamgyong province has held a series of struggle sessions for the same reason, ordering employees to come prepared with criticism to direct at the targeted individuals.
These are seen as follow-up measures to an earlier order by the provincial party committee to “root out perfunctory participatory attitudes of simply sitting” during the sessions. The committee appears intent on tightening widespread ideological laxity and poor discipline.
“It used to be that you only needed to show up, but nowadays, they scrutinize whether you’re watching or listening carefully,” the source said. “If you look somewhere else or doze off a moment, they’ll make an ideological case of it.”
However, people—especially young people—are inwardly cynical about the whole thing, even while pretending to pay attention.
“Every organization holds weekly struggle sessions every Saturday and a monthly struggle session on the last week of the month, and every time, we have to engage in mutual criticism,” the source said. “The biggest worry every time is deciding who to criticize, so young people sarcastically say the latest struggle sessions were more convenient since the subjects of criticism were already chosen for them.”
Some young people complain about government’s hardline response, joking that they “must drink a cup of coffee before they attend the study sessions.”
“People have long believed that all you need to do is show up for a study session or lecture,” the source said. “You won’t encourage earnest participation just by putting people on guard with things like struggle sessions.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: dailynk.com
