by Daniel Tudor
The captain earns a salary, but only a nominal one. However, because it is a job that helps with networking and can thus be useful in business, it is a relatively favorable position among housewives. A woman engaged in any particularly specialized business would consider it time-consuming and wouldn’t want it, but it is considered a good job for general housewives.
Connecting the Inminban to local government are Eup, Myeon, and Dong offices (nb. these are administrative divisions based on population sizes, highest first). Because there are hundreds of Inminban in a city, the local people’s committee will not be able to control the leaders of all of them. To make things run smoothly, an office is set up for their smooth governance.
Also, around 5–10 Inminban will collectively form a jigu (zone), with a zone captain.
This person’s role is to take orders from the office and transmit them to the Inminban captains. But in the case of important decisions, the office may gather the Inminban heads and tell them directly. Usually the zone captain also serves as an Inminban captain.
The North Korean government stipulates that “by cooperating with the maintenance of social order and by strengthening the revolutionary institutions and order to prevent the counterrevolutionaries from taking steps, it will contribute to the maintenance of our national social system.” Thus a managing officer (from the police) will identify ideological trends, whether there are any outside visitors or long-term sojourners, and unemployed people with the help of the Inminban captain.
Because of this role, community members cannot ignore the captain’s status and consider them a minor power. Almost all economic activity in North Korea is part of the underground economy and is illegal, whether big or small. Therefore, it is essential to maintain a good relationship with the Inminban captain.
Lately, North Korea has been using Inminban as means of mobilizing labor and gaining foreign currency. Construction, disaster recovery, cleaning, and so on, are supposed to be taken care of by relevant public organizations, but their service provision is suspended as the efficiency and willingness of these organizations has been greatly reduced (nb. this is because the state has very little money). The Inminban are filling this vaccum.
Recently it has been emphasized that Inminban should gain foreign currency or collect “loyalty funds.” Collecting loyalty funds through schools and workplaces has limitations, because there are no legal penalties for bosses failing to collect anything. They won’t have their wages or rations frozen or be arrested if they don’t collect any money.
When collecting loyalty funds through the Inminban though, people would feel socially embarrassed to not give money to people they live cheek by jowl with. For this reason, the paradigm of loyalty fund collection is gradually changing.
One can also find cases of Inminban captains accumulating large slush funds. Unemployment is illegal in North Korea, and those who do not work for six months may be sent to labor camps. The police investigate such people through the Inminban captains. The Inminban captain may receive a payment each month in return for protection. (Nb. The “unemployed” are not usually unemployed in practice; they are avoiding working at state organizations to engage in private business.)
Inminban captains can use these slush funds to help local people, but in big-city cases where there is a lot of money and the captain doesn’t get on well with the members of the Inminban, the captain might steal the money. This can lead to friction in the community and there are cases where such captains have been arrested.
What does the average person know about political prison camps?
DT: There may be people who do not know exactly what goes on in a political prison camp, but everyone in North Korea knows they exist, and that they are a fate worse than death.
Ji-min Kang:
I doubt there is anyone who has lived in North Korea for a certain period of time that does not know the basics about political prison camps. And there will be no one who does not know what kind of person gets taken there, and what happens to them after that.
It was not too long ago that North Korea’s political prison camps became known to the world as symbols of human rights abuses. Probably the true nature of these places wouldn’t have become widely known without mass defections from North Korea caused by economic hardship.
North Korean political prison camps date back to the late 1950s.
Since that time, several political prison camps have been created around North Korea that can accommodate tens of thousands of people. The detainees are those who are hostile to the so-called authorities. They have diverse backgrounds, all the way from top cadres down to country farmers.
There are countless victims, including those who did not even do anything themselves but rather have been unfairly punished according to yeonjwaje [meaning “guilty by association”], the rule under which one can be punished for the crimes of one’s father or other direct family members.
There are also those who had previously escaped abroad and became Christians, and those who had planned to defect to South Korea. In the eyes of the authorities, Christianity is the worse crime in that it denies loyalty to the Kims; the blocking of the continuing wave of defectors wanting to escape to the South is the authorities’ desperate move to maintain a system that cannot compete [with that of the South].
Even North Korean children know that North Koreans can be taken to political detention camps and that if they are taken to one, they will not be able to return to the outside world again. Of course, there is no legal process, such as a trial. They are simply taken away by a truck in the night and nobody knows where they have gone.
They do not notify their family members or relatives, and if family members go and protest, the authorities threaten them and don’t reveal anything about the whereabouts of their loved one.
Anyway, the most important thing is that they are guilty. This is a horrendous contravention of the constitutional values of North Korea. Both South and North have freedom of expression. But North Korea has no freedom after expression.
A complaint against the top leaders of North Korea is treated as a great sin that will not be forgiven until three generations has passed. This is a crueler and more merciless punishment than the kind meted out during the days of the Joseon Dynasty. Because of this, there are even people who are dragged off to prison camps due to the “crimes” of relatives they have never even met.
Within the political prison camps, disease and torture are rampant, and officials of the North Korean National Security Agency and the Ministry of Defense that run the camps also have the authority to execute captives. Ultimately, captives must live in the camps all their lives, and endure illness, hunger and torture until they die.
As the political prison camps are such closed environments, they have existed behind a veil for many years, and even now their true nature cannot be fully seen.
My two uncles were also taken to political prison camps because of my grandfather. Because of my grandfather’s sins, they were detained along with their families. We don’t even know if they are alive or dead.
Through the construction of the cruelest and most inhumane prison camps in history, [the North Korean authorities] have obliterated even the most basic human rights in their quest to maintain power. And in perpetuating the politics of fear, they have made all North Koreans into their compliant slaves.
I do wonder though: Are they not afraid of the coming judgment?
What are “elections” like in North Korea?
DT: It may surprise you to know that a country like North Korea bothers having elections. But actually, it works to the state’s advantage to hold them. And besides, as Je Son Lee explains, there is no genuine choice anyway.
Je Son Lee:
In North Korea, elections are nothing more than ceremonies. On election day, North Korean people go to the voting booth. But they don’t really get to choose who they want to represent them. Though they may cast a ballot, North Korean voters aren’t able to influence
public officials and lawmakers.
Among the variety of slogans widely found in North Korea, one prominent one reads: “Once the Workers’ Party Makes Up Its Mind, It Has to Be Done.” Since the Workers’ Party has decided to hold elections in the country, they are held regularly.
The “Dear Leader” is the “Sun of the Communist Future” and father figure for all people in North Korea. He is flawless and makes no errors. To say a divine figure like our Dear Leader made a mistake is like saying Jesus Christ murdered someone. In North Korea, the Workers’ Party is practically equal to Dear Leader Kim Jong Un, since its decisions reflect the wishes of the Dear Leader. There is no way to ever oppose its will.
Even if it becomes obvious later that the policies of the leadership are detrimental to the people of North Korea, such harm is regarded as the lesser evil. As a consequence, people don’t feel disappointed or resentful. Instead, they become moved and touched by the depth of the affection the Dear Leader has for his people. Hence, voters in North Korean show high approval for the Workers’ Party and its decisions. Of course, the ordinary people cannot afford to criticize policies implemented by the Workers’ Party. Rather, they seek ways to win the favor of the Workers’ Party, as this is a way for them to live a more comfortable life.
Also, people dream of becoming members of the Workers’ Party. You should be qualified and possess the abilities desired by the party. Of course, you must be loyal. Then, you may have a chance to become a member of the party some day. Kim Jong Un alone cannot judge the qualifications of every candidate within the country. Such decisions are therefore left in the hands of local officials.
While I was living in the North, elections took place on public holidays. On election day, people wear their Sunday best to the voting booth. After casting their ballot, people come home to dance and sing together in their yards. That’s the first thing that comes to mind when I think of election day in North Korea. At first I thought: Is it just me, or do other North Koreans have the same memories of election day? So, I asked my friends what they remembered about elections in North Korea. They all had the same memories. They all responded by saying: “We wore suits, hanbok and skirts and walked very elegantly all the way to the voting booth. On the way home, we would join a group of people dancing in the street. We all had a great time together, dancing and drinking.” Election day in North Korea was always a festival day. Their memories and experiences were not the slightest bit different from mine.
What is an election? Officials in the party nominate one candidate for each district and voters decide whether they approve or disapprove of that candidate. Why do we vote for candidates? The party has already picked its own candidate. Why do we need to vote for that person? I’m sure that I’m not the only North Korean who wondered about this. There is only one name written on the ballot, only one candidate you can vote for. Therefore, every candidate is elected in North Korea. The nomination process is not open to the public. It’s not transparent.
The voting process is too simplistic and undemocratic. Ordinary people are entitled to vote for representatives in local offices, but not for members of the Supreme People’s Assembly. Voters receive a pre-made ballot and follow three or four steps and slide it into the ballot box. That’s how you cast a ballot in North Korea.
The voting age is 18 or above and elections are public holidays. Except in case of imminent death, all people of voting age are expected to cast a ballot at the designated voting booth. Remember how I said it is inconceivable for ordinary North Koreans to oppose to any decisions made by the party? The moment you choose to do anything other than approve, you become a traitor.
Around election time, people are banned from traveling to other towns. People who secretly and illegally crossed over into China return to the North in time to participate in the election, or else authorities might notice they had been away.
People who don’t show up to cast a ballot are considered to have expressed opposition to the decisions of the party. Simply put, if you skip an election day you become a traitor.
What is military service like in North Korea, and how long does it last?
DT: With over a million soldiers among a total population of only 25 million, North Korea is arguably the most militarized society in the world. The government says it all with its policy of songun, meaning “military first.” If you want to understand North Korea, you’ll definitely need to know a few things about how a Korean People’s Army soldier lives. You may be surprised: Most are too poorly fed to be as fearsome as you’d expect, and spend as much time working as free laborers as they do on the parade ground.
Kim Yoo-sung:
In North Korea, most soldiers serve in the military for ten years, but female soldiers serve for seven. Those in Kim Jong Un’s special bodyguard unit do 13 years.
As military service is compulsory in North Korea, most men enlist in the military after their high school graduation, with the disabled being exempt. People accepted into universities will enlist after they graduate from college. In this case, a man with a BA will serve for five years. Men who studied engineering or science will serve for three. It is well-known that the reason why men with science degrees serve for only three years is because Kim Jong Il wanted to encourage people to study science to contribute to the development of the country. Kim wanted to encourage people to study science by providing a big incentive—less time in the military!
The first difficulty men have to endure in the military is hunger. Soldiers in the special units won’t have to worry about this, but most soldiers in the bases outside Pyongyang are given two or three potatoes per meal, or raw corn kernels or corn rice.
Military training is not all they are expected to do on such meager amounts of food. They’re also told to help farmers in the rice paddies in summer. That’s why so many North Korean soldiers become skinny and malnourished. They’re made to provide this extra labor. Due to the threat of starvation, they turn to eating salted radish. As a result of devouring salted radish, some soldiers become plump. Some people may see them and think they’re well-fed by the North Korean military, but that’s not true: After eating nothing but salted radish, they may look fat on the outside but they’re actually severely malnourished.
Many soldiers flee the military to escape malnourishment. Military police will be out in search of soldiers who escaped to look for food. Those soldiers who escape from their barracks will rob civilians of their food. They will rob civilians and the stockrooms in farming communities because they’re so hungry. If it’s edible, they will steal it. Some officers will even go as far as forcing soldiers to rob civilians. If the soldier fails to steal food, they will suffer retaliation and starvation in the barracks.
In my graduating class in high school, there were 25 guys. Five of them went to college and the remaining 20 went to enlist. Out of those 20, 10 of them returned home suffering from malnourishment. When recruits become malnourished, they’re allowed to go home to recover. Most parents travel to the military barracks to pick up their sons. When they return home, their parents feed them. When their health improves, they’re sent back to the military. Since they’re severely malnourished, most of them are too weak to even walk by themselves. That’s why parents travel all the way to military bases to pick up their sons and bring them home. Some of them even die from malnourishment before their parents arrive. North Korea may be the worst place in the world to do military service.
Those five of my classmates who didn’t suffer malnourishment were lucky to serve in either a special unit or under good officers who took care of their soldiers. One of my friends went to serve on the North Korean side of Panmunjom at the 38th parallel. After I came to South Korea, I wanted to go to Panmunjom to see my friend’s face from the South Korean side. But he had been discharged and so now I can’t go to Panmunjom to see him.
All of this may sound unbelievable to soldiers in South Korea and America. The only thing North Korean parents pray for is the safe return of the
ir sons from the military.
What is law and order like in North Korea?
DT: North Korea’s prison camps are well-known, but what about the general system of law and order? As with any poor country where the rule of law is weak, there’s often one set of rules for the poor and another for the rich.
Ji-min Kang:
The constitution represents the national identity and national law of a country, and no one, even the ruler, is above the constitution and the rule of law. At least, that’s how a normal country works. The North Korean constitution, on the other hand, is a nominal set of rules and there are people who have the power to revise the constitution to feed their appetites.
So how do people live day by day in a country where the rule of law does not apply to everyone equally?
North Korea is a country where human rights abuses are prevalent and those who face even execution are not given the right to an attorney or a fair trial. Crimes such as robbery, fraud and murder take place in North Korea as they do in other countries, but very few prisoners face justice for these offences—the police and justice system have other worries: political prisoners.
Of course, there are an abundant number of people charged with criminal offenses. But most of them cannot hire an attorney for themselves. Even worse, most North Koreans don’t even know of the existence of lawyers, or what they do. Even if one hires an attorney, they have less chance of proving their innocence than of getting struck by lightning.
In North Korea, cops were always domineering, incessantly asking for bribes, and generally abusing their power in return for a reduction in a citizen’s sentence. For this reason, while the ruling ideology states that everyone is created equal in North Korea, the poor face disproportionate punishment for petty crimes, while the rich can quite literally get away with murder.