북한의 조선소년단 조직생활에 관한 연구

Abstract

This study is an analysis of the "Chosun So-Nyeon-Dan(Jugend in North Korea)," one of the most base organizations among the political structures of North Korea, especially focusing on its function and role. Kim Il-Sung created the youth association, "Chosun So-Nyeon-Dan" in the process of establishing a socialistic system after World War II, as a substitute for the Chungnyeon Dongmaeng(Komsomol) and as a backup troop for the Party. North Korean children mandatorily start their systematic training in the So-Nyeon-Dan at age 7 to until they are 13. During this time, they learn what loyalty to Kim Il-Sung means, how the social structure works, and what "self-criticism time" is, while participating in their daily duties of the So-Nyeon-Dan. The North Korean government focused on managing and justifying the socialism structure to the So-Nyeon-Dan so that young children were made to deify Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jung-Il and insure solidifying the ideological base of North Korea. Having self-sacrificing obedience for Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jung-Il was the only measure to evaluate a So-Nyeon-Dan member's faithfulness. The reason Kim Jung-Il could succeed to his father's place without any internal political conflicts after Kim Il-Sung's death was the influence of the So-Nyeon-Dan as a base organization that had continued with the idea-refinement of Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jung-Il for decades. Every activity of the So-Nyeon-Dan was based on not the individual but the group, such as preparing to be the next generation that will uphold the spirit of the "Juche" (self-reliance) revolution and to become wise, virtuous, healthy constructors of Socialism and Communism. However, as the supply system in North Korea, the symbol of Socialism, collapsed, the Party's authority and control weakened, and when trade for a living increased, control over the freedom to travel slackened. As a result, the younger generation came to have a greater sense of free and independent self-consciousness, while deviant behavior noticeably increased. To solve this sort of difficult situation, "Songun Ideology" (Military Oriented Ideology) education was imposed on the So-Nyeon-Dan. The So-Nyeon-Dan is a nationally unified group, but it is also guided by and in alliance with the "Chungnyeon Dongmaeng" (Komsomol). The most basic unit that each member of the So-Nyeon-Dan is in is his or her school "Dan," and beneath that "Bundan" and "Ban". The members learn of social status and social roles through their group life in the So-Nyeon-Dan. They will also become aware of doing their duty as successors of the revolution, and Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jung-Il's "Chungsungdong, Hyojadong" (loyal child, filial child). From an early age, these children learn how to submit to the group and accept the system in their every day lives, through the So-Nyeon-Dan's various activities and through carrying out particular labor tasks given to them. North Koreans start "self-criticism time" in the So-Nyeon-Dan and from then on for their whole life, they must every week criticize themselves in front of others and then criticize each other. During this "self-criticism time" every week, the people are continuously educated on the ideology that is needed to maintain the system. Ideas are evaluated, warned, punished etc. through "self-criticism time," according to the group and thus the group can control the people. The limits of the So-Nyeon-Dan is at the fact that it is compulsory. Students are mobilized in the spring and fall to plant rice and corn in the countryside without any pay. Among the activities of the So-Nyeon-Dan, "Good Work Movement," raising rabbits, and "Kids' Planning Activity" give students and their family a great financial burden. There are cases in which students who have been assigned tasks to bring scrap iron are forced steal from a factory because they don't have any at home. When students are required to bring sawdust to clean the classroom, they would snatch some from the carpentry room. In other words, the group is teaching the students to use illegal methods to fulfill an official assignment. The experience in the So-Nyeon-Dan has a high probability of making students into passive adults without any creativity or self-control. Because the North Korean government has emphasized only blind obedience in order to maintain the system, North Korean youths cannot help but lack flexibility when adapting to social changes and have weak competitive motivation. Young people who have grown up under the political ideology, social structure, and cultural climate and values of North Korea have these traits in their personality and way of thinking. On the other hand, South Korean teenagers show strong personality, pursue free individual lives, and although they lack respect for law and a sense of orderliness, they have various different perspectives and attitudes. However, North Korean juveniles are so used to systematic control and group-oriented values that their thinking and attitudes are stiff, objective judgment poor, individuality weak, and creativity level low. The first function of the So-Nyeon-Dan, the base organization of North Korean society is socializing the political regime, based on the idea-refinement of serving the government's ideology. A So-Nyeon-Dan member's value can be expressed by the idea of sacrificing him or herself for Kim Jung-Il. Second is systematizing the people by confining individuals' freedom to think or judge to the standards of the group, forcing submission to orders of the superior authority, and making youngsters adapt to social rules, all through group-oriented ideology and egalitarianism. In conclusion, studying the "Chosun So-Nyeon-Dan" is a requirement to understand North Korean society and predict the future of North Korea. In order to accomplish the national duty of unification, more research on every aspect of the younger generation of North Koreans is needed.;본 논문은 북한의 특수성인 조직생활체제에서 가장 기층 조직인 조선소년단 조직생활의 실상을 분석하는 것이 목적이다. 북한은 사회주의를 완수하기 위한 활동원칙으로 “하나는 전체를 위하여, 전체는 하나를 위하여”라는 집단주의 사상을 제시해 놓았다. 이러한 집단주의 원칙을 실천하기 위해 모든 주민은 평생 조직생활에 참여해야 한다. 북한의 조직에는「소년단조직」「청년동맹조직」「노동당조직」「직 맹 조직」「농 근 맹 조직」「여 맹 조직」「인민 반」 등이 있다. 북한당국은 소년들을 소학교 때부터 소년단 조직생활에 참여시키고 사회주의 체제에 맞는 필요한 존재로 자라나도록 훈련을 시킨다. 학교에서 소년단 조직생활은 소년들의 가치관이나 사고방식, 행동방식에 지대한 영향을 미치게 된다. 북한의 모든 사람을 집단주의(전체주의) 정신을 가지도록 하는데 결정적인 역할을 하는 것이 바로 조직생활의 첫 단계인 소년단 조직생활이다. 학생들은 소년단 조직생활을 통해 조직의 의미에 대해 개별행동은 하지 말고 집단주의적으로 행동해야 하며 조직에 의거하여 생활해야 함을 인식하게 된다. 현재 소년단이 담당하고 있는 기능은 다음과 같다. 첫째, 소년들을 김일성과 김정일의 사상으로 무장시키는 정치사상교양의 역할을 수행하는 것이다. 당에 끝없이 충직한 소년단원으로, 김정일을 위해 결사 옹위하는 300만의 총 폭탄이 되자’는 사상으로 무장시키는 것이 소년단이 중요한 기능이다. 둘째, 소년단은 조직생활을 통해 지속적인 사회화와 사회통제의 역할을 담당하고 있다. 소년단원은 소년단 생활총화를 통해 사회통제에 익숙하게 된다. 셋째, 소년단은 어릴 때부터 집단주의 사상으로 결속시켜 조직의 지도와 통제를 받으며 생활하도록 한다. 이 과정에서 어린이들은 개인보다 집단을 먼저 생각하고 남을 위하여 행동해야 한다는 인식을 갖게 된다. 넷째, 소년단원에게 조직 구성원의 역할과 지위를 습득시켜 ‘당의 후비 대 ㆍ 혁명의 계승자’로 자라나서 미래 사회의 주역이 되도록 양성하는 기능을 한다. 그런 의미에서 소년단은 조직 사회화 기능을 재생산하는 역할을 수행하는 것으로 볼 수 있다. 이처럼 소년단은 달성하고자 하는 목표를 소년단원에게 교육하는 과정을 통하여 조직의 기능과 역할을 수행하는 효과를 거두려 한다. 기본적으로 소년단은 정치사상교양, 집단주의 사상목표, 조직적 결속과 같은 목표를 수행하는 과정에서 소년들이 자연스럽게 노동당의 지침을 수용하고 공동체를 위해 기꺼이 모든 것을 희생할 수 있는 자세를 갖추도록 교육 교양하는 기능을 수행하고 있다고 하겠다.