Reminiscences of the Anti-Japanese Guerillas
Reminiscences of the Anti-Japanese Guerillas is a collection of memoirs of North Korean guerillas fighting during the 1930s and 1940s in Manchuria against the Japanese. It was used as a textbook for indoctrination until it was effectively replaced by another piece of guerilla literature, Kim Il Sung's autobiography With the Century, in the 1990s. The memoirs were written in order to portray Kim Il Sung as a national liberator, and to strengthen his cult of personality. However, the memoirs are still used as a textbook in ideological workplace study sessions, as well as in other forms of indoctrination. Many of the memoirs have been adapted as movies by the North Korean film industry.
![]() Cover page of the English edition (1968) | |
Country | North Korea |
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Language | Korean |
Subject |
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Genre | Memoirs |
Published |
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Publisher | Pyongyang: Workers' Party of Korea Publishing House (Korean ed.) Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House (English ed.)[1] |
Media type | Print in multiple volumes |
Pages | 227 p.; vol. 1 (Korean ed.) 153 p. (English ed.)[1] |
Awards | People's Prize (2012) |
OCLC | 1097890 |
951.9/03[1] | |
LC Class | DS917 .R397[2] |
Reminiscences of the Anti-Japanese Guerillas | |
Chosŏn'gŭl | |
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Hancha | |
Revised Romanization | Hangil ppaljjisan chamgajadeul ui hoesanggi |
McCune–Reischauer | Hangil ppaltchisan ch'amgajadŭl ŭi hoesanggi |
Role of the memoirs and state propaganda
The Party History Institute(당력사연구소) was founded in 1958, and its collection of memoirs, Reminiscences of the Anti-Japanese Guerillas, was published in 1959, when Kim Il-sung's cult of personality was being strengthened after the August Faction Incident. These initiatives were part of the efforts to create and promote Kim Il Sung's activities during World War II as an anti-Japanese myth.[3] High-ranking defector Hwang Jang-yop dated the beginning of the personality cult at the end of the 1960s, when various guerillas disappeared from North Korean partisan literature. Until the 1960s, guerillas like Eulji Mundeok, Kang Gam-chan and Lee Sun-shin were common in North Korean partisan literature. Others like Ahn Chang-ho and Shin Chae-ho were discredited.[4]
In the late 1960s, Kim Jong Il called back all the unofficial guerilla memoirs, and publishing them independently through news media or publishing houses was banned.[3] After the Kapsan Faction Incident in 1967, similar to the August Faction Incident in nature, Kim Jong Il ordered the chapters in Reminiscences of the Anti-Japanese Guerillas written by the conspirators to be deleted.[5] Since then, the Party History Institute would review and edit all memoirs. Hwang accused Kim Jong Il of trying to monopolize the independence struggle for the Kim family.[4] Jae-Cheon Lim argues that in the 1990s, the role of the memoirs as a tool for indoctrination were largely replaced by With the Century.[3]
The memoirs are still commonly used in daily ideological study sessions at workplaces, as they are seen as classic literature of the Workers' Party of Korea. They are also used as ideological study material in universities and in the Korean People's Army.[6] The memoirs are also used in annual mandatory party members' political examinations handled by the party Propaganda and Agitation Department. Repeated failures in the examinations have resulted in local officials being fired.[7]
Release details
In May 1959, the first volume of the memoirs was published for the first time by the Workers' Party of Korea Publishing House.[3][8] Since then, they have been republished in numerous volumes and editions.[9]
In November 2003, it was announced that the Workers' Party of Korea Publishing House planned to publish 20 volumes of reminiscences by combining earlier published series Reminiscences of the Anti-Japanese Guerillas, Combat Reminiscences of Anti-Japanese Guerillas and For the Freedom and Liberation of the People. The first volume carried 27 chapters of memoirs.[10]
In 2012, the memoirs won the People's Prize in North Korea. Many of the memoirs have since the 1959 release been made into movies, including Comrades! Please Take This Pistol, Fighter on Mt. Chonbo and Story of An Sun Hwa.[11]
The memoirs have been reprinted by University Press of the Pacific in English.[12] Translations exist in Finnish[13] and Swahili.[14]
Select contributors
The following guerillas who entered politics after the war have contributed to the series.
- Person has contributed to this volume.
- Person has not contributed to this volume.
Name | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
An Chong-suk | [15] | ||||||||||||
An Yong(안영) | [15] | ||||||||||||
Chang Sang-yong | [15] | ||||||||||||
Chi Kyong-su | [15] | ||||||||||||
Chi Pyong-hak(지병학) | [15] | ||||||||||||
Cho Myong-son조명선 | [15] | ||||||||||||
Cho Tong-uk | [16] | ||||||||||||
Choe Hyon(최현) | [16] | ||||||||||||
Choe In-dok(최인덕) | [16] | ||||||||||||
Choe Ki-chol | [16] | ||||||||||||
Choe Kwang(최광) | [16] | ||||||||||||
Choe Min-chol(최민철) | [16] | ||||||||||||
Chon Chang-chol | [16] | ||||||||||||
Chon Mun-sop(전문섭) | [16] | ||||||||||||
Chon Mun-uk | [16] | ||||||||||||
Chong Pyong-gap | [16] | ||||||||||||
Chu To-il | [16] | ||||||||||||
Han Ik-su | [16] | ||||||||||||
Ho Chang-suk | [16] | ||||||||||||
Ho Pong-hak | [16] | ||||||||||||
Hwang Sun-hui(황순희) | [16] | ||||||||||||
Kim Cha-rin(김자린) | [16] | ||||||||||||
Kim Chang-bong | [16] | ||||||||||||
Kim Chol-man | [16] | ||||||||||||
Kim Chwa-hyok(김좌혁) | [16] | ||||||||||||
Kim Ik-hyon | [16] | ||||||||||||
Kim Kyong-sok | [17] | ||||||||||||
Kim Myung-jun(김명중) | [17] | ||||||||||||
Kim Myong-suk(김명숙) | [17] | ||||||||||||
Kim Ok-sun | [17] | ||||||||||||
Kim Pyong-sik | [17] | ||||||||||||
Kim Song-guk | [17] | ||||||||||||
Kim Tae-hong | [17] | ||||||||||||
Kim Tong-gyu(김동규) | [17] | ||||||||||||
Kim Yang-chun | [17] | ||||||||||||
Kim Yo-jung | [17] | ||||||||||||
Kim Yong-yon | [17] | ||||||||||||
O Chae-won | [17] | ||||||||||||
O Chin-u | [17] | ||||||||||||
O Peak-yong(오백룡) | [17] | ||||||||||||
Paek Hak-nim(백학림) | [17] | ||||||||||||
Pak Kwang-son(박광선) | [17] | ||||||||||||
Pak Kyong-suk | [17] | ||||||||||||
Pak Song-chol | [17] | ||||||||||||
Pak U-sop | [17] | ||||||||||||
Pak Yong-sun(박영순) | [17] | ||||||||||||
So Chol(서철) | [17] | ||||||||||||
Sok San(석산) | [17] | ||||||||||||
Son Chong-jun(손종준) | [17] | ||||||||||||
Tae Pyong-yol | [17] | ||||||||||||
Wang Ok-hwan | [17] | ||||||||||||
Yi Kuk-chin | [17] | ||||||||||||
Yi Pong-su | [17] | ||||||||||||
Yi Tu-chan(리두찬) | [18] | ||||||||||||
Yi Ul-sol(리을설) | [18] | ||||||||||||
Yi Yong-gu | [18] | ||||||||||||
Yi Yong-suk | [18] | ||||||||||||
Yim Chol(임철) | [18] | ||||||||||||
Yim Chun-chu | [18] | ||||||||||||
Yu Chang-gwon | [18] | ||||||||||||
Yun Tae-hong(윤태홍) | [18] |
See also
References
- "Reminiscences of the anti-Japanese guerillas". trove.nla.gov.au. National Library of Australia. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
- OpenLibrary.org. "Reminiscences of the anti-Japanese guerillas. (Open Library)". openlibrary.org. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
- Jae-Cheon Lim (March 24, 2015). Leader Symbols and Personality Cult in North Korea: The Leader State. Routledge. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-317-56741-7. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
- Hwang Jang Yop (2002). "The Problems of Human Rights in North Korea". www.law.columbia.edu. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
- Jae-Cheon Lim (November 24, 2008). Kim Jong-il's Leadership of North Korea. Routledge. pp. 37–38, 44. ISBN 978-1-134-01712-6. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
- "Reminiscences of Anti-Japanese Guerrillas, True Textbook of Life". KCNA. February 2, 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
- Robert A. Scalapino; Chong-Sik Lee (1972). Communism in Korea: The society. University of California Press. pp. 1286–1287. ISBN 978-0-520-02274-4.
- "Hangil ppalch'isan ch'amgaja tûl ûi hoesanggi항일 빨치산 참가자들의 회상기". Katalog der Bibliothek des Instituts für Sinologie (LMU). Retrieved May 27, 2015.
- Robert A. Scalapino; Chong-Sik Lee (1972). Communism in Korea: The society. University of California Press. p. 771. ISBN 978-0-520-02274-4.
- "Reminiscences of Anti-Japanese Guerrillas Vol. 1 Reprinted". KCNA. November 13, 2003. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
- "Study of Reminiscences Brisk in DPRK". KCNA. April 3, 2012. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
- "ISBN 9781410220615 - Reminiscences of the Anti-Japanese Guerillas". upcitemdb.com. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
- "Japanilaisvastaisten sissien muistelmia (Book, 1973) [WorldCat.org]". worldcat.org. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
- "Kumbukumbu za wapiganaji wa msituni dhidi ya waJapani (Book, 1969) [WorldCat.org]". worldcat.org. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
- Suh 1988, p. 325.
- Suh 1988, p. 326.
- Suh 1988, p. 327.
- Suh 1988, p. 328.
Works cited
- Suh Dae-sook (1988). Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231065736.
External links
- Full text of volumes 1-20 at Uriminzokkiri (in Korean)