On Kim Il-Sung’s Birthday – Gráinne Donn

April 15th was the birthday of Korean leader Kim Il-sung (1912-1994). Kim first emerged as a courageous fighter against Japanese imperialism in the north of the Korean peninsula, leading guerrilla movements against the Japanese in the north of Korea along the Chinese and Russian borders. The Japanese had ruled Korea since 1910 and subjected it to terrible exploitation on all levels. Kim’s leadership and courage quickly caused him to be one of the foremost leaders of the Korean people throughout the peninsula, and after World War II elected representatives from throughout Korea elected him as leader. Kim proclaimed the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). However, just as Japanese imperialism was defeated, American imperialism came to the Korean peninsula. Unwilling to allow Korea to become communist, the Americans partitioned Korea and installed a bourgeois dictator in the southern portion of Korea, leading to the Korean War. One-third of the DPRK’s population was killed in the Korean War, and nearly all of its buildings were levelled. Despite the devastation caused by Japanese and American imperialism, the DPRK thrived, building socialism while also developing its economy at a fast rate. By the 1960s, the DPRK not only had higher living standards than the south but also was far more equal; the richest person in the DPRK made only 4 times the income of the poorest person in the DPRK. Free medical care and housing was provided to all, and life expectancy and education greatly grew. At the end of Kim Il-sung’s life, the Soviet Union collapsed, unfortunately ending one of the DPRK’s most important alliances and trading relationships, and the economy began to suffer greatly. Kim Il-Sung died at age 82 in 1994.
The example of Kim Il-Sung provides a number of lessons for the Irish struggle. Firstly, Kim Il-Sung and the Korean masses as a whole serve as a powerful reminder of what the masses of the people can do when organized. Japan and the United States are two of the biggest imperial powers the world has ever seen, yet the masses of the DPRK under Kim’s leadership fought off them both. Kim’s anti-colonial struggle served as inspiration to Black Panthers such as Assata Shakur and Huey Newton, and Kim serves as inspiration to Irish workers fighting British imperialism as well today. The DPRK’s construction of socialism despite its devastation in the Korean War also provides hope to the working classes all around the world, again showing the power of the organized masses of workers. We can only hope that one day Ireland will be freed from imperialism as the DPRK was, and will be able to construct socialism for the betterment of all Irish people’s lives just as the DPRK did. Tiocfaidh ár lá! Breithlá sona do Kim Il-Sung!