South Korean Unions Teach Juche?

According to this article in the Chosun Ilbo, as originally outed by one Mr. Yoo, an official with the National Assembly. I’ll let him describe it:

If you exclude the fact that Park’s writing doesn’t explicitly mention the ‘theory of the Leader,’ other than that, it’s almost precisely identical to North Korea’s Juche ideology and strategy of encouraging revolution in the South.” Specifically, he pointed out that pages 69-71 of the union’s educational material was an unadulterated version of the Juche ideology’s view of man, while page 76’s “revolutionary masses line” was a direct copy of North Korea’s reunification propaganda strategy that adheres to the “class” and “masses” lines.

Just one isolated crackpot’s view?

The Chosun Ilbo asked Sogang University Graduate School of Public Policy professor Shin Ji-ho and Citizens United for a Better Society policy director Hong Jin-pyo, both of whom are experts in Juche ideology, to compare the materials uploaded on the KGEU homepage with “About Juche,” which is believed to have been written by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in 1982. Both men replied that while some of the terms and expressions had been changed, much of it was the same.

Park Se-gil, who wrote the piece in question, is a former activist who graduated from Seoul National University. He penned, “Re-writing Korea’s Contemporary History,” which is evaluated as the history text of the past activist circle’s pro-Juche “National Liberation” faction.

Not that any academic’s view is conclusive to me; I suspect that they are too polarized to give straight answers. Still, the preponderance of the evidence is leaning toward Kim Jong Il running the unions–and how shocking is that, really?

Now, the prosecutors are looking into it. So let’s see if I understand this–South Korea bans North Korean ideology but refuses to let South Koreans freely discuss what’s so bad about that ideology. That makes sense–not.

About the [piece,] KGEU said in a statement, “Since we don’t even know what ‘Juche’ ideology means, we don’t know how such talk could arise… All we did is to get famous lecturers to come and listen to their lectures, but people are making up stories that our union members systematically adhere to the Juche ideology.”

He has no idea what juche is. He goes on to say that he has no idea what a room salon is, where the 588 bus goes, or what poshintang is. Sheesh. Just shut your mouth and get a lawyer, dude.