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One of the most interesting features that a foreign visitor is bound to encounter when they are in North Korea is the sight of children going to school with a peculiar red scarf.
People who have been exposed to life in communist countries would immediately recognize this red scarf as a sign that the child in question belongs to a local branch of the Young Pioneers ― the children's wing of the communist party.
This scarf is rather similar to the scarves worn by boy's scouts and girl guides other countries. This is not a coincidence; in the early 1920s, when the communist party in Soviet Russia decided to create a specialized part of the party to supervise the indoctrination of children. They imported a lot of established rituals from the boy scouts, though they were careful not to admit this.
In turn, when the North Korean Worker's Party created its own child's wing in 1946, this organization was patterned on the experiences and principals of its Soviet prototype. For a brief while, this borrowing was recognised openly, but when relations between the two sides went sour in the late 1950s, these references were no longer made. Rather, earlier borrowings from Russia were furnished with fake stories that connected the Children's Union of North Korea not with its real beginnings but with the myths of guerrilla resistance in Manchuria.
It suffices to say that the motto of this organization is "be prepared" which is answered with "always prepared." Many ex and current boy scouts will not fail to see where this slogan comes from, but there are very few North Koreans who would recognize the century old invention of Robert Baden-Powell. Indeed, this motto was appropriated by the Young Pioneers in the early 1920s in Russia, and then exported to North Korea without any reference to its point of origin.
At any rate, in the life of North Korean kids, this is a very important organization. Following its formation, it was to become a compulsory organization in which, for all practical purposes, all North Korean children must be involved. They must join the Children's Union at the age of seven, soon after they have entered primary school. They leave it at the age of fourteen, whereupon they find themselves members of the party youth.
The Children's Union is arranged as if it were a Children's Worker's Party, but with a clear hint of militarization, borrowed from the Boy Scouts movement. As a rule, all members of one class at school form a "detachment" which consists of few "teams." At the school, the Children's Union is managed by a committee, consisting of children who are technically elected, but for all practical purposes are appointed by the school's administration. On the higher level, though, there are no committees, rather Children's Union activities are supervised by relevant education agencies and Party Youth organizations.
While membership is mandatory and near universal, it is still an honour to be among the first students to be admitted into the Children's Union. The admissions ceremony is fittingly solemn and generally follows Soviet precedents (without admitting as such, of course). Children meet at a symbolically charged place like the square in front of Kim Il-sung's statue in the town or city where they live. Once there, they recite an Oath in which they promise their unwavering loyalty to the nation, party and the leader, as well as to the lofty cause of the Juche revolution.
The Children's Union has its own cadres ― like, say, commander of the "detachment," member of the school committee and the like. These kids are issued with their own insignia. For example, if you see a North Korean kid who sports on his/her shirt a small badge with two red stars and two red strips you will know that he or she is a the commander of a detachment, and as such, is in charge of 40 to 50 of his peers.
Children's Union members are involved in many kinds of activities, some of which are purely educational. Like the Boy Scouts, Children's Union members can attend summer camps, for example. Children's Union members are also encouraged to clear their villages, towns and cities, and to help care for the elderly and the sick.
Other activities are less innocuous ― ideological indoctrination (often rather bizarre) constitutes significant part of the Children's Union life. Nonetheless, for many North Koreans the Children's Union is synonymous with their childhood and is remembered with warmth in their adult lives.
Professor Andrei Lankov was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and teaches at Kookmin University in Seoul. You can reach him at anlankov@yahoo.com.
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