Communist Party of Korea
Encyclopedia
Communist Party of Korea was a communist party
in Korea
. It was founded during a secret meeting in Seoul in 1925. The Japanese colonial regime had banned communist parties under the Peace Preservation Law
(see History of Korea
), so the party had to operate in a clandestine manner. The leaders of the party were Kim Yong-bom and Pak Hon-yong
.
The party became the Korean section of the Communist International at the 6th congress of the international in August-September 1928. But after only a few months as the Korean Comintern section, the perpetual feuds between rival factions that had plagued the party from its foundation led the Comintern to disband the Communist Party of Korea in December the same year. However, the party continued to exist through various party cells. Some communists, like Kim Il-sung
went into exile in China
, where they joined the Communist Party of China
. In the early 1930s Chinese and Korean communists began guerrilla activity against the Japanese forces.
After the Second World War and the liberation from Japanese rule, the situation for the Korean communists changed considerably. The country was divided into US and Soviet
occupation zones, and the working conditions for the party were very different in the two zones.
In the US-occupied South, the party leader Pak Hon-yong, who had been a prisoner of the Japanese, and became active in Seoul
upon his release in 1945. He reorganized a Central Committee
, of which he became the Secretary. Being based in Seoul, he had limited contact with the Soviet occupation forces in the north.
The Soviet Red Army
liberated northern Korea from the Japanese occupation in August 1945. Most members of the Communist Party of Korea were in southern Korea which was occupied by the United States
and there were very few Communist cadres in the Soviet occupied zone. The practice of the Soviets in most countries it occupied after World War II
was to rely on the domestic Communist Party to transform the occupied state into first a pro-soviet and then a Soviet style socialist state but this was initially difficult in what became North Korea because of the lack of a strong domestic Communist presence. The Soviets began to rely largely on exiled Communists who returned to Korea at the end of World War II as well as ethnic Koreans who were part of the large Korean community in the USSR
and therefore Soviet citizens.
Kim Il-sung became a prominent figure of the party in the northern areas. After his years as a guerilla leader, Kim Il-sung had moved to the Soviet Union (where historians believe his son Kim Jong-il
was born in 1941) and had become a Captain in the Red Army
. His battalion arrived in Pyongyang
just as the Soviets were looking for a suitable person who could assume a leading role in North Korea.
On October 13, 1945 the North Korea Bureau of the Communist Party of Korea was established. Though technically under the control of the Seoul-based party leadership, the North Korean Bureau was had little contact with Seoul and worked closely with the Soviet forces (termed the Soviet Civilian Authority). The first chairman of the Bureau was Kim Yong-bom who had been sent to Korea by the Comintern
in the 1930s to conduct underground activity. Kim Il-sung was a member of the Bureau at its founding and replaced Kim Yong-bom as chairman in December, 1945. Official North Korean historians later disputed this, claiming that Kim Il-sung had become its chairman from the onset of the Bureau. Moreover, official North Korean sources claim that the meeting was held on October 10. October 10 is regarded as the 'Party Foundation Day' in North Korea, on which Kim Il-sung formed the first genuine Marxist-Leninist party in the country. Needless to say, official North Korean historians seek to downplay the role of early communist leaders like Pak Hon-yong. Official North Korean sources claim that the name of the Bureau was changed to 'Organizational Committee of the Communist Party of North Korea' (often simpled referred to as the 'Communist Party of North Korea')
On July 22, 1946, following a similar united front
formula that was implemented in Eastern Europe after the Second World War, the North Korea Bureau joined with the New People's Party
, the Democratic Party
and the Chondoist Chongu Party
(supporters of an influential religious movement) to form the North Korean Fatherland United Democratic Front
.
On July 29, 1946 the New People's Party and the North Korea Bureau held a joint plenum
of the Central Committee
s of both parties and agreed to merge into a single entity. A founding conference of the Workers Party of North Korea
was held on August 28-30.
The remainder of the party, still functioning in the southern areas, worked under the name of Communist Party of South Korea. The party merged with the New People's Party of South Korea and the fraction of the People's Party of Korea
(the so-called forty-eighters), founding the Workers Party of South Korea
on November 23, 1946.
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
. It was founded during a secret meeting in Seoul in 1925. The Japanese colonial regime had banned communist parties under the Peace Preservation Law
Peace Preservation Law
The Public Security Preservation Laws were a series of laws enacted during the Empire of Japan. Collectively, the laws were designed to suppress political dissent.-the Safety Preservation Law of 1894:...
(see History of Korea
History of Korea
The Korean Peninsula was inhabited from the Lower Paleolithic about 400,000-500,000 years ago. Archeological evidence indicates that the presence of modern humans in northeast Asia dates to 39,000 years ago. The earliest known Korean pottery dates to around 8000 BC, and the Neolithic period began...
), so the party had to operate in a clandestine manner. The leaders of the party were Kim Yong-bom and Pak Hon-yong
Pak Hon-yong
Pak Hon-yong was a Korean independence activist, politician, philosopher and Communist activist. One of the main leaders of the Korean communist movement during Japan's colonial rule . his nickname was Ijung.During the Japanese occupation of Korea, he tried to organize the Korean Communist Party...
.
The party became the Korean section of the Communist International at the 6th congress of the international in August-September 1928. But after only a few months as the Korean Comintern section, the perpetual feuds between rival factions that had plagued the party from its foundation led the Comintern to disband the Communist Party of Korea in December the same year. However, the party continued to exist through various party cells. Some communists, like Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung was a Korean communist politician who led the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to his death...
went into exile in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, where they joined the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
. In the early 1930s Chinese and Korean communists began guerrilla activity against the Japanese forces.
After the Second World War and the liberation from Japanese rule, the situation for the Korean communists changed considerably. The country was divided into US and Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
occupation zones, and the working conditions for the party were very different in the two zones.
In the US-occupied South, the party leader Pak Hon-yong, who had been a prisoner of the Japanese, and became active in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
upon his release in 1945. He reorganized a Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
, of which he became the Secretary. Being based in Seoul, he had limited contact with the Soviet occupation forces in the north.
The Soviet Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
liberated northern Korea from the Japanese occupation in August 1945. Most members of the Communist Party of Korea were in southern Korea which was occupied by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and there were very few Communist cadres in the Soviet occupied zone. The practice of the Soviets in most countries it occupied after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was to rely on the domestic Communist Party to transform the occupied state into first a pro-soviet and then a Soviet style socialist state but this was initially difficult in what became North Korea because of the lack of a strong domestic Communist presence. The Soviets began to rely largely on exiled Communists who returned to Korea at the end of World War II as well as ethnic Koreans who were part of the large Korean community in the USSR
Koryo-saram
Koryo-saram is the name which ethnic Koreans in the post-Soviet states use to refer to themselves. Approximately 500,000 ethnic Koreans reside in the former Soviet Union, primarily in the now-independent states of Central Asia. There are also large Korean communities in southern Russia , the...
and therefore Soviet citizens.
Kim Il-sung became a prominent figure of the party in the northern areas. After his years as a guerilla leader, Kim Il-sung had moved to the Soviet Union (where historians believe his son Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il, also written as Kim Jong Il, birth name Yuri Irsenovich Kim born 16 February 1941 or 16 February 1942 , is the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea...
was born in 1941) and had become a Captain in the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. His battalion arrived in Pyongyang
Pyongyang
Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...
just as the Soviets were looking for a suitable person who could assume a leading role in North Korea.
On October 13, 1945 the North Korea Bureau of the Communist Party of Korea was established. Though technically under the control of the Seoul-based party leadership, the North Korean Bureau was had little contact with Seoul and worked closely with the Soviet forces (termed the Soviet Civilian Authority). The first chairman of the Bureau was Kim Yong-bom who had been sent to Korea by the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
in the 1930s to conduct underground activity. Kim Il-sung was a member of the Bureau at its founding and replaced Kim Yong-bom as chairman in December, 1945. Official North Korean historians later disputed this, claiming that Kim Il-sung had become its chairman from the onset of the Bureau. Moreover, official North Korean sources claim that the meeting was held on October 10. October 10 is regarded as the 'Party Foundation Day' in North Korea, on which Kim Il-sung formed the first genuine Marxist-Leninist party in the country. Needless to say, official North Korean historians seek to downplay the role of early communist leaders like Pak Hon-yong. Official North Korean sources claim that the name of the Bureau was changed to 'Organizational Committee of the Communist Party of North Korea' (often simpled referred to as the 'Communist Party of North Korea')
On July 22, 1946, following a similar united front
United front
The united front is a form of struggle that may be pursued by revolutionaries. The basic theory of the united front tactic was first developed by the Comintern, an international communist organisation created by revolutionaries in the wake of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.According to the theses of...
formula that was implemented in Eastern Europe after the Second World War, the North Korea Bureau joined with the New People's Party
New People's Party (Korea)
New People's Party was a communist party in Korea. It was formed on 16 February 1946 by Korean Communists who had been exiled in China. New People's Party had more moderate positions in some issues compared with the Communist Party of North Korea, therefore it was rather popular at wide range of...
, the Democratic Party
Korean Social Democratic Party
The Korean Social Democratic Party is a political party in North Korea, allied with the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. Initially a moderate social democratic party, it was formed on November 3, 1945, by medium and small entrepreneurs, merchants, handicraftsmen, petite bourgeoisie, peasants and...
and the Chondoist Chongu Party
Chondoist Chongu Party
The Chondoist Chongu Party is a united front party in North Korea and is labeled as democratic by the government of the country. The party was founded on February 5, 1946, by a group of followers of the Chondogyo religion...
(supporters of an influential religious movement) to form the North Korean Fatherland United Democratic Front
Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland
The Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland, formed on 22 July 1946, is a North Korean united front led by the Workers' Party of Korea. It was initially called the North Korean Fatherland United Democratic Front...
.
On July 29, 1946 the New People's Party and the North Korea Bureau held a joint plenum
Plenary session
Plenary session is a term often used in conferences to define the part of the conference when all members of all parties are to attend.These sessions may contain a broad range of content from keynotes to panel discussions and are not necessarily related to a specific style of delivery.The term has...
of the Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
s of both parties and agreed to merge into a single entity. A founding conference of the Workers Party of North Korea
Workers Party of North Korea
The Workers Party of North Korea was a communist party in North Korea, a predecessor of the current Workers Party of Korea. It was founded at a congress on August 28–30, 1946, by the merger of the North Korea Bureau of the Communist Party of Korea and the New People's Party. Kim Tu-bong, the...
was held on August 28-30.
The remainder of the party, still functioning in the southern areas, worked under the name of Communist Party of South Korea. The party merged with the New People's Party of South Korea and the fraction of the People's Party of Korea
People's Party of Korea
People's Party of Korea was a moderate left-wing political party created on November 12, 1945 by Lyuh Woon-Hyung. The People's Party did not claim to exclusively represent a particular class, instead it tried to represent the entire Korean people....
(the so-called forty-eighters), founding the Workers Party of South Korea
Workers Party of South Korea
The Workers Party of South Korea was a communist party in South Korea from 1946 to 1949. It was founded on November 23, 1946 through the merger of the Communist Party of South Korea, New People's Party of South Korea and a fraction of the People's Party of Korea...
on November 23, 1946.