Troops baffled by ‘Drill-through-the-Earth’ propaganda push
Flood recovery efforts are underway in North Pyongan Province. [Photo/NK Times]
Soldiers mobilized to rebuild housing in areas impacted by floods are being urged to adopt a “drill-through-the-earth mentality” as part of a propaganda devotion drive that is leaving them somewhat baffled.
The campaign targeting soldiers in areas such as Uiju County, North Pyongan Province, is seen as a typical ideological education effort intended to quell the growing discontent of troops with their poor living conditions and work environment.
An eyewitness reached by NK Times quoted a lecturer recently telling troops of the 567th Military Unit, who are participating in recovery work following floods in the northwest part of the country, that “the Party’s orders must be carried out to the death.”
The lecturer referred to the Battle of Hill 1211 in the winter of 1951, a fierce encounter between North Korean and Chinese Communist forces and their ROK and UN enemy at a strategic point in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, that lasted for 40 days.
North Korea has long used this battle in ideological education for everyone, not just soldiers, but from children to the elderly, and is now once again demanding that soldiers mobilized for flood recovery emulate its spirit.
“During the Fatherland Liberation War, there wasn’t a single fighter at Hill 1211 who ignored the Party’s decision,” the lecturer reportedly said. “Defending the country and building socialism are sacred duties to be similarly shouldered by soldiers in this era.”
“War veterans never second-guessed Party decisions,” he said, urging his audience to show the same level of loyalty and dedication, and stressing that “with a drill-through-the-earth mentality, you must carry out the mission to the end.”
This line, which people have been hearing in one form or another all their lives, apparently isn’t working so well with young North Koreans these days. “That’s not something you say to starving people,” the source quoted some soldiers saying.
“They can’t even provide warm beds or proper food for the troops who are working day and night, yet they unrealistically demand this kind of loyalty and submission,” the source said. “This is a legacy brainwashing method from the past, but it no longer works on today’s young soldiers.”
“To young people going hungry, these hollow lectures only provoke resentment,” he said. “Officials clinging to outdated methods while ignoring present realities just leave soldiers shaking their heads.”
Kang is a reporter at NK Times, a Seoul-based media outlet focused on North Korean issues. He was born in 1978 in Chongjin and graduated from Chongjin 1st High School in North Korea. After 10 years of military service in the 4th Army Corps, he attended Chongjin Agricultural University before defecting.
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