Saturday 28 February 2009

Materialization of Kim Il Sung's Idea of Socialist Rural Construction Called for

Materialization of Kim Il Sung's Idea of Socialist Rural Construction Called for
Pyongyang, February 25 (KCNA) -- All agricultural workers and other people of the DPRK should wage a more dynamic drive to implement the socialist rural theses and thus translate President
Kim Il Sung's idea of rural construction into a brilliant reality.

Rodong Sinmun Wednesday stresses this in an editorial dedicated to the 45th publication anniversary of the President's work "Theses on the Socialist Rural Question in Our Country".

The work comprehensively clarifies the principled matters arising in accelerating the socialist rural construction ranging from the matter of energetically making the three revolutions, ideological, technical and cultural, in the countryside to the work to boost the agricultural production and increase the assistance to the countryside.

The editorial says that the above-said theses authored by the President is an immortal great programme as it paves a wide avenue for finally solving the rural question and winning the complete victory of socialism.

The publication of the rural theses provided a guiding principle for solving the socialist rural question, the first of its kind in history, and brought about a great turn in the ideological and moral traits of the agricultural workers and the development of agriculture in the DPRK, it notes, and goes on:

The President's idea and desire for the socialist rural construction have become a shining reality under the wise leadership of General Secretary Kim Jong Il.

Kim Jong Il authored "The Position and Role of a County in Socialist Construction" and many other works, clearly indicating the orientation and ways for settling the rural question and has devoted great wisdom and efforts to making sure that the vitality of the said theses was fully displayed.

It is his unshakable will to cement the material and technical foundations of the countryside and radically increase the agricultural production and thus successfully build a great prosperous and powerful country where its people live with nothing to desire more, as intended and desired by the President.

Over the last ten odd years Kim Jong Il advanced the Juche-oriented policies of agricultural revolution, including the policies of bringing about a radical turn in the improvement of seed, double cropping and cultivation of potato and bean, and he has energetically led the drive to carry them into practice. Under his wise guidance, sure guarantee has been provided to effect a new epoch-making turn in the socialist rural construction and the agricultural production in the country.

STATEMENT OF UK KFA ON "FOAL EAGLE" AND "KEY RESOLVE" WAR EXERCISES

STATEMENT OF UK KFA ON "FOAL EAGLE" AND "KEY RESOLVE" WAR EXERCISES

UK KFA Today issued a statement condemning the "Foal Eagle and "Key Resolve"
War exercises.
The UK Korean Friendship Association protests very strongly about
the decision of the US and south Korean authorities to stage the
"Foal Eagle" and "Key Resolve" exercises in south Korea from
March
3 to March 20.
These exercises are being held at a time when tension on the Korean
peninsula has increased owing to the anti reunification moves of the
Lee Myung Bak puppet clique.Also there are being held at a time when the
US imperialists and some others have become hysterical about the prospective
satellite launch of the DPRK and have gone as far to talk about "preemptive
strikes".We believe that it is very dangerous and irresponsible to hold
such exercises at this time as they could easily turn into a real war.

These exercises are aimed at intimidating the DPRK to stop it fully
exercising it sovereign rights as well to stifle its socialist system by
force of aims.

We demand that the "Foal Eagle" and "Key Resolve" exercises are cancelled
forthwith and that the US troops are witdrawn from south Korea.Let all
KFA sections rally around the DPRK at this crucial time.
signed
Dermot Hudson
Official Delegate Korean Friendship Association UK

ASSPUK and JISGE joint statement on Foal Eagle and Key Resolve Exercises

ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF SONGUN POLITICS UK



London 27th February 2009
Today the Association For the Study of Songun Politics UK and the Juche Idea Study Group of England issued the following joint statement in connection with the "Foal Eagle" and "Key Resolve "exercises to be staged in Korea from the 3rd of March to 20th of March;

The ASSPUK and JISGE express their deep concern that such exercises will take place.Moroever we stridently and militantly denounce the US imperialists for holding such exercises.The exercises are being held at a time when tension on the Korean peninsula is rising due to the attitude of the Lee Myong Bak puppet clique as well the moves of the US imperialists. Warlike noises are been heard all the time from the south Korean puppets and the US imperialists as well certain other forces.There is wild talk of "no options are ruled out" and " pre emptive strike" on satellite launch facilities.Thus the situation is already at a fever pitch and there can be no guarntee that "Key Resolve" and "Foal Eagle" would not turn into a real war very quickly indeed.
"Key Resolve" and "Foal Eagle" are simply the old "Team Spirit" exercises under a new
name.They are war provocation exercises plain and simple.The aim of the US imperialists and the bloodstained Lee Myong Bak puppet clique is to overpower the DPRK by force and to stifle people centred socialism.

The new US chief executive spoke of "new relations"," change" and "peace" however the
fact that these exercises are going ahead shows there is no different to the previous
US regime and that the aggressive nature of US imperialism has not changed even if the skin colour has.Obama just represents imperialism with a trendy face."Foal Eagle" and "Key Resolve" show up words like "new relations" and "reaching out" as deception and honey coated lies.If the new US chief executive really desires "peace " then he must cancel these exercises straight away .

The situation on the Korean peninsula has detoriated due to the ceaseless anti reunification moves of the Lee Myong Bak puppet clique which has abrogated inter Korean agreements.Lee Myong Bak intends to use south Korean puppet solidiers as bullet shields for the US imperialists.
We demand that the US imperialists and south Korean puppet warrhawks cancel the
"Key Resolve" and "Foal Eagle" exercises straight away and further that the US
imperialists pull their aggression troops out of south Korea and that the Lee Myong Bak stop forthwith their anti reunification noise.

We reaffirm our support for the statement of the General Staff of the Korean Peoples
Army.We believe that the KPA and Korean people can deliver a towering blow to the
aggressors if they are so foolish to ignite a war.

We call all Juche idea and Songun idea followers as well anyone who values independence
and justice to rally around the DPRK,the land of Juche and bastion of world socialism as the next coming weeks will be a crucial time.
Dermot Hudson
President ASSPUK
Chairman JISGE
Official Delegate UK KFA

Thursday 26 February 2009

War Moves of the US imperialists and south Korean puppets

On February 18, the South Korea-US Combined Military Command officially announced that it would stage joint military exercises codenamed “Key Resolve” and “Foal Eagle” from March 3 to 20 throughout south Korea .

Some 12 000 south Korea-based US aggression troops and 14 000 overseas-based US troops, totaling 26 000, the largest ever, hundreds of thousands south Korean puppet army, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and tens of warships and latest war equipment are to be committed to the projected drills and the period of the exercises is further extended than the last year.

The moves of the US imperialists and the south Korean belligerent forces to stage again the large-scale nuclear war drills against the north in defiance of the repeated denunciations of all the Korean and world peace-loving peoples aspiring to a durable peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula are wicked war rehearsals and dangerous military provocations aimed at strangling the DPRK by force of arms and impose a calamity of nuclear war upon the Korean nation.

More recently spokesmen for the General Staff of the Korean People's Army and the Committee for Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland of the DPRK made public statements providing against the grave situation where the inter-Korean relations face a catastrophe and a war could break out any moment due to the anti-DPRK confrontation policy and war moves of the US imperialists and the treacherous Lee Myong-bak clique.

The gravity and severity of danger of the north-targeted war drills stand out here, for they are to be staged just at this juncture.

The US and south Korean puppet war maniacs should behave themselves, aware of the situation and stop at once the reckless war drills against the DPRK, which will incur only their self-destruction.

Now the AINDF, different civic organizations and the patriotic people are dynamically conducting the struggle to resolutely check the criminal war drills against the north by the US and south Korean war maniacs and to secure the sovereignty and peace of the nation.

We strongly demand the US to stop at once its reckless war provocations against the DPRK, abandon its anachronistic hostile policy toward the north, and withdraw its aggression troops, root cause of the aggravated tension and war danger on the Korean Peninsula, from south Korea forthwith.

The south Korean belligerent forces should stop without delay the joint military exercises with foreign forces if they really want to improve inter-Korean relations and peace and reunification on the Korean Peninsula .

Availing ourselves of this opportunity we express our expectation and belief that your respected organization would extend the full support and solidarity to the anti-US and anti-war struggle of the Korean nation to smash the DPRK-targeted war moves of the US and south Korean war bellicose forces and safeguard the peace and security on the Korean Peninsula .

Such solidarity actions may include the publishing of related statement or press release, the sending of protest letters to the White House and the south Korean government, etc.

NEFARIOUS ANTI REUNIFICATION ACTIVITIES




Nefarious Anti-reunification Moves



There were adopted agreements in the past between the north and the south of Korea on alleviating the political and military confrontation including the issues of mutual respect of ideology and system, stopping smear campaigns, preventing armed conflicts.

However, none of such agreements has been honored owing to the intentional breaches of the successive regimes in south Korea.

The agreement on reconciliation, non-aggression, cooperation and exchange between the north and the south, concluded in 1991, became dead document by traitor Kim Young-sam who came into power in 1993. As soon as he took power, he ran amuck to deliberately disparage and violate the agreed points keeping in mind a wild ambition of the so-called “system unification” by dint of force.

The traitor unhesitatingly resumed the dangerous “Team Spirit” joint military exercises which were halted in his preceding military regime, thus totally trampled upon the inter-Korean agreements.

Traitor Lee Myong-bak who took power last year made a mess of the June 15 era of reunification and the achievements brought about by the concerted efforts of the nation, and extremely strained the inter-Korean relations in less than one year of his office.

As soon as he took power, he ignored the June 15 joint declaration and the October 4 declaration, and blustered about the inter-Korean agreements in the past as if he was concerned about their implementation.

The traitor put up as the policy of “toward north” the sycophantic and anti-reunification and confrontational theory of “No-nukes, opening and $ 3 000”. It was a crime which undisguisedly violated the agreement adopted between the north and the south to recognize and respect the other side’s ideology and system.

He kicked up a “human rights” racket against the DPRK even on the international arena and is hell-bent on scattering provocative leaflets and tricky broadcasting aimed at slandering the north.

Moreover, the traitor slandered it which none of successive rulers dared do, got frantic in political provocations to defame the DPRK’s supreme dignity, clamored of “preemptive attack” and unreservedly declared that his ulterior aim is the unification under the liberal democratic system, and ran amuck in war moves against the north.

By no means can the true colors of traitor Lee, destroyer and violator of the inter-Korean agreements, who ruthlessly trampled upon the agreed points and drove the inter-Korean relations into a catastrophe, be covered up.

Traitor Lee Myong-bak cannot escape the more miserable destiny than traitor Kim Young-sam who could not have even a chance to hold talks with the north during his 5 year-tenure and was thrown into the dumping ground of history.

Friday 20 February 2009

Living Conditions of South Korean People in 2008

Living Conditions of South Korean People in 2008



The people's living conditions in south Korea are recently getting worse owing to the treacherous economic policy of the Lee Myung-bak clan and the aftermath of the catastrophic economic crisis.



- Income imbalance widened and household debt augmented

Since the Lee group clings to the pro-big business policy despite the decrease of the real income of the south Korean lower income brackets, the income gap between the high and low income brackets widened 8.41 times in the first quarter of 2008 alone, the worst record. It was 7.75 times in 2004, 8.29 times in 2005, 8.36 times in 2006 and 8.4 times in 2007.

In the meantime, the household debt increased to 39.6 million won as of late June 2008, 10 % more than that of 2006 (36.01 million won) due to the economic stagnation.



- Tax burden increases and prices skyrocket

In 2008 tax burden per capita increased to 4.36 million won, the largest ever. If some 130 miscellaneous taxes excluded from the taxation statistics are included, the rate of total tax burden against the Gross Domestic Product is 32.1%, far higher than that of the average (26.9%) of the OECD member states.

Mass media and pundits assert that the south Korean people are forced to pay more than a third of their annual income as various taxes and miscellaneous levies, rebuking it as a “Kingdom of tax”.

Meanwhile, the consumer prices rose by 5.9% higher in August 2008 than in August 2007, and in particular, the subsistence prices including the foodstuff needed en masse in daily life rose by 6.6%, owing to the price jump of raw materials including petroleum in international markets.

As a result the people are lamenting their lot saying that they hardly eke out under the lethal bomb of price denouncing the regime which vociferated about controlling the price but molests the commoners.



- The jobless steeply increased

At present the jobless are numbered 3.37 million, 14 % of economic manpower, and among them university-graduated high intellectual unemployed are roughly 2.57 million.

If the irregular jobholders (daily employees and temporary workers) are added, the actual unemployed are no less than 11.97 million.



- Middle class and medium and small-size businessmen go to ruin

The portion of the middle class, once called a pivotal force in society, was 68.6% of all the households in 1996, but dropped to 57.6% now.

11 % of the households were estranged from the middle class for the past 13 years, and 70% of them were reduced to the poor, so that the poor class increased to over 18% of all households now from 11.3% of 1996.

Now medium and small-size businesses are numbered about 3 million, assuming 99% of all businesses, but only in the first half of 2008 some 5 000 medium and small-size businesses went bankrupt, so their situations are getting more miserable.

Besides, because of the world-highest educational expenses a great number of students quit schools or earn the tuition fees by working at a part-time job.

All sorts of diseases including tuberculosis are rampant due to the economic hardship and deteriorated living environment, increasing number of despaired people commit suicide, and murder, robbery and other heinous crimes are sharply prevailing.



Mass media censure that south Korea is a “land of disease”, “republic of suicide” and “kingdom of crime”.

Now the people from all works of life are out in anti-regime struggle upholding such slogans as “Drop the policy for only 1% wealthy people at once” and “We want to live in a country guaranteeing the human treatment”, urging the Lee Myung-bak clique to step down now holding accountable for the ruin of the economy and people's living.

Sunday 15 February 2009

Greatest Glory to Kim Jong Il Brilliant Commander of Songun on the occasion of the 67th anniversary of his birth






Greatest Glory to Kim Jong Il, Brilliant Commander of Songun!

- On the Occasion of the 67th Anniversary of the Auspicious February Holiday -





President Kim Il Sung taught as follows;



In our country Comrade Kim Jong Il has been giving wise leadership to all the work of the Party, state and army; the problem of ensuring continuity of leadership has thus been brilliantly solved.



In our country now Party work is successful, state work is successful, military operations are successful and socialist construction is successful, under the leadership of Comrade Kim Jong Il.



Comrade Kim Jong Il is the genuine leader of the people. He is loyal and dutiful and versed in civil and military affairs. He is a preeminent thinker and theoretician, statesman and military strategist, unfailingly loyal to the country and people and very dutiful to his parents. He is the paragon of loyalty and filial devotion.



Comrade Kim Jong Il has been engaged in ideological and theoretical activities with an unusually strong spirit of inquiry and energy, brightening our Party’s Juche idea as the great guiding ideology of the age of independence.



In other words, he has cultivated the Juche idea, the seed which I had planted in the soil of our people and developed, into a thriving crop and has gathered a rich harvest, so to speak.



Comrade Kim Jong Il gives wise leadership to the revolution and construction with uncommon leadership ability.



Comrade Kim Jong Il strengthens the Party and enhances its leadership role as the main link in the whole chain of leading the revolution and construction.



Under the leadership of Comrade Kim Jong Il, our revolution ushered in a new period of upsurge. Since he assumed leadership, a new change has taken place in all areas of political, economic and cultural work as well as in Party work.



I should say that Comrade Kim Jong Il has rendered distinguished services when he has developed a powerful motive force, welding the Party and the popular masses into a single socio-political organism and effected a great historic change by transforming nature and society on the strength of the motive force.



This bespeaks his loyalty to the revolutionary cause of Juche and also proves his preeminent qualities and ability as the leader.



Comrade Kim Jong Il’s leadership has brought about a new change also in building up the revolutionary armed forces.



In line with the Juche-orientated policy of building the army, he stepped up the work of the Party’s political and ideological education, established the Juche-orientated military command system by which the entire army moves as one under the Party’s leadership, and made the People’s Army truly the army of the Party, the army of the revolution.



Comrade Kim Jong Il has unbreakable will, audacity, outstanding strategic intelligence and the art of military leadership worthy of the supreme commander of the revolutionary armed forces. This is the guarantee for the continuous development of our revolutionary armed forces and their victory in every battle.



Comrade Kim Jong Il has all the best qualities required of the people’s leader.



He is, before all else, unfailingly loyal and devoted to the Party and the revolution, and to the country and the people.



Comrade Kim Jong Il does everything to see that my wishes come true, and that the problems of my concern are resolved. Exactly here his loyalty to the Party and the leader, his devotion to the country and the people, and his filial devotion find concentrated expression.



Comrade Kim Jong Il has the virtue of respecting his seniors in the revolution.



He respects and gives prominence to the veteran revolutionaries, my comrades-in-arms in the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle, and takes meticulous care of them in and out of work. He looks after retired veterans, providing them with good clothing and sending them to holiday homes every year to keep them in good health.



Judging from the single fact that Comrade Kim Jong Il respects the revolutionary forerunners and holds them in high public esteem, we can say that he has an excellent virtue as the leader of the people. If he trains many more officials loyal to the Party and the revolutionary cause and educates the younger generation so that all of them maintain the tradition of respecting their revolutionary forerunners, our revolutionary cause will be stoutly carried forward from generation to generation.



Comrade Kim Jong Il takes care of the workers, farmers, intellectuals and all the other sections of the population in his embrace, puts them forward as the masters of our society and leads them to play their role as masters. He warmly looks after even people with stained family backgrounds or with chequered socio-political records without discrimination and enlists them as legitimate members of our revolutionary ranks if they follow our Party and support socialism at present. He always goes out among the people, shares weal and woe with them and spares nothing for their happiness.



I can say that love for and trust in his revolutionary comrades and the people are the basic characteristics of Comrade Kim Jong Il’s statesmanship.



Because Comrade Kim Jong Il carries forward our revolutionary cause splendidly, everything in our country is going successfully at present and will proceed with success in the future as well. The era of Kim Jong Il is glorious today and will be more prosperous and resplendent in the future. Our revolution has a really great future.

Thursday 12 February 2009





South Korean People's Struggle to Implement

the June 15 Joint Declaration and the October 4 Declaration



Today the south Korean people are energetically conducting the reunification movement upholding the June 15 joint declaration and the October 4 declaration, the signpost for Korea’s reunification.

Members of the Solidarity for Realizing the June 15 South-North Joint Declaration, the South Headquarters of the National Alliance for the Country’s Reunification, the South Korean Federation of University Student Councils, the National Federation of Peasants Associations, the Struggle Headquarters of the June 15 Youth and Students Solidarity to Oust the Lee Myong-bak Regime, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and other civic organizations are in unison in protesting against traitor Lee.

They asserted that since Lee took power the inter-Korean relations have got worsened and there is no sign of willingness to implement the inter-Korean declarations from the current regime even today after the new year, and vehemently denounced Lee who designated a man who contrived such confrontational policy as “No nukes, opening and 3 000$” as a minister of unification.

They held that negating the June 15 joint declaration and the October 4 declaration, the program of Korea’s reunification, is equal to a treason, and stressed that they would more vigorously wage the all-people struggle to defend and implement the declarations together with the people from all walks of life.

The south Korean opposition parties including the Democratic Party, the Democratic Labor Party and the Creative South Korean Party convened a contingency meeting to break through the crisis of the inter-Korean relations on November 30 last year in protest against the anti-reunification moves of traitor Lee, and strongly urged the Lee clique to switch over the hard-line policy toward the north to the policy of reconciliation and cooperation between the south and the north.

Meanwhile, progressive reform-minded members in the Democratic Party of south Korea announced the inauguration of the “Democratic Solidarity” keynote of which is “foundation of anti-Lee Myong-bak solidarity”, decided to hold various functions including the “grand peace march for urging the implementation of the June 15 joint declaration and the October 4 declaration” against the anti-reunification and unpopular policies of traitor Lee, and called for forming a “grand alliance for people's livelihood and democracy” against traitor Lee.

The anti-north confrontational policy of traitor Lee will not escape the total ruin by more vigorous struggle of the south Korean people to implement the June 15 joint declaration and the October 4 declaration.





Reckless Moves to Invade the North

The US imperialists and the south Korean warmongers get more frantic with their war moves to invade the north from the dawn of the New Year.

Days ago, the troops, tanks, armored vehicles and artillery force of the US 2nd Division occupying south Korea ran amuck in joint ground fire striking drills in the Dongducheon area, Gyeonggi Province, and there took place aerial fire striking exercises of a combat aerial brigade under the US 2nd division from January 14.

The US imperialists staged the madcap war exercises against the north by mobilizing huge air and ground forces across south Korea as their operation theater from January 12 to 17.

And combat bombers, pursuit assault planes, aircrafts of special operations, patrol planes, refueling tankers and commanding planes were deployed at the US air bases in south Korea from the overseas bases one after another, and some 580 aircrafts of diverse missions were busy in the exercises of striking depth-objects, near-by aerial support and aerial combat from January 14 to 16.

Taking advantage of the US war moves against the north, the south Korean puppet army as well conducted viciously war drills to complete the combat action proceedings in every stage and bound, and test the feasibility of combined operations according to the north-targeted “Operational Plan 5027-04” by committing tremendous troops and war hardware of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th corps from January 7 to 24.

The units under the 1st and 3rd field corps staged the “severe winter exercises” in imagination of real war from January 12 to 24, thus aggravating the confrontational atmosphere against the north.

The puppet navy conducted joint striking drills together with live shooting exercises by intensively mobilizing missiles, 155mm howitzers and warships deployed in and around Baekryung and Yunpyung islets in Korean West Sea, the acute area of militarily facedown between the north and the south, from January 5 to 9.

They staged the rehearsals of urgent sailing and deployment, setup of operational formations and fire striking drills in the Yunpyung waters as their operation theatre on January 14 and reinforced with 2 warships in this area on January 20.

The US imperialists and the south Korean belligerent maniacs should stop the war moves to invade the DPRK, plainly mindful that their reckless war drills are grave crimes that wreck peace and security of the Korean Peninsula and further push the inter-Korean relations into showdown and catastrophe.

Monday 9 February 2009

SOCIALISM IS CREATING MIRICLES!

SOCIALISM IS CREATING MIRICLES!

In December 2008, 36 years had passed since the day the Constitution of the DPRK was adopted. The fundamental law of the country, and a step undertaken by the Workers’ Party of Korea, the socialist system, the leadership of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il being the main reasons for the great successes in this state. Even in our country – the USSR, there were never so many social guarantees. We’ll talk about these now.

1. In the DPRK, there is no crime, therefore there is no militia (police force).

2. Citizens of North Korea do not pay any taxes.

3. Young families, just starting out, are given apartments for free, with a area size of 120 sq.metres. And all the furniture and kitchen utensils are also supplied to them for free.

4. Thanks to the politics of “Juche” (“self reliance”), the planned, non-market economy, the DPRK is virtually not suffering from the world economic crisis.

5. Hair salons are completely free.

6. Twice a year, school children and students are given for free their uniform and study materials.

7. All newspapers are free.

8. Entrance to theatres in the DPRK are free (no need to buy tickets). Just go in and watch.

9. Health resorts are completely free.

10. In the DPRK there are hardly any divorces, although the right to divorce, is naturally guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the country.

11. The education of the young up and coming generation in North Korea has achieved impressive successes. In the towns and villages you won’t see women smoking. Alcohol consumption is minimal and there is no drunkenness. The streets are very clean. A North Korean having throwing litter on the ground knows that he is creating problems for himself and the environment. All of this has been achieved by way of persuasion and not by means of punitive fines and bans.

This is by far not the entire list of achievements of socialism in the DPRK. We have only stopped on a few of its characteristics.

These are some of the great successes with a socialist system is capable of! Russia and the other republics of the USSR must aim towards this in order to solve all of today’s problems.

The fairytales about “famine in the DPRK” are so false and so untrue. The bourgeoisie arrogantly slanders the socialist state with one aim – so that workers and peasants do not find out the Truth, do not organise a Proletarian revolution in their own countries and did not use the example of the Soviet Union or the DPRK.

Comrades! To hell with all the bourgeoisie – the bloodsuckers, Zionists, Chubaises, Bushes and Putins –We shall do in the Soviet Union like what is done in the DPRK!

AUCPB (Vladivostok branch)

Thursday 5 February 2009

South Korean Economy Destined to a Catastrophe

South Korean Economy Destined to a Catastrophe

(Han Ho-sok, head of the Reunification Studies Institute)



Froth of Cappuccino

More recently the renowned journalist Daniel Gross presented an interesting opinion.

He held that the insolvency of the world financial markets originated from the US has the relation with the “Starbucks”, the US world-wide coffee shop chains.

There floated a super large bubble on the US housing and financial markets like the milk froth over Cappuccino favored by the Americans, and with the breaking of the bubble the housing and financial markets eventually collapsed at a dash.

As of March 2008 the Starbucks has some 4 500 chains in 47 countries; Britain has 256 shops, the largest number, next, south Korea has 253.

What merits attention is the fact that almost the countries with many Starbucks shops suffered the crisis caused by the US-originated shock of the insolvency of the financial markets.

Nevertheless, the countries with no Starbucks shop such as Italy , Sweden , Finland and Norway did not encounter the shock.



Toward Depression from Recession amidst the Process of Globalization

South Korea requested emergency funds from the IMF in a bid to cope with its financial crisis after less than a year since it joined the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (on October 25, 1996) as its 29th member state.

It was an unheard-of catastrophe.

What did the ignorant and “bold” decision of Kim Young-sam, the then president of south Korea, who declared the south Korean version of globalization with least knowledge of it, fascinated by the spectacles of Sidney Port, Australia, and the merciless restructuring enforced by the IMF bring about to south Korea?

A report which the “Hyundai Economy Institute” published on September 11, 2008, indicated that the economic situation of the common population has considerably deteriorated due to the economic stagnation, price hikes, increase of interests burden, slowdown of wage rise, etc. The financial crisis of 1997 in south Korea was only the beginning of the so long agonies.

What is more fearful than the desperate reality of south Korea where 36 people on average commit suicide everyday, is the fact that south Korea is inching closer to a big catastrophe which will bring misfortune and pains bigger than that of the 10 year-long depression.

The fact that south Korea has faced an unheard-of crisis during the 10 year-long depression, is just the argument that the ruin of its economy is inevitably more fatal and tragic than that of other countries.

Because of that “globalization” south Korean economy obsessed with it is falling down to an abyss of bankruptcy, unemployment and poverty. After having chanted the liberalization and opening of the financial markets during the 10 year-long depression, it is now rushing straightaway into a depression from the recession.



Why does not the “Black September” Come?

The British daily the “Times” carried an article on September 1, 2008 under the title “ South Korea with the Won Currency Problem is Heading for the Black September”.

The Black September here implies the recurrence of the financial crisis.

Now the foreign exchange reserve of south Korea is less than US$ 247 billion, but its debts due within a year are US$ 215.6 billion.

This indicates the danger of catastrophic bankruptcy caused by the exhaustion of the foreign exchange reserve and the nosedive of won value.

It seems that the south Korean economy cannot escape the danger of dishonor for the second time in the wake of that of 1997 because of the drying up of the foreign exchange reserve after one year.

What is facing the south Korean economy at present is not the recurrence of the financial crisis of the 1990s, but it is an overall bankruptcy.

There are four points explaining the danger of the overall bankruptcy the south Korean economy is facing right now.

First, bipolarization of export and domestic market got deepened.

The vital question of the south Korean economy depends on export.

The portion of the export and import against the GDP in 1998, just one year after the financial crisis occurred, was 84.1%, but it rose to 94.2% in 2007.

After the Kim Young-sam regime pursued the globalization, big businesses associated with the neo-liberal globalization enrolled in the world market at an extremely fast speed while otherwise small and medium-size businesses headed for ruin. The ruin of small and medium-size businesses means the collapse of the domestic market.

And what is more terrified than the collapse of the domestic market is the decrease of south Korean export along with the insolvency of the world financial markets in recent period.

Second, it is a “spurious commerce”.

The factor of added value induced by export was 0.698 in 1995, but it was 0.647 in 2003.

The job induction effect for a billion won of export was 26.2 persons in 1995, but it decreased to 12.7 persons in 2003.

Such economic indices show that despite much export it does not help increase the domestic added values and jobs, rather it goes by contraries.

Third, foreign capitals secede from the stock markets of south Korea . In all of south Korea , Taiwan , India , Thailand , the Philippines and Indonesia ; south Korea is the first where the scope of the secession of foreign capitals from stock markets is biggest.

The crisis of bankruptcy of the world financial markets incurs the secession of foreign capitals from south Korean stock markets, followed by slump of won value, resulting in the collapse of its financial markets.

Fourth, it is the ruin of the object economy.

The average household debt was 20 million won in late June 2001, but increased to 40 million won in 2008.

As of March 2008, the total sum of individual debts augmented to 75.8 billion won, 15.63 million won per capita.



When the Trio Ended

Bankruptcy, unemployment and poverty sweeping the south Korean society, dominated by American-style capitalism, are converged on middle and lower population in terms of income distribution rate.

The monthly average income of the 20% lower level population is 830 000 won, whereas that of upper classes is 6.34 million won, more than 7.64 times than that of the former.

10% upper classes occupied 54.3% of the south Korean net assets (gross assets deducted by liabilities), the amount of their minimum net assets is 538 million won, and they owned 53.4% of all real estate.

Apparently south Korean capitalism is American-style one where social and class inequity is extremely rampant so that only 10% upper classes live luxuriously.

The indigent population in south Korea increased from 12.05% in 1997, the first year of the financial crisis, to 16.22% in late 2006.

As of 2006 the absolute poverty-ridden population bellow the minimum cost of living was 5.36 million, 11.1% of all population, and 1.54 million, less than 3.2% of them, receive the trivial grants for survival, and the rest, 3.82 million, are on the verge of starvation.

Absolute poverty-ridden children are numbered a million as of late 2007.

The elderly population is 5 016 000, more than 10% of all, and the elder who live alone forsaken by the society are 880 000.

In this despaired society the scope of new job creation has dwindled by 185 000 on average every year since the occurrence of the financial crisis.

Bankruptcy, unemployment and poverty are the social misfortune and agony from which 80% of the south Korean population are suffering.

Nevertheless, “president” Lee Myong-bak is clinging to the free trade and open market policy, and the Grand National Party is tenaciously attached to American-style capitalism which protects and represents the interests of the wealthy classes of 118 000 who owned more than US$ a million (a billion won) as of 2008.

Aboard a broken airplane called American-style capitalism Lee Myong-bak, the Grand National Party and the Federation of the Korean Industries are performing a trio chanting that American-style capitalism is the only outlet.

Engrossed in the onboard trio, they are gliding, not knowing of the engine breakdown, and with the finish of their glide their trio will end as well.

The “Black September” will not come, but only the crash will fall on the broken airplane.