Fight Back! interviews Chicago anti-war activist John Stachelski, who recently returned from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Fight Back!: In August you traveled to north Korea. What were your impressions?
John Stachelski: I traveled to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea this past August. I was extremely impressed by the architecture and beauty of the Pyongyang, but the best part of my trip was the people. Our guides and the people we met with were extremely friendly and down to earth. As soon as they understood I was respectful of their culture and lifestyle, they opened up and were a lot of fun.
Though the difficulties caused by the U.S. embargo are apparent in places – not unlike in Cuba – the basic needs of the people are provided for, including full employment, no homelessness and education rights.
The infrastructural achievements of the 1990s have led to notable improvements in the food situation and green healthy crops could be seen everywhere as we drove through the countryside.
Adequate fuel resources are still a challenge, leaving some farmers without the use of their tractors and there are difficulties keeping power on throughout the country. While I was there the power never went out, but our guides did tell us about the hardships they experienced in the past. That said there have been notable improvements in alternative fuels.
Fight Back!: Tell us about your talks with regular people. What were their concerns and what did they think of the DPRK leadership?
Stachelski: A thing that strikes you in the DPRK was the respect and reverence the people of the country have for their leaders. They understand Westerners are skeptical of this tradition, and find it strange. Our guide asked us to respect the customs of the country, because the respect for the leadership comes from the bottom of their hearts and helps to tie them into the history of how their country survived the occupation of the Japanese, and then the U.S. I did not doubt for an instance that he spoke with sincerity and this was confirmed as I talked to other people in the country. For them the leadership represents their revolution and the end of foreign control of their lives. It represents saving their culture and traditions from the Japanese who attempted to destroy it and the victory over the U.S. invaders in 1945.
In the West we build monuments on the side of mountains to leaders who were slaveholders and worse – they did not do half of what Kim Il-Sung did for the Korean people.
Fight Back!: The DPRK is known for its public art works. Could you tell us about them?
Stachelski: The public art is absolutely stunning. There is a misconception that all of the art is of the leaders Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il, but in actuality the majority of the art depicts everyday people: soldiers, workers, mothers, athletes and others. Everywhere one could see images of women scientists and revolutionaries, promoting a positive image for young women to look up to.
There are next to no advertisements in the country; at bus stops there are beautiful scenes of landscapes or historic events. Combined with the architecture and centralized planning of the city, Pyongyang is by far the most beautiful place I have ever been. Almost any other city I have been to is constantly bombarding me with advertisements; it was a breath of fresh air to have my identity as a working class person exalted, rather than just attempting to convince to buy useless things.
The focus of the trip was the Mass Games “Arirang,” a mass artistic and gymnastics performance coordinating thousands of ordinary people in telling the history of Korea and other important national themes. The show was the most impressive thing I have ever seen, and really speaks to the unity and collective spirit of socialist Korea.
Fight Back!: U.S. troops continue to occupy and divide Korea. How does this affect Koreans and what do people in the DPRK think about reunification?
Stachelski: Almost everyone in DPRK strongly desires reunification. There is a great deal of public artwork on the topic and during the Mass Games there is an entire scene devoted to reunification of the country. At the DMZ [demilitarized zone] separating DPRK and South Korea, the guard spoke of the countries’ deep desire to reunify and how that effort has constantly been thwarted by U.S. occupation of the south. Tens of thousands of U.S. troops stand on the border in the south, only Korean troops stand on the north side.
One of the soldiers took me out of the line to discuss how I felt as an American, regarding the situation. He was pleasantly surprised to hear that I supported reunification and the Korean nation’s right to self-determination. He came and sat next to me on our bus and we talked about our lives and families. Putting a human face on the situation made me firmer than ever in my conviction that we have a responsibility as people from the U.S. to defend the Korean people and try to help heal the immeasurable damage the U.S. has inflicted on the Korean people.
Fight Back!: The U.S. has often threatened the DPRK. What is the attitude of the people of north Korea towards these threats and war preparations?
Stachelski: The DPRK is very explicit in how it would handle another attack by the U.S. At the hotel for foreigners in Pyongyang, a plaque read “Soldiers of the Korean People’s Army are firmly determined to annihilate the aggressors without any mercy should war break out again in their country.” This is hardly an idle threat, despite the difficulties and setbacks of losing the USSR, their largest trading partner, alongside massive weather related disasters in the 90s. The Songun “military first” policy orchestrated by Kim Jong-Il has kept the country’s defensive capabilities strong and indeed warded off repeated efforts by the U.S. to bully and attack the DPRK. Some socialist countries had to succumb to foreign pressure and internal difficulties; the DPRK is resolute in building socialism and maintaining their national sovereignty. Their example is an inspiration to oppressed people all over the world, that the U.S. empire can be defeated, and resisted, despite all the odds.