사진 : 케일레브 모핀(Caleb Maupin)

- 조선에 대해 말하다 -

미국언론들의 위험한 대조선외곡선전을 폭로한 미국정치분석가의 글

 

미국의 정치분석가이며 운동가인 케일레브 모핀의 글 《조선에 대해 말하다》가 ３일 로씨야인터네트신문 《신동방관찰》에 게재되였다.

글은 다음과 같다.

나자신과 나의 정치적견해에 대해 처음으로 알게 된 사람들은 종종 로골적인 질문을 들이대군 한다.

《당신은 북조선을 지지하는가？》

그때마다 나는 언제나 이렇게 대답한다.

《아니요.나는 다만 전조선을 지지합니다.》

이러한 조선관으로 나는 미국의 일반대중은 물론 운동가들,좌익계라고 자처하는 사람들속에서조차 조선과 그 력사와 관련된 문제들에 대해서는 엄청난 오해가 존재한다고 본다.

조선반도에서 긴장이 격화될 때마다 이러한 오해는 더욱 심해지는듯싶다.

미국의 언론매체들은 조선에 대한 진실을 사람들에게 알려주려 하지 않을뿐아니라 뻔뻔스럽게 외곡보도하고있다.

 

조선은 왜 분렬되였는가

 

지난 세기초 조선은 일본에 의해 강점되였다.

일본은 조선인들에게 헤아릴수 없이 끔찍한 만행들을 저질렀다.

조선의 평화적주민들이 １９１９년 ３월 일본을 반대하는 시위투쟁을 벌렸을 때 일본군은 시위자들중 ７ ０００여명을 학살하였다.

일본군은 시위에 대한 보복으로 학교들에 닥치는대로 불을 질렀으며 그로 인하여 시위와는 아무런 관계도 없는 수백명의 조선어린이들이 불에 타죽었다.

반일항쟁운동과 련관되여있다는 혐의로 수많은 조선사람들이 체포되여 고문을 받았다.

이 투쟁이 실패로 끝난 후 조선인들은 손에 무장을 들고 일본강점자들을 반대하여 싸웠다.

１９２０년대부터 김일성주석께서 일본강점자들을 몰아내고 민주주의적권리를 쟁취하기 위해 투쟁하시였다.

１９４５년 제２차 세계대전이 종결된 후 조선반도의 남반부는 미군이 점령하였다.

남반부에서는 군사독재《정권》이 수립되였으며 리승만이 권력을 잡고 모든 반대세력들을 무자비하게 탄압하였다.리승만《정권》은 미국의 공개적인 지지를 받고있었다.

제주도에서 자유로운 선거를 실시할것을 요구하여 리승만《정권》에 반기를 들고 일어나자 미군은 리승만세력에 합세하여 수만명의 무고한 주민들을 학살하였다.

１９５０년 ６월 ２５일 미국은 조선전쟁을 일으켰다.

미국은 북반부에 있는 １층이상의 건물들을 모조리 폭격하였으며 저수지들을 파괴하여 민간지역들이 대규모큰물피해를 입게 하였다.수많은 조선인들이 목숨을 잃었다.

１９５３년에 정전협정은 체결되였으나 미국은 평화협정을 체결하지 않고있다.조선전쟁은 기술적으로 의연 지속되고있으며 미국은 조선민주주의인민공화국을 합법적으로 인정하지 않고있다.

 

남조선은 《민주화》된 사회인가

 

１９４５년이후부터 오늘까지 조선반도의 남반부는 많은 경우 군사독재자들에 의해 통치되여왔다.

현 《대통령》 박근혜는 남조선의 이전 군사독재자 박정희의 딸이다.박정희는 수만명의 무고한 주민들을 학살한 주범일뿐아니라 피해자가족들에 대한 집단적처벌과 보복,여러 형태의 고문방법사용 등 극악한 인권유린행위들을 조장한 장본인이다.

하지만 박근혜는 자신을 독재적인 행위들과 반인도주의적인 범죄를 저지른 아버지와 구별하려는 태도를 전혀 엿보이지 않고있다.

남조선에서 유일하게 진정한 야당이라고 할수 있는 통합진보당은 《정부》에 의해 ２０１４년말에 강제해산당하였으며 통합진보당소속 의원들은 《국회》의원직을 박탈당하였다.

전 통합진보당소속 《국회》의원 리석기는 징역형을 선고받았다.그에 대한 유죄판결은 미국 대 조선과의 전쟁이 발발하는 경우 무엇을 해야 하는가에 대해 토론한 가상적인 담화가 기록된 록음물에 기초하여 내려졌다 한다.

억압적인 사회현실에도 불구하고 미국언론들은 빈번히 남조선을 《민주주의적인 나라》로 보도하고있다.

 

미국언론들이 덮어놓는북조선의 실상

 

１９６０년대와 ７０년대,８０년대에 조선민주주의인민공화국은 강력한 경제력을 가지고있었다.

하지만 미국주민의 대다수는 이러한 사실을 터무니없는 선전으로 습관적으로 거부하고있다.

영국 BBC방송의 웨브싸이트에는 다음과 같은 내용의 글이 실렸다.

《한때 북조선의 계획경제는 활발히 운영된것으로 보인다.실지로 제２차 세계대전이후 창건된 조선민주주의인민공화국은 수립초기에 놀랄만 한 성과들을 이룩하였다.》,《이 나라에서는 참혹하였던 １９５０년－１９５３년 조선전쟁이후 해마다 약 ２０％,지어 ３０％까지의 경제장성률을 기록하였다.》,《１９７０년대말에 이르러 남조선은 북의 〈경제기적〉의 그늘밑에서 기를 펴지 못하였다.》

미국이 실시한 제재는 사실상 북조선이 국제시장들에서 상품을 구입할수 없게 하였다.

조선인들은 １９９０년대에 겪은 위기를 고난의 행군으로 묘사하면서 자기들의 나라를 경제군사적으로 봉쇄한 미국을 비난하였다.

실지로 １９９０년대에 북조선의 상황은 매우 어려워졌으며 아마도 다른 정권이였다면 그러한 압력속에서 필경 붕괴되였을것이다.

군사는 조선의 제일국사로 되고있으며 １８살이상의 거의 모든 조선인들은 여러 형태로 군사에 참여하고있다.

이 사실을 가지고 조선을 비방하는 사람들은 조선이 미국과 사실상 전쟁상태에 있는 나라라는것을 잊지 말아야 한다.수만명의 미군무력이 남조선에 배치되여있으며 조선에 핵폭탄을 투하하는 연습을 정기적으로 진행하고있다.

핵무기보유가 자기 나라의 안전을 더욱 담보해준다는것이 북조선주민들의 일반적인 견해이다.

조선이 핵폭탄을 보유하고있는것으로 하여 미국이 자주 거론하군 하는 《정권교체》나 무력침공의 가능성은 희박해졌다.

공화국의 《인권》문제를 운운하는것은 조선의 현실을 완전히 무시한것으로 된다.

조선사람들은 《세계에서 가장 강력하고 잘 무장된 국가》를 상대로 목숨을 걸고 싸우고있다.

전쟁상태에 있는 나라로서 조선은 자기의 생존을 위해 싸우고있다.

극악한 환경속에서도 조선이 생존할수 있은것은 조선로동당의 정치실력과 함께 령도력이 있기때문이다.

미국언론들에 속아넘어간 사람들은 조선이 세계에서 가장 억압받던 사람들에게 국제적련대성을 표시한 나라라는것에 대해서도 알아야 한다.

조선은 １９７０년대에 미국흑인펜셔당을 적극 지지하였으며 팔레스티나인들에게도 원조를 제공하였다.

또한 조선은 짐바브웨인민들의 투쟁을 도와 영제국과 《로데시아》로 불리운 인종주의정권을 반대하여 싸웠다.조선은 뽀르뚜갈식민주의자들을 반대하여 싸우던 앙골라인민들도 도와주었다.

 

인종차별적폭력

 

《조선민주주의인민공화국에 대한 증오심》,이것은 미국사회에서 거의나 강압적인것으로 된듯싶다.

미국언론들은 사실과 맞지 않는 터무니없는 반공화국선전들을 빈번히 반복보도하고있다.

헐리우드는 조선과 그 주민들을 《악마화》하는 내용들로 일관된 영화들을 만들어냄으로써 미국사회가 전쟁을 위한 정신적준비를 갖추도록 충동하고있다.

조선반도정세와 관련된 모든 외곡된 자료들은 리성을 가진 사람을 놀라게 하기에는 충분한것이다.

지금까지 공화국은 조선반도의 평화적통일을 주장하였다.그들은 모든 정당들이 참여할수 있는 전조선적인 선거를 원하고있으며 동시에 미군무력의 철수를 바라고있다.

이것은 절대로 급진적이거나 과격한 제안이 아니다.조선민주주의인민공화국이 요구하는것은 본질에 있어서 외세에 의한 통치를 원하지 않는다는것이다.여기에 《극단적》이고 《이상》하며 《광기》적인것이란 아무것도 없다.

조선인들은 외세로 인해 한세기나마 분렬과 좌절,혹독한 굴욕을 당해온 사람들이다.

극도의 기만과 인종적우월감으로 조선반도정세에 대해 외곡선전하는 미국언론들이야말로 국제적인 폭력행위들의 근원이다.

【조선중앙통신】

원문보기: Korea: The Dangerous Tone of US Media. Why is the Korean Nation Divided?

 Korea: The Dangerous Tone of US Media. Why is the Korean Nation Divided?

 

By Caleb T. Maupin

Global Research, May 03, 2016

NEO

Region: Asia

Theme: Crimes against Humanity, Culture, Society & History, Media Disinformation

In-depth Report: NORTH KOREA

print 587 13 9 633

korea

Often, when people are first becoming personally acquainted with me and my political views, I will be asked point-blank: “Do you support North Korea?” I always respond, “No, I don’t support North Korea. I support all of Korea.”

 

Among average Americans and even many who consider themselves activists and leftists, there is a great deal of confusion about issues involving the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and its history. Each time there is an escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the level of confusion seems to get worse. The US media makes no effort to educate the public about why Korea is divided — and often blatantly distorts and lies about it.

 

Why is Korea Divided?

 

Prior to the Second World War, the Korean Peninsula was occupied by Japan, which carried out horrendous atrocities against the Korean people. Korean women were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military.

 

When Korean pacifist Christians went out to protest against Japan in March of 1919, over 7,000 of them were killed. The Japanese military retaliated against nonviolent acts of civil disobedience by randomly setting schools on fire and causing hundreds of random Korean children, who had nothing to do with the protests, to die in the flames. Tens of thousands of Koreans were rounded up and tortured by the Japanese on the mere suspicion of involvement in the pacifist, anti-Japaneseprotest movement.

 

After the failure of peaceful, nonviolent struggles, Koreans took up arms against the Japanese occupiers. In the 1920s and 30s, Kim Il Sung and others received military and political training from the Soviet Union. The Chinese Communist Party and the Korean Communist Party often closely cooperated in their activities. Armed Korean and Chinese Communists received a lot of guns and money from the Soviet Union as they fought for basic democratic rights against Japanese occupiers.

 

When the Second World War ended in 1945, the northern half of the Korean Peninsula had been liberated by Soviet troops. The southern half of the Korean Peninsula soon became occupied by US troops. In the northern part of the country, the major anti-Japanese resistance political parties — including communists, Social Democrats, agrarian revolutionaries, Christians, and many others — merged in 1948 to form the Korean Workers Party.

 

 

 

The understanding at the war’s conclusion was that there would be a nationwide election, in which every political party, including the very popular Korean Workers Party, would be allowed to participate in writing a new constitution.

 

However, in the southern half of the Peninsula, a military dictatorship was established. Syngman Rhee seized power and violently suppressed all opposition. The Rhee dictatorship was openly supported by the United States. Thousands of US troops poured into the country to prop up the military regime.

 

When democratic and labor activists living on Jeju Island rose up against Syngman Rhee to demand the free elections promised at the end of the war, US troops joined Rhee’s forces in slaughtering thousands of innocent civilians. Thirty thousand people — roughly one out of every ten people living on Jeju Island — were killed in the aftermath of the uprising.

 

In response to US military occupation of the southern half of Korea, the canceling of free elections, and the slaughter of innocent Korean civilians by US troops, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) based in the northern territories of the peninsula, sent forces into the south, hoping to reunify the country and drive out US troops.

 

The response to the attempted reunification was the horrific United Nations “police action,” more commonly known as the Korean War. The United States bombed every building above one story tall in the northern half of the country. Dams were bombed in order to cause mass flooding of civilian areas. Between 3 and 4 million Koreans were killed.

 

An armistice was declared in 1953 — but the United States never signed a peace treaty, as was agreed upon. The Korean War technically never ended, and the United States has not even recognized the DPRK as a legitimate government.

 

“Democracy” in Southern Korea?

 

During the majority of the years between 1945 and today, the southern half of the Korean Peninsula has been ruled by unapologetic military dictators. Syngman Rhee and Park Chung Hee made no pretense of being democratic. They were violent, repressive military autocrats who were fully supported by the United States. Tens of thousands of US troops have been in southern Korea since the end of the Second World War, and often the US troops were used to violently suppress democratic uprisings against the Rhee and Park dictatorships.

 

After a series of student uprisings, labor protests, and other upsurges among the population, in the 1980s Korea transitioned toward a less repressive government. However, even today the government in southern Korea is hardly a poster child for “human rights.”

 

The Unified Progressive Party, the only genuine opposition party in southern Korea, was forcibly broken up by the government in 2013. Five candidates from the Unified Progressive Party, who had won seats in the government, were not permitted to take office. The leader of the party, Lee Seok-ki, was sent to prison for 12 years. Her conviction was based on a tape-recorded hypothetical conversation about what to do in the event of war between the United States and the DPRK.

 

A Korean youth named Park Jung-geun was sent to prison for 10 months in 2012, simply for re-tweeting the statements of the DPRK on social media. Park included sarcastic, anti-communist comments, and was clearly not a supporter of his northern countryfolk. He was still imprisoned.

 

 

 

The National Security Laws in the southern part of the Korean peninsula violate any notion of “human rights” and “free speech.” In southern Korea, making any statement in support of the DPRK, or even vaguely in support of Marxism or socialism, is a very serious crime. Koreans live in fear of openly speaking about the history of their country, the continued presence of US troops, or commonly discussed political concepts like class struggle. Saying anything that could in any way be construed as positive about their northern countryfolk could very well mean being imprisoned or tortured under Korean law.

 

The current president of the “Republic of Korea” in the southern regions of the country is Park Geun-hye. She is the daughter of the previously mentioned military dictator Park Chung Hee. Park is not only responsible for the death of tens of thousands of innocent people; he routinely employed methods of torture, collective punishment, retaliation against family members, and other extreme violations of human rights.

 

Park Guen-hye makes no attempt to distance herself from her father or any of his autocratic practices and well documented crimes against humanity. She describes her father’s coup d’état — in which he deposed the elected government with violence and established a brutal military dictatorship — as a “revolution to save the country” from communism.

 

Despite so much ugly repression, US media routinely calls the “Republic of Korea” in the south “democratic.”

 

Conditions in the North

 

During the 1960s, 70s, and even the early 80s, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in the northern parts of the country, had a very strong economy.

 

This fact will of course be automatically dismissed as outrageous propaganda by the average American, but it is confirmed by the BBC.

 

An article from BBC’s website proclaims: “At one time, North Korea’s centrally planned economy seemed to work well — indeed, in the initial years after the creation of North Korea following World War II, with spectacular results.”

 

“The mass mobilisation of the population, along with Soviet and Chinese technical assistance and financial aid, resulted in annual economic growth rates estimated to have reached 20%, even 30%, in the years following the devastating 1950-53 Korean war.”

 

“As late as the 1970s, South Korea languished in the shadow of the ‘economic miracle’ north of the border.”

 

The DPRK’s crisis of malnutrition during the 1990s was the result of the collapse of the Soviet Union. The agrarian parts of the Korean Peninsula are all in the south, while the north is very mountainous. Without oil from the Soviet Union, it became very hard for the DPRK’s agricultural system to function. Sanctions from the United States made it nearly impossible for the DPRK to purchase things on the international markets, and as a result, there was mass starvation.

 

Koreans refer to this period of mass starvation in the 1990s as the “Arduous March” and they blame the United States’ economic and military blockade of their country for it. The conditions in the northern regions of the Korean peninsula were very bad during the 1990s, and any other government would have most likely collapsed under such pressure.

 

The DPRK has been able to slowly recover from these disastrous years. The DPRK now trades with Russia, Iran, Venezuela, China, and other countries. The DPRK’s agricultural system has been revamped, and the country has now been able to allocate money toward the construction of new housing units and other infrastructure for the population.

 

Defense spending remains a top priority in the DPRK, and almost every Korean above the age of 18 is somehow involved in the military. Those who criticize the DPRK for this forget that this is a country which is literally at war with the United States. Tens of thousands of US troops are lined up along its borders. The US military routinely rehearses dropping atomic bombs on the DPRK, and US Army General Douglas MacArthur publicly threatened to do this during the Korean War.

 

Koreans in the north generally feel that the proliferation of nuclear weapons has enabled them to be much more secure as a country. Now that the DPRK has the atomic bomb, the United States is far less likely to attack or invade and carry out the “regime change” it often discusses.

 

Critiques of the DPRK in relation to the topic of “human rights” often completely ignore the context and history of Korea. Between 3 and 4 million Koreans died in the Korean War, with no peace treaty ever signed. A similarly large amount died during the 1990s as a result of malnutrition, imposed on the country by the United States. The people of the DPRK are fighting for their very lives against the most powerful and well armed government in the world. Millions of Korean lives have already been claimed by the United States.

 

No country, facing such extreme threats and encirclement, can be expected to be a free, open society full of debate and discussion. The DPRK is locked down, in a state of war, fighting for its survival. No sensible person would claim it is a paradise, or an ideal model for human civilization. Under extremely hostile circumstances, the DPRK survives — primarily because of the political brilliance of the Korean Workers Party and its overall ability to mobilize and maintain the loyalty of the population.

 

Often the US media portrays the DPRK’s leadership as vulgar nationalists or “supremacists.” Those who fall for US media claims that the DPRK is somehow “racist” should note that the DPRK has a record of international solidarity with oppressed peoples around the world.

 

The DPRK was very supportive of the US Black Panther Party during the 1970s. The DPRK has come to the aid of thePalestinians.

 

The DPRK also supported the people of Zimbabwe as they fought against the British Empire and the apartheid settler state called “Rhodesia.” The DPRK supported the people of Angola in fighting against Portuguese colonialism. The DPRK even gave military support to Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress, while the US described them as “terrorists.”

 

Anti-Asian Racism and War Propaganda

 

Hatred for the DPRK seems to be almost compulsive in the United States. US media routinely repeats outrageous anti-DPRK allegations that have no basis in fact.

 

US media has claimed that women in the DPRK are forbidden to ride bicycles. This claim is easily refuted. Women in the DPRK not only ride bicycles, but have won Gold Medals in Olympic sports such as target shooting and weightlifting.

 

Without the slightest hesitation, US media repeated the claim that a prominent DPRK official was executed by “being eaten by a pack of wild dogs.” This outrageous story was proven to have originated in a satirical publication in China, and was never even intended to be true.

 

Hollywood churns out films like “Red Dawn,” “Olympus Has Fallen” and “The Interview,” all of which are dedicated to demonizing the DPRK, dehumanizing its population, and psychologically preparing the US public for war. The amount of extreme distortion associated with everything related to the situation on the Korean Peninsula should be very shocking and upsetting to any sensible person.

 

Many Asian Americans say the manner in which the DPRK is portrayed in US media should be offensive, not just to Koreans, but to all Asians. The anti-DPRK Hollywood film “The Interview,” which caused international tensions, involved extensive mockery of the Korean accent by white male actors. Furthermore, the film notably portrayed Korean women — who were forced into sexual slavery by Japan, and often raped by US troops during the Korean War — as mere sex objects, with white male characters crassly commenting on their bodies.

 

The extensive mockery of accents, clothing styles and other things in relation to the DPRK all fits into an archaic racist concept commonly called “Asiatic despotism.” At one time, the US and western European press portrayed Chinese, Vietnamese, and even Russian leaders in roughly the same way.

 

The racist underlying message hinted at in the endless slander and mockery of Korea’s leadership is that the peoples of Asian descent are barbaric savages, who naturally long for autocracy, and need whites to forcibly “civilize” them and teach them about “democracy.” While the extreme demonization of the DPRK’s leaders is the most blatant example, the old racist caricature of “Asiatic despots” and “Mongoloid tyrants” is gradually reemerging in relation to Xi Jinping in China and Vladimir Putin in Russia.

 

For the last five decades, the DPRK has called for peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula. The leaders of the Korean Workers Party currently ask for nothing more than what was agreed upon at the end of the Second World War. They want nationwide elections in which every party, including the communists, can participate. They also want US troops to leave.

 

This is hardly a radical or extreme proposal. The request of the DPRK is essentially: “Let Koreans run Korea.” There is nothing “extreme,” “crazy,” or “insane” about it.

 

Koreans are people — just like Americans, Western Europeans, Russians, Iranians, Chinese, or others. However, the Koreans are a people that have been subjected to almost a century of division, degradation and extreme humiliation by foreign powers.

 

The people of the Korean Peninsula, both in the north and the south, deserve our support and respect, not further demonization and mockery. The US media’s use of such extreme deception and racism in its portrayal of the situation on the Korean Peninsula should be a source of global outrage.

 

Caleb Maupin is a political analyst and activist based in New York. He studied political science at Baldwin-Wallace College and was inspired and involved in the Occupy Wall Street movement, especially for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.

 

The original source of this article is NEO

Copyright © Caleb T. Maupin, NEO, 2016a