The Juche faction,[1][2] also known by its Korean name Juchesasangpa[3] and Korean abbreviation Jusapa,[4] was a political faction within South Korea's student movements that supported the North Korean political ideology known as Juche. It reached peak prominence during the pro-democracy demonstrations of the 1980s and was part of the wider National Liberation Faction.
History
Background
After the division of Korea and the Korean War, most left-leaning political groups went underground.[5] However, as the government suppressed democratic protests and the "Seoul Spring" fell in the 1980s to the rise of military general Chun Doo-hwan's reign, the influx of Juche ideology occurred. The dominance of Jusapa became apparent after a fight between groups with opposing views.[6]
Origin
The movement started in early 1986 with Undongkwon participating in student movements and labor movements.[6] A book written by Kim Young-hwan [ko] called "The Letter of One Labor Activist Sending to All Our Fellow Young Students" (한 노동운동가가 청년 학생들에게 보내는 편지) with the pseudonym "Kang Chol" (강철), also known as "kangcholsoshin" (강철서신, Kang cheol's letter), was considered as the textbook of the movement among participants.[7] The movement was also called the National Liberation faction (NL) because it emphasized the "national liberation" of South Korea based on the theory of North Korean revolution called "The Theory of Revolution of National Liberation and People's Democracy" (민족해방 민중민주주의혁명론).[8] However, the term "National Liberation faction" can also refer to groups who did not accept Juche but held the same perception that the people of South Korea should be liberated.[6]
Certain leftist movements in South Korea are often referred to as "chinbuk" (Korean: 친북; Hanja: 親北; lit. pro-North), "Jongbuk" (Korean: 종북; Hanja: 從北; lit. pursuant to North) and "Jusapa" (Juche proponent) by Korean conservatives, anti-communists and others critical of the North. This perception is reinforced by cases such as Lim Su-kyung, who is best known for attending the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students, held in North Korea and praising President of North KoreaKim Il Sung in 1989.[11] She attended the festival representing the student organization Jeondaehyop, now known as Hanchongryun. In April 2012, she was elected as a member of the 19th National Assembly as the Democratic United Party's 21st proportional representative. In June 2012, in a confrontation with a North Korean defector in a bar, Lim hurled insults and referred to a ruling party lawmaker as a "son-of-a-bitch betrayer" and another as a "traitor" in what has been described by Korea JoonAng Daily as "an alcohol-fueled tirade at a Seoul restaurant", questioning their legitimacy to challenge her as a lawmaker.[12] This led to public protests.[12]
^Lee Jong-tak (이종탁) (29 September 2009). 이종탁이 만난 사람, 통일의 꽃 임수경 [Interview with Lee Jong-tak, the flower of unification: Lim Su-kyung]. Monthly Kyunghyang (in Korean). Retrieved 3 June 2012.