Posted on 11/02/2009 10:31:35 AM PST by joey703
Today we will have a presentation on how North Korean institutions have changed since the death of Kim Il Sung. One particular item, the presenting group this week has looked at is the new North Korean constitution, adopted in late September of this year stands out to highlight how much North Korea has fallen. Below is a rough draft of a translation of the North Korean constitution. There is a section missing on the draft copy of the translation, but I hope to have that updated shortly. But, what is fascinating about looking at the constitution is how far North Korea has come.
When North Korea was first formed, it could be argued that the founders of North Korea were Korean patriots in that they were like the cronies brought in to head a government as in the South. There is a lot of material available on how hard it was for the United States to bring in a legitmate leader to South Korea that was not tainted by either Communism and/or Japanese Collaboration. For example, I would look at how General John R. Hodge, the military governor of South Korea from 1945-1948, felt about South Korea's first leader, Rhee Syng Man - he despised Rhee Syng Man. But, now, a quick reading of the North Korean constitution invites ridicule, note that the Constitution of the DPRK states that North Korean laborers have the right "to work for 8 hours a day." More commentary on this later.
(Excerpt) Read more at northxkorea.blogspot.com ...
When did they have any?
You’d be surprised. Up until 1980.
See the overview portion of this posting...
http://northxkorea.blogspot.com/2009/11/decal-response-paper.html
South Korea is the regime that had was seen to really be the state lacking legitimacy at her inception; the country was dependent on American handouts (sounds a lot like the north now ?). And, Soviet troops quickly left the north and almost none, except for a very small handful of advisors by the dawn of the Korean War.
This probably didn’t change until 1980s or so, or at the very least until probably 1988 (Seoul Olympics).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.