Union of Agricultural Workers of Korea


The Union of Agricultural Workers of Korea is a trade union and mass organization for agricultural workers in North Korea. It is one of the most important mass organizations in the country. UAWK was founded in 1946 and reformed in 1965 along the lines of North Korean leader Kim Il-sung's landmark Theses on the Socialist Rural Question in Our Country. The organization is a member of the popular front Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland and is directly controlled by the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea.
UAWK educates its 1.6 million members – farmers as well as office workers and manual laborers in the farming sector – on agricultural issues. Additionally, the organization educates on ideological matters, including Juche. The current chairman is Kim Chang-yop.

History

The Union was founded as the Farmers' Union of North Korea on 31 January 1946. In February 1951, it was combined with its South Korean equivalent, the General Federation of Farmers' Unions, to form the Farmers' Union of Korea. The organization adopted its current name in 25 March 1965. The reason behind the name change was a decision to renew the organization according to the guidelines set in Kim Il-sung's 1964 landmark work on agricultural policy, Theses on the Socialist Rural Question in Our Country.

Organization

The organization is headquartered in the capital Pyongyang. It is directly controlled by the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. UAWK is a member of the popular front Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland.
The current chairman of UAWK is Kim Chang-yop. His predecessor was Ri Myong-kil, who in turn was preceded by Seong San-sop since April 1998. Seong was preceded by Choe Seong-suk, who had been the chairman since 1993.

Membership

The Union's current membership of 1.6 million is down from three million in the 1980s.
North Korean citizens are required to be members of at least one party-affiliated mass organization, one of which is the UAWK. Membership in the UWAK is open to farmers on collective farms between the ages of 31 and 65, as well as office workers, and manual laborers in the agricultural sector.
In addition to educating about agricultural matters, the organization provides education on ideology, including the Juche idea. The role of the organization can be characterized as "indoctrinating and controlling... rather than workers."

Works cited