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Everyday Life in the North Korean Revolution, 1945–1950
During the founding of North Korea, competing visions of an ideal modern state proliferated. Independence and democracy were touted by all, but plans for the future of North Korea differed in their ideas about how everyday life should be organized. Daily life came under scrutiny as the primary arena for social change in public and private life. In Everyday Life in the North Korean Revolution, 1945–1950, Kim examines the revolutionary events that shaped people’s lives in the development of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. By shifting the historical focus from the state and the Great Leader to how villagers experienced social revolution, Kim offers new insights into why North Korea insists on setting its own course.
Kim’s innovative use of documents seized by U.S. military forces during the Korean War and now stored in the National Archives—personnel files, autobiographies, minutes of organizational meetings, educational materials, women’s magazines, and court documents—together with oral histories allows her to present the first social history of North Korea during its formative years. In an account that makes clear the leading role of women in these efforts, Kim examines how villagers experienced, understood, and later remembered such events as the first land reform and modern elections in Korea’s history, as well as practices in literacy schools, communal halls, mass organizations, and study sessions that transformed daily routine.
Kim’s innovative use of documents seized by U.S. military forces during the Korean War and now stored in the National Archives—personnel files, autobiographies, minutes of organizational meetings, educational materials, women’s magazines, and court documents—together with oral histories allows her to present the first social history of North Korea during its formative years. In an account that makes clear the leading role of women in these efforts, Kim examines how villagers experienced, understood, and later remembered such events as the first land reform and modern elections in Korea’s history, as well as practices in literacy schools, communal halls, mass organizations, and study sessions that transformed daily routine.
328 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2013
28 people are currently reading
1029 people want to read
About the author
Suzy Kim
12 books13 followersSuzy Kim is Associate Professor of Korean History at Rutgers University.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 8, 2024
I started reading this book while transiting through South Korea to and from Cuba last year. The accounts of the Revolution - particularly the fervour with which working class Koreans responded to the end of colonial rule; not only rejoicing but rapidly seeking progressive new social forms (obviously, especially in the North) - contrasted enormously with the modern realities of the South. Long a vassal of United States imperial interests, the South is a deeply depressed and depressing place - the return from Revolutionary Cuba into Seoul hit like a tonne of bricks.
It took me over a year to complete this book, not because of its quality or lack thereof, but because it’s written in short sections. It’s easy to pick up, read a section, and then read something else. As the author notes, this is likely a result of an incomplete set of sources - a product of the squashing of historical memory on both sides of the border and Korean social norms (the author interviewed men who participated in the Revolution, but couldn’t get women to agree to speak to her).
In all, this has to be one of the best histories of this period written in English. It does not get bogged down at all in the politics of modern Korea and associated anti-communism. Its focus is relatively narrow, but within that scope it provides great detail, particularly on the experience of women. A must-read for anyone interested in Korean, post-colonial and/or socialist history.
It took me over a year to complete this book, not because of its quality or lack thereof, but because it’s written in short sections. It’s easy to pick up, read a section, and then read something else. As the author notes, this is likely a result of an incomplete set of sources - a product of the squashing of historical memory on both sides of the border and Korean social norms (the author interviewed men who participated in the Revolution, but couldn’t get women to agree to speak to her).
In all, this has to be one of the best histories of this period written in English. It does not get bogged down at all in the politics of modern Korea and associated anti-communism. Its focus is relatively narrow, but within that scope it provides great detail, particularly on the experience of women. A must-read for anyone interested in Korean, post-colonial and/or socialist history.
April 22, 2025
amazing read ! Kim takes a unique approach to analysing the history of North Korea, focusing on the principle of everyday life as a force for revolutionary change as opposed to a capitalist construct to maximise output. She emphasises the differences between rural life under colonial modernity and post-revolution, with a comprehensive account of policies around education, literacy and women’s liberation and data from the changes that these brought about.
The last two chapters of the book are slightly more theoretical in basis, still heavily grounded in fact but also blended with Kim’s own thoughts on the consequences of androcentric history of Korea on women’s autonomy and the difference in how they recount the liberation of Korea from colonial rule from their male counterparts.
It’s rare to find such an expertly researched and well written book on North Korean history in English. There is a brief account of the Korean war in the conclusion, but it is primarily focused on the policies and lifestyle change brought about by liberation.
The last two chapters of the book are slightly more theoretical in basis, still heavily grounded in fact but also blended with Kim’s own thoughts on the consequences of androcentric history of Korea on women’s autonomy and the difference in how they recount the liberation of Korea from colonial rule from their male counterparts.
It’s rare to find such an expertly researched and well written book on North Korean history in English. There is a brief account of the Korean war in the conclusion, but it is primarily focused on the policies and lifestyle change brought about by liberation.
August 30, 2021
Short Version
This extensively researched book provides novel insights into the transformation (cultural revolution) of the Korean society north of the 38th parallel, from 1945 (Japanese surrender and end of Japanese colonial rule of Korea) to 1950 (beginning of Korean War).
The book provides a theoretical framework for “everyday life” in the first chapter. Then the book looks at Korean life in the Japanese colonial time and issues that restricted many Koreans during that time. In chapter three, the author explains three major reforms implemented in the North, within a year of the end of the war: land reform, representation of people in the political process, and a literacy and education campaign. These three reforms transformed the bulk of Korean society.
To sustain these changes, the author points to the multiple people committees and organizations North Koreans were encouraged to take part in (Chapter 4), the process of writing autobiographies to join those organizations and express the individual life stories pre- and post-liberation (i.e., end of Japanese rule) (Chapter 5), the expanded role of women in the North Korean society (Chapter 6), and how people talked about their lives many years after the liberation (Chapter 7), pointing to gender differences in how people talked of their lives.
The author uses a huge archive of “records seized by the US Military Forces in Korea” during the Korean War, with a focus on one county near the 38th parallel (Inje) [north of the 38th parallel, but after 1953 south of the DMZ] for much of her analysis, and in the final chapter she relies on published memoirs and oral histories she collected many years earlier.
The author’s insightful analysis provides a novel way to understand the beginning of the North Korean society, although as she writes in her concluding chapter, the promise did not live long.
I learned a great deal from this book. Not being a historian, I cannot comment on the theoretic framework, although I note the book received the 2015 James Palais Book Prize from the Association for Asian Studies.
The book should readers interested in a novel view of the forces at the post-colonial beginning of the North Korean society, and the role Koreans played in those activities.
FB. An interesting and novel perspective of the transformation of the North Korean society after independence (1945) to the Korean War (1950), for individuals interested in this era and topic. Extensively researched using documents captures in the Korean War, memoirs, and oral histories.
Long Version: Likely some errors remaining in this text
This extensively research book provides novel insights into the transformation (cultural revolution) of the Korean society north of the 38th parallel, from the time of the Japanese surrender (August 15, 1945) and nearly coincident Russian occupation to the onset of the Korean War (June 25, 1950). It is a valuable contribution to our understanding of the activities and foundation of the North Korean society in the period immediately after World War II.
The author begins by providing examples and definitions of terms such as to frame her arguments about “everyday life” in the North Korean Revolution and also contrasts the experiences of the non-contemporaneous experiences in Russia and China. She also provides the major backdrop of living in colonial Japan, and during the final years of Japanese colonialization the forces assimilation practices imposed on Koreans: prohibition from speaking Korean in schools (1934), forced worship at Shinto shrines (1935), coerced adoption of Japanese names (1939), and conscripted to various war effort activities (1940). (page 36).
There were commonly shared feelings by all Koreans after World War II, and one was a deep sense of national pride. Koreans had a long history of governing themselves and expected that to be the outcome of the war’s end. However, that was not what the war victors allowed. The decision to divide the Korean peninsula at the 38th parallel was made in 30 minutes by two members of the State Department and a National Geographic map, placing Seoul below the line for US “management.” The Russians, surprisingly, agreed. Ironically, Pyongyang, named the “Jerusalem of the East” because of the many Christian churches, fell in the north; the Christians were conservative. And more communists were in the South.
Koreans had already set up self-governing committees via the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence. The Soviets accepted this structure; the US, in short order, dismissed these, believing them to be left leaning, and also thought of the Koreans as defeated enemies.
The colonial legacy is the backdrop to three major changes made relatively soon after a provisional government was established in North Korea:
• Land Reform, that resulted in a redistribution of land, held by Japanese, “traitors to the Korean nation who collaborated with Japanese enslavers,” and wealthy landowners with land over roughly twelve acres (five chongbo), to peasants. Under colonial rule, the plight of the peasant had worsened, although some landowners profited. [Enacted March 5, 1946 by the provisional government.]
• Political representation of most, through people committees, resulting in the first mass election in Korea’s history (p9). The process proceeded through various and levels in North Korean society: provincial, city, county, township, and village. Candidates at the village level were nominated at public meetings; at higher levels, they had to be nominated by political parties or organizations. The first elections for provincial, city and county representatives of the people committees were on November 3, 1946, for village elections February 24-25, 1947, and townships elections on March 5, 1947. There were relationships between the levels. Finally, a North Korean People’s Assembly was elected from among the provincial representatives as the highest legislative organ.
• Literacy campaign and educational opportunities. In 1944, “almost twenty million Koreans out of a population of twenty-five million had had no formal schools of any kind.… The vast majority of the population, especially in rural areas, had never attended school. Even the educated were only versed in Japanese while illiterate in vernacular Korean.” (p98). While Japanese had provided schooling, it was often limited, in who could attend and for how long. The goal for educating the Koreans was to be of use in the Japanese colony, and later the war effort.
These types of reforms changed social relationships between people and provide opportunities where none had been before. As the author notes, “paradoxically, the institutionalization of local political committees through the elections of 1946 to 1947 effectively began the process for centralizing North Korea’s political structure.
Another legacy of the occupation came from many of the Koreans who moved to Manchuria to join in the armed resistance. When the Japanese took control of Manchuria, with the excuse of protecting Japanese interests (Koreans), many of the Chinese Communities launched a campaign to remove Koreans from their ranks, fearing they were Japanese spies. Kim Il-sung was almost caught up in this effort. This, and the experiences during the Korean War, reinforced a focus on self-reliance.
Committees and organizations played a key role early in these transformations, for women, for youth,…. Also, to become part or a committee, you needed to write an autobiography. The author analyzes several of these.
The author provides wonderful examples of the challenges of gender equality, and the active steps the early North Korean government took to address, through laws, Gender Equality Law (passed on July 30, 1946). Yet, law and culture often struggle against each other. Women were still expected to carry a heavy burden at the home. One of the common complaints of women, who were given new opportunities in education and leadership, was there simply was not the time to do everything and that husbands were not helping.
Much of the work in this book is based on the analysis of data and files. One critical resource used by this author and a few others that have tried to better understand the transition between the end of Japanese rule and current day North Korea is the North Korean Captured Documents containing 1,609,000 pages of “records Seized by the US Military Forces in Korea” during the Korean War (1950-53). Also, some of the author’s analysis focuses on Inje County, in the middle of Kangwon Province, near the 38th parallel. Before the Korean War, it was north of the parallel; after the war it was south of the current demilitarized zone (DMZ). The book has multiple tables to add weight to the author’s statements.
However, a final chapter is based on narrative, published or gathered by the author of various individuals living in the south, who live during the days of Japanese occupation, “liberation”, and nation-state development. There were several striking aspects of this chapter. First, for those interviewed, men seemed more eager to talk about their experiences, giving a male bias to history. Women often said not much happened and would not sit for a formal interview. Yet, in informal conversations, the author learned several women joined armed resistance (in South Korea). Second, while the discussion of gender (as with land reform) was important to Koreans, in the south, little was done immediately, unlike the active measure in the north. Finally, as the author notes, the divergent collective memories between the north and the south pose powerful challenges for the future reconciliation of the two Koreas.
Let me note the author is an Associate Professor at Rutgers University, with specialties and/or interests in modern Korean history; social and cultural history; gender studies; oral history; social theory. This book received the 2015 James Palais Book Prize from the Association for Asian Studies.
As I write this review, I have in my mind a question. Is this book worth reading? And if so, by whom?
I am not a historian, and I will admit that some of the theory framing the author did, while absolutely necessary, would take a great deal of thinking to appreciate, if never been exposed to before (like me).
On the other hand, I clearly learned a great deal, and am struggling to be more concise in how I write this review.
For an individual interested in learning about the North Korea Cultural Revolution from 1945 to 1950, and who is open to the new analysis of the treasure trove of documents in the US collection, this is a valuable book, worth investing time, and likely without a comparable alternative.
This extensively researched book provides novel insights into the transformation (cultural revolution) of the Korean society north of the 38th parallel, from 1945 (Japanese surrender and end of Japanese colonial rule of Korea) to 1950 (beginning of Korean War).
The book provides a theoretical framework for “everyday life” in the first chapter. Then the book looks at Korean life in the Japanese colonial time and issues that restricted many Koreans during that time. In chapter three, the author explains three major reforms implemented in the North, within a year of the end of the war: land reform, representation of people in the political process, and a literacy and education campaign. These three reforms transformed the bulk of Korean society.
To sustain these changes, the author points to the multiple people committees and organizations North Koreans were encouraged to take part in (Chapter 4), the process of writing autobiographies to join those organizations and express the individual life stories pre- and post-liberation (i.e., end of Japanese rule) (Chapter 5), the expanded role of women in the North Korean society (Chapter 6), and how people talked about their lives many years after the liberation (Chapter 7), pointing to gender differences in how people talked of their lives.
The author uses a huge archive of “records seized by the US Military Forces in Korea” during the Korean War, with a focus on one county near the 38th parallel (Inje) [north of the 38th parallel, but after 1953 south of the DMZ] for much of her analysis, and in the final chapter she relies on published memoirs and oral histories she collected many years earlier.
The author’s insightful analysis provides a novel way to understand the beginning of the North Korean society, although as she writes in her concluding chapter, the promise did not live long.
I learned a great deal from this book. Not being a historian, I cannot comment on the theoretic framework, although I note the book received the 2015 James Palais Book Prize from the Association for Asian Studies.
The book should readers interested in a novel view of the forces at the post-colonial beginning of the North Korean society, and the role Koreans played in those activities.
FB. An interesting and novel perspective of the transformation of the North Korean society after independence (1945) to the Korean War (1950), for individuals interested in this era and topic. Extensively researched using documents captures in the Korean War, memoirs, and oral histories.
Long Version: Likely some errors remaining in this text
This extensively research book provides novel insights into the transformation (cultural revolution) of the Korean society north of the 38th parallel, from the time of the Japanese surrender (August 15, 1945) and nearly coincident Russian occupation to the onset of the Korean War (June 25, 1950). It is a valuable contribution to our understanding of the activities and foundation of the North Korean society in the period immediately after World War II.
The author begins by providing examples and definitions of terms such as to frame her arguments about “everyday life” in the North Korean Revolution and also contrasts the experiences of the non-contemporaneous experiences in Russia and China. She also provides the major backdrop of living in colonial Japan, and during the final years of Japanese colonialization the forces assimilation practices imposed on Koreans: prohibition from speaking Korean in schools (1934), forced worship at Shinto shrines (1935), coerced adoption of Japanese names (1939), and conscripted to various war effort activities (1940). (page 36).
There were commonly shared feelings by all Koreans after World War II, and one was a deep sense of national pride. Koreans had a long history of governing themselves and expected that to be the outcome of the war’s end. However, that was not what the war victors allowed. The decision to divide the Korean peninsula at the 38th parallel was made in 30 minutes by two members of the State Department and a National Geographic map, placing Seoul below the line for US “management.” The Russians, surprisingly, agreed. Ironically, Pyongyang, named the “Jerusalem of the East” because of the many Christian churches, fell in the north; the Christians were conservative. And more communists were in the South.
Koreans had already set up self-governing committees via the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence. The Soviets accepted this structure; the US, in short order, dismissed these, believing them to be left leaning, and also thought of the Koreans as defeated enemies.
The colonial legacy is the backdrop to three major changes made relatively soon after a provisional government was established in North Korea:
• Land Reform, that resulted in a redistribution of land, held by Japanese, “traitors to the Korean nation who collaborated with Japanese enslavers,” and wealthy landowners with land over roughly twelve acres (five chongbo), to peasants. Under colonial rule, the plight of the peasant had worsened, although some landowners profited. [Enacted March 5, 1946 by the provisional government.]
• Political representation of most, through people committees, resulting in the first mass election in Korea’s history (p9). The process proceeded through various and levels in North Korean society: provincial, city, county, township, and village. Candidates at the village level were nominated at public meetings; at higher levels, they had to be nominated by political parties or organizations. The first elections for provincial, city and county representatives of the people committees were on November 3, 1946, for village elections February 24-25, 1947, and townships elections on March 5, 1947. There were relationships between the levels. Finally, a North Korean People’s Assembly was elected from among the provincial representatives as the highest legislative organ.
• Literacy campaign and educational opportunities. In 1944, “almost twenty million Koreans out of a population of twenty-five million had had no formal schools of any kind.… The vast majority of the population, especially in rural areas, had never attended school. Even the educated were only versed in Japanese while illiterate in vernacular Korean.” (p98). While Japanese had provided schooling, it was often limited, in who could attend and for how long. The goal for educating the Koreans was to be of use in the Japanese colony, and later the war effort.
These types of reforms changed social relationships between people and provide opportunities where none had been before. As the author notes, “paradoxically, the institutionalization of local political committees through the elections of 1946 to 1947 effectively began the process for centralizing North Korea’s political structure.
Another legacy of the occupation came from many of the Koreans who moved to Manchuria to join in the armed resistance. When the Japanese took control of Manchuria, with the excuse of protecting Japanese interests (Koreans), many of the Chinese Communities launched a campaign to remove Koreans from their ranks, fearing they were Japanese spies. Kim Il-sung was almost caught up in this effort. This, and the experiences during the Korean War, reinforced a focus on self-reliance.
Committees and organizations played a key role early in these transformations, for women, for youth,…. Also, to become part or a committee, you needed to write an autobiography. The author analyzes several of these.
The author provides wonderful examples of the challenges of gender equality, and the active steps the early North Korean government took to address, through laws, Gender Equality Law (passed on July 30, 1946). Yet, law and culture often struggle against each other. Women were still expected to carry a heavy burden at the home. One of the common complaints of women, who were given new opportunities in education and leadership, was there simply was not the time to do everything and that husbands were not helping.
Much of the work in this book is based on the analysis of data and files. One critical resource used by this author and a few others that have tried to better understand the transition between the end of Japanese rule and current day North Korea is the North Korean Captured Documents containing 1,609,000 pages of “records Seized by the US Military Forces in Korea” during the Korean War (1950-53). Also, some of the author’s analysis focuses on Inje County, in the middle of Kangwon Province, near the 38th parallel. Before the Korean War, it was north of the parallel; after the war it was south of the current demilitarized zone (DMZ). The book has multiple tables to add weight to the author’s statements.
However, a final chapter is based on narrative, published or gathered by the author of various individuals living in the south, who live during the days of Japanese occupation, “liberation”, and nation-state development. There were several striking aspects of this chapter. First, for those interviewed, men seemed more eager to talk about their experiences, giving a male bias to history. Women often said not much happened and would not sit for a formal interview. Yet, in informal conversations, the author learned several women joined armed resistance (in South Korea). Second, while the discussion of gender (as with land reform) was important to Koreans, in the south, little was done immediately, unlike the active measure in the north. Finally, as the author notes, the divergent collective memories between the north and the south pose powerful challenges for the future reconciliation of the two Koreas.
Let me note the author is an Associate Professor at Rutgers University, with specialties and/or interests in modern Korean history; social and cultural history; gender studies; oral history; social theory. This book received the 2015 James Palais Book Prize from the Association for Asian Studies.
As I write this review, I have in my mind a question. Is this book worth reading? And if so, by whom?
I am not a historian, and I will admit that some of the theory framing the author did, while absolutely necessary, would take a great deal of thinking to appreciate, if never been exposed to before (like me).
On the other hand, I clearly learned a great deal, and am struggling to be more concise in how I write this review.
For an individual interested in learning about the North Korea Cultural Revolution from 1945 to 1950, and who is open to the new analysis of the treasure trove of documents in the US collection, this is a valuable book, worth investing time, and likely without a comparable alternative.
January 2, 2022
This was an incredible read. The author offers a very intricate history of the North Korean revolution from 45-50, examining autobiographies, county records, interviews and other mass sources to compile a bottom up history of the period. Kim argues that the revolution was conducted in pursuit of a socialist modernity against the previous capitalist colonial modernity, going against continentalists who insist that all modernity is fundamentally colonial. The thesis on socialist modernity requires a little more engagement with Foucault and others than most readers (myself included) might find interesting, but I think it was necessary for the author in order to write back against the dominant intellectual culture of her field/the academy.
December 4, 2025
my neuralink did not approve this rating
November 14, 2023
A great and informative book, backed up by all the elements useful in historical studies : purely factual, theoretical, ethnographic, with a keen accent on comparative historiography. Thanks to Kim among others we know there was a real and substantive democratic revolution in this country.
June 23, 2021
One of the most thought-provoking historical books read this year. It brings much nuance and complexity to oft-caricaturist, oft-politicized understandings of North Korea and its political, socioeconomic developments.
Alongside rigorous, empirical findings, Kim threads the scholarly conversation with important discussions on methodology, oral and marginalized history, source limitations, and a 20th-century context. Kim highlights the role of modernity, colonialism, industrialization, and evolving political-economic thought within the newly-freed, democratic, Korean north, shedding light on seeds planted during the five-year period (1945-1950) before the Korean War. Her work challenges further discourses on history-making and perennial questions between the individual and collective, social and material, public and private.
Alongside rigorous, empirical findings, Kim threads the scholarly conversation with important discussions on methodology, oral and marginalized history, source limitations, and a 20th-century context. Kim highlights the role of modernity, colonialism, industrialization, and evolving political-economic thought within the newly-freed, democratic, Korean north, shedding light on seeds planted during the five-year period (1945-1950) before the Korean War. Her work challenges further discourses on history-making and perennial questions between the individual and collective, social and material, public and private.
January 17, 2025
Pretty much invaluable just for the fact that it is a totally non-sensationalized historical account of North Korean communal organization based entirely off of primary sources but Kim is an engaging enough writer that this is elevated far past even that. I never really approach history books (especially ones as analytical and non-episodic as this is) for their narrative structure but this is just brilliantly well-organized. Would of course highly recommend to anyone interested in Korean history but also just to anyone interested in revolution as a broad historical phenomenon, communist or otherwise.
March 27, 2024
Well-researched, informative and at times funny. Lacks some broader political/historical context on the revolution that non-specialists could use.
Main drawback was that the organization wasn't super clear, and some chapters felt underdeveloped. Prose was not great and at times slowed up the reading.
Very valuable, in any case.
Main drawback was that the organization wasn't super clear, and some chapters felt underdeveloped. Prose was not great and at times slowed up the reading.
Very valuable, in any case.
August 13, 2024
Suzy Kim is absolutely goated and everyone should read this. An extremely well-rounded book on the underexamined history of the people behind the DPRK. Reading this has made me a more principled organizer already like Ooo dare to struggle dare to commit your life to the revolution
July 27, 2025
Highly recommend for anyone interested in Korea, especially those with a general understanding of Korean history
January 14, 2025
Love Suzy Kim! Love a history book where I agree with almost everything they say!
January 12, 2023
Suzy Kim writes that "neither the top down model of revolution that views the North Korean revolution as Kim Il Sung's singular project nor the bottom up model that views it as entirely spontaneous is accurate." Kim demonstrates this quite convincingly, and in an interesting way - through the "everyday life" of people living above "38 North." This was a very well researched book, and one everybody interested in North Korea must read. You can see here that what eventually transpired on the Korean peninsula was a type of counter-revolution. Below the 38th parallel that happened immediately via the creation of a US backed national security state, and above the 38th parallel after the Korean War when North Korea very much became Kim Il Sung's "singular project." What's interesting about all this is that, as Bruce Cumings has pointed out, by now South Korea is more revolutionary than the North. The everyday lives of women was a key reference point of Kim's, and on this score Cumings is surely correct.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews