The heroism education that begins in schools is completed in the military. During 10 years of barracks life, North Korean youth are isolated from the outside world while receiving three to four hours of political education daily, internalizing the goal of "becoming a hero." Behind North Korean soldiers who chose self-detonation instead of capture on the Ukrainian battlefield lies this systematic brainwashing system within the military. ASIAPRESS examines the reality of heroism education in North Korean barracks through an interview with defector Mr. A, who served in the North Korean military's Storm Corps in the early to mid-2000s. (JEON Sung-jun / KANG Ji-won)
The barracks as a massive hero factory
Q: What was the atmosphere like inside the barracks during your military service?
Slogans are everywhere in the barracks. Things like "Let's become human bullets and bombs to defend the Supreme Commander to the death!" and "Let's defend with our lives the Central Committee of the Party headed by the great Comrade Kim Jong Il!" When you see these slogans every day, they naturally become imprinted in your mind.
Q: How is heroism education conducted?
Three to four hours of political study are conducted daily. The main content focuses on greatness education, examples of how the leader's orders were successfully carried out, and cases of heroes from the anti-Japanese armed struggle period and the Korean War period. They also teach cases of heroes from peacetime and cases of sacrifice to carry out orders — creating model cases and generalizing them across the country.
Q: Does this education actually affect the soldiers?
In a closed society like the military, especially after spending 10 years in barracks life with almost no leave and repeatedly hearing these stories, you fall into those values. You can't make other choices. You fall into a mental state where you believe you can sacrifice yourself just like the model cases did. This mental state is very frightening.
