North Korea's spring military recruitment drive — known as chomo — has begun. This year, a noticeably higher number of young people are expressing a desire to join special forces units, saying they want to "become true heroes." Authorities have been actively running "hero-making" propaganda campaigns, including sending soldiers who returned from Russia to lecture at their former schools. This appears to be having a significant impact on young people who are still around 18 years old. A reporting partner living in the northern region filed this report in late March. (HONG Mari / KANG Ji-won)
◆ "I'll Let My Parents Live in Pyongyang" — Parents Alarmed by Indoctrination
In North Korea, students become eligible for military service upon graduating from senior middle school (equivalent to high school). Males in particular are almost universally conscripted, except in cases of physical disability or university enrollment. According to reporting partners, four rounds of chomo are planned this year.
Every year, cases of young people avoiding or delaying enlistment have been a persistent social problem. But this year the situation has changed dramatically, according to Reporting Partner A:
"Apparently a lot of students want to join the special forces. They're saying things like 'I'm going to become a true hero' and 'if you become a hero, your family will be taken care of.' At one middle school, there was even an event where the children of cadres took the lead in submitting petitions to enlist in frontline units or special operations forces. Parents are extremely worried — these kids don't even understand what it means to die."
State media gave prominent coverage to Kim Jong-un mourning soldiers killed in Russia, and to bereaved families being moved into newly built apartments in Pyongyang for the families of the fallen. As ASIAPRESS reported in late March, authorities have also been sending soldiers who served in Russia to schools across the country to conduct "hero-making" education sessions. Reporting Partner B in the northern region said: "A soldier spoke with tears in his eyes, expressing gratitude for the care shown by the Party and Marshal (Kim Jong-un), and the students were listening in tears as well."
As a result of this indoctrination, some young people who have just graduated from high school have come to believe — and actually hope — that "if I die in combat and become a hero, my family can live well in Pyongyang."
◆ Parents Sending Sons Off with 333 Yuan, Praying for Their Safety
Naturally, parents are deeply worried. Reporting Partner A describes the mood:
"Rumors have spread — people don't know where they heard it — that many soldiers were killed (in the Russia deployment), and parents' anxiety has only grown. The mother of one volunteer said her only son had become completely caught up in playing the hero and told her, 'I'll make sure you get to live in Pyongyang, Mom.' She lamented: 'If my son is gone, I won't be going to Pyongyang — I'll be going to heaven.' Some parents do tell their children to be loyal to the country and become heroes, but that's just what they say out loud."
A particular behavior has reportedly emerged among these parents:
"Parents are sending their children off to enlist with 333 Chinese yuan. In North Korea, the number three is considered lucky — associated with health, safety, and good fortune — so out of sheer desperation they're grasping at superstition. Of course, even that is only possible for families who can afford it."
