Hi! One of my partners is South Korean and recently discovered I’m a Marxist-Leninist. I hadn’t mentioned to her before, but to my surprise she was very fascinated and wanted to learn more about my politics. She’s very educated about Korean history, of course. She doesn’t hate the DPRK, and she despises the South Korean government. She hopes for peaceful reunification, which I think all of us want. But, she admitted that while she knows the history, she doesn’t know much about politics.
I was curious about what Korean language beginner materials I could show her to show her my perspective? Obviously, Marx and Engels as well as things from the DPRK, I’ve already suggested that. But I’m wondering if there are other things in the Korean language that might be a bit more “mild” as an introduction to communism.
I will mention they are apart of Progressive University Students’ Association, which if you don’t know anything about it…here’s a funny reactionary article about it https://en.namu.wiki/w/한국대학생진보연합 So she definitely is extremely open minded. I just want to give her something a bit lighter to read first.
engels’ “the principles of communism” is, imho, one of the best introductory texts, alongside the manifesto. marx’s “wage-labour and capital” and “value, price and profit” are very important for providing a theoretical understanding and are usually recommended to be read together. i’d also strongly recommend lenin’s “state and revolution” and especially “imperialism,” as well as luxemburg’s “reform or revolution.”
mao is also great for beginners, with an absolutely fantastic writing style, very concise and effective, as well as just enjoyable to read. i’d strongly encourage reading “on practice and on contradiction” (technically two works, but almost always merged into one), as well as the essays “oppose book worship” and “combat liberalism,” with those two just helping one become a better person, imho.
beyond theory, i’ve also heard positive things about the book “the song of ariran” by american journalist helen foster snow (pseudonym nym wales), who seems to have been generally sympathetic to the communists. it details realities of the korean independence movement and the chinese communist movement in the 1930s, based on interviews with korean communist jang ji-rak (pseudonym kim san in the book). i haven’t personally read it yet, though, so i can’t say whether it is any good truly.
in any case, please, if you haven’t done so already, encourage your partner to take necessary precautions for her safety and practise good opsec. south korea is part of extensive intelligence-sharing agreements with the us and other western nations, and you probably know the seoul government’s history of repression better than i do. so please consider trying to minimise dependency on proprietary software; i’m sure there is a lively foss/linux community in the country able to offer advice and assistance in that regard.
These are amazing resources, thank you! This, alongsides the resources in the other comments, are just what I’m looking for.
And don’t worry. Both of us are well aware of the danger she might be put in because of this. She does use a VPN, but like you said, that really isn’t enough. She’s not very technically literate so I was wondering what the best option would be for her…but after thinking for awhile I think the best option would be giving her a live USB with Tails OS on it, and telling her to only look at these materials online with TOR while using the USB. That would be the cheapest and easiest for her to use.
I know TOR was literally made by US military and the US government has been accused of compromising the service before by TOR themselves…but I think it’s probably the best option as she definitely wouldn’t be a major target compared to other TOR users.
it makes me very happy to hear that i could be of some help.
your plan regarding tails and tor is great; i’m very glad to see that you’re taking her security seriously. i would still perhaps look into linux as a daily driver a little. linux mint, for example, is very beginner-friendly and can easily be installed as a dual boot alongside windows. though perhaps i’m being too pushy, lol; if that’s the case, i’m very sorry.
in any case, best of luck to you two! <3
I totally get it. I use Linux on all my machines as well lol.
I think I’ll just tell her that if she wants to do something optional to be a bit safer, I can help her set up Linux Mint and teach her how to use it…but I’d be sure to tell her she doesn’t have to. I would love for her to use Linux of course, but I really worry that I might make her feel like she HAS to use it to be safe. She has anxiety and other mental health issues that are still being managed. The last thing I’d want to do is unintentionally make her feel like using Windows for anything will have the NIS kicking down her door.
Also, for me personally, pushing her in any way to use Linux as a daily driver just feels kinda wrong and over controlling for me to do. I refuse to be THAT kind of Linux user LOL
But of course, I appreciate you suggesting it! It’s a good idea, but I’ll probably instead help teach her opsec alongside tails. Thank you!
yeah, you definitely seem to be taking the the correct approach! i’m sorry for having been overly pushy, it’s a bad trait of mine and one i need to work on.
I don’t think you were pushy. Don’t worry at all!
Cowbee’s study guide is a must for beginners and you can probably find the guide very helpful to you as well. However, in your case, not sure if some of the recommendations are available in Korean language for your partner.
Edit!
Just now I remember that the DPRK has a guide in Juche in Korean that may help your partner -> http://www.kass.org.kp/?lang=eng
Be warned. Use VPN if you are going to open that website if your partner is currently residing in SK.
🫡
Isn’t accessing sites from DPRK a crime in South Korea? Maybe it’s better add a disclaimer to use a VPN.
Oh, you are right about that! I will add the warning to my original comment
Albert Eistein: why socialism?
Engels: Principles of communism | Socialism: Utopian and Scientific
