North Korea Emphasizes 'Morality' to Youth: "Moral Construction Over Economic Development"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] On the 30th, North Korea emphasized to youth and residents that moral construction takes precedence over economic construction and stressed the importance of cultivating morality.

The Workers' Party organ, Rodong Sinmun, stated in an editorial titled "Moral Construction Must Be Firmly Prioritized" that "the basic front in today's struggle is the economic front," but also noted, "It is absolutely unacceptable to neglect moral construction while focusing solely on economic construction."

The newspaper explained, "Prioritizing moral construction before economic construction is an essential requirement to uphold the essence of our style of socialism and fully demonstrate its superiority," adding, "Vigorously advancing moral construction today is not merely a practical matter but a crucial and serious issue that determines the survival of socialism."

As the reason for prioritizing moral construction, it mentioned, "If one assumes that moral issues will be automatically resolved once economic development is achieved and people's living standards improve, and does not strongly promote moral construction, distorted phenomena will emerge where individuals are unwilling to dedicate themselves to society and the collective, placing their right to enjoyment before their duty of patriotic devotion."

It continued, "If such vulgar and unscrupulous phenomena become widespread in society, people will lose the moral awareness and duty to offer their pure conscience for the prosperity and strength of the homeland, and ultimately, the construction of a socialist power cannot be successfully advanced."

In particular, it emphasized the significant role of youth in moral construction, stating, "When the youth inherit the beautiful and excellent socialist morals created by previous generations without distortion, the victorious advancement of our style of socialism will accelerate, and the true image of a harmonious big family united by virtue and affection will become clearer."

Additionally, in an article titled "A Country Governed by Morality Is a True Power", the newspaper stressed, "A country lacking morality, no matter how strong its economic and military power, is bound to become vulnerable and eventually collapse like a wall soaked with water," emphasizing morality.

The reason the newspaper emphasizes cultivating morality centered on youth appears to be a warning against the strengthening of individualism and selfishness among the youth, known as the 'Jangmadang generation,' amid COVID-19. North Korea has been encouraging youth to venture into difficult areas (tanwon) as economic difficulties have intensified this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.