The School Organizational Life of the Jangmadang Generation: Changes in North Korea’s Collectivist and Individualist Culture

YIKUS Issue Brief No. 168

Cho Jin Soo (Senior Researcher, Institute for North Korean Studies, Yonsei University)

In January 2024, Unification Minister Kim Yung Ho stated during the New Year’s greeting of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council that “in North Korea, collectivism is declining as individualism grows, and mobile phones along with other digital devices are becoming more widespread.”1 If so, what is the essence of the weakening collectivism and emerging individualism in North Korea, particularly among the Jangmadang Generation? Is North Korea’s individualism the same as the modern individualism that emerged from the Enlightenment tradition of “thinking for yourself”?

The North Korean regime, established based on the Soviet system, has long pursued strong collectivism. According to the Institute of Philosophy of the Academy of Social Sciences, collectivism in North Korea is defined as the fundamental principle of communist ideology and morality, requiring individuals to devote everything for the benefit of society and the collective.2 North Korean collectivism is rooted in the socialist system, where the means of production are socially owned, and individual and social interests are aligned. This collectivist tradition dates back to Kim Il Sung’s anti-Japanese armed struggle, with its ultimate expression being unwavering loyalty to the supreme leader. In North Korea, socialism's superiority over capitalism is equated with the superiority of collectivism over individualism, and the success of socialism is believed to depend on how well collectivism is realized.

Since the establishment of the regime, North Korea has developed a socialist education system aimed at fostering communist ideals, reinforcing collectivist indoctrination among students. To this end, it created student political organizations such as the Children’s Union and the Youth League, mandating all students to join and cultivate a collectivist mindset. Through this system, students were taught that collective strength surpasses individual power and that collective interests and achievements are more valuable than personal ones. They were also trained to fight for the interests of the people and the Party rather than their own, while opposing individualism and selfishness.

The Children’s Union consists of students aged 8 to 13, while the Youth League includes youth aged 14 to 30. Even after their six-period regular school day, North Korean students are required to participate in extracurricular indoctrination under the Children’s Union and the Youth League until the evening. This extracurricular indoctrination is a crucial component of socialist education, teaching students organization and discipline. The key activities of these groups include:

1. Political and ideological education (indoctrination on the Party and supreme leader, Juche ideology, Party policies, communism, class struggle, and collectivism)

2. Various meetings (general and committee meetings at different levels)

3. Self-criticism sessions (생활총화, saenghwal chonghwa)

4. School activities (beautification of school grounds, raising rabbits, etc.)

5. External activities (mobilization for agricultural work, factory/construction site labor)

6. Junior assignments (collecting scrap paper and metal, gathering rabbit skins and medicinal herbs, foreign currency earning tasks)

7. Political and social activities (propaganda for Party policies, youth propaganda teams)

8. Extracurricular groups (academic, artistic, and athletic clubs)

However, since the collapse of the planned economy—symbolized by the rationing system—during the late 1990s Arduous March, daily life in schools and society has been gradually changing. Although the framework of the school system remains a backbone of collectivist culture, collectivist values within it are weakening while individualistic tendencies are emerging. Most notably, the tightly woven network of the Children’s Union and the Youth League, which once strictly controlled students through rigorous organization and discipline, has started to loosen. Another factor weakening collectivism is the emergence of Jangmadang, which represents a primitive form of capitalism. Since the collapse of the rationing system, public education and teachers' salaries have primarily depended on parents' financial capacity, exacerbating inequality among students. According to North Korean defectors, students can bribe their way out of school labor mobilization and other forms of state control and punishment.

As a result, many extracurricular activities under the Children’s Union and the Youth League have significantly decreased, with only those that directly benefit the regime—such as forced labor mobilization, junior assignments, and self-criticism sessions—remaining. Even on days without such activities, students must engage in self-study until the evening under the pretext of organizational life. Since the ruling Party dictates career paths in North Korea, only about five students per class (out of 30-40) with good family backgrounds, strong economic resources, and high academic performance have a chance of entering university. The rest do not take school seriously and only attend formally. During self-study sessions, most students spend their time chatting (sometimes on paper) or playing, with teachers tacitly allowing this behavior.

Before or shortly after the Arduous March, a common saying in North Korea was, “Thanks to you, our collective’s honor shines.” This phrase was used to encourage unity while discouraging individualism and selfishness in competitive situations. However, young North Korean defectors in their early to mid-20s say they have never heard this phrase and do not consider contributing to the collective as a priority in school life. They believe that success is ultimately personal, and achievements are attributed to individuals rather than the group.

As jangmadang expands, individualistic tendencies are growing even stronger in the daily lives of North Korean students after school. According to North Korean defectors in their 20s, the jangmadang markets have become everyday spaces like convenience stores in South Korea—places that set trends and facilitate the exchange of all kinds of information. Hofstede argued that capitalist market economies foster individualism, whereas socialist economic systems cultivate collectivism.3 The influence of foreign goods and ideas entering North Korea through jangmadang’s black markets is accelerating the spread of personal expression and individualism.

What, then, is the true nature of the individualism emerging in North Korea? Individualism is not a single ideology or theory; instead, it has evolved through various political and social developments, making it hybrid and complex. The ideological roots of individualism are believed to originate from Judeo-Christian traditions.4 Christianity, emphasizing salvation for each person, promotes equality by declaring that God views slaves, the oppressed, rulers, and nobles as equals. It liberates individuals from familial and tribal ties of ancient societies, transforming them into independent, unique beings. Over a millennium of the Middle Ages, theologians and philosophers gradually laid the groundwork for the concept of the individual, leading to its legal foundation in both ecclesiastical and secular law.5 During the 16th century Reformation, the Bible was translated from Latin into German and other languages. Coinciding with Gutenberg's newly invented printing press, this allowed rapid dissemination to the masses. Christianity's concept of spiritual equality evolved into a principle of universal human freedom, laying the groundwork for the idea of natural law. Within Protestantism, the moral obligations of individual equality, freedom, and conscientious choice with responsibility became fundamental frameworks that extended beyond mere individualism.

The emerging individualism in North Korea differs fundamentally from Western concepts. It is not the modern individualism of the 'autonomous subject' - born from Judeo-Christian traditions emphasizing freedom from constraints and equality, later revived through Enlightenment ideals of 'think for yourself.' Historically, genuine individualism emerged through prolonged labor pains and collective sacrifice, maturing only through constant self-discipline, critical reflection, and rigorous cultivation. The 'individualism' that developed in England through critical and resistant reflection grew alongside free market economics. There, individuals pursuing private interests formed political communities through social contracts that guaranteed personal security and social order. By contrast, North Korea's jangmadang market economy represents a paradoxical and illicit form of capitalism within a communist state. Lacking proper structures for contractual relationships, it fosters unfair competition where rule-breaking and bribery flourish - essentially a primitive form of capitalism.

In North Korea, the web of collectivism has loosened, allowing an individualistic culture to emerge in its gaps. However, this nascent individualism appears to lack the foundational elements of liberal individualism — namely self-discipline and the responsibility that comes with freedom. Interestingly, recent North Korean defectors often report that South Korea’s well-established legal and disciplinary systems make daily life feel less free compared to North Korea. Freedom as a core value of individualism should not be understood as lawless liberty without constraints, but rather as Kantian autonomy—a concept opposed to heteronomous action.6 Kant’s ‘moral individual,’ which addresses the limitations of liberal individualism, cannot be easily achieved. It requires individuals to voluntarily establish moral boundaries for their mental freedom and develop the capacity for autonomous use of liberty—a process that demands collective effort from all community members along with systematic education and training.

By Cho Jin Soo (Senior Researcher, Institute for North Korean Studies, Yonsei University)

● The Issue Brief is written based on the author’s views and has no relation to the official position of the Yonsei University Institute for Unification Studies or North Korean Review.

1.     Donga Ilbo 동아일보. (2024, January 24). Rise of Individualism in North Korea…Spread of Mobile Phones. “북한, 개인주의 성향 증가... 휴대전화 등 확산.”https://www.donga.com/news/Politics/article/all/20240124/123214737/1

2.     Institute of Philosophy, Academy of Social Sciences. 사회과학원 철학연구소 (1970). Dictionary of Philosophy. 철학사전. Pyongyang: Social Sciences Press 평양: 사회과학출판사.

3.     Hofstede, G. (1997). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. New York: McGraw-Hill.

4.     Dülmen, R. van. (2005). 1500-1800 (The Discovery of the Individual: 1500–1800 개인의 발견: 어떻게 개인을 찾아가는가 . Translated by Yoon-Young Choi 최윤영 역. Seoul: Hyunsil Munhwa Research 서울: 현실문화연구; Laurent, A. (2001). A History of Individualism 개인주의의 역사. Translated by Yong-Min Kim 김용민 역. Seoul: Hangilsa 서울: 한길사 ; Siedentop, L. (2016). Inventing the Individual: The Origins of Western Liberalism 개인의 탄생: 양심과 자유, 책임은 어떻게 발명되었는가? Translated by Myung-Jin Jung 정명진 역. Seoul: Book Books 서울: 부글북스.

5.     Lukes, S. (1973). Individualism. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

6.  Renaut, A. (2002). The Individual: Reflections on the Philosophy of the Subject 개인: 주체철학에 관한 고찰. Translated by Jung-Ah Jang 장정아 역. Seoul: Dongmoon Publishing 서울: 동문선.