A Study On Land Reform And Agricultural Cooprativization Of Workers' Party Of Korea

Before industrialization,the rises and falls of agriculture had significant influence over the economy and livelihood of Korean peninsula,a traditional agricultural area.Especially in the northern part of the peninsula,the industrial infrastructure accumulated during the colonial period was entirely destructed after independence,and the condition of agricultural production was no better.The new regime established after independence faced the challenge of adjusting relations of production and improving agricultural productivity.This dissertation analyzes two agricultural policies by the Workers'Party of Korea(WPK)during the People's Democracy period of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea(DPRK),and attempts to advance the understanding of the agricultural and economic conditions in the DPRK in the 1940s and 1950s.This dissertation has five chapters in addition to introduction and conclusion.The chapter structure is summarized below.The introduction summarizes the research topic,significance,and methods of this dissertation.It also reviews and summarizes the existing academic literature on this topic.The scope of this dissertation is defined as the People's Democracy period of DPRK,which lasted from the independence of Korean peninsula in August 1945 to the establishment of Socialism in the DPRK in January 1961.Chapter 1 analyzes the historical background of the land reform carried out by the newly established communist regime.It reviews the agricultural conditions in Korean peninsula before land reform,especially in the period before independence,focusing on land ownership relations and economic levels of peasants.The analysis of the historical background of the reform includes three aspects.First,since the land reform was part of the People's Democratic Revolution of Korea,this chapter reviews the theoretic context of People's Democracy.Second,soon after independence,the socialist powers in the northern part of the peninsula led the peasants to carry out the struggle for"three parts to landlords and seven parts to peasants." In terms of the goal,this struggle was a preview for the land reform,gaining practical experiences for the latter.Finally,with regards to the formulation of the plan for land reform,this chapter highlights the land reform plans by socialist powers represented by Kim Il-Sung and Pak Hon-Yong,respectively,along with the land reform plan in the Soviet Union.Chapter 2 analyzes the contents,backbones,achievements,and significance of the land reform,as well as the agricultural tax in kind which determined the profit of agricultural production.The Decree of Land Reform stipulated that the basic principles of this reform should be non-compensated confiscation and gratis distribution,aiming at liberating the peasants and eliminating exploitation.In terms of its nature,the land reform was such a reform that converted the landlord's ownership of land to peasant's ownership.More than half of the arable lands in the northern part of the peninsula were confiscated and distributed to peasants.The land reform contributed to the agricultural development of northern Korea and the consolidation of the new regime.Chapter 3 focuses on the Korean War that broke out in 1950,which pushed the WPK to adjust its agricultural policy for two times.With the Korean People's Army rapidly occupying the South,the focus of agricultural policy also switched to the South.The WPK and the DPRK government completed land reform in the South within two months.After the Incheon Landing by the United Nations forces,the unfavorable situation pushed the WPK to again concentrate its focus on the North.From 1951,rudiment of agricultural cooperativization appeared and gradually emerged as the new direction of agricultural development.This wartime transition even became the key turning point of agricultural policy during the entire People's Democracy period.Chapter 4 highlights the WPK's postwar policies on agricultural reconstruction and development.Cooperativization represented the general trend in the postwar years due to the destruction caused by the war.But controversies on the specific means of cooperativization and speed of implementation existed within the Party and among the academia.There were even voices urging for preserving individual management and small-scale peasant economy.Amid controversies and explorations,the DPRK's Agricultural Cooperativization Movement(ACM)started in August 1953.Chapter 5 focuses on the evolvement of the ACM in the DPRK and its historical evaluation.The ACM,which lasted for five years and went through three stages,not only made unifying peasants and overcoming shortage as its goals,but also became a means through which the WPK and the DPRK government promoted socialist transition in rural areas.After all agricultural households were incorporated into Agricultural Cooperatives,the WPK Central Committee further strengthened the economic and political functions of Agricultural Cooperatives through expanding latter.In 1961,the DPRK formally entered the Socialist period,marking the completion of the historical mission of ACM.The Conclusion reviews the entire dissertation and summarizes the key arguments from a theoretical perspective.