[ks-open] Great Leveller

[Afostercarter@cs.com]

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Dear listcomrades,                      St George's Day (cry God for Harry,=20
etc)

Good that the list is restored to health.  Thanks as ever
to Frank and colleagues for all their labours.

I've had some sceptical feedback to my article in last
week's FEER on North Korean land rezoning; which
can be read, as edited, at:

http://www.feer.com/_0104_19/p026region.html  =20

Disbelief is natural.  As far as I know this issue has not been
aired previously anywhere - which was my main reason
for writing, in the hope that this madness can be stopped.

Be it known, then, that my chief source is none other
than the Dear Bulldozer personally.  See below (bold font
is my emphasis); or check him out on:

http://www.korea-np.co.jp/139th_issue/2000051702.htm

I'd welcome feedback.

Best wishes
Aidan

AIDAN FOSTER-CARTER
(Hon. Senior Research Fellow in Sociology & Modern Korea, Leeds University)
17 Birklands Road, Shipley, West Yorkshire, BD18 3BY, UK
tel:    +44(0)  1274  588586            mobile:  +44(0)  7970  741307=20
fax:    +44(0)  1274  773663            email:  afostercarter@cs.com



Kim Jong Il
Improving the Layout of the Field Is a Great Transformation of Nature for th=
e=20
Prosperity of the Country, a Pacific Work Of Lasting Significance
Talk to Officials during Field Guidance to the Development of the layout of=20
Field in=20
North Phyongan Province
January 24 and 27, Juche 89 (2000)=20

Our Party has recently proposed the work of improving the layout of fields a=
s=20
an important policy for the revolution in agriculture. In line with the=20
Party's policy, the work of improving the layout of land in Kangwon Province=
=20
was successfully finished last year, and this work is now being carried out=20
in North Phyongan Province.=20
Here today I have found that the fields in the Handure Plain in Thaechon=20
County, North Phyongan Province, have been laid out well in regular shapes=20
and in a sweeping manner. It is really splendid. I am greatly satisfied. The=
=20
Handure Plain has been completely transformed and realigned. It would be=20
impossible now for a former landowner to find out his land if he were to com=
e=20
to the Handure Plain with his land register to take his land back. The=20
Handure Plain now looks like the land of a socialist state. Pyongyang City=20
was in charge of the development of the layout of fields in the Handure Plai=
n=20
and it has done a good job.=20
There is no need to change the name of the Handure Plain because it has been=
=20
rezoned to such an extent as to lose its old looks. It is said that the plai=
n=20
is called the Handure Plain because the local peasants had to tend very smal=
l=20
plots of paddy fields by watering each of them with handure (a dipper). By=20
leaving the name of the plain as it is you will be able to tell your=20
posterity that the land called the Handure Plain for ages has been completel=
y=20
transformed in our times. If you rename the plain, the coming generations ma=
y=20
think that the plain was so well laid out at the outset. You had better keep=
=20
the name of the Handure Plain as it is. Land realignment is not undertaken t=
o=20
rename plains for form's sake.=20
It is good if the levelling and rezoning of land is being undertaken in=20
Kwaksan County as well. The land in that county will be mostly stony and dry=
=20
except in the coastal area. It is all right if the land in Jongju City,=20
Ryongchon and other counties in the province is being realigned.=20
When I was looking into the master plan for the improvement of the layout of=
=20
the fields in North Phyongan Province last year, I thought it would take a=20
long time to carry out the tremendous amount of work, but it has been nearly=
=20
finished in several months. You have done a great deal of work, indeed. The=20
Party members and other working people in the province, the soldiers of the=20
People's Army, and the shock-brigade members from each of the other province=
s=20
have worked hard in the difficult conditions and carried out a lot of work.=20
The soldiers of the People's Army are said to have smoothed over the ridges=20
between the paddy fields with trowels. It is a good thing. Although the time=
s=20
are hard, we have undertaken land realignment in a big way so that we can=20
carry out the instruction the leader gave us in his lifetime to free the=20
farmers from backbreaking work. The comprehensive mechanization of farm work=
=20
can now be effected even in the intermediate zone of North Phyongan Province=
.=20
How good it would have been if we had shown the leader the fields which have=
=20
been well laid out as they are now!=20
Judging from the results of land rezoning in this province, we can see that=20
nothing can break the revolutionary spirit of our people who are determined=20
to build an economic power with the strength of self-reliance. The soldiers=20
of the People's Army and our people are now working hard to build a powerful=
=20
socialist country in the revolutionary spirit of fortitude, in the=20
revolutionary spirit of the soldiers, with an optimistic belief that though=20
everything is in short supply and difficult, they will be well off tomorrow.=
=20
Today I am very pleased to see the fields in North Phyongan Province that=20
have been laid out into regular shapes like a checkerboard and in a sweeping=
=20
manner.=20
Large-scale land realignment is possible only under the socialist system.=20
Such large-scale, splendid realignment of fields as has been done in the=20
Handure Plain demonstrates the might and superiority of the socialist system=
=20
in our country. If people from south Korea see the Handure Plain, they will=20
be surprised and envy it very much. South Korea is a granary with wide=20
plains, but they cannot lay out land as we do because the land there is unde=
r=20
private ownership. It is our great pride that we have improved the layout of=
=20
the fields in a splendid manner as we see here. If you have a photograph of=20
the Handure Plain which was taken before its rezoning, it will clearly show=20
that the plain has changed beyond recognition.=20
The great changes that have taken place in the rural areas of Kangwon=20
Province and North Phyongan Province demonstrate the strong political and=20
ideological power of our soldiers and our people who are single-heartedly=20
united behind the Party and the leader, as well as the powerful, independent=
=20
national economy. They are also an expression of the iron will of our people=
=20
who are resolved to build a prosperous, powerful socialist country, with=20
unshakable confidence in victory and optimism, with redoubled courage and in=
=20
a soaring spirit. At the sight of the results of land realignment in Kangwon=
=20
and North Phyongan Provinces I feel afresh the iron will of our people who=20
loyally support the Party's leadership as well as the great vitality of our=20
independent national economy.=20
If the officials had pushed forward the work of land realignment from fiftee=
n=20
to twenty years ago, they could have finished this work by now. In the past,=
=20
however, they did not do it as they should. When autumn came round, the grea=
t=20
leader always used to instruct that land realignment and the plowing of padd=
y=20
fields should be carried out properly. The leader ensured that the fields of=
=20
Chongsan-ri were repartitioned into standardized shapes and sizes, so that=20
the officials could learn how to improve the layout of the crop fields and=20
what profit they could gain from it; however, they did not press on with the=
=20
project earnestly. They exerted great efforts to reclaim the tidal flats, bu=
t=20
they did not care much for land realignment through which a great area of=20
crop fields could be obtained without taking much trouble. True, reclaiming=20
tidal flats is important, but land realignment should be carried out on a=20
priority basis. Immediate benefit is hard to expect from reclamation of tida=
l=20
flats. However, it does not mean that we should give up reclaiming tidal=20
flats. Reclamation of tidal fiats should be launched following land rezoning=
.=20
Due to the failure of the officials to carry on land realignment=20
consistently, there still lie in the countryside quite a few small patches o=
f=20
land that have been handed down through generations. Given the situation, I=20
decided to develop first the layout of the fields in Kangwon Province that=20
was lagging farthest behind other provinces in this work and in which the=20
working condition was unfavorable, and then popularize this experience so as=
=20
to rezone all crop fields throughout the country; I have ensured that the=20
entire Party, the whole army and all the people have turned out for this=20
undertaking.=20
Improving the layout of the fields is a great transformation of nature for=20
the prosperity of the country, a patriotic work of lasting significance. We=20
must properly undertake such a gigantic transformation of nature as land=20
realignment.=20
Land rezoning is essential for boosting gram [sc grain] production. This
is=20=
a=20
good way for increasing grain production in our country with limited arable=20
land. There is still much room for obtaining new land through the layout of=20
fields. There are many terraced fields; by rezoning them only, we can obtain=
=20
a large area of arable land. There are many areas not only in provinces but=20
also in the vicinity of Pyongyang Cify where we can obtain new cropland by=20
rezoning them. The lands of the cooperative farms lying along the road=20
towards Kangdong, for instance, can be a good source of obtaining large area=
s=20
of cropland when they are rezoned. The more new areas of land are obtained=20
through realignment, the more grain can be produced.=20
Proper realignment of fields is also important for effecting comprehensive=20
mechanization of rural economy. Mechanical farming is the centuries-old=20
desire of our farmers. I intend to step up the comprehensive mechanization o=
f=20
rural economy on a full scale, when the economic situation of the country=20
improves to a certain extent. When the fields are not well laid out, the=20
modern farm machines, no matter how many they are supplied to the rural=20
areas, cannot prove their worth and mechanical farming will become=20
impossible. Only when all paddy and nonpaddy fields are repartitioned into=20
standardized shapes and sizes, is it possible to mechanize all farm work,=20
relieving the farmers from the heavy burden of labor. Land rezoning is a=20
worthwhile undertaking to deliver the farmers from labor-intensive work.=20
Land rezoning is significant not only for boosting agricultural production b=
y=20
obtaining new areas of land and for delivering the farmers from difficult=20
work by carrying out comprehensive mechanization of rural economy.=20
The land rezoning initiated by our Party is an undertaking to transform the=20
land won back by the leader as befits the genuine land of socialist Korea,=20
brighten his achievements and liquidate once and for all the remnants of=20
feudal landownership by improving the features and structure of the land. Th=
e=20
agrarian reform carried out after national liberation transferred the land o=
f=20
landlords to the ownership of peasants, but nothing particular has ever=20
changed in the appearance and structure of the land. The improvement of the=20
layout of the fields done in the past was not as ambitious as that of the=20
present, involving land restructuring. The land realignment done by some=20
units, for instance, was undertaken in such a way as the arable land is=20
formed, filling in the bomb craters at most or making some waterways. The=20
small patches of paddy and nonpaddy fields available in our country are all=20
the legacies of the feudal landownership. Repartitioning the small patches o=
f=20
the fields handed down through generations from the feudal age into large,=20
standardized sizes and shapes is a revolution to liquidate once and for all=20
even the last trace of the remnants of the feudal landownership in the rural=
=20
areas and improve the features of this land as the genuine territory of=20
socialist Korea.=20
Whether or not the land rezoning is done as properly as intended by the Part=
y=20
depends on what viewpoint and attitude the officials take with regard to thi=
s=20
undertaking and how they work. The officials must take the land rezoning=20
firmly as an important policy of the Party and carry out this task=20
persistently to completion.=20
Land rezoning should be carried out in a bold and ambitious way true to the=20
Party's policy.=20
At the outset of this project in Kangwon Province, the paddies were not made=
=20
large. On my inspection of the sites of this project in this province,=20
including Ranjong-ri, Kosan County, I found the paddies so small that I coul=
d=20
hardly distinguish between the old and the new.=20
Such a manner of work would not reduce the ridges considerably; then, anothe=
r=20
project of this kind would have to be carried out after the lapse of only a=20
few years. So I instructed that the project should not be done in a passive=20
manner, and a paddy must be made as large as 1,000 or 800 phyong . We must=20
improve the layout of crop fields not oh such a small scale as removing just=
=20
a few ridges, but in a bold and ambitious way as we do at present, in=20
anticipation of the events a decade or five decades ahead. Only then, can ou=
r=20
land take on the appearance of the land of socialist state. In improving the=
=20
layout of crop fields, we must work in a far-sighted way not only for our=20
present generation but also for the coming generations.=20
At the same time as making the fields standardized when realigning them,=20
depressions should be filled up and irrigation channels and roads should be=20
repaired or newly built in a well-ordered manner if necessary. This is the=20
way to expand arable land and make the best possible use of the equipment an=
d=20
materials in farming.=20
Land should be realigned by the method of finishing one project after anothe=
r=20
by concentrating machinery and manpower. As is the case with all other work,=
=20
land realignment can be successful only when it is done by the method of=20
carrying out one task after another. If land is realigned in one province=20
after another, there will be no problem in supplying the fuel needed for thi=
s=20
work. It would be beyond our power to provide the fuel if land realignment=20
were to be carried out at one fell swoop in all provinces. However, it will=20
be quite possible to provide the fuel needed for this undertaking to be=20
carried out by one province after another in the same way as ants gnaw into=20
bones. If the order of priority is given to provinces for land realignment=20
and this work is carried out by one province after another, it will be=20
possible to make full preparations needed for this undertaking, such as=20
keeping designing ahead. For this reason I ensured that Kangwon Province=20
started and finished land realignment first and that this undertaking began=20
in North Phyongan Province last autumn.=20
North Phyongan Province should continue to push forward land realignment as=20
scheduled. This province should completely realign 50,000 hectares of land b=
y=20
May. Then land realignment in this province will be over.=20
We must provide the fuel needed so that land realignment in this province is=
=20
finished before the rice-transplanting season. Although fuel supply is=20
important for this undertaking, we must not supply it without control. When=20
we were improving the layout of fields in Kangwon Province for the first=20
time, we had no experience of this work and, therefore, we could not set the=
=20
correct norm of fuel consumption. Nevertheless, now that we have gained=20
experience in this work in Kangwon Province and North Phyongan Province, we=20
have come to know the amount of fuel needed. Now no one can ask for a large=20
amount of fuel, playing a trick to keep it in reserve.=20
North Phyongan Province should raise good crops this year.=20
Only when good crops are raised following land realignment, will it be=20
possible to prove the validity and great vitality of the Party's policy on=20
this undertaking and stimulate the enthusiasm of the agricultural working=20
people. If crops are poor following land realignment, the undertaking will=20
turn out pointless. You should not only give publicity to the fact that a ne=
w=20
world has been created as a result of land realignment, but work well to=20
bring about a new advance in grain production.=20
If North Phyongan Province obtains new arable land by thousands of hectares=20
through its realignment, it will be able to produce several scores of=20
thousands of tons of grain there alone. Kangwon Province is said to have=20
raised goo