Chasing Liberty // Countryhumans North Korea fanfiction

Secrets of Necessity

1924

    “It doesn’t make sense,” Hwang said, frustrated. “Everything I lectured on was perfectly clear. How is it they didn’t understand?”

    “Because you’re using the word ‘lecture,’” Korea growled back to him. “You are supposed to be teaching them, not lecturing them.”

    The two boys were outside a small village house in South Jeolla province that was being used to host night-classes for the peasants. An illegal night-class, of course, considering the ideas that they were propagating. A night-class that Korea had just dragged him out of due to the lackluster response to his discussion, replacing him with Hae of all people.

     “That is simply semantics,” Hwang pointed out. “Regardless of whether I’m lecturing or teaching, they’re not understanding. Perhaps…”

    He hesitated. Korea could be… touchy when it came to the subject of the lower classes. Even more so now that he had taken in the books on Socialism that Hwang had recommended to him. His country had proved to be a voracious reader, devouring all of the tomes several times before he had announced that the others would have to as well to improve their literacy.

    In completely unrelated news, Hwang was on North Hamgyong’s ‘shit list’ as he so eloquently put it.

    However, Korea had made it clear that if they had suggestions of how things should be done, they should bring them to him. Thus, Hwang decided to take the plunge.

     “Perhaps we’re wasting our time by focusing on the peasants,” he said. “Might our efforts not be more well spent on trying to educate the intellectuals of our country?”

    “I thought you wanted to bring education to everyone,” Korea accused, narrowing his eyes.

    “I do.” It truly was Hwang’s greatest ambition. No one should be barred from the halls of education by their sex or social status. But… “I simply think that for our purposes of organizing it would be better to focus on those who are already educated. They would already have a grasp of the basic concepts we’re speaking on, as well as broader… views…”

    He trailed off, seeing the look that Korea was giving him. He cleared his throat. “I’m only suggesting.”

   “No, what you’re doing is being classist again when I specifically told all of you that wasn’t allowed,” the other boy growled. “Has it occurred to you that a wrong education is worse than no education at all? Those so-called ‘intellectuals’ have had their minds filled with Japanese propaganda. You worked in a school- you should know this.”

    “Yes, but-“

     “Most of the peasants and workers already know things intrinsically- that they should be the ones who own the fields and factories, and reap what they harvest,” Korea hissed, keeping his voice low so that they wouldn't be heard by those inside. “We only need to expand on that to get them interested in organizing, to show them that there are ways they can fight back. Those damn suits in the cities have been taught to only care about themselves. So long as they’re profiting from the Occupation, they’ll never try to change it.”

    “I am trying to change it,” Hwang pointed out, a tad miffed. “And I’m aware of plenty of others who would like to see us free as well.”

    “I know that,” Korea huffed. “Most of them still love their country, and would rather make a profit in a free Korea. But not enough to fight for it. They’re too comfortable, too… bourgeois.”

     “We would only need a few to form a vanguard,” Hwang said, having had his brain jogged on the word by the works they had been reading. “With their assistance-“