Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea

The Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea, also known as the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland, DFRF, or the Fatherland Front, formed on 22 July 1946,[1] is a North Korean popular front led by the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). It was initially called the North Korean Fatherland United Democratic Front.[2]

Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea 조국통일민주주의전선 Choguk T'ongil Minju Chuŭi Chŏnsŏn
Supreme Leader	Kim Jong-un
President and Secretary General	Pak Myong-chol
Founder	Kim Il-sung
Founded	22 July 1946
Headquarters	Pyongyang
Ideology	Juche Songun
Supreme People's Assembly	687 / 687
Politics of North Korea Political parties Elections

Democratic Front for the Reunification of Korea
Chosŏn'gŭl	조국통일민주주의전선
Hancha	祖國統一民主主義戰線
Revised Romanization	Joguk tong(-)il minju juui jeonseon
McCune–Reischauer	Choguk t'ongil minju chuŭi chŏnsŏn

Initially 72 parties and social organizations,[3] from both the North and the South, comprised the front.[4] Today it has 24 members.[3] The three political parties of North Korea—the WPK, the Korean Social Democratic Party, and the Chondoist Chongu Party—all participate in the front.[5] The four most important mass organizations—the Kimilsungist-Kimjongilist Youth League, Socialist Women's Union of Korea, General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea, and Union of Agricultural Workers of Korea—are also members.[6][7] The Korean Children's Union is also a member organization.[8]

All candidates for elective office must be members of the front, and are elected by it; mass meetings are held to decide which candidates will be nominated and their names can go on the ballot paper only with the approval of the meeting.[9] In practice, however, the minor parties and mass organizations in the front are completely subservient to the WPK.[10] The WPK is thus able to predetermine the composition of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA).

There is an ostensible South Korean counterpart for the DFRF, known as the Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front, which operates in North Korea.

The current President and Secretary General of the Central Committee of the DFRF is Pak Myong-chol.[11] Other people on its presidium include Ri Kil-song and Kim Wan-su.[12]

Members

Political parties

Name (abbreviation)		Emblem	Ideology	Foundation	Seats in the SPA (2014)	Ref
	Workers' Party of Korea 조선로동당 Chosŏn Rodongdang		Juche Songun	29 July 1946	607 / 687	[13][14]
	Korean Social Democratic Party 조선사회민주당 Chosŏn Sahoe Minjudang		Social democracy (de jure)	3 November 1945	50 / 687	[15][14]
	Chondoist Chongu Party 천도교청우당 Ch'ŏndogyo Ch'ŏngudang		Chondoist interests	18 February 1946	22 / 687	[16][14]
	Chongryon[lower-alpha 1] 총련		Zainichi interests	30 March 1950	6 / 687	[17]

1. Chongryon is not a political party but sends members to the Supreme People's Assembly to represent the organisation as part of the Democratic Front.

Other organizations

Organization	Emblem	Korean name	Foundation	Ref
Kimilsungist-Kimjongilist Youth League		김일성-김정일주의청년동맹	17 January 1946	[18]
Socialist Women's Union of Korea		조선사회주의녀성동맹	18 November 1945	[19]
General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea		조선직업총동맹	30 November 1945	[20]
Union of Agricultural Workers of Korea		조선농업근로자동맹	31 January 1946	[20]
Korean Children's Union		조선소년단	6 June 1946	[21]
Korean Journalists' Union		조선기자동맹	10 February 1946	[22][23]
Korean Federation of Literature and Arts		조선문학예술총동맹	25 March 1946	[22][24]
Korean Christian Federation		조선그리스도교연맹	28 November 1946	[25][26]
Korean Catholic Association		조선카톨릭교협회	30 June 1988	[27][28]
Korea Buddhist Federation		조선불교도련맹	26 December 1945	[27][29]
Chosun Cheondogyo Central Guidance Committee		조선천도교중앙지도위원회	1 February 1946	[27][30]

Electoral history

Supreme People's Assembly elections

Election	%	Seats	+/–	Position	Government
1948	98.49%	572 / 572	572	1st	Sole legal coalition
1957	99.92%	215 / 215	357	1st	Sole legal coalition
1962	100%	383 / 383	168	1st	Sole legal coalition
1967	100%	457 / 457	74	1st	Sole legal coalition
1972	100%	541 / 541	84	1st	Sole legal coalition
1977	100%	579 / 579	38	1st	Sole legal coalition
1982	100%	615 / 615	36	1st	Sole legal coalition
1986	100%	655 / 655	40	1st	Sole legal coalition
1990	100%	687 / 687	32	1st	Sole legal coalition
1998	100%	687 / 687		1st	Sole legal coalition
2003	100%	687 / 687		1st	Sole legal coalition
2009	100%	687 / 687		1st	Sole legal coalition
2014	100%	687 / 687		1st	Sole legal coalition
2019	100%	687 / 687		1st	Sole legal coalition

See also

• Elections in North Korea
• List of political parties in North Korea
• United Front (China)

References

1. "Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland". Naenara.kp. 2004. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008.
2. Andrei N. Lankov (2001). "The Demise of Non-Communist Parties in North Korea (1945–1960)". jhu.edu. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
3. 조국통일민주주의전선(조국전선) - 개요. nk.chosun.com (in Korean). 30 October 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
4. "Korea". The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (3rd ed.). 1970–1979. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
5. "Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland". An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Marxism, Socialism and Communism: Economic, Philosophical, Political and Sociological Theories, Concepts, Institutions and Practices. Macmillan International Higher Education. 1981. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-349-05806-8.
6. Scalapino, Robert A.; Chun-yŏp Kim (1983). North Korea Today: Strategic and Domestic Issues. Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley, Center for Korean Studies. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-912966-55-7.
7. Lansford, Tom (2015). Political Handbook of the World 2015. Singapore: CQ Press. p. 3330. ISBN 978-1-4833-7155-9.
8. "Korea, Democratic People's Republic of (DPRK) - Organizations". Retrieved 31 August 2006.
9. "The Parliamentary System of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" (PDF). Constitutional and Parliamentary Information. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2006. Retrieved 1 October 2006.
10. Savada, Andrea Matles. "Mass Organizations." North Korea: A country study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1993.
11. "Vietnam's Party, State delegation visits DPRK". Nhân Dân. NDO/VNA. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
12. "National Foundation Day Marked". KCNA Watch. Uriminzokkiri. 5 October 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
13. Lanʹkov, Andreĭ Nikolaevich (2002). From Stalin to Kim Il Song: The Formation of North Korea, 1945-1960. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-85065-563-3.
14. "IPU PARLINE Database: Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Choe Go In Min Hoe Ui". Inter-Parliamentary Union.
15. North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 1128.
16. Tertitskiy, Fyodor (26 November 2014). "Being a minor party in the North: In a totalitarian regime, what do N. Korea's other political blocs do?". NK News. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
17. "No re-entry for Chongryon execs who go to Kim's funeral". Asahi Shimbun. December 23, 2011. Archived from the original on June 23, 2013.
18. North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 391.
19. North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 390.
20. North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 389.
21. North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 929.
22. 조국통일민주주의전선(祖國統一民主主義戰線). Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean). Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
23. Lent, John A. (1982). Newspapers in Asia: Contemporary Trends and Problems. Hong Kong: Heinemann Asia. p. 127. ISBN 978-962-225-079-6.
24. North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 1121.
25. 조국통일민주주의전선. North Korea Information Portal (in Korean). Ministry of Unification. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
26. Hoare, James (2012). Historical Dictionary of Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. p. xxix. ISBN 978-0-8108-6151-0.
27. <통일부 수탁과제 최종보고서> 북한개요 개정판 (in Korean). 통일부. 24 December 2008. p. 49. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
28. Kwon Oh-guk (2013). "script-ko:조선카톨릭협회(朝鮮카톨릭協會)". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean). Retrieved 31 January 2021.
29. Ryu Gil-jae (2009). 조선불교도연맹(朝鮮佛敎徒聯盟). encykorea.aks.ac.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 31 January 2021.
30. Kwon Oh-guk (2013). 조선천도교중앙지도위원회(朝鮮天道敎中央指導委員會). Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean). Retrieved 31 January 2021.

Works cited

• North Korea Handbook. Seoul: Yonhap News Agency. 2002. ISBN 978-0-7656-3523-5.

Further reading

• Kim Il-sung (1981). "On the Formation of the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland: Report Delivered at the Sixth Meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of North Korea, June 11, 1949". Works. 5. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House. OCLC 311616915.