Mick Hartley

Parroting the words: never mind comprehension. It’s like the faithful memorising the Koran. From the Daily NK:

North Korea has tightened ideological controls since the Ninth Workers’ Party of Korea Congress. Now, first-quarter Q&A-style ideological review sessions have swept across nearly all institutions and organizations, Daily NK has learned.

From late March through early April, officials conducted sessions centered on rote learning and recall of key party documents. These included Kim Jong Un’s work report to the Ninth Party Congress, his policy speech at the first session of the 15th Supreme People’s Assembly, and materials tied to the Three Revolutions Red Flag Movement — a nationwide ideological and productivity campaign promoted by the WPK.

A Daily NK source in Ryanggang province reported on Friday that the evaluations covered “government agencies, enterprises, farms, and schools — almost every type of organization.” Enterprises competed by workplace, farms by work team, and schools by department.…

North Korea has promoted “putting ideology first” as a guiding principle since the Ninth Party Congress. The push has intensified efforts to monitor and enforce ideological conformity. But critics say the emphasis on performative rote learning — with little regard for genuine understanding — fuels mental exhaustion and quiet resentment among the North Korean people rather than real ideological commitment.

Well yes, you would think so.