북한의 갑산파 숙청과 ‘혁명전통’의 굴절

Abstract

The purge of the Gapsan faction in 1967 was an important turning point in the history of North Korea. Aer this incident, the monolithic ideological system and leadership of North Korea were established and the personality cult crystallized. In this process, the ‘Revolutionary Tradition’ based on the history of Kim Il Sung’s anti-Japanese guerrillas became rich in content and became an indispensable regulatory power. This article re-examines the reasons for the purge of the Gapsan faction by analyzing the historical materials of the time and analyzes how the political aftermath of the incident changed the narrative of the ‘Revolutionary Tradition’. Here are the analyzes.BRFirst, it is dicult to note that the Gapsan faction emphasized its own experience with the anti-Japanese guerrillas as different from that of Kim Il Sung and denied the exclusivity of the ‘Revolutionary Tradition’. Contrary to previous studies, there is no evidence that the faction espoused a socialist patriotism that was supposedly different from the ‘Revolutionary Tradition’. The two concepts -socialist patriotism and ‘Revolutionary Tradition’- were not in opposition to each other. In summary, the Gapsan faction’s attempt to pluralize the ‘Revolutionary Tradition’, as claimed in many studies, did not exist.BRSecond, the main reason for the purge was the Gapsan faction’s opposition to the succession system. Around 1966, Park Geom-chol, a representative figure of the faction, vehemently opposed Kim Yong ju and Kim Jong Il, who emerged as candidates for succession. After the faction was purged during the succession conflict, the content of the ‘Revolutionary Tradition’ was distorted in a way that emphasized Kim Il Sung’s lineage. The revolutionization of Kim’s family was an attempt to legitimize the succession from Kim Il Sung to Kim Jong Il. In other words, the ‘Revolutionary Tradition’ in North Korea was completed by honoring Kim Jong Il, a legitimate son, as the successor.