[Feature] How to become a Cadre in the Korean Workers’ Party

A copy of a classified application form for incoming North Korean Workers’ Party Cadres was recently obtained by NFI.

We publish the document here along with context provided to us by Dr. Hyeon Seong-il, who is a former DPRK diplomat and researcher affiliated with the University of North Korean Studies.

What can we learn from criteria used in selection of North Korean Party Cadres?

The principles of a pluralistic democracy make it impossible to fix and pursue planned policies on a state level to recruit and educate all elites needed for roles in the spheres of government, non-governmental and business.

Instead, elites are produced and recruited according to social and economic factors, civil society or political elections, in a more ad hoc than planned manner.

On the other hand, in a socialist nation like North Korea, the ruling Party oversees planning not only of national strategy, but of the rearing, recruitment and promotion of elites.

In this way, the criteria of Party officials’ appointment in a socialist state reflects the policy inclinations of that state. When we study the North Korean elite to read for North Korean state policy, it is thus effective to study not only the elite themselves, but how the state creates and manages elites: in other words, the Party Cadre Policy.

According to the “Chosunmal Daesajeon” (Dictionary of Chosun Language [North Korean]), North Korea stipulates Party Cadre Policy as the “Policy that the Party and state use to educate and assign cadres”. This means that the policy is relevant not only to the selection of Party cadres, but also to their education and continual management.

In this regard, the Party Cadre Policy of North Korea is intertwined with policies for human resources, education and technology.

In the human resources policy related to cadre selection, the “distinguishing mark of a cadre” is noteworthy. This concerns what background criteria are considered relevant in cadre education, selection and management.

According to the Dictionary of Chosun Language, the distinguishing mark of a cadre refers to “those factors that are standard in selecting and assigning cadres to roles” or “the basic prerequisites for appointment as a Party cadre.”

In North Korea, a student does not choose his or her career upon graduation, but is assigned one by bureaucrats. Once the nomination has been made, the applicant must fill in some application forms.

The most representative of these is the Cadre Curriculum Vitae, which includes verification forms to be submitted by the proposer, forms to be submitted by referees, and the resumé – attached below – to be filled in by the applicant himself.

The resumé lists the standard items: name, birthplace and date of birth, previous posts and education. Also included, however, are spaces for birth class and current social class, and the same information for family members up to four degrees removed, depending on the role for which the application is being made.

In particular, candidates are asked whether they or their family members have ever collaborated with the Japanese before liberation, had dealings with religious elements, or connections with the opposition during the Korean War. If the answer to any of these questions is in the affirmative, full detail must be included.

This information is verified in two primary ways. One is through interviews at present and past addresses, workplaces and educational establishments by phone or visit, to check details of the submitted documents.

The other is to receive a guarantee from officials, relatives and others, that they would be responsible for any future problems that might arise in connection with the candidate. If a problem is found in future, the sponsors will be jointly responsible – the intention is get the documents true and verified.

Annotations for items 1-9 in document below:

1. Birth class

2. Social class

3. Date of first entry to Workers’ Party; Name of Party Section (The Central Party is the highest section of the Workers’ Party one can enter, but the Party has many branches at the district, city and province levels.)

4. North Korean students go through elementary and middle school, then attend either high school, political school or military school.

5. “Have you ever received formal educational or technical certifications?” (Note: these are considered as extra information, and do not form the main bulk of the applicant’s CV.)

6. “Have you ever released a publication or an invention?” (One of these accomplishments puts the applicant into a privileged position, as it indicates former approval by the authorities.)

7. All prior work experience is categorized into the district, city and province level, as classified by the Workers’ Party.

8. Status before the “Homeland Liberation War” (the Korean War).

9. Status during the war.