Mangyondae Schoolchildrens Palace in Pyongyang 04

The Korean Children's Union (KCU) is the precursor to the

Socialist Patriotic Youth League The Socialist Patriotic Youth League is a North Korean youth organization. It is the main youth organization in North Korea. Directly under the party Central Committee, it is the only mass organization expressly mentioned in the charter of the ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

contributing to

youth movement The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted otherwise. ...

and

pioneer movement A pioneer movement is an organization for children operated by a communist party. Typically children enter into the organization in elementary school and continue until adolescence. The adolescents then typically join the Young Communist League ...

. It is for children aged six to fifteen and is a political organisation linked to the

Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the founding and sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from the merger of the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party ...

. Its uniformed branch is known as the Young Pioneer Corps (which also includes cadets from the

Red Flag Mangyongdae Revolutionary School Red Flag Mangyongdae Revolutionary School is an elite school in Mangyongdae district of Pyongyang, North Korea. Established in 1947, it is a special education school with access only to the Workers' Party of Korea, Korean People's Army, administra ...

), which admits children and pre-teens ages nine to 15. The organization operates chapters in elementary and secondary schools nationwide. It teaches children about ''

Juche ''Juche'' ( ; ), officially the ''Juche'' idea (), is the state ideology of North Korea and the official ideology of the Workers' Party of Korea. North Korean sources attribute its conceptualization to Kim Il-sung, the country's founder and f ...

'', and other ideologies behind the North Korean system. Youth above the age of 15 may join the

. Prospective members are usually welcomed formally on an important

public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history ...

such as the

Day of the Sun The Day of the Sun () is an annual public holiday in North Korea on 15 April, the birth anniversary of Kim Il-sung, founder and Eternal President of North Korea. It is the most important national holiday in the country, and is considered to be ...

, the

Military Foundation Day Military Foundation Day( ko, 조선인민군 창건일) is an annual public holiday in North Korea falling on 25 April. Background North Korean historiography has two competing dates for the founding of the modern Korean People's Army (KPA): ...

, or the

Day of the Foundation of the Republic Day of the Foundation of the Republic () is the Republic Day and National day of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, held on 9 September. The Day of the Foundation of the Republic is one of the most important holidays of the country, al ...

. It is considered an important occasion in a child's life. On such days, kindergarten-grade children are officially admitted and red neckerchiefs and pins handed out. Third graders from primary schools are usually welcomed into the KCU on investiture ceremonies on these days.

See also

References

Further reading