Kimirsensko-Kimchenir Youth Union

The Youth Union was formed by the leader of the Korean national liberation movement , President of the DPRK Kim Il Sung in the 1920s - 1940s.

Initially, the Youth Union was formed from young activists of the " Union of the Overthrow of Imperialism " (SSI), founded on October 17, 1926. In the memoirs "In the Maelstrom of the Century," Kim Il Sung wrote:

“On August 27, 1927, we transformed the IDF into the Anti-Imperialist Youth Union, and the next day we immediately created the Communist Youth League of Korea from the IDU’s asset” ^[4] .

After the liberation of Korea on January 17, 1946, the youth organization received the name "Union of Democratic Youth of the DPRK" and entered the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDM).

In the post-war period, the organization was renamed several times: in the “Union of Socialist Labor Youth of Korea” (STMK) ^[5] in May 1964 and in the Kimirsensky Socialist Youth Union in 1996 ^[6] (KSSM, in another translation - the Socialist Youth Union named after Kim Il Sung ^[7] ). The current name “Kimirsensko-Kimchenir Youth Union” was approved by the IX congress of the organization held in Pyongyang on August 27-28, 2016 ^{[1] [2]}

In the speeches of the country's leaders and publications of the North Korean media, the Youth Union is also referred to as “Youth Avant-garde”, in a speech at the VII Congress of the TPK in 2016, Kim Jong-un noted that it unites 5 million young people of the DPRK ^[8] .

In 1991, Kim Jong Il approved August 28 - the day of the founding of the Communist Youth League of Korea - DPRK Youth Day ^[9] . At the same time, the birthday of the Youth Union is considered January 17, the history of the current Union has been going on since 1946, the anniversaries of the organization are widely celebrated in a festive atmosphere ^[10] .

The Youth Union is a youth organization of the ruling Korean Labor Party in the country, and it is the only mass organization that is mentioned in the charter of the TPK and is under the direct control of the Central Committee of the party.

The Union of Youth is actually preparing a personnel reserve for the party and the state, the former leaders of the Union occupy responsible positions. The former first secretary of the Central Committee of the Youth Union, Choi Ryong He, in 2019 took the country's highest state post of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK ^{[7] [11]} .

The Youth Union coordinates the national youth policy together with the DPRK government , ministries involved in youth affairs, for example, the DPRK Ministry of Education. The Union plays a major role in the planning, implementation and development of the national youth policy and organizes all the youth of the country for active participation in production, construction and military service.

Union cells exist in the army, factories, cooperative firms, schools, cultural institutions and government organizations.

The Youth Union publishes its own print media: the newspaper Nodon Cheonnyon ( 로동 청년 , “Working Youth”) and the magazine “Chollima” ( 천리마 , “Pegasus”).

The last IX Congress of the Youth Union was held on August 27–28, 2016 after a 23-year break. The Congress was attended by the Chairman of the TPK, Chairman of the State Council of the DPRK, Supreme Commander of the KPA Kim Jong Un , who delivered a keynote speech. The information message about the congress notes that after renaming the organization, the congress revised the Charter of the Union, now the position of the first secretary of the Youth Union is held by Jong Young Nam ^[1] .

In between congresses, conferences of the Union are held, the last of which took place on July 12, 2012, ten years after the previous one, which took place on March 21–22, 2002 .

• Democratic People's Republic of Korea
• United Democratic Front
• Korea Labor Party
• World Federation of Democratic Youth
• Komsomol