가난이 원수

Poverty is the enemy.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, 1954-1958

In a word, the Korean economy had been swept from the face of the world. Few had predicted how much destruction the Coalition had wrought in their ill-thought-through defense of the Rhee regime in the south, least of all those economic planners in the Democratic People’s Republic. The Chairman of the State Planning Commission, Pak Chang-Ok, had been one of the few feverishly working through the war for preparations after the war. Some said it was in penance for his failures at maintaining a well-functioning economy during the war, even if air defense was not a sector in which he had much knowledge, influence, or control.

Nevertheless, there was something of a tacit understanding between Pak Chang-ok and the Infrastructure Clique about the focus of national economic planning after the war. After the cabinet meeting of April 21st, 1952, Pak Chang-Ok had been a semi-regular attendee of the group’s informal meetings, and had made numerous pledges to undertake the group’s large-scale projects once the war situation had been lifted.

The Cleaning - 1954

When the armistice came in March of 1954, the very first economic activities that the Worker’s Party of Korea directed were the use of the Red Guard Brigades network to clear the huge amounts of debris, rubble, and destruction from the Korean metropolises and countryside, for disposal and revitalization of the areas. In this, the project, known colloquially as “the Great Cleaning of Spring”, was an overall success: foreign aid money was used to provide meaningful employment for the first time in years to workers unemployed by the destruction of industrial plants and transport networks.

Those areas which had seen the most destruction, particularly in Pyongyang, Wonsan, Chuncheon, Seoul, Suwon, and Incheon, became areas of intense activity. In a move directed by Minister of City Management Yi Yong, rubble from the Seoul area was redirected to Incheon for the creation of new artificial land and harbour improvements, resulting in the ability to take much larger ships than previously possible. Similar moves were undertaken in Nampo and Wonsan, and the “Yi Yong Harbours” heralded a period of investment into the Korean merchant marine that had not been seen before.

The danger of clearing the huge amount of explosives dropped on the land was considerable, and while a policy of using prisoners and criminals to perform these tasks was implemented for a time, the numbers of these in the North was low and the program naturally lowered them even further. Thus after a time, civilian workers had to be enticed to participate through tax breaks, land grants, and awards of Medals of Meritorious Service to help clear away the bombs. This remained a difficult and dangerous task, however, and only after Soviet and Eastern Bloc experts could be brought in could large amounts of explosives in the center of the cities be cleared away more effectively. Still, the danger of unexploded ordnance from the war would persist for decades, a testament to the sheer volume of explosives dropped by the Fascists on Korea.

The Road and the Bridge, 1955-1958

In a military sense, the state of infrastructure in the DPRK had been a major hindrance to progress during the war. When Soviet Rear Services had arrived in the country in 1951, they had found the railways of mixed-gauge from the time of the Japanese, the roads were unpaved and narrow, and the harbours tiny and easily blockadeable. Rectifying the faults of the Korean logistics network now became both a matter of economic interest, and military defense necessity. As such, the diverting of funds to these projects was very high and resulted in rapid expansion and construction throughout the country.

The first (intensely debated) change was to the gauge of the rail network. When the Japanese had controlled the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945, they had built much of the transport infrastructure, the railways included. While many of these lines had been built to standard gauge of 1435mm, some of the smaller were built narrower. In keeping with Japanese practice, the bridge infrastructure on the lines were light, supporting an axle loading of only 12 tonnes. The loading gauge was also rather small, with tunnels built short and narrow.

Rectifying these designs was an option only made available by the large-scale destruction of the rail network in the DPRK due to the Coalition bombing. With so many rail lines and particularly bridges in complete tatters, the Infrastructure Clique suggested a change in gauge from the western standard of 1435mm to the Russian gauge of 1524mm, a larger, heavier gauge that could support larger, heavier trains. The Central Committee dallied almost until the end of the war before finally agreeing to this change, with the general move being seen as another closening of relationships with the Soviet Union, as direct transport through to Vladiovostok and onwards without changing rolling stock would now be possible. The same was not true of transportation West to the People’s Republic of China.

This change would require the reconstruction of every rail bridge to a heavier axle loading of 21 tonnes, matching the standards used in the Soviet Union, as well as the widening of tunnels and rebuilding of stations. Of course, this was rather easy to do in places where the structures had been destroyed during the war, but presented something of a challenge in the mostly-intact cities in the far north. Nevertheless, commitment was strong and money plentiful, and Soviet locomotives could be used without modification wherever the rail gauge had already been changed. Thus, as reconstruction of the rail line spread south from Rason, Soviet trains began to be seen further and further into the country until finally, on International Worker’s Day in 1956, the first Soviet train, hauled by an L-class locomotive which had departed Moscow almost three weeks in advance, arrived in Seoul to a huge amount of celebration. Kim Il-Sung personally gave a speech about the rapid progress of Korean reconstruction, and the locomotive, along with 200 of its type, were handed over to the Korean government for use on their newly regauged tracks.

As well as expanding the rail gauge, expanding rail network capacity was of primary concern. To that end, the Seoul - Pyongyang - Hamhung - Rason line, the accompanying Seoul - Wonsan - Hamhung - Rason line, and the Pyongyang - Sinuiju line were expanded to four tracks, and the Seoul - Pyongyang direct section was expanded to an impressive six for the distance of the line. In addition, new construction of lines into Ryanggang-do and Chagang-do, as part of economic development of the new provinces, were undertaken. By 1957, improved service meant that the 해방 Haebang “Liberation” Express service between Pyongyang and Seoul, operated by the most modern Soviet-built P36 express locomotives, made the 200 kilometer journey in two hours, greatly increasing the connectedness of the country’s two largest cities. The journey from Seoul to Vladiovostok, on the 형제간 Hyeongjegang “Brotherhood” Express service, a 900 kilometer journey, took 11 hours. Straightening of the line in many places, along with the increased loading gauge and the removal of break-of-gauge at the Soviet border, allowed an increase in train speeds surpassing what even the Imperial Japanese achieved during their ruinous rule. These achievements were lauded by the Minister of Labour, Ho Song-Taek, as achievements demonstrating the high-levels of worker motivation post-war, and the personal inspiration of Kim Il-Sung, who was much-photographed visiting construction sites throughout this period. This crediting of labour over the party did not pass over the head of the Central Committee, especially Pak Chang-Ok who felt his own personal responsibility in the rehabilitation of the nation being snubbed under his nose.

Supporting the improvement of the railways was the rebuilding and expansion of the Chongjin Locomotive Works, which had been the pride of the Four Products program before the war. It began by building tank engines patterened after the Soviet 9P class, but by 1958 it was building L-class 2-10-0 locomotives that began the mainstay of Korean freight traffic for the rest of the decade and beyond.

The reconstruction of bridges throughout the country came as an opportunity to strengthen, and build anew. In this, the bridges across the Han around Seoul were the most impressive - heralding future priorities, the original three bridges (known by the Chondoist party after the war as the “Holy Three Spans”) which had been reduced to one functioning rail bridge were rebuilt, with memorials festooning both sides of the bridge in recognition of the huge amount of workers lost in the constant bombings and rebuildings of the bridges. Indeed, four more bridges spaced across the Han began construction in 1957, as well as rumours of rail tunnels linking the north bank with the south. This expansion signalled the government’s intention to heavily invest in the South Bank region of Kyonggi, the most hard-fought over land during the war and the site of the Western Fortress City, Suwon, as well as the expanding port of Incheon.

Alongside improvements in rail traffic, the importance of road-paving projects had been made obvious after the disastrous Coalition bombing campaign. In this, the Minister of the Interior and leader of the Yan’anists, Pak Il-u, successfully lobbied for the construction of a paved road network linking Seoul to Pyongyang. Christened the Path of Liberation State Highway, the road opened in the Summer of 1957. Other members of the Central Committee were quick to notice surreptitious extensions had been added linking Pyongyang with Sinuiju directly, funding a fourth span of the Amnok River Bridge to reach the People’s Republic of China.

By gaining the ports around Seoul, the maritime importance of the Democratic People’s Republic increased considerably, as well. This was marked by a commensurate increase in investment into the merchant marine, even if this investment came much more slowly than those into rail and bridges. It took until 1958 for the General Plan for Enlargement of Maritime Shipping Fleet to be published, calling for a merchant ship fleet of 350 ships over ten years. 270 of these were to be small, coastal ships intended for inter-coastal trade, and trade in the Yellow Sea with the People’s Republic of China. The remaining 80 were planned to be large, oceangoing vessels, intended for trade with Hong Kong, allies in Vietnam and Burma, and even further afield. This ambitious plan called for a large-scale increase in shipbuilding capacity, especially in Wonsan and Incheon. Wonsan had already been expanding its shipbuilding capacity since 1955 rapidly, achieving the impressive feat of constructing the four “mountain-ships”, the first warships built in the recovering postwar Korea.

Civil aviation began to be discussed again in 1957, when the successes of the “Road in the Sky” initiative from almost a decade before began to be reminisced about. After all, the rapid expansion of the Korean People’s Army Air Force in the latter half of the fifties meant demand for pilots was high, and naturally civil aviation provided a useful way to train and maintain reservist pilots. Thus in 1958 the dormant KAO was reopened, rebranded to Korean Victory Airways, a rather gruff biting-of-the-thumb at the regime in the south that was lauded by Kim Il-Sung personally. Ilyushin Il-12s began to fly a regular service, with routes from Seoul - Beijing and Seoul - Vladivostok with connections on to Moscow. These were few at first, not least due to the reconstruction of the aerodromes in Korea that had been destroyed during the war.

The Smokestack, 1955 - 1958

The recovery of transport infrastructure had a positive effect on the recovery of industry as a whole within Korea. Another notable advantage in this area was the Su’pung Dam, which provided hydroelectricity for the entire country, and had only been marginally damaged in harassing attacks during the war. The availability of large amounts of hydroelectric power worked wonders for recovering industry, as electricity could be hooked up as needed, with only the lines needing major reconstruction.

Local coal power plants and smaller dam projects would be brought online throughout the 1955 - 1958 period, notably the Unbong Dam in Chagang, which began operation in 1957 after Soviet assistance in its finalization. The Dam’s siting in Chagang proved a blessing for the rapidly blooming military industry within that region. In response to the huge bombing campaign waged against Korea during the war, surveying and construction of underground production and storage facilities commenced in 1954, inspired by Soviet documentation of the infamous Mittelwerk facility in Kohnstein. This was accompanied by timber and mining operations in the area, taking advantage of its rich mineral deposits and forests.

Echoing the Products programs of years earlier, the Ministry of Industry published a range of Goals, eventually collected into the 76 Goals, for various industries throughout the country. These ranged from individual plants charged with the production of certain specific products, like the Chongjin Locomotive Works, Kangson Automotive Works, and Kangdong Tractor Factory, to entire industries, such as the coal mines in Ryanggang. Each goal was an achievement set for completion by the end of the National Plan for the Economic Reconstruction in 1958, and marked a general trend of investment into repair and maintenance, as well as minor expansion of existing industries. Particularly, the industry around Seoul required complete reconstruction, alongside the reconstruction of the city itself.

In concert with the revitalization of industry, the recovery of the education sector was of paramount importance to the economic reconstruction. Trade schools began to open and re-open in every major settlement, with major attention being paid to the establishment of Worker’s Party - approved education apparatus in Seoul, Suwon, Chuncheon, Gangneung, and other cities in the south that had only been liberated during the war. Specialized trade colleges were created to reflect the large investment into those areas - at least ten Railway Colleges opened across the country, as well as four naval colleges.

Rewards for innovation and ingenuity among workers began to be handed out in greater abundance as the end of the plan approached, and colleges began to graduate their first classes. The Order of Choe Museon was awarded 35 times by 1958, including to Ri Sung-gi for pioneering production of Vinylon, a synthetic vinyl product, through the ingenious use of anthracite and limestone, and to Ju Myung-ju for her invention of an electric rice cooker for use in canteens. These heralded the openings of the Vinylon Production City in Incheon and the Light Industry Cooperation City in Hamhung, both scheduled for 1960.

The story of the postwar recovery was one of success in the north, if one marked by hardship, bickering and infighting that slowed the success of some projects, and relegated the plan to rebuilding what was lost and positioning Korea for growth in the future. The influence of the Infrastructure Clique was paramount in this regard, focusing development on rail lines that would have a lasting positive effect on the Korean economy. With the success of this economic project, the income of the Democratic People’s Republic would easily surpass its neigbour to the south within a matter of years - so long as foreign aid, upon which so much of the success had been built, continued to flow.