You may notice that I don’t typically capitalize the words ‘south’ or ‘north’ when talking about Korea.

This is because using the western name gives legitimacy to the illegal division of the Korean Peninsula that the US forced upon Koreans after World War II.

The vast majority of Koreans at the time wanted a unified Korea under the leadership of the brave revolutionary Kim Il Sung, who fought for Korea’s liberation from Imperial Japan.

The US forcibly divided the peninsula arbitrarily, stealing the capital (Seoul) and drawing a line perfectly across the 38th parallel. They sent a brutal dictator straight from Washington, DC, to rule over the south with austerity, slaughtering hundreds of thousands of communists and suspected communist sympathizers.

This line was not internationally recognized at first and was only given any type of credence after Kim Il Sung tried to liberate the suffering southerners. The US propaganda machine was whirring at full speed, blaming massacres done by US troops like Bodo League on the communists, currying favor from the western world until they accepted the US’ imaginary line.

I will not legitimize this brutal imperialism. The only acceptable outcome is reunification of the peninsula under the leadership of the DPRK with the American troops and influence permanently banished.