An issue of the rights of children is one of the very important issues related to the development of country and nation and the future of mankind.
In the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea where the children are regarded as the king, all children have the same rights and exercise them to their hearts content irrespective of their sex, position of their parents or protector, ownership of property and physical disability.
The major rights of children that are provided in Korea are as follow:
- Child has a right to have his or her name after birth and to be taken care of by the state, society and parents.
- Child can join a juvenile organization like the Children’s Union and freely express his or her views orally or in written form and through the publications and the works of art, and appeal and petition.
- Child is protected by law his or her privacy, family, communications, honor and personality.
- No one can perform the acts of abducting, buying and selling a child and the child labour is strictly prohibited.
- Child has a right to receive the universal 12-year compulsory education free of charge, a right to make his or her hope and talent com in true and a right to enjoy the benefit of complete and universal free medical care system.
A child who is unable to be taken care of by parents, or a guardian is brought up in baby home, orphanage and orphan’s school at the state expense.
The state wholly bears all the expenses including a doctor’s examination, experimental examination, price of medicine, hospital treatment, medical care, traveling expenses to sanatorium, health checkup, medical consultation, vaccination and corrective apparatus.
- Child has a right to receive upbringing and education of parents in a family atmosphere favorable for growth and development.
Families do not disregard or ignore a child’s will but respect it to the maximum and, furthermore, not perform the acts including the harassment, indifference, curses or blow.
Right to fostering and adoption are protected by law and the right to inherit property is granted to a child. The persons who are deprived of the right to vote, who have a disease that may affect a child’s health and who have no ability to nurse and educate a child cannot foster or adopt a child. Violation of his or her right to inherit property for the reason that he or she is a child is illegal.
- In case a child is dealt with by legal organs, he or she has a right to receive treatment as a child in all stages of managing the event.
The child who committed a crime at the age of above 14 has a right to receive assistance of counsel. It is prohibited to force a child to admit the crime or guide statement. In case a legal organ asks a case from a child as a witness, it calls his or her protector like parents, a guardian or teacher. It is prohibited to question a child as a witness without attendance of protector.
In case a legal organ arrests or restrains a child’s parents, it informs the reason of arrest or imprisonment and the place of imprisonment to a child as long as it is not harmful to a child.
Such rights of children are extensively regulated in the laws and rules related to a child including “DPRK Law on Ensuring a Child’s Rights” (adopted on Dec. 22, 2010.) and “DPRK Law on the Nursing and Upbringing of Children” (adopted on April 29, 1976.)
In Korea, all necessary measures are taken on the principle of “The Best Things to the Children” to enable the children to grow up happily envying nothing in the world while exercising their rights to their hearts’ contents.
In the recent years, modern buildings for edification of children including Kyongsang Kindergarten, Pyongyang Baby Home and Orphanage have been newly built and Okryu Children’s Hospital equipped with modern medical facilities has been newly built in Pyongyang. And the infant’s hospitals have been reconstructed in each province to qualitatively improve the medical service for the children including the first-aid treatment and vaccination.
The relevant people’s committees bear the responsibility to ensure the production and provision for improving the health and nutrition admiration of children and pupils. And the branch schools are set up in the remote mountain villages and the islets where the traffic is unfavorable, and the exclusive school trains, buses and ships are provided for the sake of the pupils living in the remote zones and the teaching aids, facilities and the school things are provided every year to the pupils and the branch schools to enable them to lead equal rights to receive education without any inconvenience.
Children are growing up to be the future of country, the future masters thanks to the policies and measures, legal guarantee and steps of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea that gives top priority to the preferential ensure of growth and development, rights and interest of child.
