Korean Friendship Association

The Korean Friendship Association, headed by Spanish citizen Alejandro Cao de Benos de Les y Pérez, is an organization working with the Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), as well as an organ of promotion/public relations for the Juche movement. The Committee for Cultural Relations is the official government cultural liaison agency for North Korea and purports to fulfill a similar role to that of the British Council or the Alliance française. The KFA was established in Spain in November 2000. In 2004, KFA members organized in North Korea an "International March for Korea's Peace and Reunification" supporting the reunification of the two Koreas, as well as the policy of the North Korean government.

Main Objectives

The main objectives of the KFA are:
* Be representatives of the viewpoint of the DPRK's government
* Learn from the culture and history of the Korean People
* Work for the peaceful unification of the Korean peninsula

The Official Line

The KFA lists two conditions for becoming a member [http://www.korea-dpr.com/ssi/kfa-form.htm] :
* Respect for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and its leaders.
* Respect for the other members in the KFA and the goals of the KFA.These are necessary but not sufficient conditions, however, as even messages reflecting pro-DPRK views may be deleted. Members may be excluded without explanation or prior warning. The cumulative archives of messages, since the site's inception in 2002, are kept open to the public; unlike e.g. wikipedia archives, however, messages from excluded members are permanently deleted.

The KFA pages provide a good amount of DPRK related material, including tourism tips and political essays, and it is possible to hear views from a DPRK point of view. The KFA Forum site is hosted and administered in Europe and gives links to Korean language teaching sites.

Membership is organised online. Members may log into the website and putting in the password of the user. These passwords cannot be changed as they are logged in to the forum's server. The passwords are given by e-mail to the user about a week after application, provided the application is accepted.

Structure

The Korean Friendship Association has members spread across many countries with an "Official Delegate" (OD) responsible for the activities in his/her country and secretaries appointed by the delegates. Above the Official Delegates, the "International Organization Committee" consisting of the President, the International Counselor and an International Organization Secretary who control and direct the activities of the KFA worldwide. (source:http://www.korea-dpr.com/kfaorg.htm)

The KFA in Reality

The KFA's founder and president, Alejandro Cao de Benos de Les y Pérez, formerly a Barcelona-based IT consultant and since 2004 working full-time for the DPRK government, believes that his web site, although limited, is better than no site at all. Mr Cao de Benos is a citizen of Spain and is a Special Delegateclarifyme|date=April 2008 of the DPRK government.

Kim Yong Nam, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, described the KFA as follows: "KFA is the main engine of the train of solidarity and friendship with Korea that pulls together the rest of the world and groups. Not only is it making a great contribution for the understanding of DPRK, but also for the building and defense of our socialist system." [http://www.korea-dpr.com/cgi-bin/simpleforum.cgi?fid=01&topic_id=1127033883]

David Scofield in The Asia Times Online described the KFA as follows: "The group's activities include "information" seminars where the enlightened benevolence of Kim's rule is championed, all part of its "alternative" view of the North. The ragged wretched displays of poverty and starvation are edited out and the voice of North Koreans not in the direct employ of Kim Jong-il are conspicuously absent. In place of uncomfortable reality, the KFA offers vacation photos of "their" North Korea taken during recent, state supported visits, complete with bowling, golf, amusement parks and Karaoke with young female party members. Members write glowing pieces, oblations celebrating Kim Jong-il's wise rule. No starving people, torture, summary execution, penury or despair in the Korean Friendship Association's North Korea. Just golf, great meals and evenings in the company of Kim Jong-il's beauties." [cite news |first= David |last= Scofield |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Kim Jong-il's 'useful idiots' in the West |url= http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/GB03Dg02.html |work= Asia Times Online |publisher= |date=2005-02-05 |accessdate=2008-09-30 ]

ee also

*List of Korea-related topics
*Politics of North Korea

References

External links

* [http://www.korea-dpr.com/travel.htm Official Homepage - Korean Friendship Association] (KFA)
* [http://www.friendsofkim.com "Friends of Kim" documentary about the KFA]

Interviews with the KFA

* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7020315941569660600&q "I Will Be A Soldier of Kim Jong Il": A profile from Korean Central Television on Alejandro Cao de Benos]
* [http://www.korea-dpr.com/media/inh2207_interview-alejandro.mp3 Interview of Mr. Cao de Benos about the nuclear issue and the 6 party talks] - from July 22, 2005
* [http://joongangdaily.joins.com/pdf/pdfdata/2005/04/18/2005041808.pdf An interview of Mr. Cao de Benos about the controversy] - from April 18 2005
* [http://210.145.168.243/pk/208th_issue/2004082805.htm An interview with Alejandro Cao de Benos in People's Korea]

Articles on the KFA

* [http://www.martlet.ca/archives/050210/oped1.html The "Martlet" on the 2004 Reunification March]
* [http://www.nassauweekly.com/view_article.php?id=69 A review of the KFA's Internet presence by Jacob O. Gold of "Nassau Weekly"]
* [http://www.npr.org/rundowns/rundown.php?prgDate=04-Jan-2003&prgId=7 A National Public Radio interview with Mr Cao de Benos]
* [http://bulletin.ninemsn.com.au/bulletin/eddesk.nsf/All/BC260503CF8E5103CA256D0A0081FC50!open Eric Ellis in Australia's The Bulletin on the KFA in Australia]
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1699876,00.html TIME Magazine article from 2007]

References