Reflections on the Housing Issue in People’s Korea and in the capitalist world-special article by Dr Dermot Hudson

I read an article titled “State Benefits Given Through Dwelling Houses” on the website of Voice of Korea which explained that  “ Korea builds dwelling houses at state expense and distributes them to the people free of charge.” Of course I had known that fact for a very long time since I first became interested in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in the 1980s and through my 18 visits to People’s Korea since 1992 . It made me reflect on the reality of capitalist Britain and the superiority of Juche-based socialism compared to life in capitalist Britain.
My own situation which was after leaving my mothers home I was always a tenant whether of a private landlord or the capitalist state in the form of a local council . As many people reading this article will know private renting in a capitalist society is a nightmare . Rent can take more than half of one’s income .I remember the first time I rented a flat and it took  40 per cent of my income . You also have to pay a deposit to the landlord  which they rarely give back , they will usually find a trumped up excuse or pretext to deny paying back the deposit to the renter . Even council housing , which is very difficult to obtain nowadays as most council properties were sold off in the 1980s and 1990s , does not have low rents . When I was in a council flat in Woolwich I still paid about 33 per cent of my income . When you add things like Council tax , electricity , gas , water and insurance costs it really comes to an extortionate amount and can take nearly a 100 per cent of a workers income . Entering middle age I was able to finally buy a small flat  a long way from the centre of  London . These cost nearly a quarter of a million pound to buy ! but I thought I would be free from the burden of rent , as there was a small ground rent on the property . However I was to be disappointed the property had a “service charge ‘ of  £1000 per year ! . Recently , the property management company greedy for more profits sent a demand for an even greater amount more than double the original amount  Daylight robbery ! Do these parasites think that money grows on trees ?  This was my first thought ! . A friend remarked to me that I was getting the worst of both worlds , buying a place but having to pay a grossly inflated and extortionate service charge at the same time . Well Jack London , the famous socialist writer did once write that if capitalists could discover a way of bottling the air they would sell it at a profit.

However I remembered that in People’s Korea  citizens get flats and houses allocated to them free of charge .

In People’s Korea citizens do not worry about deposits , rents , service charges or council tax but live happy thanks to the socialist system , the Juche idea and the guidance of dear respected Marshal
KIM JONG UN. How I envy them ! People’s Korea is a socialist paradise.

Dr Dermot Hudson

Chairman British Group for the Study of the Juche Idea
President Association for the Study of Songun Politics UK
Official Delegate Korean Friendship Association UK