China and the Soviet Union in Korean War Propaganda

Throughout the The North Korean Revolution, one point that Armstrong especially stresses is that communism's roots in North Korea are intrinsically related to Korean anti-colonial movements.  This notion is averse to the propagandist assertion that communism in the peninsula is solely the result of the Soviet occupation after WWII, claiming that communism was forced upon Koreans.

This example of South Korean propaganda illustrates this perception of Korean communism, as the helpless North Korean soldier is involuntarily pushed into battle by Russian, Chinese, and then North Korean communist officers.  In an attempt to discredit the authenticity of communism in North Korea, propaganda like this portrays North Korean soldiers being forced into fighting for a cause that they in no way support.  The Armstrong reading refutes propaganda like this, as it describes how communist guerrilla movements in Korea and Manchuria were active throughout the Japanese colonial period, garnering much popular support.