[105], Armstrong also notes that North Korea has actually transferred the "filial piety of nationalism in the family of the leader himself" by positioning Kim Il-sung as the universal patriarch. US to dock nuclear subs in South Korea for 1st time in 40 years [85], According to analyst Shin Gi-wook, the ideas of Juche and Kimilsungism are in essence the "expressions of North Korean particularism over supposedly more universalistic MarxismLeninism". What Year is it in North Korea? The closure of the border with China and suspension of trade made imported paper and ink scarce, and in mid-January, people still hadnt received their calendars. [30] In this regard, Kim Il-sung said that the WPK needed to "resolutely repudiate the tendency to swallow things of others undigested or imitate them mechanically", attributing the early success of North Korea to the WPK's independence in policymaking. countries. Despite the slogan, the country is heavily reliant on outside aid. This ideology was developed by Kim Il Sung himself. [95] Korean cultural anthropologists Byung Ho Chung and Heonik Kwon liken the commemorations of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il to Confucian ancestor worship. The Gregorian calendar, which is what most other countries refer to, begins at the birth of Christ, 2020 years ago. Korea [37] Kim Jong-il argued that it was acceptable for socialist states to receive military aid from their allies, but such aid would only be effective if the state is militarily strong in its own right. [82] Kim Jong-il reportedly did so to strengthen his position within the WPK, taking advantage of his father's political supremacy. Seoul: Han Baek Co., 1990. "mastermind") of the working class, meaning that he is the only legitimate representative of the working class. A simple one-page calendar, with the 12 months printed on a single sheet, and a six-page picture calendar appeared in the market only a few days ago, said the North Hamgyong source. Follow him at www.twitter.com/apklug. We have a long and proud history of arranging cultural projects with the Korean people; be it through art, sport, or whatever medium brings people together. We explain it below! In official North Korean histories, one of the first conveyed applications of Juche was the Five-Year Plan of 1956-1961, known also as the Chollima Movement, leading to the Chongsan-ri Method and the Taean Work System. Be the first to leave a comment for What Year Is It in North Korea? Theres a debate, however, among outsiders on what, exactly, the term means under Kims rule and why its important. Here are 14 interesting Mass Games facts you probably didnt know from the experts. If you need a Juche calendar convertor check out the following linkor follow my very simple rule of thumb: take the year of the Gregorian calendar (thats the year we are in) and minus 1911 from it. The six-page national calendars are popular because they use a higher quality of paper and show beautiful landscape photos, said the North Pyongan source. South Korea considers the nuclear option as external threats mount Does Christmas in North Korea exist? Join Young Pioneer Tours for one of our signature Group Adventures to the Islamic Republic of Iran, or Iraqi Kurdistan and the Caucuses, or let us plan your independent Middle-Eastern adventure. 2021 is year 110 on the Juche calendar. [80] For the Great Leader system to function, a unitary ideological system must be in place; the Ten Principles for a Monolithic Ideological System was thus introduced by Kim Jong-il for this purpose. In Kim Il-Sung's Writings 31. 2011 thus became Juche 100. This was the socialist blocs main trade partnership and could maybe be considered a socialist equivalent to the likes of the EU. Juche is even used to count the passing years: This year is Juche 108, because its been 108 years since national founder Kim Il Sung was born. Apply within! Later that year, on North Koreas Party There are limited copies of this calendar distributed to each of the state-run companies and units. The self-reliance claims of Juche notwithstanding, North Korea has long survived on the largesse of the international community, Stephan Haggard, a North Korea expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, has written. Thus, it can be said that the revolutionary theory of Kimilsungism is a perfect revolutionary theory of Communism in the era of Juche. Here are a few countries where the new year wont be 2020. There are several countries that dont follow the Gregorian calendar - the one that tells us its 2020. North Korea [103], American historian Charles K. Armstrong argues that familism has transformed itself into a kind of political religion in the form of Juche. Gareth Johnson is the founder of Young Pioneer Tours and has visited over 150+ countries. Understanding his country, he said, is impossible without understanding Juche because all the achievements of the country are linked to the idea, which forms the guidelines of the party and state., At the 170-meter (560-foot) -tall Tower of Juche Idea, a soaring testament to the concept built in 1982 for Kim Il Sungs 70th birthday, guide Choe Hye Ok has a ready definition at hand: If one believes in the local people, and relies on them, one will get the universe. [25], The North Korean government issued a decree on 8 July 1997, the third anniversary of the death of Kim Il-sung, declaring the adoption of the Juche calendar. [36] To accomplish military self-reliance, states must develop a domestic defence industry to avoid dependence on foreign arms suppliers. Did you know that North Korea use a whole different system for their calendar? It has done so by "appropriating a mass of bodies for calisthenic and performative arts representing the leader as the father and his faithful followers". This is exactly the meaning of Juche.. [82] Kimilsungism refers to the ideas of Kim Il-sung, while the Ten Principles serve as a guide for North Korean political and social life. [67], The North Korean government established the International Institute of the Juche Idea (initially the International Juche Research Centre) in Tokyo in 1978 in order to supervise the activities of international Juche study groups. Ranges of years that begin before 1912 and end after it are also given in Christian calendar numbers only. [97] The concept of a "sacred leader" in Juche as well as the cult around the Kim family has been compared to the State Shinto ideology of Imperial Japan in which the Emperor was seen as a divine being. The year 1912 is "Juche 1" in the North Korean calendar. This means that in just a few days, North Korea will begin Juche Year 112. [111] B. R. Myers, Michael J. Seth, and Max Fisher go further and argue that Juche has more in common with Japanese fascism and ultranationalism than MarxismLeninism. Bruce Cumings, a leading scholar on North Korea, has written, The closer one gets to (Juches) meaning, the more it slips away., Asked about Juches meaning, Pollack said: Long story. For many outsiders, the more it is studied, the more the word can seem less, not more, defined. [75], Unlike MarxismLeninism, which considers developments in the material conditions of production and exchange as the driving force of historical progress (known as historical materialism), Juche considers human beings in general the driving force in history. About Socialist Education. [95] Ju Jun-hui similarly contends that Korean shamanism also influenced the development of Juche, comparing the ecstatic state experienced in a shamanic ritual (gut) to the enthusiasm and fervor displayed by North Koreans for their supreme leader. This year the gift was limited to honored veterans, leaving most ordinary residents to spend the whole year without a calendar.. [122] Based on his own experiences living in North Korea, Swiss businessman Felix Abt describes Myers' arguments as "shaky" and "questionable". [39] For example, a failed challenge against Kim Il-sung's leadership in 1956 led to the purge of both pro-Soviet and pro-Chinese elements from the WPK. [76] In contrast to MarxismLeninism, in which a people's decisions are conditioned by their relations to the means of production, Juche argues that people's decisions take consideration of, but are independent from, external factors. The Juche Calendar is the dating system used in North Korea. Juche has been variously described by critics as a quasi-religion, a nationalist ideology, and a deviation from MarxismLeninism. The official national calendar, with a separate month on each page, has a government-mandated price of 3,000 won (U.S. $0.60). These file photos show North Korean calendars for 2021 (Juche year 110) and 2022 (Juche year 111). Is there such a thing as a Korean calendar? [15] It later became known as the "Juche speech"[16] and is considered one of Kim Il-sung's most important works. The Juche calendar first came into practice in North Korea in July 1997 on the third anniversary of the death of Kim Il Sung. FILE - In this Dec. 16, 2018, file photo, North Korean boys play snowball fight on Kim Il Sung Square as the Tower of The Juche Idea is seen in the background in Pyongyang, North Korea, where the w Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. The decree on the Juche calendar was adopted on 8 July 1997, on the third anniversary of the death of Kim Il-sung. North Korea The absolute up to date on guide, facts and fun information about where we visit and what we do, Turkmenistan reopens to tourism March 1st , We are returning to Afghanistan in 2023! [84] He further added that "Kimilsungism is an original idea that cannot be explained within the frameworks of MarxismLeninism. After the Korean War (1950-53), during which North Korea failed to conquer UN-backed South Korea (Republic of Korea, ROK), North Korea (Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, DPRK), under its founder President KIM Il Sung, adopted a policy of juche (" self-reliance") as a check against outside influence. Korea The nation calls nuclear bombs the treasured sword of Juche. North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un said earlier this week that its first military spy satellite that will be launched at an unspecified date. The new calendar also says, We wish for the well-being of the General Secretary, said the source, referring to current leader Kim Jong Un by his official title. Use of the Juche Calendar Our Horn of Africa Independence, New tour announcement - Bangladesh, Bhutan and, Iran has constantly been headlining world news as, Angola Avante! You get the picture! This year (2020) is Juche 109 on the Juche calendar. For those who wish to forget the lesson of history so easily and so quickly, Algeria, Vietnam, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Angola and closer to us Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Azania are excellent examples which make them deeply reflect on. Check out our great links, or get in touch and let us plan your extension for you. Japans defense chief has ordered troops to activate missile interceptors and get ready to shoot down fragments from a North Korean satellite that may fall on the Japanese territory. The Juche Calendar, therefore, begins in 1912. What Year is it in North Korea? Understanding the Juche Calendar [66] North Korea has organized international seminars on Juche since 1976. [121] American political analyst Robert E. Kelly argues that Juche exists solely to protect the Kim family's monopoly over political power in North Korea. US and South Korea unveil plan to counter North Korea with [20][21] Hwang subsequently expanded upon the meaning of Juche and rewrote Korean communist history to make it appear as though Kim Il-sung had been the WPK's leader since its inception. But many countries applied the principles of MarxistLeninist materialistic conception of history dogmatically, failing to advance revolution continually after the establishment of the socialist system. [58] North Korea's propaganda since the Korean War has contrasted its military autonomy with the presence of U.S. forces in the South.[51]. [4][5][6] It is often defined in opposition to the Korean concept of Sadae, or reliance on the great powers. Starting in the 1970s, Juche was presented as the highest and most up-to-date brand of progressive ideology. Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System, On Eliminating Dogmatism and Formalism and Establishing, failed challenge against Kim Il-sung's leadership in 1956, Ten Principles for a Monolithic Ideological System, departure from MarxistLeninist principles, Asiatic Research Institute, Korea University 1970, "On Socialist Construction in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the South Korean Revolution: Lecture at the 'Ali Archam' Academy of Social Sciences of Indonesia", The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia, "Juche and North Korea's Global Aspirations", "The Destruction and Reconstruction of North Korea, 19501960", "Between Confucianism and Marxism-Leninism: Juche and the Case of Chng Tasan", "North Korea's Hereditary Succession Comparing Two Key Transitions in the DPRK", "Ideology as Smokescreen: North Korea's Juche Thought", "Juche's Role in North Korea's Foreign Policy", "Assessing North Korea's Nuclear Gambit: A View from Beijing", "How Black Panthers turned to North Korea in fight against US imperialism", "The single most important fact for understanding North Korea", "North Korea's Kim family cult: Roots in Japanese state Shinto? North Korea Since 2, Its back! [76] It is summarized as "the popular masses are placed in the center of everything, and the leader is the center of the masses". The quality of life was so low until the mid-1990s that North Korean society was self-reliant and Juche ideology, but they committed murder believing in the absurd fortune-telling that they could live by eating human liver. Juche stresses equality and mutual respect among nations, asserting that every state has the right to self-determination. The state visit comes as the U.S. and South Korea mark the 70th year of the countries alliance that began at the end of the Korean War and committed the United [62][63] It produces UDMH fuel for liquid fuelled missiles[64] and Tumansky RD-9 Turbojet engines, which power the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 and Shenyang J-6. WebDuring the 1960s and 1970s, while the USSR was controlled by Nikita Khrushchev and later Leonid Brezhnev, attempts were being made to draw North Korea into the Comecon. The Juche Calendar or the North Korean calendar was initiated in 1997 on the third anniversary of the death of President Kim Il Sung, the same year that his birthday and the national holiday that goes with it was renamed the Day of the Sun. Its splashed across countless propaganda signs, seeded through dozens of state media reports, at the beating heart of emotional pop songs and on the lips of the earnest guides who show off the grand monuments built in its honor. WebFor the first twenty years or so after its founding in 1948, the DPRK remained ensconced almost exclusively within the community of fellow socialist nations. [79] The Great Leader is the "top brain" (i.e. Juche is a term often heard in North Korea. [79] The working class is not to think for themselves, but instead to think through the Great Leader. Have you got what it takes? Join one of our Worldwide Adventures to places as diverse as Cuba, The Philippines, Cambodia, Nepal, or Antarctica, with off the wall places your mother would rather you stayed away from being added all the time. [103] According to the accounts of refugees who have been recruited to mass gymnastics, the collectivist principle has been nurtured through physical punishment such as beatings and more importantly the organization of recruits into small units, whose performances were held accountable by larger units. WebThe Juche calendar first came into practice in North Korea in July 1997 on the third anniversary of the death of Kim Il Sung. [74] This date is considered the beginning of the Songun era. [50][51] While North Korea received economic aid and technical assistance from the Soviet Union and China, it did not join Comecon, the communist common market. Biden and South Korea's Yoon announce agreement to deter [40] Although North Korea rejected the de-Stalinization efforts of Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev, it avoided taking sides during the Sino-Soviet split. Young Pioneer Tours organize a number of Group and independent trips throughout the old Soviet Union, including Chernobyl, Chechnya, Magadan, Tiraspol, and much more. But the calendars with color photos that were printed in Pyongyang, are so expensive that ordinary citizens cannot afford to buy them, said the North Pyongan source, who requested anonymity to speak freely. [2] North Korean editions of Marx used the word Juche even before the word was attributed to Kim Il-sung in its supposedly novel meaning in 1955. [59] The pursuit of economic autarky has been blamed for contributing to the crisis. Korea [31] Juche, however, does not advocate total isolation and encourages cooperation between socialist states. Suh also criticized Kim Il-sung's initial conceptualization of Juche, saying that he had failed to explain how MarxismLeninism had been applied to Korean conditions. [23] Kim Jong-il also criticized the Korean communists and nationalists of the 1920s for their "elitist posture", claiming that they were "divorced from the masses". He argues that it exists to be praised and not actually read. It is based on the Juche era. The Juche calendar is the system for year naming in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea and is named after the state ideology of North Korea, known as Juche. The Gregorian calendar, which is what most other countries refer to, begins at the birth of Christ, 2020 years ago. Juche, which is pronounced joo-chay and most often translated into English as self-reliance, was first described in 1955 and Tour leader Greg tells us about his journey. Juche posits that a country will prosper once it has become self-reliant by achieving political, economic, and military independence. They added another slogan, beyond the usual Our great comrades, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, are with us forever, a resident of the northeastern province of North Hamgyong told RFAs Korean Service Dec. 27. The Juche calendar system only applies to dates newly published and retrospective changes to published dates prior to September 9, 1997 are not required. WebAt the Fourth Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the WPK in December Juche 110 (2021), Kim Jong Un said it is the Party's policy of rural construction to turn all the rural villages across the country into rich and cultured socialist utopia at the level similar to those in Samjiyon City in the near future. [32] Kim Il-sung acknowledged that it was important for North Korea to learn from other socialist states, in particular the Soviet Union and China, but he did not want to follow their examples dogmatically.