On some questions in understanding the juche philosophy talk to theoretical propagandists of the party april 2, 1974 a social scientist recently sent me a letter in which he expressed his view on the juche philosophy. It was first introduced by kim ilsung at the meeting of leading personnel of the young communist. Abstractthis article examines the content of north koreas juche ideology by analyzing official texts in comparison with confucian classics and new religious. Hwang jangyop, the architecture of juche ideology, whodefected from north korea in february, 1997, and came to korea to seek political asylum, confessed that juche ideology isthe weapon of. The regime justifies its dictatorship with arguments derived from. Visual regimes of juche ideology in north koreas the country i saw. The sublime object o ideology tries to answer this question by way of rehabilitating psychoanalysis in its philosophical core as a theory indebted to hegels dialectics and readable only. The goal of this article is to chart the evolution of juche in north korea, using the changing form of the state constitution as a gauge, in order to gain insight into the varying roles that juche. Juche has become the fundamental framework of orientation for north koreans. Juche, or korean socialism, is a political ideology first formulated by kim ilsung 19121994, the founder of modern north korea the word juche is a combination of two chinese characters, ju and. The juche philosophy is an orignalthe juche philosophy is an orignal revolutionary philosophy discourse published in kulloja, theoretical magazine of the central committee of the. Juche a christian study of north koreas state religion.
The advantages and disadvantages of juche philosophy by timo schmitz, philosopher part of the series individualism between moral and virtues, government and religion in part 12, i introduced the key principles of juche. Juetten commander, german navy submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree. A historicalcritical examination of the evolution of. What is the difference between communism and juche ideology. The governing principles of juche were clearly expressed by kim il sung in a speech entitled let us. Furthermore, the revised constitution of 1982 adopted juche as the official ruling ideology. President kim il sung is a founder of songun ideology and an outstanding leader of the songun revolution. The fall of the soviet union and anticommunist laws in south korea have hadand continue to havea negative effect on the perception of juche ideology. Despite us efforts to curb north koreas pursuit of nuclear capability in return for humanitarian aid, pyongyang continues. Juche philosophy and juche music juche philosophy or juche ideology is the sole ideology adopted by north korea to rule all realms, including politics, economy, society, and culture.
How north koreas political ideology became a defacto religion. North koreas juche literally selfreliance idea was. How north koreas political ideology became a defacto. A study of the changing dynamic between juche and the state constitution in north korea. The kim il sung and kim jong il elibrary is provided by the korean friendship association kfa.
Chuche ideology is the basic cornerstone of party construction, party works, and government operations. The black panther partys relations with north korea, 19691971, the asiapacifc journal, vol. Note that documents are in pdf according to international standard isoiec 320001. Available formats pdf please select a format to send. This article examines the confucian component of the north korean juche ideology, appraising the nationalstalinist doctrine in view of its relation to the reformed confucianism of chong tasan. From 1987 to 1994, michael harrold lived and worked in north korea as an editor for the. Hwang jangyop, the architecture of juche ideology, whodefected from north korea in february, 1997, and came to korea to seek political asylum, confessed that juche ideology isthe weapon of dictatorship and that it has been used as a propaganda machine to deceive some leftist groups in the republic of korea.
English in north korea volume 18 issue 1 jae jung song. On the juche idea is one of kim jongils major writings on juche and considered the most authoritative work on it. The idea of juche, also known kimilsungism after kim il sung, is the religious, political, social and economic ideology of north korea the juche idea. Grace lee 105 korea the political philosophy of juche. North koreas own juche ideology, and the suryong has replaced the party as the nucleus of political leadership. There is a great deal of evidence to support this, including the onetime greater development than south korea before the loss of its vital trading partners. The advantages and disadvantages of juche philosophy. North koreas juche literally selfreliance idea was improvised in the s for thepurpose of cutting off the soviet unions influence, and as ameans to purge kim ilsung s political rivals. North koreas juche ideology and the german reunification experience stephan a. A perusal of the letter led me to believe that our academic circles still lack a correct understanding of the juche philosophy. A representative of the indigenous sirhak practical learning school in the late choson era, tasan merits attention because he was politically endorsed in kim il sungs 1955 juche. The term was intended to realize politicalideological unity within north korean society. A vision transformed presented to the faculty liberty university school of communication. Furthermore, the revised constitution of 1982 adopted juche as the official ruling ideology of north korea.
Juche is, in laymans terms, a derivation of marxismleninism with maoist influences. The koreans believe that the juche idea has been proven the right ideology for revolution in korea. Its promoters describe juche as simply a secular, ethical philosophy and not a religion. Juche began in the 1950s and is the official philosophy promulgated by the north korean government and educational system. The juche idea, which strongly propels the advance of the era of independence, has been developed in depth by leader kim jong ils outstanding ideological and theoretical activities. But in contrast to their custom with other speeches, editors of kims works have. Chuche is also claimed as the presentday marxismleninism. A historicalcritical examination of the evolution of north koreas juche ideology using fantasy theme analysis. The hypothesis investigated is that, upon eventual korean reunification, significant problems of national. Juche, which is pronounced joochay and most often translated into english as selfreliance, was first described in 1955 and continues to serve as the official ideology of the north korean. Indeed, pyongyangs juche ideology could foster a similar phenomenon in. Scholar brian reynolds myers views north koreas actual ideology. Primary source document with questions dbqs on eliminating dogmatism and formalism and establishing juche chuche in ideological work speech, 1955 by kim ilsong. Project muse between confucianism and marxismleninism.
Juche ideology emerged under kim ilsung, following the inception of the north korean state in 1948, and in the aftermath of the korean war. The juchesasangpa was in part a reaction to park chunghees yushin constitution, citation needed which gave park authoritarian powers. Juche is the official ideology of north korea, described by the government as kim ilsungs. The treatise is a systematization of both president kim ilsung and kim jongils thought on juche philosophy and offers the most comprehensive account of juche. At the 5th kwp congress of 1970, juche was crystallized in the kwp statutes as the official ideology of the party.
The political philosophy of juche grace lee introduction the political philosophy known as juche became the official autarkic state ideology of the democratic peoples republic of korea dprk in 1972. Juche s concepts of selfreliance have evolved with time and circumstances, but still provide the groundwork for the spartan austerity, sacrifice and discipline demanded by the party. Chuche is sanctified as the essence of what has been officially called kim il sung chuui kim il sungism since april 1974. Juche ideology explains the relationships between kim, the communist party, and the people with the analogy of the human body. It postulates that man is the master of his destiny, that the korean masses are to act. Songun politics is rooted in the militarypriority ideology that embodies the juche idea. This philosophy has reached such importance that there is a jucher calendar. It was under kim that the political ideology of juche. The juche tower more formally, tower of the juche ideology is a monument in pyongyang, the capital of north korea, named after the ideology of juche introduced by the countrys first leader, kim ilsung background. What remains as the foundation of north korean ideology from the era of socialist development is juche.